Philosophy of Being and Knowledge

Philosophy of Language

Neolinguistics

The reaction to the positivist orientation of the Neogrammarians emerged rather swiftly, manifested in the form of Neolinguistics. Key figures of this school included Italian scholars Matteo Giulio Bartoli (1873-1946), Giulio Bertoni (1878-1942), Vittore Pisani (1899-1990), Giuliano Bonfante (1904-1987), among others. Proponents of this approach explained that their term "Neolinguistics" was deliberately chosen in opposition to Neogrammarianism. While the Neogrammarians focused primarily on grammar and thus narrowed the scope of language, the Neolinguists sought to revive linguistics by encompassing the entire language. Wilhelm von Humboldt and Benedetto Croce (1866-1952) had a profound influence on the formation of their school. To study language, one must consider numerous factors. Language is constantly changing, but these changes originate with the individual: initially, someone employs a new linguistic form, which is subsequently assimilated by others and eventually becomes a linguistic norm. The success of linguistic innovations depends on their originator: if a new word is coined and used by a king, it has a higher chance of being assimilated than a word invented by a peasant, since the former will be perceived as innovative and creative, whereas the latter might be seen as a mark of ignorance. If language is freely created by individuals, then freedom is essential for its development. The less people adhere to strict norms of literary language, the more intense the linguistic changes become. According to this view, the nature of language can only be understood by looking beyond the language itself and considering it from the perspectives of history and human environment.

Neolinguists adhered to the theory of monogenesis of languages, positing that all languages originated from a single source and continuously evolved. Since the cause of linguistic changes is the human individual who invents new linguistic forms that are then assimilated, such innovations are primarily assimilated within the environment where the individual lives. For example, if the King of Italy coins a new word, it has a good chance of becoming established among Italians, but it is unlikely to be adopted by Australian aborigines. This is why languages develop differently in various regions and cultural spaces. As peoples interact with one another, they adopt foreign linguistic forms. Thus, there are no pure languages in the world; all languages influence each other and are influenced by others.