Ludwig Wittgenstein and his followers are using the expression Lebensform to define the totality of the institutions, practices, and discourses in which the language games (also an important concept for Wittgenstein) have meaning.
Language games in the auction bidding for example, only have meaning in this context. In every other situation, the loud screams of the hosts would be only noise at best. Meaningless noise too.
The concept of Form of Life Wittgenstein created to demonstrate that language is not just an abstract system, but a network of practices embodied in the ways (or forms) of life. Then, language is only meaningful in the context of people’s actions and experiences. What is more, if the latter is true, when sharing a common language, people are also sharing a form of life.
