ABSTRACT
Neither psychological nor sociocultural approaches to creativity have paid detailed, systematic attention to language and language use. For this perspective we turn in this chapter to the field of linguistics, and in particular to frameworks for discussion which are applied linguistic in orientation. As in chapter 1, the initial focus is on the semantic history of core words such as literate and literary and the particular values they carry concerning the central social and cultural significance of written language and creativity in writing. The reason for this is to explain the relative lack of attention to speech in both linguistic theory and descriptions of language. Developments in the linguistic description of creativity and literariness have also privileged writing, and a central section of the chapter explores the ways in which written literary language has been defined and described. At the same time, however, the word literary is itself questioned and problematised. Working, as indicated, with broad rather than narrow research questions, the aim is to create space for a focused study of creativity in spoken language in the remaining chapters. Running through the chapter are basic questions.
