On the Way to Language Communication:

Heidegger and the Quest for the Essence of the Ting/もの

Abstract

Abstract. Situating Heideggerʼs two short essays on language and the thing as a theoretical guiding point, this paper proposes a study of Language Communication: a study of symbolic interaction that seeks in language, as opposed to humans, the point of its analytic inquiry. Thus the paper asks how and what language speaks by probing into the workings of language that manifest in various sites of communication. In particular, the analysis develops in two phases. The first part questions the way “misunderstandings” are often seen as a case of malfunction or a lack of communication competence on the part of the speakers. Focusing on the languageʼs speaking using Heidegger and a short story by Kuki Shuzo, the analysis points to the human-centric nature of this postulation. Then, the second half proceeds to dismantle Heideggerʼs ideas of“ presencing” and“ thinging” by way of engaging in the uniquely phenomenological dialogue with a piece on the Japanese word“ もの［the thing］” by Orikuchi Shinobu. Ultimately this paper suggests a quest for communication studies that goes beyond the corrective and punitive“ competence discourse” and further envisages an approach that allows for more ambiguity and playfulness.