Grammar, typology and the Humboldtian tradition in the work of Georg von der Gabelentz
- A frequently mentioned if somewhat peripheral figure in the historiography of late nineteenth-century linguistics is the German sinologist and general linguist Georg von der Gabelentz (1840–1893). Today Gabelentz is chiefly remembered for several insights that proved to be productive in the development of subsequent schools and subdisciplines. In this paper, we examine two of these insights, his analytic and synthetic systems of grammar and his foundational work on typology. We show how they were intimately connected within his conception of linguistic research, and how this was in turn embedded in the tradition established by Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835), especially as it was further developed by H. Steinthal (1823–1899). This paper goes beyond several previous works with a similar focus by drawing on a wider range of Gabelentz’ writings, including manuscript sources that have only recently been published, and by examining specific textual connections between Gabelentz and his predecessors.
Author details: | James McElvennyORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1080/17597536.2016.1212580 |
ISSN: | 1759-7536 |
ISSN: | 1759-7544 |
Title of parent work (English): | Language & history : journal of the Henry Sweet Society for the History of Linguistic Ideas |
Publisher: | Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |
Place of publishing: | Abingdon |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2017/01/13 |
Publication year: | 2017 |
Release date: | 2022/10/19 |
Tag: | Georg von der Gabelentz; H . Steinthal; History of linguistics; Humboldtian linguistics; Wilhelm von Humboldt; grammar; language description; typology |
Volume: | 60 |
Number of pages: | 20 |
First page: | 1 |
Last Page: | 20 |
Organizational units: | Philosophische Fakultät / Institut für Romanistik |
DDC classification: | 4 Sprache / 44 Französisch, romanische Sprachen allgemein / 440 Romanische Sprachen; Französisch |
Peer review: | Referiert |