Entre imaginaire et idéologie en linguistique. Fonctions heuristiques de la notion, charge affective des termes

This article revisits the conceptual framework developed in Le discours de la linguistique. Gestes et imaginaires du savoir (Lttr13, 2024) by examining the discursive functions of the terms imaginary and ideology in contemporary linguistics. Whereas previous studies have employed these notions in heterogeneous and often unstable ways, we investigate how they shape disciplinary self-understanding and epistemic positioning. Our analysis centers on three influential figures: Anne-Marie Houdebine, who foregrounds the tension between linguistic objectivity and subjective representations; Michael Silverstein, who demonstrates the cultural and ideological embedding of linguistic structures; and Philippe Blanchet, who uncovers the discriminatory logics of “glottophobia” and the ethical stakes of linguistic practice. Across these perspectives, we argue that imaginary/ideology functions less as a stable theoretical category than as a heuristic operator. It opens conceptual space for addressing phenomena beyond the traditional boundaries of linguistics, while reconfiguring the identity of the linguist as both analyst and socially situated subject. Yet this heuristic productivity is accompanied by a recurrent crisis of disciplinary foundations, insofar as description, explanation, and modeling appear as themselves ideologically mediated. We ultimately contend that the imaginary should not be viewed as the negation of rationality, but as one of its constitutive dimensions—an enabling force for recognition, affiliation, and the renewal of epistemic communities.