Marxism and Problems of Linguistics - From Marx to Mao

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is conceivable without it. But the vocabulary of a languageassumes tremendous importance when it comes under thecontrol of grammar, which defines the rules governing themodification of words and the combination of words intosentences, and thus makes the language a coherent andsignificant function. Grammar (morphology, syntax) is thecollection of rules governing the modification of words andtheir combination into sentences. It is therefore thanks togrammar that it becomes possible for language to invest man’sthoughts in a material linguistic integument.The distinguishing feature of grammar is that it gives rulesfor the modification of words not in reference to concretewords, but to words in general, not taken concretely; that itgives rules for the formation of sentences not in reference toparticular concrete sentences — with, let us say, a concretesubject, a concrete predicate, etc. — but to all sentences ingeneral, irrespective of the concrete form of any sentence inparticular. Hence, abstracting itself, as regards both wordsand sentences, from the particular and concrete, grammartakes that which is common and basic in the modification ofwords and their combination into sentences and builds it intogrammatical rules, grammatical laws. Grammar is theoutcome of a process of abstraction performed by the humanmind over a long period of time; it is an indication of thetremendous achievement of thought.In this respect grammar resembles geometry, which ingiving its laws abstracts itself from concrete objects, regardingobjects as bodies devoid of concreteness, and definingthe relations between them not as the concrete relations ofconcrete objects but as the relations of bodies in general,devoid of all concreteness.22
Unlike the superstructure, which is connected with productionnot directly, but through the economy, language is directlyconnected with man’s productive activity, as well as with allhis other activity in all his spheres of work without exception.That is why the vocabulary of a language, being the mostsensitive to change, is in a state of almost constant changeand, unlike the superstructure, language does not have towait until the base is eliminated, but makes changes in itsvocabulary before the base is eliminated and irrespective ofthe state of the base.However, the vocabulary of a language does not changein the way the superstructure does, that is, by abolishing theold and building something new, but by replenishing theexisting vocabulary with new words which arise with changesin the social system, with the development of production, ofculture, science, etc. Moreover, although a certain numberof obsolete words usually drop out of the vocabulary of alanguage, a far larger number of new words are added. Asto the basic word stock, it is preserved in all its fundamentalsand is used as the basis for the vocabulary of the language.This is quite understandable. There is no necessity todestroy the basic word stock when it can be effectively usedthrough the course of several historical periods; not to speakof the fact that, it being impossible to create a new basicword stock in a short time, the destruction of the basic wordstock accumulated in the course of centuries would result inparalysis of the language, in the complete disruption of intercoursebetween people.The grammatical system of a language changes even moreslowly than its basic word stock. Elaborated in the courseof epochs, and having become part of the flesh and blood ofthe language, the grammatical system changes still more23
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Page 16 and 17: ase. If the base changes or is elim
Page 18 and 19: sists not in serving one class to t
Page 20 and 21: grammatical system and its basic st
Page 22 and 23: single and common language of a soc
Page 24 and 25: language.” For this reason, stran
Page 26 and 27: geoisie.” 4 Certain comrades conc
Page 28 and 29: aristocracy? How can one possibly d
Page 30 and 31: Reference is further made to Lenin,
Page 32 and 33: The mistake our comrades commit her
Page 36: slowly than the basic word stock. W
Page 39 and 40: elements of the new quality, and he
Page 41 and 42: There can be no doubt that the cros
Page 43 and 44: N. Y. Marr’s “disciples” begu
Page 45 and 46: CONCERNING CERTAINPROBLEMS OF LINGU
Page 47 and 48: tion: instruments of production man
Page 49 and 50: itself, which is free of the “nat
Page 51 and 52: Hence, the existence of specific wo
Page 53 and 54: REPLY TO COMRADESTO COMRADE SANZHEY
Page 55 and 56: TO COMRADES D. BELKIN AND S. FURERI
Page 57 and 58: negligible. Properly speaking, this
Page 59 and 60: concluded that a socialist revoluti
Page 61 and 62: plied to all periods of development
Page 63 and 64: languages takes place as a struggle
Page 65 and 66: communist society. As a science, Ma
Page 67 and 68: nationalism and separatism in the R

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