Jakobson’s circles
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Margaret Thomas
Abstract
Russian philologist Roman Jakobson (1896–1982) incubated his ideas within a sequence of “Circles”, self-consciously established groups of scholars who crossed institutional affiliations to discuss shared interests and support each others’ (and sometimes, the group’s communal) work. Jakobson’s experiences within various Circles differed: those in Moscow and Prague provided a stimulating context for social and intellectual exchange, which was valuable to the gregarious Jakobson. During his years in Scandinavia, Jakobson’s professional contacts supported him politically and even economically, mitigating his experiences of forced serial exile. On immigrating to the U.S., he co-founded a Linguistic Circle of New York. But this last Jakobsonian Circle never recaptured the collegiality of Moscow or Prague. After he moved to Harvard in 1949, his activities expanded beyond the university to a joint appointment at MIT. Jakobson moved between the two institutions, although in his last 30 years he worked outside a formal “Circle” of colleagues.
Abstract
Russian philologist Roman Jakobson (1896–1982) incubated his ideas within a sequence of “Circles”, self-consciously established groups of scholars who crossed institutional affiliations to discuss shared interests and support each others’ (and sometimes, the group’s communal) work. Jakobson’s experiences within various Circles differed: those in Moscow and Prague provided a stimulating context for social and intellectual exchange, which was valuable to the gregarious Jakobson. During his years in Scandinavia, Jakobson’s professional contacts supported him politically and even economically, mitigating his experiences of forced serial exile. On immigrating to the U.S., he co-founded a Linguistic Circle of New York. But this last Jakobsonian Circle never recaptured the collegiality of Moscow or Prague. After he moved to Harvard in 1949, his activities expanded beyond the university to a joint appointment at MIT. Jakobson moved between the two institutions, although in his last 30 years he worked outside a formal “Circle” of colleagues.
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
