History and Philosophy of the Language Sciences

Podcast episode 1: Pre-history of comparative-historical linguistics

Dec 30, 2019

Discover the fascinating pre-history of comparative-historical grammar, tracing its roots in modern linguistics. Learn about the monumental shift in the 19th century as scholars like Sir William Jones and Friedrich Schlegel transformed linguistic study into a scientific endeavor. Delve into the philosophical underpinnings of language meaning, highlighting insights from thinkers such as John Locke and Leibniz. This exploration reveals how early efforts laid the groundwork for understanding language connections across cultures.

17:33

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Quick takeaways

Comparative historical grammar established a scientific framework for identifying genealogical relationships among languages, notably within the Indo-European family.

The influence of colonial ideology on scholars like Sir William Jones highlights the complex interplay between language study and cultural appropriation.

Deep dives

The Birth of Comparative Historical Grammar

Comparative historical grammar emerged as the first modern linguistic paradigm, institutionalized with professors, textbooks, and courses. This field illustrates how languages are related through a genealogical lens, such as the connection between French, Italian, and Spanish as descendants of Latin. The significant breakthrough came from recognizing distant linguistic relationships, notably between classical Eastern languages like Sanskrit and Western languages like Latin, which led to the conceptualization of the Indo-European family. This genealogical perspective laid the groundwork for what is commonly accepted as the first scientific study of languages.

Intro

2min

The Evolution of Linguistic Study in the 19th Century

12min

The Etymological Pursuit of Language Meaning

3min

The first series of the History and Philosophy of the Language Sciences Podcast looks at the history of modern linguistics. We begin in this episode by examining the pre-history of comparative-historical grammar.

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Archive DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4767778

References for Episode 1

Primary Sources

Adelung, Johann Christoph and Johann Severin Vater (1806–1817), Mithridates, oder allgemeine Sprachenkunde, Berlin: Vossische Buchhandlung. archive.org: vol. I, vol. II, vol. III parts I and II, vol. III part III, vol. IV

Gessner, Conrad (2009 [1555]), Mithridate/Mithridates, ed. and trans. Bernard Colombat and Manfred Peters, Geneva: Librairie Droz.

Jones, William (1807 [1786]), The Third Anniversary Discourse, on the Hindus. The Works of Sir William Jones, ed. Lord Teignmouth, vol. III, pp. 24–46. London: Stockdale and Walker. Google Books

Jones, William (1807 [1792]), The Ninth Anniversary Discourse, on the Origin and Families of Nations. The Works of Sir William Jones, ed. Lord Teignmouth, vol. III, pp. 185–204. London: Stockdale and Walker. Google Books

Schlegel, Friedrich (1808), Ueber die Sprache und Weisheit der Indier, Heidelberg: Mohr und Zimmer. archive.org (English trans. ‘On the Indian Language, Literature and Philosophy’ [1900], The Æsthetic and Miscellaneous Works of Friedrich von Schlegel, ed. and trans. E. J. Millington, pp. 425–536, London: George Bell and Sons. archive.org)

Secondary Sources

Aarsleff, Hans (1982), From Locke to Saussure: Essays on the study of language and intellectual history, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. See ‘Introduction’, Chaps. 1 and 2.

Benfey, Theodor (1869), Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft und orientalischen Philologie in Deutschland, seit dem Anfange des 19. Jahrhunderts mit einem Rückblick auf die früheren Zeiten, Munich: Cotta’sche Buchhandlung. archive.org

Morpurgo Davies, Anna (1998), History of Linguistics, vol. 4: Nineteenth-century Linguistics, London: Longman. See Chaps. 2 and 3.

Rudwick, Martin J. S. (2005), Bursting the Limits of Time: The reconstruction of geohistory in the age of revolution, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. See Chaps. 6 and 7.

Saïd, Edward (2003 [1978]), Orientalism, London: Penguin Books.

Trautmann, Thomas (1997), Aryans and British India, Berkeley: University of California Press.

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