Roman Jakobson – författare

The first English translation of a classic and groundbreaking work in historical phonology.

This is the first English translation of a groundbreaking 1929 work in historical phonology by the renowned linguist Roman Jakobson, considered the founder of modern structural linguistics. A revolutionary treatment of Russian and Slavic linguistics, the book introduced a new type of historical linguistics that focused on the systematic reasons behind phonological change. Rather than treating such changes as haphazard, Jakobson here presents a “teleological,” purposeful approach to language evolution. He concludes by placing his book in the context of the exciting structural developments of the era, including Einstein''s theories, Cezanne''s art, and Lev Berg''s nomogenesis.

The original Russian version of the book was lost during the 1939 German invasion of Brno, Czechoslovakia, and the only edition available until now has been the French translation by Louis Brun. Thus this first English translation offers many linguists their first opportunity to read a major early work of Jakobson. Ronald Feldstein, a leading Slavicist and phonologist in his own right, has not only translated the text from French to English, he has also worked to reconstruct something as close to the missing original as possible. Feldstein''s end-of-chapter annotations provide explanatory context for particularly difficult passages.

First published in Great Britain in 1973, Main Trends in the Science of Language was part of a series of books that resulted from a study carried out by UNESCO in collaboration with national and international research centres in the social sciences, as well as with groups of individual scholars. The book examines the position of linguistics in the years surrounding the publication of the book before considering the subject’s potential, future development. It looks at linguistic vistas, the place of linguistics among the sciences of man and linguistics and natural sciences. This book will be of interest to the educated reader, research workers, and professional associations as well as to national and international institutions that organize, plan and finance scientific research.

First published in Great Britain in 1973, Main Trends in the Science of Language was part of a series of books that resulted from a study carried out by UNESCO in collaboration with national and international research centres in the social sciences, as well as with groups of individual scholars. The book examines the position of linguistics in the years surrounding the publication of the book before considering the subject’s potential, future development. It looks at linguistic vistas, the place of linguistics among the sciences of man and linguistics and natural sciences. This book will be of interest to the educated reader, research workers, and professional associations as well as to national and international institutions that organize, plan and finance scientific research.

Roman Jakobsons monumentales Alterswerk Poetry of Grammar and Grammar of Poetry (1981) samt seinen späteren Ergänzungen war und ist eine theoretische Herausforderung für die Allgemeine und Vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft wie für die verschiedensten Einzelphilologien. Aus der souveränen Vielsprachigkeit dieser linguistischen Gedichtanalysen resultierte aber nicht nur ihre weltweite Rezeption, sondern zugleich auch deren völlige Disparatheit: Gab es doch kaum einen Leser, der sie alle auch nur zu lesen, geschweige denn kritisch zu diskutieren vermochte.

Diesen Missstand zu beheben strebt die deutsche Ausgabe von Jakobsons sämtlichen strukturalen Gedichtanalysen und seiner wichtigsten poetologischen Aufsätze an, die durch Spezialisten aus den jeweiligen Literaturwissenschaften übersetzt und kommentiert werden.