Neogrammarian

Neogrammarians called a group of linguists of the Leipzig School, which began in the late 1870s in Leipzig around August Leskien ( 1840-1916 ), Karl Brugmann ( 1849-1919 ) and Hermann Osthoff ( 1847-1909 ) had formed. With their hypothesis of " Ausnahmslosigkeit the sound laws " they tried to re-establish the previously declared as spiritual science Linguistics in the character of natural science. This development resulted from the increasing competition of the humanities with the natural sciences.

The term neo-grammarians, which is to be understood as " young linguist " should originate from the German scholars Friedrich Zarncke, a member of the older generation, who coined in reference to the names of other " young " or revolutionary movements, such as Young Germany. Zarncke and beating during a promotion ironically on the inexperience and the militant behavior of the younger generation. The designation but was later resumed by this young generation.

Main representative

The main agent of Neogrammarians were:

Basic assumptions

The Neogrammarians represented in the Indo-European and general linguistics positivist direction and followed the doctrine of the physiologist Emil Heinrich du Bois -Reymond (1818-1896) of the Ausnahmslosigkeit the laws of nature. In their view, find language changes invariably take place on the basis of significant natural sound laws. Linguistic knowledge should exclusively on observable facts - and not on abstractions - are based.

Object of investigation

The Neogrammarians made ​​themselves in linguistics mostly mission to examine the historical development of the language. This diachronic interest stands in contrast to the later emphasis on synchronic - because system-and structure-based - approach in structuralism. For the Neogrammarians was - in contrast to the later structuralism - not the language system, but only the individual, directly observable language ( idiolect ) object of study of linguistics. The volume level is for the Neogrammarians the "most important level of description ", which is opposite to the syntax and semantics construed as absolutely autonomous. In addition, a stronger interest in dialectology and language of the children was developed.

Ausnahmslosigkeit the sound laws

Following their tenet of the Ausnahmslosigkeit the sound laws psychophysics of speech act was in their current and historical dimension main subject of linguistics. This led to more accurate and more comprehensive field research and discoveries in the field of sound shift. Looking for " general laws " met the Neogrammarians always exceptions and special cases that you did not recognize as agreed rules. Such limits they tried to explain by analogy.

Writings and Discoveries

In the " blessed 1876 " brought the neo-grammarians following significant works out:

  • August Leskien (1840-1916) declination in the Slavic and Germanic -Lithuanian (1876 )
  • Eduard Sievers (1850-1932) Broad According Physiology ( 1876)

This work is based on extensive investigations of their own Sievers, who no longer merely the individual speakers, but the volume considered in its environment.

  • Hermann Osthoff (1847-1909) discovery of " liquida sonans " in Indo-European (1876 )

Due to the different development of the " liquida sonans " in the individual languages ​​Osthoff declared a wealth of striking peculiarities in Vokalimus.

  • Karl Brugmann (1849-1919) essay on the Indo-European proto-language in Nasalis sonans (1876 )

The results from this scientific success optimism describes the linguist Hans Arens with the following words: " If one looks at the enumerated here main benefits of a single year, rather all outcomes for the phonetic aspect of language, but in any sector accidental discoveries or ingenious Aperçus, all the systematic exploration of a mass of unexplained peculiarities in the sound development are due to and detect all laws in place earlier randomness, then it must be said that if at some point, at which time the proclamation which seemed to " Ausnahmslosigkeit the sound laws " justified and logical. She was not a provable theorem and not an axiom, it was a postulate and a belief in which a generation of scientists themselves united and recognized. And like any belief he was a nuisance and many wore an temptations his followers. But also a common name that was initially meant jokingly, seriously adopted by them, and still serves on their summary. Neogrammarians, this whimsical idea of a scientific connection Jung Siegfried "

Opponents of Neogrammarians

Among the opponents of the neo-grammarians include:

In 1885, the neogrammarians the fight was announced. Georg Curtius (1820-1885) For a critique of the latest language research (1885 ), a representative of the older generation of linguists, found himself attacked in his decades of research methods.

Since the Neogrammarians - except her axiom of the Ausnahmslosigkeit the phonetic laws - Abstractions rejected that could not be documented on all sides by observable facts, they sat from the criticism to get lost in details. Literally, this means that you did not see the forest for the trees. They were thus fallen back from today's perspective behind August Schleicher (1821-1868), who did not want to release it from the philology and saw linguistics as part of the natural sciences, however, had been found in the theory of evolution a total of more sustainable basis for the study of language change.

The hypothesis of the Ausnahmslosigkeit the sound laws at that time gave rise to a controversy, among others, the Romanists and comparative linguist Hugo Schuchardt (1842-1927), who with over the public laws. Against the Neogrammarians the most important rebuttal written. Also Graziadio Isaia Ascoli (1829-1907), the founder of Italian Linguistics, pointed in Dei neogrammatici back the neogrammarian claims. The Ausnahmslosigkeit has proved to be "law" to be false. They did not consider the social character of language and thus the cultural aspects of language change. But well, the term According to the law in the reconstruction and the study of language change is a sensible working hypothesis, because sound change takes place not by exceptionless laws, but also somewhat arbitrary and random. Any exception to a According to the law, it is to explain. This problem was the neogrammarians clearly part and just led to increased concern with language development and dialectology.

The linguistic structuralism, founded by Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913), rejected the neo-grammarians, thereby founding the "modern linguistics ", which linguistics.

Overcoming Neogrammarians

A crucial turning point in the Leipzig School Views brought the dialects of research, which at the time of Neogrammarians worked to fathom earlier states of language. It Georg Wenker developed 1870 " Linguistic Atlas of the German Empire ," which formed a key work of the dialect customer. The geographical and historical classification of dialects a veritable dialect geography, which Wenker actually find intended confirmation of acceptance of the Ausnahmslosigkeit the sound laws originated. In the course of his work, however, he found the opposite, noting that there is no exception, acting laws and not even clear-cut dialect areas. Thus sound laws were detached by the dialect geography of their date scientific isolation and perspective on Phonics.

Apart from the dialect- geographical work is also a knowledge of the cultural history based on the dialects began to win. So you moved away from the scientific approach to investigate isolated linguistic elements, and thus came to be considered at the point language in the context of space and time as well as in connection with meaning.

Leipzig school (sociology) Positivism
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