“LINGUISTIC ENCYCLOPEDIA” - AN UNKNOWN LEXICOGRAPHICAL PROJECT OF THE 1930S

Abstract

The article analyses the project of “Linguistic encyclopedia” of the 1930s. The concept of publication was designed by the famous historian and theoretician of linguistics R. O. Shor in the form of expanded memorandum to the Research Institute of linguistics. The idea of creating a “Linguistic encyclopedia” included in the context of scientific discussions, social and political situation of the 1920- 1930s and those tasks which arose before the Soviet scientists on the language construction, technique of learning languages of the southern regions of the country, the development of the General theory and methodology of linguistics. The author emphasizes obvious ideological nature of many statements, which testifies to the struggle of different directions in linguistics and the growing pressure of marrism. For the first time the original text of this project from the collection of the Archives of Russian Academy of Sciences is presented and commented. The paper solves an obscure problem in the history of linguistics and contributes to the objective understanding of the complex processes of linguistic sociology of science in the period of adaptation to the new conditions (discussions, repression of traditional comparative studies, fighting with “polivanovchshina”, etc.).