Abstract
AbstractIn his book Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech, published in 1921, Edward Sapir wrote that ‘ … there is such a thing as a basic plan, a certain cut, to each language’. Linguists of the Prague school referred to the “characterology” of language; for example Vilém Mathesius, in his article ‘On linguistic characterology with illustrations from Modern English’ written in 1928, wrote that ‘… linguistic characterology deals only with the important and fundamental features of a given language at a given point in time’, noting as an example that ‘… Modern English shows a characteristic tendency for the thematic conception of the subject’. It is a concept that proves extremely difficult to make explicit; whatever it is that constitutes the unity of all the components of the picture seems elusive. Can we give any overall characterisation of that ‘certain cut’, or is it simply ineffable?
Highlights
In his book Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech, published in 1921, Edward Sapir wrote that ‘ ... there is such a thing as a basic plan, a certain cut, to each language’
Linguists of the Prague school referred to the “characterology” of language; for example Vilém Mathesius, in his article ‘On linguistic characterology with illustrations from Modern English’ written in 1928, wrote that ‘... linguistic characterology deals only with the important and fundamental features of a given language at a given point in time’, noting as an example that ‘
Modern English shows a characteristic tendency for the thematic conception of the subject’
Summary
In his book Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech, published in 1921, Edward Sapir wrote that ‘ ... there is such a thing as a basic plan, a certain cut, to each language’.
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