Language And The Study Of Language: Twelve Lectures On The Principles Of Linguistic Science - Softcover

William Dwight Whitney

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0461864223 ISBN 13: 9780461864229

Publisher: HardPress, 2021

Synopsis

Language And The Study Of Language: Twelve Lectures On The Principles Of Linguistic Science by William Dwight Whitney surveys language as a social instrument that shapes thought while arguing that thought and language are related but not identical. It frames language as a community-maintained system of signs—spoken, written, and gestural—whose primary function is communication, with writing later augmenting memory and cross-generational transmission. The work traces a progression from primal signs—imitations of natural sounds and expressive cues—toward more complex, mutually intelligible signs through social use, gesture, and tone. It emphasizes that thought can operate beyond speech, but linguistic signs provide a framework enabling precise, shareable reasoning (e.g., mathematical notation). The volume then maps the development of writing, from picture-writing and mnemonic devices to alphabets and syllabaries, noting the diffusion of the Latin alphabet and the central role of comparison in establishing language families. It defends a Indo-European-centered, historical-scientific approach to linguistics, highlighting the unity and diversity of languages in a long historical arc. The author treats language as foundational to culture, history, and science, while remaining cautious about overconfident claims about language origins, race, or future world-language dominance. The twelve-lecture plan covers phonetics, etymology, word-formation, and the place of language in ethnology and history.

Edition details

• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0461864223
• ISBN 13: 9780461864229
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 520