On the concept of Erzeugung in von Humboldt's Philosophy of Language

According to Humboldt, language is a typical cultural activity which involves the act of creation (Erzeugung). It is also an important activity which reveals the nature of man. In the first part of this research, we try to sum up Humboldt's analysis on creation into four main theses: (1) the true definition of language must be based on speaking, rather than dead products such as words and rules. As a result, the definition of language can only be a genetic one and must be related to a certain idea of "activity;" (2) speaking is an act through which the speaker expresses his thought by using different sounds. In other words, man uses speech sounds as tools of expression. Thus, language is an act of producing tools rather than the tools produced; (3) only articulated sounds are capable of expressing thoughts. If we want to use them to express our ideas, we must compel our vocal organs and produce sounds with patiicular sound-forms. In Humboldt's words, this involves a process of Bildung in which we combine matter and form to produce tools with particular forms. (4) To express a certain thought, we have to put words together. These grammatically formed words, all as elements, enter into the sentence and form a new unity. A closer look at this operation shows that words acquire their grammatical functions through a special mental act: the mind creates a sentence to express the thought, but by the same act opposes itself to the created. From this point of view, language is a synthesis which brings elements together to create novelties.;In the second part of this research, we follow the example of Humboldt and start a series of investigations to show how Cantonese-speaking community uses different sound-forms to form words and sentences. Our investigations will focus on the activity of the listener. We try to prove that there is a change of role of the listener whenever he understands a certain chain of words. A listener always plays a double-role. He must speak in order to understand. The active role of the listener is evidence that Humboldt's analysis on creation can be applied to all aspects of language and is still meaningful to us despite its idealistic traits.;At the very first glance, Humboldt's philosophy of language is just a series of tedious, laborious examination of linguistic facts. In addition, the idealistic terminologies he employed set up a barrier for those who want to understand his theory. Through our investigations, we show that his philosophy of language can be seen as the foundation of a full-fledged philosophy of culture with the analysis on creation providing all the building blocks. Humboldt reminds us of the freedom of the individual, and stresses on the importance of the self-consciousness of any human activity. As an educational reform is currently undergoing in Hong Kong, the philosophy of Humboldt can act as a timely reminder for all of us.