Die Sprachen Europas in systematischer Übersicht

In Die Sprachen Europas in systematischer Uebersicht (Bonn 1850) Schleicher works out a naturalistic conception of language and a research program inspired by the methods of the natural sciences, in particular botany and geology. It does not only provide a general exposition of Schleicher’s views, of the sharp lines he is drawing between linguistics and philology, of the concept of ‘Sprachengeschichte’ in contradistinction to ‘Sprachentwicklung’, of the methodology of linguistic research, but also – often overlooked – with an attempt at language typology. Inspired by proposals made by Friedrich and August Wilhelm Schlegel and Wilhelm von Humboldt, Schleicher tries to provide a material, scientific basis for language classification. In addition to this edition, the volume contains an introductory article.