Historia języka jako baśń o narodzie
History of Language as a National Legend

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the thesis that metaphorical notions, which characterize all conceptualization processes according to Lakoff and Johnson, and also underlie certain branches of science. The author argues that the general principle behind the methodology and discourse of the history of language is the metaphorical notion that nation is language, and the history of a communicating community is identified with the history of a national or ethnic community although it is obvious that those are different entities. Using examples from the history of the Polish and Croatian languages, the following points testifying for the metaphorical perception of language are emphasized: 1) the patriotic didacticism of works on the history of language; 2) the significance of a language’s records for the process of ethnogenesis; 3) the use of arguments from the history of language for political purposes (e.g., the problems of the borders and territory of a national community). At the end, an analysis of the contemporary state of the history of language and its role in political and social life is presented.

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