The grammatical doctrine of the Real Acadedemia Española (1854)

1984 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 231-261
Author(s):  
Ramón Sarmiento

Summary The Grammar of the Real Academia Española (1713) constitutes one of the fundamental chapters of Spanish linguistic thought. It is a required point of reference for all grammarians and has decisively influenced the evolution of grammatical thought. Therefore, the continuing importance of theoretical contributions of Academic bodies is stressed precisely at the present historical moment, in which the most significant progress in linguistic theory may accrue from the process of permanent critical revision of the past. The Grammatical doctrine of 1854 has been chosen as the object of this study for two reasons, both of which derive from the fact that this doctrine constitutes a modification of that of 1771. On the one hand, two periods in the history of linguistics (the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th) can be compared. On the other hand, we may discover to what extent theoretical and practical aspects concur in the two texts. This factor is of great importance since the instrumental nature of all grammar depends on the adaptation of these two aspects. An attempt is made to illustrate both publications by locating historical-cultural points of reference of the period in order to arrive at an objective evaluation of the significance of this doctrine. However, to attain such a goal, the work is analyzed in terms of the work’s original setting, its nature and its aims. The formal structure of the grammar is analyzed and the contents corresponding to the theory are carefully examined. We may deduce from this study that the doctrine of 1854 may be considered ‘traditional grammar’, due to the normativism and logical-grammatical parallelism which underlie its contents as well as the rational method advocated as the criterion which determines the majority of the definitions. For these reasons, the doctrine of 1854 is far removed from the earlier theoretical position stated in the 1771 grammar; it can be inscribed in the category of philosophical grammars of the 19th century. Furthermore, it is argued that the complete edifice of current Spanish grammar is built upon these foundations. Then, the present state of grammar cannot be understood by a simple face-lifting. The grammatical mould is made of many centuries of reflection on the same subjects. To ignore it would be foolhardy. Therefore it is argued that we must return to the foundations where we will find the indelible data which will assist us in interpreting the ever ephemeral present on which future grammars will inevitably be erected, erected.

1984 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 95-116
Author(s):  
Werner Bahner

Summary The Renaissance constitutes a new phase in the history of linguistics. The study of modern languages in particular contributed to enlarge the scope of philological concern as scholars try to promote and to codify a young national language. During this time philologists give particular attention to the origin of these vernaculars, distinguishing the different stages in their evolution and developing an especial awareness of chronology. For the representatives of a national philology, Latin is the starting point, the mould according to which the vernaculars are described and classified. Soon, however, more and more traits are recognized which are particular to these living languages, and which do not agree with the traditions of Latin grammar. On the one hand, modifications on the theoretical level are called for, and, on the other, there is a good opportunity to demonstrate the particularity of a given vernacular. All these tendencies can be found for the first time in the writings on Cas-tillian by the great philologist Antonio de Nebrija (1444–1522). Nebrija recognized a series of phonetic correspondences which, much later in the 19th century, are transformed into ‘phonetic laws’ by a rigorous methodology. In so doing the elaboration of orthographic principles had been for him a stimulus for his explications. In his “Diálogo de la lengua”, Juan de Valdés (devoted himself more extensively to the social aspects of Castillian, to linguistic changes, and to the historical causes for the distribution of Romance languages on the Iberian peninsula, stressing expecially the role of the ‘Reconquista’. The work of Bernardo José de Aldrete (1560–1641) offers a synthesis of all these efforts concerning the evolution of Castillian. He discusses all the substrata and superstrata of the language, sketches the different stages of development of his native tongue, examines Old Castillian with the help of medieval texts, and exploits what Nebrija had noted about the phonetic correspondences. In terms of scholarship, Aldrete’s work constitutes the culmination point in the movement engaged in supporting the rights of the Castillian language et in documenting its sovereignity vis-à-vis the Latin tradition.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-23
Author(s):  
Giorgio Graffi

