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Antoine Meillet

December 30, 2022

Paul Jules Antoine Meillet (French: [ɑ̃twan mɛjɛ]; 11 November 1866 Moulins, France – 21 September 1936 Châteaumeillant, France) was one of the most important French linguists of the early 20th century. He began his studies at the Sorbonne University, where he was influenced by Michel Bréal, Ferdinand de Saussure and the members of the L'Année Sociologique. In 1890, he was part of a research trip to the Caucasus, where he studied the Armenian language. After his return, de Saussure had gone back to Geneva so he continued the series of lectures on comparative linguistics that the Swiss linguist had given.

Meillet completed his doctorate, Research on the Use of the Genitive-Accusative in Old Slavonic, in 1897. In 1902, he took a chair in Armenian at the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales and took under his wing Hrachia Adjarian, who would become the founder of modern Armenian dialectology. In 1905, he was elected to the Collège de France, where he taught on the history and structure of Indo-European languages. One of his most-quoted statements is that "anyone wishing to hear how Indo-Europeans spoke should come and listen to a Lithuanian peasant". He worked closely with linguists Paul Pelliot and Robert Gauthiot.

Today Meillet is remembered as the mentor of an entire generation of linguists and philologists, who would become central to French linguistics in the twentieth century, such as Émile Benveniste, Georges Dumézil, and André Martinet.

In 1921, with the help of linguists Paul Boyer and André Mazon [fr], he founded the Revue des études slaves

Historical linguistics

Today, Meillet is known for his contribution to historical linguistics. He is notable for having coined and formalized the concept of grammaticalisation[1] (influential but still controversial today) to denote what he viewed as the process of innovation by which autonomous words ended up as "grammatical agents".[2] Subsequent to the further development and popularization of the concept by Jerzy Kuryłowicz[3] and further development in the late 20th century, it would become a significant element of functionalist linguistics.

Homeric studies

At the Sorbonne, from 1924, Meillet supervised Milman Parry. In 1923, a year before Parry began his studies with Meillet, the latter wrote the following (which, in the first of his two French theses, Parry quotes):

Homeric epic is entirely composed of formulae handed down from poet to poet. An examination of any passage will quickly reveal that it is made up of lines and fragments of lines which are reproduced word for word in one or several other passages. Even those lines of which the parts happen not to recur in any other passage have the same formulaic character, and it is doubtless pure chance that they are not attested elsewhere.[4]

Meillet offered the opinion that oral-formulaic composition might be a distinctive feature of orally transmitted epics (which the Iliad was said to be). He suggested to Parry that he observe the mechanics of a living oral tradition to confirm whether that suggestion was valid; he also introduced Parry to the Slovenian scholar Matija Murko, who had written extensively about the heroic epic tradition in Serbo-Croatian and particularly in Bosnia with the help of phonograph recordings.[5] From Parry's resulting research in Bosnia, the records of which are now housed at Harvard University, he and his student Albert Lord revolutionized Homeric scholarship.[6]

Language controversies

Meillet has been accused of meddling politics with his observation of languages. He had negative views on German and especially on Hungarian. Hungarian, he claimed, was too difficult a language full of loanwords and not capable of being a culture bearer (in a way that he claimed other Finno-Ugric languages were unable to become such). His views on Hungarian provoked a critical response from the Hungarian writer Dezső Kosztolányi.[7]

International languages

Meillet supported the use of an international auxiliary language. In his book La Ricerca della Lingua Perfetta nella Cultura Europea ("The Pursuit of the Perfect Language in the Culture of Europe"), Umberto Eco cites Meillet as saying, "Any kind of theoretical discussion is useless, Esperanto is functioning".[8] In addition, Meillet was a consultant with the International Auxiliary Language Association, which presented Interlingua in 1951.[9]

