A Short History of Linguistics

Synopsis of A Short History of Linguistics

«A Short History of Linguistics» is R. H. Robins's essay on the history of linguistics, published by Longman in paperback (248 pages, in English).

History of linguistic thought from its European origins some 2,500 years ago to the twentieth century. It pays attention to linguistics in China, medieval Islam and India, highlights Wilhelm von Humboldt and his relevance to generative grammar, and devotes its final chapters to descriptive and theoretical linguistics of the twentieth century.

Second revised and expanded edition, published in 1979. It is part of the Longman Linguistics Library series (no. 6) and includes bibliography and index.

Reference work for linguistics students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, and for readers interested in the history of the discipline.