An Essay On The Origin Of Language: Based On Modern Researches, And Especially On The Works Of M. Renan - Softcover

Frederic William Farrar

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0371702933 ISBN 13: 9780371702932

Publisher: HardPress, 2021

Synopsis

"An Essay On The Origin Of Language: Based On Modern Researches, And Especially On The Works Of M. Renan" by Frederic William Farrar. This book surveys the origin of language through philology and history. It argues that language is neither innate and organic, nor merely a product of imitation, nor a revelation, but a natural faculty developed by thought, freedom, and social life. Farrar reviews three classical theories and shows that each contains truth but none suffices alone. He advances a twofold origin: sounds become signs through imitation and reflection, and words acquire significance through association and abstraction. The work then explains how roots arise from onomatopoeia and metaphor, and how languages progress from exuberance to regulated grammar, from synthesis to analysis. It examines language families — Indo-European, Semitic, Turanian — and debates whether a single primitive tongue existed and whether a universal future language is possible. The study argues that philology reveals the deep unity of mankind while honoring linguistic diversity, and that language illuminates history, culture, and religion. It also discusses the future of language and the limitations of a universal language.

Edition details

• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0371702933
• ISBN 13: 9780371702932
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 266