Schools of Linguistics: Competition and Evolution

by Geoffrey Sampson

A Stanford University Press classic.

Genres: Linguistics, Language, Nonfiction

284 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 1980

Reviews

[Chadi Raheb · Rating 2 out of 5]

از اینکه این درس رو با استادی داشتم که به جای روخونی محض کتاب یا تحویل جملات حفظی به ما، یه سری مکتب و نظریه رو با یه دید وسیع و یه عمق اقیانوسی برامون توضیح داد خیلی خوشحالم.
مخصوصا که کلی چیز از خفن‌هایی مثل سوسور و ساپیر-ورف یاد گرفتیم اونم با اپروچ کریتیکال.
و همزمان از حجم زیاد و پراکنده ای که باید امتحان بدیم و مقاله ترسناکی که باید بنویسیم و نمیدونم چجوری همه اینا رو آخرش قراره جمع کنم عمیقا وحشتزده‌ام و هی دلم میخواد بزنم زیر گریه (که نمیزنم) و انصراف بدم (که نمیدم) و سر بذارم به بیابون (که نمیذارم) و انقدر اونجا بشینم تا یا کرکس ها بیان منو بخورن یا من اونا رو (که نمیخورم چون یک عدد گیاهخوارم)
:(((((((

[Susi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to different linguistic schools, ranging from earlier ideas about linguistic theory to schools which are still influential today. Well and understandably written, with many illustrating examples.

[Gadeer Al-Shathry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A theoritical book dealing with old schools of linguistics. I personally needed to refer to other resources as it breifly introduces the subjects I'm concerned with.

[A. B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is exactly the book I had been looking for for a while. The right book for the right time. Published in 1980, the author looks back at the schools of linguistics that were prominent in the 20th century. Starting with a chapter about 19th century historical linguistics and philology (Grimm, Bopp, Schleicher, Schmidt, Rask, Schuchhardt, and maybe Jespersen); Sampson goes on to examine Saussure (and his relation to Durkheim), the American Descriptivists (Boas, Bloomfield), the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (Sapir, Whorf, Levy-Bruhl), the Functional Linguistics of the Prague School (Mathesius, Trubetzkoy, Martinet, Jakobson, Labov), Noam Chomsky's Generative Grammar, the Relational Grammar (Hjelmslev, Lamb, Reich), Generative Phonology (Chomsky, Halle), and the London school (Maybe Sweet, Jones but especially Firth, Halliday), before drawing all the threads together in the conclusion.

Sampson critiques the dominance of Chomskyan linguistics in the field and himself seems to prefer a more descriptive approach to linguistics which focuses on the empirical evidence instead of 'arid apriorism'. He advocates for a plurality of approaches to studying language. The main questions examined in the book are: (1) Of phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics -- which belong to arts and which are scientific? (2) Are there universals that apply to all human languages in all these fields? (3) What are the links between linguistics and other fields like biology, sociology and psychology? From which of these fields do different approaches to linguistics derive from more closely? (4) Is it convincing to advocate for an innate language faculty? Do not linguists of a Chomskyan persuasion confuse the rationalist approach to mind with a rationalist approach to scientific method which should be empirical? (5) In what sense is the Saussurean langue-parole distinction valid and to what extent can we treat language as an ideal Platonic object to be studied independent of its particular manifestations? (6) Has the Chomskyan a priori approach to linguistics based on introspection not obscured the hard but important task of mapping all the world's languages descriptively? Sampson gives several interesting sociological reasons for the dominance of Chomskyan linguistics over all other approaches. All in all, an interesting and informative read.

P.S. I owe this book recommendation to Champagne Drinking Teetotaler on Goodreads.

[Said Dhimni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read half of it. It's an amazing book, which tells you about the schools of linguistics. It was very helpful. I will complete it later.

[Yahya J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

ok