Toward a History of American Linguistics

Beginning with the anthropological linguistic tradition associated primarily with the names of Franz Boas, Edward Sapir and their students and concluding with the work of Noam Chomsky and William Labov at the end of the century. This book offers a comprehensive account of essential periods and areas of research in the history of American Linguistics and also addresses contemporary debates and issues within linguistics.
Topics covered include:

* The sources of the 'Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis'
* Leonard Bloomfield and the Cours de linguistique gé né rale
* The 'Chomskyan Revolution' and its Historiography
* The Origins of Morphophonemics in American Linguistics
*William Labov and the Origins of Sociolinguistics in America.

Toward a History of American Linguistics will be invaluable reading for academics and advanced students within the fields of linguistics and the history of linguistics.

1. The Historiography of American Linguistics2. Toward a History of Americanist Linguistics3. On the Sources of the 'Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis'4. Leonard Bloomfield and the Cours de Linguistique générale5. American Structuralist Linguistics and the 'Problem of Meaning'6. On the Rise and Fall of Generative Semantics7. Noam Chomsky's Readings of Saussure from 19618. The 'Chomskyan Revolution' and its Historiography9. On the Origins of Morphophonemics in American Linguistics10. William Labov and the Origins of Sociolinguistics in AmericaIn Lieu of a Conclusion: On the Importance of the History of Linguistics