CONSTRUCTING AN ARTIFICIAL INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE

TRUBETZKOY, N.S. (TRUBETSKOY, TRUBETSKOI)

Wie soll das Lautsystem einer künstlichen internationalen Hilfssprache beschaffen sein? + Aus meiner phonologischen Kartotek. In: Etudes phonologiques dédiées à la memoire de M. le Prince N.S. Trubetzky. Publiées avec l'appui de l'Instituttet for sammenlignende Kulturforskning et du Ministère de l'Instruction Publique `Prague. (Travaux du Cercle Linguistique de Prague, 8)

Prague, 1939. 8vo. Original printed wrappers. Minor wear and loss to extremities, but a very nice, clean and uncut copy. 345, (3) pp.

First edition of two very important articles by the founder of morphophonology, the seminal linguist Prince Nikolai Sergeyevich Trubetzkoy. The first article is a cornerstone of interlinguistics and the study of the possible construction of an artificial international language.

Trubetzkoy (1890-1938) died at a young age and published very little in his life-time, and so also his main work was published posthumously. The present article "Wie soll das Lautsystem einer künstlichen internationalen Hilfssprache beschaffen sein?" represents a classic work within interlinguistics and is considered one of the most important contributions to the solving of the problem of constructing a phonologically acceptable international language. The other article by him present here "Aus meiner phonologischen Karthotek" was the last thing he worked on before he died.

Trubetzskoy is considered one of the most important linguists of the 20th century and his name within this field has been made immortal due to his contributions to phonology, especially focused on determining general and universal phonological laws. He was responsible for establishing phonology as a discipline in itself, separate from phonetics, and he is the founder morphophonology, the study of the phonological structure of morphemes. He was one of the main members of the Prague School of linguistics, and due to his premature death of a heart attack, probably caused by him being persecuted by the Nazis due to his anti-Nazi views, we are much indebted to his fellow linguist and friend Roman Jakobson for spreading Trubetzkoy's theories.

Trubetzkoy corresponded with many of the great linguists of his time, e.g. Hjelmslev, the founder of the Copehagen School of linguistics, and many of these important philologers have contributed to this volume of articles, which are all written in the honour of Trubetzkoy.

Order-nr.: 38104