The Problem of the Extralinguistic: A Philosophical Issue of Theoretical Linguistics in E. Coseriu’s Approaches

Abstract

This article argues that Coseriu’s theoretical linguistics present a philosophical problem that can be called “the problem of the extralinguistic” and that it can be dissolved by paying attention to how it arises and what uncritical conceptions it reveals insofar as it remains undetected. The expression “extralinguistic” or “extralinguistic reality” is common in Coseriu’s theoretical works on linguistics, where the problem is not perceived due to its philosophical nature, in my view. However, this does not prevent its effects from having a theoretical impact in his linguistics. Thus, this article argues that, by dissolving this problem, some uncritical conceptions that can create confusion within theoretical linguistics are resolved. In turn, this dissolution allows for arguing in a different way about how to abandon those conceptions through the approaches of hermeneutic phenomenology.