“Inversions of word order generate higher costs”
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Gerda Haßler
Abstract
Word order was one of the most commonly discussed topics relating to grammar and language theory in the 17th and 18th centuries. This paved the way for an approach in which deviations of the allegedly logically predetermined word order were regarded as a circuitous way of thinking, which could be avoided by a return to the “natural” order. For languages with a freer word order than French, attempts were made to standardize the word order modeled on the French system. Critics of the doctrine of the ordo naturalis realized as early as the 18th century that the linearization through language had to follow more complex principles. Thus, fixed word order was not presented as a virtue, but rather as a necessity resulting from the lack of inflected endings. The hypothesis of a “natural” word order that would save cognitive costs has experienced an astonishing continuity to the present day.
Abstract
Word order was one of the most commonly discussed topics relating to grammar and language theory in the 17th and 18th centuries. This paved the way for an approach in which deviations of the allegedly logically predetermined word order were regarded as a circuitous way of thinking, which could be avoided by a return to the “natural” order. For languages with a freer word order than French, attempts were made to standardize the word order modeled on the French system. Critics of the doctrine of the ordo naturalis realized as early as the 18th century that the linearization through language had to follow more complex principles. Thus, fixed word order was not presented as a virtue, but rather as a necessity resulting from the lack of inflected endings. The hypothesis of a “natural” word order that would save cognitive costs has experienced an astonishing continuity to the present day.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & Acknowledgements ix
- Honorary President’s Address xi
- Editors’ introduction xv
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Part I. European linguistics in the 17th and late 18th centuries
- “Inversions of word order generate higher costs” 3
- Qui a écrit la Grammaire générale et raisonnée ? 13
- Travail du pouvoir et productions sur la ‘langue française’ au XVIIe siècle 27
- The main characteristics of grammar-writing in Slovenia between 1584 and 1758 37
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Part II. Linguistics in the late 18th and 19th centuries
- Western grammars of the Chinese language in the 18th and 19th centuries 53
- L’universalité du discours et le génie des langues dans la Grammaire philosophique et littéraire (1823–1824) de Nicolas Paquis de Sauvigny 63
- The reception of Court de Gébelin in 19th-century Portuguese grammar 71
- Morphologie du langage et typologie linguistique 87
- L’évolution du terme ‘sémiologie’ chez Saussure: 1881–1891 103
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Part III. Theoretical issues in the 20th-century linguistic thought
- Questioning the idea of ‘founding text’ 117
- Earlier and later anti-psychologism in linguistics 127
- Looking for a semantic theory 137
- Jakobson’s circles 145
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Part IV. Russian and Soviet linguistics
- Soviet linguistics and world linguistics 159
- Anti-positivism in early Soviet linguistics 169
- De la fusion des langues au repli sur soi (URSS 1917–1953) 181
- Semantics as a background for (pre)semiotic trends in Russian intellectual history of the 1920s–1930s (and beyond) 191
- Présence de la Russie dans le réseau phonétique international (1886–1940) 201
- Index of biographical names 216
- Index of subjects and terms 219
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword & Acknowledgements ix
- Honorary President’s Address xi
- Editors’ introduction xv
-
Part I. European linguistics in the 17th and late 18th centuries
- “Inversions of word order generate higher costs” 3
- Qui a écrit la Grammaire générale et raisonnée ? 13
- Travail du pouvoir et productions sur la ‘langue française’ au XVIIe siècle 27
- The main characteristics of grammar-writing in Slovenia between 1584 and 1758 37
-
Part II. Linguistics in the late 18th and 19th centuries
- Western grammars of the Chinese language in the 18th and 19th centuries 53
- L’universalité du discours et le génie des langues dans la Grammaire philosophique et littéraire (1823–1824) de Nicolas Paquis de Sauvigny 63
- The reception of Court de Gébelin in 19th-century Portuguese grammar 71
- Morphologie du langage et typologie linguistique 87
- L’évolution du terme ‘sémiologie’ chez Saussure: 1881–1891 103
-
Part III. Theoretical issues in the 20th-century linguistic thought
- Questioning the idea of ‘founding text’ 117
- Earlier and later anti-psychologism in linguistics 127
- Looking for a semantic theory 137
- Jakobson’s circles 145
-
Part IV. Russian and Soviet linguistics
- Soviet linguistics and world linguistics 159
- Anti-positivism in early Soviet linguistics 169
- De la fusion des langues au repli sur soi (URSS 1917–1953) 181
- Semantics as a background for (pre)semiotic trends in Russian intellectual history of the 1920s–1930s (and beyond) 191
- Présence de la Russie dans le réseau phonétique international (1886–1940) 201
- Index of biographical names 216
- Index of subjects and terms 219
