Theoretical Bases of Indo-European Linguistics Quotes

“In an introduction to principles it may not be out of place to recall that it was Winteler's household in which the young Einstein was lodged after his less than glorious performance in schooling; at least in conversation, Roman Jakobson suggested that Einstein may have received some stimulation for his further ideas from the incipient phonemic approach of Winteler.”
― Winfred P. Lehmann, Theoretical Bases Of Indo European Linguistics

“No satisfactory historical linguistic study was carried out before the beginning of the nineteenth century, and accordingly linguists had to develop appropriate methods for the new field. Like other new sciences, historical linguistics then looked to those that had developed useful methods. The greatest help came from comparative anatomy.”
― Winfred P. Lehmann, Theoretical Bases Of Indo European Linguistics

“Further, such changes are spread on the basis of the prestige accorded specific speech communities. The validity of these observations has been demonstrated time and time again. It may be exemplified most simply by noting lexical items, like the word tonic for a specific kind of beverage in Boston and the surrounding areas in which Boston enjoyed prestige”
― Winfred P. Lehmann, Theoretical Bases Of Indo European Linguistics

“Languages are maintained by societies in which individuals for the most part wish to participate without appearing as odd; in western societies of the present, allowance is, however, made for adolescents, who fix on idiosyncratic speech known as slang. Accordingly, changes in language are maintained or rejected in accordance with the prestige of the groups that make those changes.”
― Winfred P. Lehmann, Theoretical Bases Of Indo European Linguistics

“An awareness of the structure of academic concerns and structure at that time is important because later the term "historical" has been interpreted by current views as diachronic. Equation of nineteenth-century "historical" with terms such as "social" or "behavioral" and "human" would be more accurate if these are taken to apply to all the areas not dealt with in the "physical" and "biological" sciences, which themselves cannot be equated directly with the early classification "natural sciences.”
― Winfred P. Lehmann, Theoretical Bases Of Indo European Linguistics

“Brücke was also important as one or the scientists who introduced the methods of chemistry and physics into medical and biological study. His influence in linguistics may have added to the practice of analysing and classifying languages, as well as sets of sounds and forms, much like the objects of study in these sciences.”
― Winfred P. Lehmann, Theoretical Bases Of Indo European Linguistics