Works

  • 1902-05: Études sur l'étymologie et le vocabulaire du vieux slave.[10] Paris, Bouillon.
  • 1903: Esquisse d'une grammaire comparée de l'arménien classique.[11]
  • 1903: Introduction à l'étude comparative des langues indo-européennes.[12]
  • 1908: Les dialectes indo-européens.
  • 1913: Aperçu d'une histoire de la langue grecque.
  • 1913: Altarmenisches Elementarbuch.
  • 1917: Caractères généraux des langues germaniques[13] (rev. edn. 1949)
  • 1921: Linguistique historique et linguistique générale.[14]
  • 1923: Les origines indo-européennes des mètres grecs.[15]
  • 1924: Les langues du monde (co-editor with Marcel Cohen). (Collection linguistique, 16.) Paris: Champion. (2nd edn. 1952)
  • 1924: Le slave commun
  • 1928: Esquisse d'une histoire de la langue latine.
  • 1925: La méthode comparative en linguistique historique (The comparative method in historical linguistics translated by Gordon B. Ford, Jr., 1966)
  • 1932: Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine.

See also

References

  1. ^ Antoine Meillet (1912). "L'évolution des formes grammaticales". Scientia. 12 (26): 384–400.
  2. ^ Walter Bisang (2017). "Grammaticalization". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics: 3.
  3. ^ Jerzy Kuryłowicz. "The evolution of grammatical categories". Diogenes. 13: 55–71.
  4. ^ Meillet, Antoine (1923), Les origines indo-européennes des mètres grecs, Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, p. 61. Adam Parry's translation, revised.
  5. ^ Lord, Albert Bates (1960), The singer of tales, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, pp. 11-12; Dalby, Andrew (2006), Rediscovering Homer, New York, London: Norton, ISBN 0-393-05788-7, pp. 186-187.
  6. ^ Parry, Milman; Parry, Adam (editor) (1971), The making of Homeric verse. The collected papers of Milman Parry, Oxford: Clarendon Press {{citation}}: |given2= has generic name (help)
  7. ^ Antoine Meillet et les langues de l'Europe : l'affaire hongroise par Jean Perrot - Histoire Épistémologie Langage Année 1988 10-2 pp. 301-318
  8. ^ Nneer, Simajro (2006), "Umberto Eco diris ...", an article in Kontakto, a quarterly in Esperanto language, Nr. 213, p.14, Rotterdam: World Esperanto Association
  9. ^ Esterhill, Frank (2000), Interlingua Institute: A History, New York: Interlingua Institute.
  10. ^ Meillet, Antoine (1866-1936) Auteur du texte (1902–1905). Études sur l'étymologie et le vocabulaire du vieux slave. Partie 2 / par A. Meillet,...
  11. ^ Meillet, Antoine (1866-1936) Auteur du texte (1936). Esquisse d'une grammaire comparée de l'arménien classique / par A. Meillet...
  12. ^ Meillet, Antoine (1866-1936) Auteur du texte (1903). Introduction à l'étude comparative des langues indo-européennes / A. Meillet,...
  13. ^ Meillet, Antoine (1866-1936) Auteur du texte (1926). Caractères généraux des langues germaniques (3e édition revue, corrigée et augmentée) / A. Meillet,...
  14. ^ Meillet, Antoine (1866-1936) Auteur du texte (1975). Linguistique historique et linguistique générale ([Reprod. en fac-sim.]) / par A. Meillet,...
  15. ^ Meillet, Antoine (1866-1936) Auteur du texte (1923). Les origines indo-européennes des mètres grecs / A. Meillet,...

Bibliography

  • Vendryès, Joseph (1937). "Antoine Meillet". Annuaires de l'École pratique des hautes études. 70 (1): 5–37. doi:10.3406/ephe.1937.3589.