Abstract The question of monogenesis vs. polygenesis of human languages was essentially neglected by contemporary linguistics until the appearance of the research on the genetics of human populations by L. L. Cavalli-Sforza and his collaborators, which brought to light very exciting parallels between the distribution of human populations and that of language families. The present paper highlights some aspects of the history of the problem and some points of the contemporary discussion. We first outline the “Biblical paradigm”, which persisted until the 18th century even in scientific milieus. Then, we outline some aspects of the 19th century debate about monogenesis vs. polygenesis of languages and about the relationships between languages and human populations: in particular, we will discuss the views of Darwin on the one hand and of some linguists on the other (Schleicher, M. Müller, Whitney and Trombetti). It will be seen that their positions only partly coincide; at any rate, it will be shown that Darwin was partly inspired by the problems of the genealogy of languages and that the linguists, for their part, took account of Darwin’s views. Turning to today’s debate, we first present the positions of the linguists arguing for monogenesis, namely J. Greenberg and M. Ruhlen, as well as the criticisms raised against their methods by the majority of linguists. Other scholars, such as D. Bickerton or N. Chomsky, essentially argue, from different points of view, that the problem of monogenesis vs. polygenesis of languages is a “pseudo-problem”. We however think that, although the question cannot be reasonably solved by linguistic means, it cannot be discarded as meaningless: it is an anthropological rather than a linguistic problem. We present some reflections and suggestions, in the light of which the monogenetic hypothesis appears as more tenable than the polygenetic one.


2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 367-388
Author(s):  
Christiane Schlaps

The so-called ‘genius of language’ may be regarded as one of the most influential, and versatile, metalinguistic metaphors used to describe vernacular languages from the 17th century onwards. Over the centuries, philosophers, grammarians, trans­lators and language critics etc. wrote of the ‘genius of language’ in a wide range of text types and with reference to various linguistic positions so that a set of rather diverse types of the concept was created. This paper traces three prominent stages in the development of the ‘genius of language’ argument and, by identifying some of the most frequent types as they evolved in the context of the various linguistic dis­courses, endeavours to show the major transformations of the concept. While early on, discussion of the stylistic and grammatical type of the ‘genius of language’ concentrates on surface features in the languages considered, during the middle of the 18th century, the ‘genius of language’ is relocated to the semantic, interior part of language. With the 19th-century notion of an organological ‘genius of language’, the former static concept is personified and recast in a dynamic form until, taken to its nationalistic extremes, the ‘genius of language’ argument finally ceases to be of any epistemological and scientific value.


1993 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Britz

This article undertakes a survey of the application of the Formularies of Unity by the Dutch Reformed Church, covering its history from the 18th century to approximately 1935. Although these Formularies were the accepted confessional basis of the church, it did not prevent additional theological accommodation during the 18th century. During the first part of the 19th century an institutional concept of the church put forward a subscribing formula. The confession became important. In principle the way was opened for an institutional and contractual enforcement of the Formu­laries. This happened when the church was involved in the wide-ranging li­beral struggle during the sixth decade. Even before the 20th century a new approach in which the role of the Formularies was seen more dogmatically and confessionalistically came to the fore. And, when the church was once again entangled in a struggle (viz. the well-known 'Du Plessis case' of the 1930's) the dogmatic point of departure played into the hands of a con­fessional fundamentalism. In the history of the Dutch Reformed Church, the Formularies thus gained in ecclesiological emphasis and value and its application was conditioned by the context and theological influence. Most importantly, the underlying problem of its historicity on the one hand, and its scriptural context and intent on the other hand, remained an unpaid account.


1989 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-328
Author(s):  
Salahudeen Yusuf

The history of Islam in part of what is known today as Nigeria datesto about the loth Century. Christianity dates to the late 18th Century. Bythe middle of the 19th Century, when Nigerian newspapers began to appearon the streets of Nigeria, both religions had won so many followers and extendedto so many places in Nigeria that very few areas were untouched bytheir influence. The impact of both religions on their adherents not only determinedtheir spiritual life, but influenced their social and political lives aswell. It therefore became inevitable that both religions receive coverage frommost of the newspapers of the time. How the newspapers as media of informationand communication reported issues about the two religions is thetheme of this paper.Rationale for the StudyThe purpose of this study is to highlight the context in which such earlynewspapers operated and the factors that dictated their performance. Thisis because it is assumed that when a society faces external threat to its territory,culture, and independence, all hands (the press inclusive) ought tobe on deck to resist the threat with all might. Were newspapers used as verbalartillery and how did they present each religion? It is also assumed thatin a multireligious society a true press should be objective and serve as avanguard in the promotion of the interest of the people in general and notcreate or foster an atmosphere of religious conflict. The study also aims atfinding out whether the papers promoted intellectual honesty and fosteredthe spirit of unity particularly when the society was faced with the encroachmentof the British who posed a threat to their freedom, culture, economy ...


