Jan Baudouin De Courtenay’s contribution to Linguistic Theory

Abstract

SummaryThe extent of Jan Baudouin de Courtenay’s (1845–1929) contribution to general linguistic theory is still hard to assess. He never wrote a major synthetic work, nor has the bulk of his production been translated into English. Thanks primarily to Jakobson, at least his formative influence on modern phonology is generally acknowledged. Fewer linguists are aware of the relevance of Baudouin’s teaching for the study of language change. His conceptualisation of the nature of change, its causes and goals, and the role played in it by the language system, all seem of more than merely historical interest to the theoretically-minded diachronic linguist.