External links

  •   French Wikisource has original text related to this article: Antoine Meillet

December 30, 2022
antoine, meillet, paul, jules, french, twan, mɛjɛ, november, 1866, moulins, france, september, 1936, châteaumeillant, france, most, important, french, linguists, early, 20th, century, began, studies, sorbonne, university, where, influenced, michel, bréal, ferd. Paul Jules Antoine Meillet French ɑ twan mɛjɛ 11 November 1866 Moulins France 21 September 1936 Chateaumeillant France was one of the most important French linguists of the early 20th century He began his studies at the Sorbonne University where he was influenced by Michel Breal Ferdinand de Saussure and the members of the L Annee Sociologique In 1890 he was part of a research trip to the Caucasus where he studied the Armenian language After his return de Saussure had gone back to Geneva so he continued the series of lectures on comparative linguistics that the Swiss linguist had given Antoine MeilletBornPaul Jules Antoine Meillet 1866 11 11 11 November 1866Moulins FranceDied21 September 1936 1936 09 21 aged 69 Chateaumeillant FranceNationalityFranceAlma materUniversity of ParisInstitutionsCollege de France Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales Main interestsComparative Linguistics Armenian linguistics PhilologyNotable ideasEpithets in Homer Meillet s lawInfluences Michel Breal Ferdinand de SaussureInfluenced Milman Parry Emile Benveniste Georges Dumezil Hrachia Adjarian Marcel Cohen Andre Martinet Aurelien Sauvageot Lucien Tesniere Joseph VendryesMeillet completed his doctorate Research on the Use of the Genitive Accusative in Old Slavonic in 1897 In 1902 he took a chair in Armenian at the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales and took under his wing Hrachia Adjarian who would become the founder of modern Armenian dialectology In 1905 he was elected to the College de France where he taught on the history and structure of Indo European languages One of his most quoted statements is that anyone wishing to hear how Indo Europeans spoke should come and listen to a Lithuanian peasant He worked closely with linguists Paul Pelliot and Robert Gauthiot Today Meillet is remembered as the mentor of an entire generation of linguists and philologists who would become central to French linguistics in the twentieth century such as Emile Benveniste Georges Dumezil and Andre Martinet In 1921 with the help of linguists Paul Boyer and Andre Mazon fr he founded the Revue des etudes slaves Contents 1 Historical linguistics 1 1 Homeric studies 1 2 Language controversies 2 International languages 3 Works 4 See also 5 References 5 1 Bibliography 6 External linksHistorical linguistics EditToday Meillet is known for his contribution to historical linguistics He is notable for having coined and formalized the concept of grammaticalisation 1 influential but still controversial today to denote what he viewed as the process of innovation by which autonomous words ended up as grammatical agents 2 Subsequent to the further development and popularization of the concept by Jerzy Kurylowicz 3 and further development in the late 20th century it would become a significant element of functionalist linguistics Homeric studies Edit At the Sorbonne from 1924 Meillet supervised Milman Parry In 1923 a year before Parry began his studies with Meillet the latter wrote the following which in the first of his two French theses Parry quotes Homeric epic is entirely composed of formulae handed down from poet to poet An examination of any passage will quickly reveal that it is made up of lines and fragments of lines which are reproduced word for word in one or several other passages Even those lines of which the parts happen not to recur in any other passage have the same formulaic character and it is doubtless pure chance that they are not attested elsewhere 4 Meillet offered the opinion that oral formulaic composition might be a distinctive feature of orally transmitted epics which the Iliad was said to be He suggested to Parry that he observe the mechanics of a living oral tradition to confirm whether that suggestion was valid he also introduced Parry to the Slovenian scholar Matija Murko who had written extensively about the heroic epic tradition in Serbo Croatian and particularly in Bosnia with the help of phonograph recordings 5 From