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric R. Scerri

<span>The very nature of chemistry presents us with a tension. A tension between the exhilaration of diversity of substances and forms on the one hand and the safety of fundamental unity on the other. Even just the recent history of chemistry has been al1 about this tension, from the debates about Prout's hypothesis as to whether there is a primary matter in the 19th century to the more recent speculations as to whether computers will enable us to virtually dispense with experimental chemistry.</span>


Author(s):  
Maria Berbara

There are at least two ways to think about the term “Brazilian colonial art.” It can refer, in general, to the art produced in the region presently known as Brazil between 1500, when navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral claimed the coastal territory for the Lusitanian crown, and the country’s independence in the early 19th century. It can also refer, more specifically, to the artistic manifestations produced in certain Brazilian regions—most notably Bahia, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro—over the 18th century and first decades of the 19th century. In other words, while denotatively it corresponds to the art produced in the period during which Brazil was a colony, it can also work as a metonym valid to indicate particular temporal and geographical arcs within this period. The reasons for its widespread metonymical use are related, on the one hand, to the survival of a relatively large number of art objects and buildings produced in these arcs, but also to a judicative value: at least since the 1920s, artists, historians, and cultivated Brazilians have tended to regard Brazilian colonial art—in its more specific meaning—as the greatest cultural product of those centuries. In this sense, Brazilian colonial art is often identified with the Baroque—to the extent that the terms “Brazilian Baroque,” “Brazilian colonial art,” and even “barroco mineiro” (i.e., Baroque produced in the province of Minas Gerais) may be used interchangeably by some scholars and, even more so, the general public. The study of Brazilian colonial art is currently intermingled with the question of what should be understood as Brazil in the early modern period. Just like some 20th- and 21st-century scholars have been questioning, for example, the term “Italian Renaissance”—given the fact that Italy, as a political entity, did not exist until the 19th century—so have researchers problematized the concept of a unified term to designate the whole artistic production of the territory that would later become the Federative Republic of Brazil between the 16th and 19th centuries. This territory, moreover, encompassed a myriad of very different societies and languages originating from at least three different continents. Should the production, for example, of Tupi or Yoruba artworks be considered colonial? Or should they, instead, be understood as belonging to a distinctive path and independent art historical process? Is it viable to propose a transcultural academic approach without, at the same time, flattening the specificities and richness of the various societies that inhabited the territory? Recent scholarly work has been bringing together traditional historiographical references in Brazilian colonial art and perspectives from so-called “global art history.” These efforts have not only internationalized the field, but also made it multidisciplinary by combining researches in anthropology, ethnography, archaeology, history, and art history.


2013 ◽  
Vol 54 (128) ◽  
pp. 401-417
Author(s):  
Paul van Tongeren

Is friendship still possible under nihilistic conditions? Kant and Nietzsche are important stages in the history of the idealization of friendship, which leads inevitably to the problem of nihilism. Nietzsche himself claims on the one hand that only something like friendship can save us in our nihilistic condition, but on the other hand that precisely friendship has been unmasked and become impossible by these very conditions. It seems we are struck in the nihilistic paradox of not being allowed to believe in the possibility of what we cannot do without. Literary imagination since the 19th century seems to make us even more skeptical. Maybe Beckett provides an illustration of a way out that fits well to Nietzsche's claim that only "the most moderate, those who do not require any extreme articles of faith" will be able to cope with nihilism.


