What Is Columbia School Linguistics?

Columbia School linguistics offers a radically functional conception of language in which both grammatical and phonological structure are profoundly shaped by the exigencies of communication. Lexicon and grammar alike are meaning-based. Analyses focus on determining the unique semantic structure of individual languages.  The goal is to explain the appearance of linguistic forms in spoken and written discourse by:

1. their systemic semantic values,
2. general psychological principles of goal-directed behavior,
3. and socio-cultural conventions for the use and interpretation of linguistic forms.

Phonetic facts contribute to accounting for the phonological shape of the forms themselves.