Parry s resulting research in Bosnia the records of which are now housed at Harvard University he and his student Albert Lord revolutionized Homeric scholarship 6 Language controversies Edit Meillet has been accused of meddling politics with his observation of languages He had negative views on German and especially on Hungarian Hungarian he claimed was too difficult a language full of loanwords and not capable of being a culture bearer in a way that he claimed other Finno Ugric languages were unable to become such His views on Hungarian provoked a critical response from the Hungarian writer Dezso Kosztolanyi 7 International languages EditMeillet supported the use of an international auxiliary language In his book La Ricerca della Lingua Perfetta nella Cultura Europea The Pursuit of the Perfect Language in the Culture of Europe Umberto Eco cites Meillet as saying Any kind of theoretical discussion is useless Esperanto is functioning 8 In addition Meillet was a consultant with the International Auxiliary Language Association which presented Interlingua in 1951 9 Works Edit1902 05 Etudes sur l etymologie et le vocabulaire du vieux slave 10 Paris Bouillon 1903 Esquisse d une grammaire comparee de l armenien classique 11 1903 Introduction a l etude comparative des langues indo europeennes 12 1908 Les dialectes indo europeens 1913 Apercu d une histoire de la langue grecque 1913 Altarmenisches Elementarbuch 1917 Caracteres generaux des langues germaniques 13 rev edn 1949 1921 Linguistique historique et linguistique generale 14 1923 Les origines indo europeennes des metres grecs 15 1924 Les langues du monde co editor with Marcel Cohen Collection linguistique 16 Paris Champion 2nd edn 1952 1924 Le slave commun 1928 Esquisse d une histoire de la langue latine 1925 La methode comparative en linguistique historique The comparative method in historical linguistics translated by Gordon B Ford Jr 1966 1932 Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue latine See also EditMeillet s law Pierre ChantraineReferences Edit Antoine Meillet 1912 L evolution des formes grammaticales Scientia 12 26 384 400 Walter Bisang 2017 Grammaticalization Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics 3 Jerzy Kurylowicz The evolution of grammatical categories Diogenes 13 55 71 Meillet Antoine 1923 Les origines indo europeennes des metres grecs Paris Presses Universitaires de France p 61 Adam Parry s translation revised Lord Albert Bates 1960 The singer of tales Cambridge Massachusetts Harvard University Press pp 11 12 Dalby Andrew 2006 Rediscovering Homer New York London Norton ISBN 0 393 05788 7 pp 186 187 Parry Milman Parry Adam editor 1971 The making of Homeric verse The collected papers of Milman Parry Oxford Clarendon Press a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a given2 has generic name help Antoine Meillet et les langues de l Europe l affaire hongroise par Jean Perrot Histoire Epistemologie Langage Annee 1988 10 2 pp 301 318 Nneer Simajro 2006 Umberto Eco diris an article in Kontakto a quarterly in Esperanto language Nr 213 p 14 Rotterdam World Esperanto Association Esterhill Frank 2000 Interlingua Institute A History New York Interlingua Institute Meillet Antoine 1866 1936 Auteur du texte 1902 1905 Etudes sur l etymologie et le vocabulaire du vieux slave Partie 2 par A Meillet Meillet Antoine 1866 1936 Auteur du texte 1936 Esquisse d une grammaire comparee de l armenien classique par A Meillet Meillet Antoine 1866 1936 Auteur du texte 1903 Introduction a l etude comparative des langues indo europeennes A Meillet Meillet Antoine 1866 1936 Auteur du texte 1926 Caracteres generaux des langues germaniques 3e edition revue corrigee et augmentee A Meillet Meillet Antoine 1866 1936 Auteur du texte 1975 Linguistique historique et linguistique generale Reprod en fac sim par A Meillet Meillet Antoine 1866 1936 Auteur du texte 1923 Les origines indo europeennes des metres grecs A Meillet Bibliography Edit Vendryes Joseph 1937 Antoine Meillet Annuaires de l Ecole pratique des hautes etudes 70 1 5 37 doi 10 3406 ephe 1937 3589 External links Edit French Wikisource has original text related to this article Antoine Meillet Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Antoine Meillet amp oldid 1126082928, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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