The Influence of Hermann Paul’s Linguistic Ideas after the First Publication of Principien der Sprachgeschichte (1880)

Abstract

Hermann Paul (1846–1921) and his seminal work Principien der Sprachgeschichte (1st edn 1880; 5th edn 1920) have played a significant part in the history of linguistic ideas. Historiographical studies on Paul and his work are mainly conducted in the light of the second edition of Principien (1886) by revealing the divergent and convergent viewpoints between Paul and other prominent scholars. In order to expand the current knowledge of Paul’s role in the discourse of his time, this paper will trace the influence of Paul’s linguistic ideas shortly after the first edition of Principien by analyzing the citations of his works in the publications of contemporary scholars (the so-called ‘citation network’). Furthermore, evidence from scholarly correspondence, which exerted great influence on the development of linguistic ideas at an informal level, will shed light on Paul’s role from a different perspective. Within these two aspects, namely the citation network and the scholarly correspondence, we will reassess the influence of Paul’s linguistic ideas, especially in connection with the first edition of Principien.