- B30 -

Who we are 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 meaningbased. 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 Their systemic semantic values General psychological principles of goaldirected behavior Sociocultural conventions for the use and interpretation of linguistic formsPhonetic facts contribute to accounting for the phonological shape of the forms themselves.