Table of contents
PrefaceVII
Key to AbbreviationsIX
Introduction1
0.1 Introduction1
0.2 A brief review of the secondary literature4
0.3 The structure of Humboldt's philosophy of language10
Part One: The Philosophical Foundations
Chapter One: Humboldt's Philosophical Background17
Chapter Two: The Psychological Function of Language29
2.1 Introduction29
2.2 The term ‘articulation’31
2.3 Signification and conceptualization34
2.4 Earlier versions of the articulation argument41
Chapter Three: Humboldt's Theory of Designation51
3.1 Introduction51
3.2 Lexical designation53
3.3 Grammatical designation60
Chapter Four: General Aspects of Language Variation67
4.1 Introduction67
4.2 Different kinds of language variation68
4.3 Humboldt's treatment of universal grammar70
4.4 The terminology of language variation79
Chapter Five: Linguistic Variation and Perceptual Variation91
5.1 Introduction91
5.2 Perceptual variation91
Chapter Six: National Character and Language103
6.1 Introduction103
6.2 Humboldt's early discussion of character105
6.3 Discussion of character in Humboldt's later writings108
Part Two: The Linguistic Doctrines
Chapter Seven: The Inflectional Superiority Thesis125
7.1 Introduction125
7.2 Language typology127
7.3 The meaning of ‘inflection’ for Humboldt128
7.4 The argument for the inflectional superiority thesis133
Chapter Eight: The Linguistic Relativity Thesis143
8.1 Introduction143
8.2 The historical context145
8.3 Humboldt's philosophical grounding of the linguistic relativity thesis149
8.4 The conjunction of linguistic relativity with linguistic variation155
Conclusion159
Notes165
References201
Index Nominum209
Index Rerum215
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