The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt

Daniel Brinton

The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt / With the Translation of an Unpublished Memoir by Him on the American Verb

The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages

§ 1. Introductory

The foundations of the Philosophy of Language were laid by Wilhelm von Humboldt (b. June 22, 1767, d. April 8, 1835). The principles he advocated have frequently been misunderstood, and some of them have been modified, or even controverted, by more extended research; but a careful survey of the tendencies of modern thought in this field will show that the philosophic scheme of the nature and growth of languages, which he set forth, is gradually reasserting its sway, after having been neglected and denied through the preponderance of the so-called naturalistic school during the last quarter of a century.

The time seems ripe, therefore, to bring the general principles of his philosophy to the knowledge of American scholars, especially as applied by himself to the analysis of American languages.

Any one at all acquainted with Humboldt’s writings, and the literature to which they have given rise, will recognize that this is a serious task. I have felt it such, and have prepared myself for it not only by a careful perusal of his own published writings, but also by a comparison of the conflicting interpretations put upon them by Dr. Max Schasler,[1 - Die Elemente der Philosophischen Sprachwissenschaft Wilhelm von Humboldt’s. In systematischer Entwicklung dargestellt und kritisch erläutert, von Dr. Max Schasler, Berlin, 1847.] Prof. H. Steinthal,[2 - Die Sprachwissenschaft Wilhelm von Humboldt’s und die Hegel’sche Philosophie, von H. Steinthal, Dr., Berlin, 1848. The same eminent linguist treats especially of Humboldt’s teachings in Grammatik, Logik und Psychologie, ihre Principien und ihr Verhältniss zu einander, pp. 123-135 (Berlin, 1855); in his well-known volume Characteristik der Hauptsächlichsten Typen des Sprachbaues, pp. 20-70 (Berlin, 1860); in his recent oration Ueber Wilhelm von Humboldt (Berlin, 1883); and elsewhere.] Prof. C. J. Adler,[3 - Wilhelm von Humboldt’s Linguistical Studies. By C. J. Adler, A.M. (New York, 1866). This is the only attempt, so far as I know, to present Humboldt’s philosophy of language to English readers. It is meritorious, but certainly in some passages Prof. Adler failed to catch Humboldt’s meaning.] and others, as well as by obtaining a copy of an entirely unpublished memoir by Humboldt on the “American Verb,” a translation of which accompanies this paper. But my chief reliance in solving the obscurities of Humboldt’s presentation of his doctrines has been a close comparison of allied passages in his various essays, memoirs and letters. Of these I need scarcely say that I have attached the greatest weight to his latest and monumental work sometimes referred to as his “Introduction to the Kawi Language,” but whose proper title is “On Differences in Linguistic Structure, and their Influence on the Mental Development of the Human Race.”[4 - Ueber die Verschiedenheit des menschlichen Sprachbaues und ihren Einfluss auf die geistige Entwickelung des Menschengeschlechts. Prof. Adler translates this “The Structural Differences of Human Speech and their Influence on the Intellectual Development of the Human Race.” The word geistige, however, includes emotional as well as intellectual things.]

I would not have it understood that I am presenting a complete analysis of Humboldt’s linguistic philosophy. This is far beyond the scope of the present paper. It aims to set forth merely enough of his general theories to explain his applications of them to the languages of the American race.

What I have to present can best be characterized as a series of notes on Humboldt’s writings, indicating their bearing on the problems of American philology, introducing his theories to students of this branch, and serving as a preface to the hitherto u