Podcast episode 2: Comparative-historical linguistics – Bopp and Grimm
Jan 31, 2020
Discover the origins of comparative-historical grammar in the 19th century, focusing on the enlightening work of Franz Bopp and Jacob Grimm. Their innovative methodologies reveal connections between Sanskrit and Indo-European languages. Explore the evolution of etymology and how the Grimm brothers shaped German national identity through their research. Uncover the broader intellectual movements that influenced their groundbreaking studies in language, law, and literature.
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Bopp's Conjugation System
Franz Bopp's Conjugation System analyzed verb inflections across languages.
This revealed historical relationships, uniting philosophical and historical linguistics.
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Bopp's Analytical Comparison
Bopp innovated by factoring out sound changes (euphony) to reveal underlying word forms.
This allowed comparing similar features across languages for genealogical insights.
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Bopp and General Grammar
Bopp, influenced by General Grammar, analyzed verbs as logical propositions (subject, attribute, copula).
He believed underlying structures become obscured by sound changes over time.
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Bopp, Franz (1816), Über das Conjugationssystem der Sanskritsprache in Vergleichung mit jenem der griechischen, lateinischen, persischen und germanischen Sprache, Frankfurt am Main: Andräische Buchhandlung. archive.org
Bopp, Franz (1820), Analytical Comparison of the Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, and Teutonic Languages, shewing the origingal identity of their grammatical structure, Annals of Oriental Literature, 1, pp. 1–64. Google Books
Bopp, Franz (1833–1852), Vergleichende Grammatik des Sanskrit, Zend, Griechischen, Lateinischen, Lithauischen, Gothischen und Deutschen, 6 vols, Berlin: Dümmler. Google Books: All vols.
(2nd ed. 1857–1861, Vergleichende Grammatik des Sanskrit, Send, Armenischen, Griechischen, Lateinischen, Litauischen, Altslavischen, Gothischen und Deutschen, 3 vols.)
(English trans.: Edward B. Eastwick, 1845–1853, A Comparative Grammar of the Sanskrit, Zend, Greek, Latin, Lithuanian, Gothic, German, and Sclavonic Languages, London: Madden and Malcolm, 3 vols. Google Books: Vol. 1 [2nd ed., 1856], Vol. 2, Vol. 3 [2nd ed., 1856].)
Grimm, Jacob (1819), Deutsche Grammatik, vol. 1, Göttingen: Dieterich’sche Buchhandlung.
(2nd ed. 1822–1837, Deutsche Grammatik, 4 vols., Göttingen: Dieterich’sche Buchhandlung. Internet Archive: vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3, vol. 4)
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm et al., eds. (1854–1960), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols., Leipzig: Hirzel (et al.). Online version
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (1812–1815), Kinder- und Hausmärchen, 2 vols., Berlin: Realschulbuchhandlung.
(Six editions in the Grimms’ lifetimes, until 1858.)
Schlegel, August Wilhelm (1847 [1815]), Review of Altdeutsche Wälder, ed. by the Brothers Grimm, in August Wilhelm von Schlegel’s sämmtliche Werke, ed. Eduard Böcking, Leipzig: Weidmann. Bayerische Staatsbibliothek digital
Schlegel, August Wilhelm (1832), ‘Grammatischer Unterschied’, ‘Literarische Scherze’, Museumsalmanach für das Jahr 1832, ed. Amadeus Wendt, p. 321, Leipzig: Weidmann. Google Books
Secondary Sources
Beiser, Frederick C. (2011), The German Historicist Tradition, Oxford: Oxford University Press. See Chap. 5.
Ginschel, Gunhild (1989 [1967]), Der Junge Jacob Grimm: 1805–1819, Berlin: Stuttgart: Hirzel.
Jendreieck, Helmut (1975), Hegel und Jacob Grimm: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Wissenschaftstheorie, Berlin: Erich Schmidt.
Kuhn, Thomas (1962), The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lefmann, Salomon (1891–1897), Franz Bopp, sein Leben und seine Wissenschaft, 2 vols. and Nachtrag. Berlin: Reimer. archive.org: Vol. I, Vol. II, Nachtrag
Morpurgo Davies, Anna (1998), History of Linguistics, vol. 4: Nineteenth-century Linguistics, London: Longman. See Chap. 6.
History and Philosophy of the Language Sciences 
