Professing linguistic historiography By Konrad Koerner (review)

Abstract

BOOK NOTICES 229 The framework and method Z developed for the study of valency is essentially her own, although she relies both on the standard grammars of Chinese and on theoretical works most of which are familiar to the potential readers. She also adopted the syntactic testing method, the pronominal approach of K. Van den Eynde and Claire Blanche-Benveniste. The introductory chapter (13-52) provides an outline of the pronominal approach and shows how such a method can be adapted to Chinese. Ch. 2 (53-95) contains a review ofprevious studies related to verbal valency in Chinese. This section is a convenient summary of what the standard Chinese grammars say or imply about valency in the syntactic (as distinct from semantic) sense. Z distinguishes between what she calls the 'semantic approach' (of Wang Li, Lu Shuxiang , Li and Thompson) vs. the 'word order approach ' (of Zhang Zhigong, Chao Yuen-ren). Ch. 3 (97-147) is a discussion of how to attribute valency to verbs based on three different syntactic tests (the Interrogative Proform Test, Formulation Test, and Preposition Test). The criteria for valency are taken up in Ch. 4 (149-78), which also describes the principal types and provides the statistics of the several hundred verbs included in this study. Ch. 5 (179-203) further elaborates on the meaning of the principal verb types,—monovalent, bivalent, and trivalent . Out of the many potential areas of further research proposed in the concluding chapter (205-33), the idea of replacing the rigid distinction between arguments and nonarguments by a scale of (1) obligatory valents, (2) optional valents, (3) middles , and (4) nonvalents/adjuncts is particularly interesting . [László CsERESNYÉsi, Shikoku Gakuin University. ] Professing linguistic historiography. By Konrad Koerner. (Amsterdam studies in the theory and history of linguistic science, III. Studies in the history of language sciences, 79.) Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1995. Pp. vi, 274. This volume contains ten selected Koerner essays on the history of linguistics. Part I, 'Topics in the historiography of linguistics', is made up of five essays : 'Persistent issues in linguistic historiography' (3-26); '"Metalanguage" in linguistic historiography ' (27-47); "The natural science impact on theory function in 19th and 20th century linguistics' (48-76); 'Saussure and the question of the sources of his linguistic theory' (77-95); and 'Chomsky's reading of the Cours de linguistique générale' (96-114). Part II, 'Historical accounts of linguistic subfields', consists of 'Toward a history of modern sociolinguistics' (117-35); 'Toward a history of American linguistics' (136-50); 'Toward a history of linguistic typology' (151-69); 'History and historiography ofphonetics' (170-202); and "The "SapirWhorf Hypothesis" ' (203-40). The volume concludes with a bibliography of K's essays in the 'Appendix ' (241-60) and 'Indices' (261-74). The author very carefully elaborates the difference between the history oflinguistics and linguistic historiography ; 'the historiography of linguistics has to be "theory-oriented", not "data-oriented", though no doubt much reading of the original sources will have to be done in order to establish adequately the basic facts in the development of the discipline' (5). Linguistic historiography, which has both methodological and epistemological tasks, must be in touch with intellectual history; with the philosophy, theory, and practice of history; and sociology of sciences. As to the risks threatening linguistic historiography on the part of its scholars, his observations under the issue of 'metalanguage' and the argument of influence are worth noting. The greatest danger linguistic historiography is exposed to is the 'modernization' resulting from incorrect interpretations of technical terms (metalanguage). Another danger is that the formulation of a linguistic system is sometimes erroneously attributed to the influence of a 'predecessor' (see the assumed influence between Emile Durkheim and Ferdinand de Saussure, 20). Metalanguage is discussed in Ch. 2 as well. To avoid misinterpretations, K has the following advice for researchers: (1) Listen to the spirit of the times. (2) Don't interpret original terminology in terms of modern doctrines. (3) Bear the original historical context in mind. Ch. 3 discusses the influence of natural sciences on linguistics; here we can mention Mikolaj Kruszewski 's view that the gradually occurring sound changes can be compared to biological mutation (Ocerk nauki o...