This page is dedicated to Circen

Sprachspiele

The following are Sprachspiele; some of them are mine, some are others' (in particular, some are Ludwig Wittgenstein's).

  1. Writing down a list of Sprachspiele.
  2. Writing a book about a book.
  3. Writing a book about a book which is written about a book.
  4. Discussing about war and peace.
  5. Giving orders, and obeying them.
  6. Describing the appearance of an object, or giving its measurements.
  7. Constructing an object from a description (a drawing).
  8. Reporting an event.
  9. Speculating about an event.
  10. Forming and testing a hypothesis.
  11. Presenting the results of an experiment in tables and diagrams.
  12. Making up a story; and reading it.
  13. Play-acting.
  14. Singing catches.
  15. Guessing riddles.
  16. Making a joke; telling it.
  17. Solving a problem in practical arithmetic.
  18. Translating from one language into another.
  19. Asking.
  20. Thanking.
  21. Cursing.
  22. Greeting.
  23. Praying.
  24. People who on waking tell us certain incidents (that they have been in such-and-such places, etc.). Then we teach them the expression "I dreamt", which precedes the narrative. Afterwards I sometimes ask them "did you dream anything last night?" and am answered yes or no, sometimes with an account of a dream, sometimes not.
  25. Read a sentence. - And now look along the following line
    &8§± §±?ß +% 8!'§*
    and say a sentence as you do so.
  26. Lying.
  27. Referring to an object when speaking by pointing to it.
  28. Predicting a man's actions from his expression of a decision.
  29. The language-game of physical object - sense-impressions.
  30. Sprachspiele in physics.
  31. Discussing about War and Peace.
  32. Reporting.
  33. The language-game of reporting can be given such a turn that a report is not meant to inform the hearer about its subject matter but about the person making the report.
  34. It is so when, for instance, a teacher examines a pupil.
  35. (You can measure to test the ruler.)
  36. Asking something's name.
  37. Inventing a name for something, and hence saying, "This is ...." and then using the new name.
  38. (Thus, for example, children give names to their dolls and then talk about them and to them.)
  39. Telling.
  40. Describing the aroma of coffee.
  41. Saying how many feet high Mont Blanc is.
  42. Saying how the word "game" is used.
  43. Saying how a clarinet sounds.
  44. Talking about or describing a Sprachspiel.
  45. Posing questions to oneself and answering them.
  46. Telling good from evil.
  47. Telling someone "I love you".
  48. Writing scientific papers.

2004-08-15
P. G. L. Porta Mana