La Linguistique

Abstract

IN speaking lately of the Science of Language we alluded to the question that is still being debated among its students as to whether it ought to be classed with the physical or with the historical sciences. Its method is that of the physical sciences, while phonology, which forms so integral and fundamental a part of comparative philology, is purely physiological in character. On the other hand, since phonetic sounds do not become language until they have been made significant, the science of language may be regarded as a historical one. M. Hovelacque is a warm supporter of the first opinion, and his book is an attempt to treat the science of language as a physical science pure and simple. In this respect he is a follower of Schleicher, as he is also in applying the Darwinian hypothesis to the history of speech and in holding at the same time that the various languages of the world have branched off from a number of independent centres. His work is a valuable contribution to the literature of the subject.

La Linguistique.

By A. Hovelacque. (Paris: Reinwald and Cie., 1876.)