The papers brought together in the present volume represent the essence of the author’s reflections on issues concerning linguistic historiography and of particular investigations in 19th and 20th century linguistic thought. The papers are clustered in three sections: I. Towards a Historiography of Linguistics, II. Appraisals of Individual Scholars, and III. Trends and Traditions in Linguistics.

The volume brings together recent papers by the author, selected to form a broad picture of his teachings, all of them revised and updated, either addressing particular topics in the Histor(iograph)y of Linguistics (Part I) or offering historical accounts of linguistic subfields (Part II), in altogether 10 chapters: 1, Persistent Issues in Linguistic Historiography; 2, Metalanguage in Linguistic Historiography; 3, The Natural Science Impact on Theory Formation in 19th and 20th Century Linguistics; 4, Saussure and the Question of the Sources of his Linguistic Theory; 5, Chomsky’s Readings of the Cours de linguistique générale; 6, Toward a History of Modern Sociolinguistics; 7, Toward a History of Americanist Linguistics; 8, Toward a History of Linguistic Typology; 9, History and Historiography of Phonetics: A state-of-the-art account, and 10, The ‘Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis’: An historico-bibliographical essay. Index of authors; index of subjects & terms.

Beginning with the anthropological linguistic tradition associated primarily with the names of Franz Boas, Edward Sapir and their students and concluding with the work of Noam Chomsky and William Labov at the end of the century. This book offers a comprehensive account of essential periods and areas of research in the history of American Linguistics and also addresses contemporary debates and issues within linguistics. Topics covered include: * The sources of the 'Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis' * Leonard Bloomfield and the Cours de linguistique générale * The 'Chomskyan Revolution' and its Historiography * The Origins of Morphophonemics in American Linguistics *William Labov and the Origins of Sociolinguistics in America. Toward a History of American Linguistics will be invaluable reading for academics and advanced students within the fields of linguistics and the history of linguistics.

A comprehensive account of essential periods and areas of research in the history of American Linguistics which addresses contemporary debates and issues within linguistics.

The papers brought together in the present volume represent the essence of the author s reflections on issues concerning linguistic historiography and of particular investigations in 19th and 20th century linguistic thought. The papers are clustered in three sections: I. Towards a Historiography of Linguistics, II. Appraisals of Individual Scholars, and III. Trends and Traditions in Linguistics.