Hermann Alfred Hirt (1865–1936) taught Greek, Latin and early Germanic languages at Leipzig University from 1892 to 1912 before moving to the chair of Sanskrit and comparative linguistics at Giessen. Born around the time when Bopp and Schleicher were publishing their ground-breaking work on Indo-European, and a young man when Brugmann published his monumental comparative grammar (all available in this series), Hirt began this seven-volume grammar in the 1920s soon after the exciting discovery of Tocharian and the decipherment of Hittite. The project arose out of his extensive research on the historical phonology of Indo-European vowels, which led him to consider much wider issues. It was completed just before Hirt's death, and is a landmark of the German philological tradition.
Hermann Alfred Hirt (1865–1936) taught Greek, Latin and early Germanic languages at Leipzig University from 1892 to 1912 before moving to the chair of Sanskrit and comparative linguistics at Giessen. Born around the time when Bopp and Schleicher were publishing their ground-breaking work on Indo-European, and a young man when Brugmann published his monumental comparative grammar (all available in this series), Hirt began this seven-volume grammar in the 1920s soon after the exciting discovery of Tocharian and the decipherment of Hittite. The project arose out of his extensive research on the historical phonology of Indo-European vowels, which led him to consider much wider issues. Volume 1 (1927) introduces the Indo-European language family, its origins and subgroups, discusses etymology, roots and semantic shift, and analyses the Indo-European consonant system.
The distinguished French linguist Antoine Meillet (1866–1936) was a pupil of Saussure and one of the most important researchers and teachers of the twentieth century in the field of Indo-European languages, counting among his own pupils Benveniste, Dumézil and Martinet. In this book, first published in 1917, Meillet shows the unique features which mark out the Germanic languages (including English) from the rest of the Indo-European family. Acknowledging that the earliest written examples become available only long after 'proto-Germanic' had split into its various successor languages, he nonetheless supplies evidence both for the original language and for the developments which led to that splitting. His conclusion is that although the Germanic languages are indisputably Indo-European, even the most conservative (modern German) has moved a long way from its roots, and that English - both in grammar and in vocabulary - has moved furthest of all.
The echoes of Greek are heard in many modern languages. For example, the abstract vocabulary of the modern European languages derives largely from the vocabulary of the Greek philosophers and scholars, whether directly or via Latin writers who were educated according to the Greek tradition. First published in 1913, Antoine Meillet's history of Greek shows how the language, derived originally from Indo-European, developed over time in response to sociological and geographical factors. Meillet argues that its complexity is due to the constant borrowing of vocabulary and grammar from contemporary languages and regional dialects. Despite - or because of - its flexible and ever-changing nature, and the lack of consistency in usage between individual city states, Greek eventually became the language of great works of literature, philosophy and science.
Hermann Alfred Hirt (1865–1936) taught Greek, Latin and early Germanic languages at Leipzig University from 1892 to 1912 before moving to the chair of Sanskrit and comparative linguistics at Giessen. Born around the time when Bopp and Schleicher were publishing their ground-breaking work on Indo-European, and a young man when Brugmann published his monumental comparative grammar (all available in this series), Hirt began this seven-volume grammar in the 1920s soon after the exciting discovery of Tocharian and the decipherment of Hittite. The project arose out of his extensive research on the historical phonology of Indo-European vowels, which led him to consider much wider issues. Volume 6 (1934) is the first of two devoted to syntax, and focuses on the origins and syntactic functions of case, tense and mood.
Hermann Hirt (1865–1936) taught Greek, Latin and early Germanic languages at Leipzig University from 1892 to 1912 before moving to the chair of Sanskrit and comparative linguistics at Giessen. Born around the time when Bopp and Schleicher were publishing their ground-breaking work on Indo-European, and a young man when Brugmann published his monumental comparative grammar (all available in this series), Hirt began this seven-volume grammar in the 1920s soon after the exciting discovery of Tocharian and the decipherment of Hittite. The project arose out of his extensive research on the historical phonology of Indo-European vowels, which led him to consider much wider issues. This, the final volume, was in the press when the author died and was published in 1937. It completes Hirt's presentation of syntax with discussion of sentence structure, co-ordination, subordination and word order.
