Fârâbî’nin Uzlaşımcı Dil Teorisinin Bir Temeli Olarak Çokdilliliği
Multilingualism as a Foundation of Al-Fârâbî’s Conventional Theory of Language

Summary/Abstract: Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, and Ludwig Wittgenstein, as founders of analytic philosophy in the early twentieth century, focused on language, particularly investigating issues such as truth, meaning, reference, and use. Nevertheless, the philosophical examination of the relationship between language and the world dates back to antiquity. Plato’s Cratylus, for example, is one of the earliest works to discuss the views of naturalism, which posits a natural relationship between language and things, and conventionalism, which argues that the origin of language is based on social conventions. It can be argued that Plato’s own position inclines toward naturalism due to his theory of Forms. His student Aristotle, by contrast, clearly advocates a conventionalist approach. The tenth-century TurkishIslamic philosopher Al-Fārābī shares this view. This article examines al-Fārābī’s conventional theory of language. Its main argument is that a determining factor in al-Fārābī’s adoption of the conventionalist view is his multilingualism. It is argued that his knowledge of multiple languages enabled him to compare them and to recognize that the same meanings can be expressed in different linguistic forms. Consequently, languages cannot be arranged within a semantic hierarchy of importance. The article first demonstrates that al-Fārābī’s conventional theory of language rests on a philosophical foundation. It then examines his extensive linguistic knowledge. Finally, it concludes that his multilingualism provides concrete support for his conventional theory of language.

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