A study on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s concept of language games and the private language argument

The intent of this paper is to examine at what Wittgenstein’s says about language as a use in the term of language games and the private language argument. The major argument of Wittgenstein on the language is the rules of the use of ordinary language is neither right nor wrong, neither true nor false, the language is merely useful for the particular applications in which they are applied . On Wittgenstein’s view, Language is defined not as a system of representation but as a system of devices for engaging in various sorts of social activity, hence ‘the meaning of the word is its use in the language’. Wittgenstein gave us considerable help in understanding what he means by ‘the meaning of the words is its use in the language’ in the term of Language Games and the Private Language Argument. There are various misunderstandings of Wittgenstein’s philosophical ideas by professionals and ordinary readers. They have stemmed largely from a failure to grasp, or come to terms with this aspect of his thought. Thus the major objective of this study is to examine comprehensively what Wittgenstein says about the concept of Language game and the private language argument. The study is based on empirical research methodology. Primary data will be collected by used empirical experiments. Secondary data will be collected by published documents. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/suslj.v12i1.7025 Sabaragamuwa University Journal 2013; V. 12 No. 1 pp 83-95