Karl Brugmann originally intended to include a volume on syntax in his comparative grammar of Indo-European, but as that ambitious project expanded, he and his publisher enlisted Berthold Delbrück (1842–1922) to take on the treatment of syntax. Delbrück's three volumes on inflection and phrase and sentence structure appeared between 1893 and 1900 and remain the fullest treatment of Indo-European syntax to this day. In this final volume, Delbrück again explains that he has not treated the full range of Indo-European languages, nor tried to explain how the attested forms and usages arose. Even so, Delbrück marshalls an impressive range of material as he discusses a comprehensive range of structures from apposition and simple questions to complex sentences involving co-ordination and subordination. The volume ends with thorough indexes of words (100 pages), subjects, literary references, and authors to all three volumes on syntax.
Karl Brugmann originally intended to include a volume on syntax in his comparative grammar of Indo-European, but as that ambitious project expanded, he and his publisher enlisted Berthold Delbrück (1842–1922) to take on the treatment of syntax. Delbrück's three volumes on inflection and phrase and sentence structure appeared between 1893 and 1900 and remain the fullest treatment of Indo-European syntax to this day. In this, his first volume, Delbrück gives an overview of the prevailing academic positions in the field of Indo-European comparative syntax of his day. He applies the Neogrammarian methodology used by Brugmann, and meticulously presents data relating to nouns, the case system, adjectives, pronouns, numerals, adverbs and prepositions, giving particular attention to the ablative and the dative in a number of Indo-European languages.
Karl Brugmann (1849–1919) had recently taken up a newly-established chair in comparative philology at Freiburg im Breisgau when he began to publish his monumental, multi-volume comparative grammar of the Indo-European languages. In his foreword he argued that a new overview was needed for scholars and students of this rapidly developing 'young' subject (only 70 years old at the time). His book provides a fascinating snapshot of the field, the scholars active in it, and the debates they engaged in. The first volume is devoted to phonology; the second volume, on morphology, had to be divided by the original publisher, and it is bound in three parts in this reissue. There is also a volume containing indexes of words, topics and names. Berthold Delbrück's three-volume book on Indo-European syntax, which complements Brugmann's work, is also available in this series.
Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) became a household name around the world through the collections of fairy tales he compiled with his brother Wilhelm. Jacob's specialism was the history of the German language, which he studied in the broader context of Indo-European philology. Others working in this burgeoning field included the older scholar Rasmus Rask and Grimm's contemporary Franz Bopp (also published in this series). Grimm's two-volume Geschichte der deutschen Sprache, reissued here, was first published in 1848. It is noteworthy especially for the chapter on the major sound shift now known as Grimm's Law or die erste deutsche Lautverschiebung, which sets out regular mappings between Germanic consonants and those found in earlier Indo-European languages, such as English father and Latin pater. The book also contains a wealth of comparative material on phonology, vocabulary and grammar within Germanic and across the Indo-European spectrum.
Rasmus Rask (1787–1832) was a Danish scholar who, having devoted the early part of his career to the Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon languages and literature, embarked upon a journey overland through Russia to India in search of the cradle of the Indo-European languages. He was delighted to rediscover the Avestan Zoroastrian texts preserved by the Parsis which Anquetil du Perron had first reported on sixty years earlier, and further Avestan materials, as well as a lively Zoroastrian community. On his return, he published, first in Danish and then in this German translation (1826), a thorough phonological and morphological analysis which showed that, contrary to the opinion of Anquetil's opponents, the Avestan language and its religious texts were neither a dim folk memory or a deliberate coinage based on Sanskrit, but a very ancient language, originating in Persia, and an important member of the Indo-European language family.
Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) became a household name around the world through the collections of fairy tales he compiled with his brother Wilhelm. Jacob's specialism was the history of the German language, which he studied in the broader context of Indo-European philology. Others working in this burgeoning field included the older scholar Rasmus Rask and Grimm's contemporary Franz Bopp (also published in this series). Grimm's two-volume Geschichte der deutschen Sprache, reissued here, was first published in 1848. It is noteworthy especially for the chapter on the major sound shift now known as Grimm's Law or die erste deutsche Lautverschiebung, which sets out regular mappings between Germanic consonants and those found in earlier Indo-European languages, such as English father and Latin pater. The book also contains a wealth of comparative material on phonology, vocabulary and grammar within Germanic and across the Indo-European spectrum.
Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) became a household name around the world through the collections of fairy tales he compiled with his brother Wilhelm. Jacob's specialism was the history of the German language, which he studied in the broader context of Indo-European philology. Others working in this burgeoning field included the older scholar Rasmus Rask and Grimm's contemporary Franz Bopp (also published in this series). Grimm's two-volume Geschichte der deutschen Sprache, reissued here, was first published in 1848. It is noteworthy especially for the chapter on the major sound shift now known as Grimm's Law or die erste deutsche Lautverschiebung, which sets out regular mappings between Germanic consonants and those found in earlier Indo-European languages, such as English father and Latin pater. The book also contains a wealth of comparative material on phonology, vocabulary and grammar within Germanic and across the Indo-European spectrum.
Hermann Alfred Hirt (1865–1936) taught Greek, Latin and early Germanic languages at Leipzig University from 1892 to 1912 before moving to the chair of Sanskrit and comparative linguistics at Giessen. Born around the time when Bopp and Schleicher were publishing their ground-breaking work on Indo-European, and a young man when Brugmann published his monumental comparative grammar (all available in this series), Hirt began this seven-volume grammar in the 1920s soon after the exciting discovery of Tocharian and the decipherment of Hittite. The project arose out of his extensive research on the historical phonology of Indo-European vowels, which led him to consider much wider issues. Volume 2 (which appeared first, in 1921) revisits and updates Hirt's earlier work on the vowel system, and emphasises the value of comparative philology as opposed to single-language studies. It includes a full index of words.
Hermann Alfred Hirt (1865–1936) taught Greek, Latin and early Germanic languages at Leipzig University from 1892 to 1912 before moving to the chair of Sanskrit and comparative linguistics at Giessen. Born around the time when Bopp and Schleicher were publishing their ground-breaking work on Indo-European, and a young man when Brugmann published his monumental comparative grammar (all available in this series), Hirt began this seven-volume grammar in the 1920s soon after the exciting discovery of Tocharian and the decipherment of Hittite. The project arose out of his extensive research on the historical phonology of Indo-European vowels, which led him to consider much wider issues. Volume 3 (1927) is devoted mainly to the noun system in the Indo-European languages, focusing first on indeclinable nouns and moving on to nominal declensions. He also discusses adjectives, interjections, and gender, as well as stem formation.
Hermann Alfred Hirt (1865–1936) taught Greek, Latin and early Germanic languages at Leipzig University from 1892 to 1912 before moving to the chair of Sanskrit and comparative linguistics at Giessen. Born around the time when Bopp and Schleicher were publishing their ground-breaking work on Indo-European, and a young man when Brugmann published his monumental comparative grammar (all available in this series), Hirt began this seven-volume grammar in the 1920s soon after the exciting discovery of Tocharian and the decipherment of Hittite. The project arose out of his extensive research on the historical phonology of Indo-European vowels, which led him to consider much wider issues. Volume 4 (1928) covers the verb, as well as compounds and reduplication. Hirt's curiosity about the origins and development of Indo-European is evident throughout, leading him to propose two layers (older and more recent) of strong verbs.
Hermann Alfred Hirt (1865–1936) taught Greek, Latin and early Germanic languages at Leipzig University from 1892 to 1912 before moving to the chair of Sanskrit and comparative linguistics at Giessen. Born around the time when Bopp and Schleicher were publishing their ground-breaking work on Indo-European, and a young man when Brugmann published his monumental comparative grammar (all available in this series), Hirt began this seven-volume grammar in the 1920s soon after the exciting discovery of Tocharian and the decipherment of Hittite. The project arose out of his extensive research on the historical phonology of Indo-European vowels, which led him to consider much wider issues. Volume 5 (1929) focuses on stress and intonation, and revisits the subject of Hirt's first book (1895) with radical revisions and in a broader context. Part 1 discusses individual language families within Indo-European, and Part 2 their ancestor language.
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