A note on the history of general theory of language. A gloss on Humboldt’s legacy and on de Saussure’s legacy

Abstract

The author argues that the biographical details concerning de Saussure’s attitude towards Humboldt’s legacy are tough to ascertain. Sobotka’s doubts about de Saussure being familiar with Humboldt’s specific writings can hardly be conclusively resolved this way or another.

The author insists that Danielewiczowa, as well as he himself and his collaborator Drzazgowska, spoke merely about some striking affinity of ideas on the nature of language as voiced by de Saussure, compared with those to be found in the comprehensive corpus of Humboldt’s writings. On the whole, Sobotka himself is far from denying this widely acknowledged truth, too (whatever the specific paths of de Saussure’s reading and thinking might have been).

Following a comparative sample of the main claims articulated by Humboldt, on the one hand, and by de Saussure, on the other, where certain differences between the thinkers can be observed, the author culls a number of Humboldt’s theoretical sayings about language and recalls de Saussure’s similar enunciations, a considerable part of which are even textually close to those made by Humboldt.