2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 140-148
Author(s):  
Jurgis Bučas

The Curonian Spit was inhabited six thousand years ago. During this period its survival was menaced by natural forces. The 17th–18th centuries faced unreasonable deforestation of the Curonian Spit and opened its dunes to wind erosion. In the 18th century 14 settlements were hid under moving sand. The Spit survival was in danger of being flown under the Curonian Lagoon waters. At the begining of the 19th century radical actions were taken to save the Curonian Spit damaged by wind erosion. Tremendous ecological awareness of some natural powers as wind and flora helped man to create a landscape which was described at UNESCO General Conference as a worldwide worth cultural heritage and enrolled in the World Heritage List as a cultural landscape of universal worth illustrating the history of dramatic coexistence of nature and man. The paper describes the Curonian Spit as a cultural landscape, its historical formation and present managment, discusses its creation and management traditions and evaluates them while preparing the Curonian Spit National Park managment plan as well as the Master Plan of Neringa city. Gamtosauginė direktyva ar kraštotvarkinės tradicijos ? Santrauka Kuršių nerijoje žmonės įsikūrė ketvirtajame tūkstantmetyje prieš Kristų. Visą istorinį laikotarpį pusiasaliui grėsmę kėlė gamtos jėgos. XVI-XVIII a. neapgalvotas nerijos miškų naikinimas atidengė pusiasalio smėlynus vėjo erozijai. XVIII a. smėliu užpustyta 14 gyvenviečių. Kilo grėsmė, kad ir pats pusiasalis bus nupustytas į Kuršių marias. Pasitinkant XIX a., imtasi radikalių priemonių gelbėti vėjo erozijos naikinamą Kuršių neriją. Su didžiule ekologine išmintimi panaudodamas pačios gamtos jėgą (vėją) ir medžiagą (augalus), per XIX a. supustyto jūros smėlio kopose žmogus sukūrė kraštovaizdį, kuris UNESCO Generalinės konferencijos buvo įvardytas pasaulio reikšmės nekilnojamojo kultūros paveldo vertybe ir įrašytas į Pasaulio paveldo sąrašą kaip universalios reikšmės kultūrinis kraštovaizdis, iliustruojantis gamtos ir žmogaus dramatiško sambūvio istoriją. Nagrinėjama Kuršių nerijos kultūrinio kraštovaizdžio istorinio formavimo ir dabartinio jo tvarkymo veikla, aptariamos jo kūrimo bei priežiūros tradicijos ir kaip jos vertinimos rengiant Kuršių nerijos nacionalinio parko tvarkymo planą bei Neringos miesto savivaldybės bendrąjį planą.


Menotyra ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asta Giniūnienė

The article for the first time analyses the decoration parts of the Christ’s tomb of the second halfof the 18th century found a few years ago in Švėkšna church. The Christ’s tomb from the oldchurch was transferred to the  new church, which was built in 1804 and used until the  4thdecade of the 19th century. On the basis of the sources and remained fragments we can statethat this was a complicated structure of the Paschal decoration designed under the Europeanbaroque scenery principles. It was composed of the paintings on boards and canvas and mis-cellaneous accessories. The  Christ’s tomb paintings are characterised by a  symbolic allegoriccontent and artistry. The prophets of the Old Testament and characters the New Testamentreflecting the Paschal Triduum liturgy were depicted in the decoration. The survived outlinepaintings of Adam and Eve in Paradise, Noah waiting for the Saviour, and Angels Lamentingover the Death of Jesus are the exceptional iconography images in the Lithuanian church art.The decorations of the Christ’s tomb were created by the professional masters who decoratedthe churches in Samogitia in the second part of the 18th century. The images of suffering anddead Jesus used in the figuration of the Paschal Triduum influenced the spread of the Passionscenes. This is supported by an interesting archival fact about the shrine with a group of sculp-tures depicting the tomb of Christ in the Švėkšna churchyard.The fragments of the Paschal decorations in the Švėkšna church are important baroque scen-ery exhibits, which are valuable for the history of the Lithuanian church art and scenography.The investigation of the Holy Week figuration in the Švėkšna church is a valuable illustrationof this multidimensional cultural, religious and artistic phenomenon.


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