Saussurean/Saussurian (adj./n.) Characteristic of, or a follower of, the principles of Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913), especially as outlined in his posthumous Cours de linguistique générale (Paris, 1913), first translated by W. Baskin as Course in General Linguistics (New York, 1959). His conception of language as a system of mutually defining entities was a major influence on several schools of linguistics (e.g. the Prague School, Geneva School, glossematics), and most of the theoretical distinctions he introduced have become foundations of linguistic study. Chief among these are the notions of langue and parole,syntagmatic and paradigmatic, synchronic and diachronic, and significant and signifié. Bloomfieldian (adj./n.) Characteristic of, or a follower of, the linguistic approach of the American linguist Leonard Bloomfield (1887–1949), as exemplified in his book Language, published in 1933. Bloomfieldianism refers particularly to the school of thought which developed between the mid-1930s and 1950s, especially in America, and which was a formative influence on structural linguistics. It was especially characterized by its behaviouristic principles for the study of meaning, its insistence on rigorous discovery procedures for establishing linguistic units, and a general concern to make linguistics autonomous and scientific (in a behaviourist sense). A reaction against Bloomfieldian tenets was a powerful force in producing generative grammar. Though Bloomfieldianism is no longer fashionable, some of its methods are still widely used in field studies.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 20:53:06 +0000
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