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Neogrammarian

Neogrammarian is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Neogrammarian rather than just read about it. In short: The Neogrammarians (German: Junggrammatiker, pronounced [ˈjʊŋɡʁaˌmatɪkɐ] , lit. 'young grammarians') were a German school of linguists, originally at the University of Leipzig, in the late 19th century who proposed the Neogrammarian hypothesis of the regularity of sound change. Overview According to the Neogrammarian hypothesis, a diachronic sound change affects simultaneously all words in which its environment is m…

Key takeaways

  • Neogrammarian belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Neogrammarian to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Neogrammarian from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Neogrammarians (German: Junggrammatiker, pronounced [ˈjʊŋɡʁaˌmatɪkɐ] , lit. 'young grammarians') were a German school of linguists, originally at the University of Leipzig, in the late 19th century who proposed the Neogrammarian hypothesis of the regularity of sound change.

Overview According to the Neogrammarian hypothesis, a diachronic sound change affects simultaneously all words in which its environment is met, without exception. Verner's law is a famous example of the Neogrammarian hypothesis, as it resolved an apparent exception to Grimm's law. The Neogrammarian hypothesis was the first hypothesis of sound change to attempt to follow the principle of falsifiability according to the scientific method. Subsequent researchers have questioned this hypothesis from two perspectives. First, adherents of lexical diffusion (where a sound change affects only a few words at first and then gradually spreads to other words) believe that some words change others. Second, some believe that it is possible for sound changes to observe grammatical conditioning. Nonetheless, both of these challenges to exceptionlessness remain controversial, and many investigators continue to adhere to the Neogrammarian doctrine. Other contributions of the Neogrammarians to general linguistics were:

The object of linguistic investigation is not the language system, but rather the idiolect, that is, language as it is localized in the individual, and therefore is directly observable. Autonomy of the sound level: being the most observable aspect of language, the sound level is seen as the most important level of description, and absolute autonomy of the sound level from syntax and semantics is assumed. Historicism: the chief goal of linguistic investigation is the description of the historical change of a language. Analogy: if the premise of the inviolability of sound laws fails, analogy can be applied as an explanation if plausible. Thus, exceptions are understood to be a (regular) adaptation to a related form. Leading Neogrammarian linguists included:

Otto Behaghel (1854–1936) Wilhelm Braune (1850–1926) Karl Brugmann (1849–1919) Berthold Delbrück (1842–1922) August Leskien (1840–1916) Adolf Noreen (1854–1925) Hermann Osthoff (1847–1909) Hermann Paul (1846–1921) Eduard Sievers (1850–1932) Despite their strong influence in their time, the methods and goals of the Neogrammarians have been criticized for reducing the object of investigation to the idiolect; restricting themselves to the description of surface phenomena (sound level); overvaluation of historical languages and neglect of contemporary ones.

See also Neolinguistics

Notes

References

Further reading Hermann Paul: Prinzipien der Sprachgeschichte. (1880). Jankowsky, Kurt R. (1972). The neogrammarians. A re-evaluation of their place in the development of linguistic science. The Hague, Mouton. Karl Brugmann und Bertold Delbrück: Grundriß der vergleichenden Grammatik der indogermanischen Sprachen. (1897–1916). Osthoff, Hermann; Brugmann, Karl (1878). "Vorwort" [Preface]. Morphologische Untersuchungen auf dem Gebiete der indogermanischen Sprachen. 1: iii–xx. (the "Neogrammarian manifesto", written by Brugmann) translation, from Lehmann, Winfred P. (1967). A Reader in Nineteenth Century Historical Indo-European Linguistics. Indiana University Press. pp. 197–208. Hugo Schuchardt: "Über die Lautgesetze. Gegen die Junggrammatiker", in Hugo-Schuchardt-Brevier, ein Vademekum der allgemeinen Sprachwissenschaft., ed. Leo Spitzer. Halle (Saale) 1922. Harald Wiese: Eine Zeitreise zu den Ursprüngen unserer Sprache. Wie die Indogermanistik unsere Wörter erklärt, Logos Verlag Berlin, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8325-1601-7. Phillips, Betty S. (2006). Word Frequency and Lexical Diffusion. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. doi:10.1057/9780230286610. ISBN 978-1-349-51594-3.

External links

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Neogrammarian

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Neogrammarian claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Neogrammarian before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Neogrammarian ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Neogrammarian

In research
Neogrammarian appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Neogrammarian in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Neogrammarian is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Historical linguistics, Leipzig University, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Neogrammarian outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Neogrammarian in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Neogrammarian means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Neogrammarian out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Neogrammarian in simple terms?

The Neogrammarians (German: Junggrammatiker, pronounced [ˈjʊŋɡʁaˌmatɪkɐ] , lit. 'young grammarians') were a German school of linguists, originally at the University of Leipzig, in the late 19th century who proposed the Neogrammarian hypothesis of the regularity of sound change. Overview According t…

Why does Neogrammarian matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Neogrammarian?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Neogrammarian.

Tags

  • Historical linguistics
  • Leipzig University

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