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Philology and Languages
University
Introduction to Philology. Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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Read the full theory →Definition, evolution, and foundations of philology
- Philology: the study of texts to reconstruct the original meaning and cultural context.
- Nature: a hermeneutic activity based on the study of language and literature.
- Modern structure: includes linguistics (historical, descriptive, applied) and literary studies (history, theory, criticism).
- Integrated methodologies: comparative studies, comparative grammar, and textual criticism (ecdotic).
- Technological evolution: use of digital media for text editing and hypertext.
- Classification: divided into general philology and particular philologies.
- Disciplinary relationship: philology is broader than grammar, rhetoric, and poetics.
- Hellenistic philology: a term restricted to the late period of the Classical Greek language.
- Origin: the Alexandrians (3rd century BCE) were the first philologists in the restrictive sense.
- Alexandrian method: focused on the copying, cleaning, and exegesis of manuscripts.
- Encyclopedic character: philology requires knowledge of history, geography, art, rhetoric, and more.
- Historical example: the grammar of Dionysius of Tralles as a sample of the diversity of philological endeavors.
Evolution of philology: from the classical Latin era to Humanism.
- Rome assimilated Caesarian methods (e.g., Varro, 1st century BC)
- The terms philologist and grammarian merged during the Imperial period
- Philology almost completely disappeared in the Late Empire and the Middle Ages
- Key transition figures: Servius Macrobius (4th century), Photius (9th century), and the Suidas (10th century)
- Rhetoric (especially Quintilian) synthesized the philological disciplines
- The medieval model was a grammaticalization of the retorized poetics
- Patristics (Jerome and Augustine) created the foundations of Christian rhetoric and translation studies
- Humanism founded modern philology and the collection of classical sources
- The printing press enabled the cultural revolution and the dissemination of classical texts
- The recovery of classical texts was made possible thanks to medieval monasteries
- The 15th century was characterized by bibliographic passion (Aldo Manuzio, Angelo Poliziano)
- The 16th century was the golden age of philological studies
- Escaligero's parangon is the basis of Comparative Literature
- Nebrija was fundamental in establishing the language of the Americas
Historical evolution of philology (18th-20th Centuries)
- 18th Century: Richard Bentley establishes classical studies and theorizes the digamma
- 18th Century Objective: Textual correction according to the usus scribendi
- Friedrich August Wolf: Father of modern philology; defines philology as a scientific movement
- Wolf's Method: Use of criticism for literary history, customs, and institutions
- Spanish Universalist School: Creation of Comparative Linguistics and Comparative Literature
- 19th Century: Philology is nourished by Romanticism and German humanism
- Franz Bopp: Publishes the first Comparative Grammar (mid-19th century)
- Reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European through language comparison (e.g., Sanskrit)
- Birth of Romance Philology through the application of classical methods
- Lachmannian Method: Karl Lachmann's procedure for reconstructing texts through collation of errors
- 20th Century: Development of formal and structural linguistics (Saussure)
- 20th Century: Shift toward the pragmatic domain and openness to oral tradition and digital media
Comparative Philology, Textual Criticism, and Ecdotic
- Comparative philology: study of relationships between languages since the 19th century
- Sanskrit and European languages: similarities observed in the early 16th century
- Proto-Indo-European: hypothetical previous common language
- Literary comparatism: origin in Dionysius of Halicarnassus
- Modernization of comparatism: 18th century by the Spanish Universalist School
- Textual Criticism (Textology): reconstruction of original texts (constitutio)
- Examinatio: study of copies and transmission of manuscripts
- Emendatio: identification and correction of variants or errors
- Authorship: determination of literary paternity
- Dating: determination of the date of composition
- Stemma: reconstruction of the complete genealogy of the text
- Examples of reconstruction: Christian gospels, Bible, and medieval texts
- Ecdotic: textual edition of classical and modern authors
- Critical apparatus: notes and variants to explain textual reality and cultural background
Disciplinary scope and differences between philology and linguistics
- Philology: study of oral and written manifestations within a historical-cultural framework
- Philological relationship with: Hermeneutics, History, and Literary Studies
- Definition (Quirós): capture of content through linguistic-grammatical analysis for historical, cultural, and literary interpretation
- Interdependence: Linguistics uses philological data (history, sociocultural context) to understand grammar
- Current status: both are autonomous sciences with differentiated methods and objects of study
- Philological requirements: knowledge in geography, culture, sociology, and the humanities
- Key difference: criticality is core to philology (textual criticism for veracity and meaning)
- Linguistic focus: systematic study of human language as a descriptive phenomenon
Differences and convergences between Linguistics and Philology
- Philology: seeks the normative use and the most prestigious form of language.
- Linguistics: studies language as the realization of language (descriptive phenomenon).
- Object of Philology: study of texts (historical-literary).
- Object of Linguistics: study of language (structural-systematic).
- Applied Linguistics: connects language with society, the brain, and law.
- Philology: contributes to the social sciences through textual analysis and communicative norms.
- Philology vs. Hermeneutics: philology is more reconstructive and ecdotic.
- History and Philology: History reconstructs events; Philology places texts in time.
- Philology and Literary Science: share the study of Literature as an elaborated textual unit.
Classification and scopes of philology
- Primary distinction: general philology vs. particular philologies
- Key Asian philologies: Indology, Sinology, Korean studies, and Japanese studies
- Africanism: focused on languages originally oral without writing
- Classical philology: the foundation of Western culture (Greek and Latin)
- Biblical philology: linked to Hebrew philology and Hermeneutics
- German philology: includes Austria
- English philology: also known as Anglistics or Anglo-American studies
- Slavic philology: includes Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, and Croatian
- Modern philology: the term for living languages (Romance, Germanic, etc.) as opposed to classical languages
- Portuguese philology: linked to Galician (Galician-Portuguese) with a focus on Brazil and Mozambique
- Hispanic philology: the preferred term for the Spanish language due to its reach in Hispanic America and its 500 million speakers
- Basque philology: the study of the Basque language (non-Romance)
- Hispanic philology: includes Sephardic, Equatoguinean, Sahrawi, Tagalog, and Chabacano languages
- Philippinism: considered partly a branch of Hispanic studies
Philology Bibliography and Digital Resources
- Bibliography on History of Philology: Kroll, Pfeiffer, Righi.
- Works on Linguistics and Literary Theory: Saussure, Coseriu, Aullón de Haro.
- Texts on Textual Criticism and Editing: Bernabé Pajares, Blecua, Orduña.
- Sources on History of the Book and Writing: Gelb, Millares Carlo, Moorhouse.
- Resources on Informatics and Humanities: Marcos Marín, Numerico and Vespignani.
- Reference dictionaries: Wiktionary, DLE, and Treccani.
- Digital libraries: Larramendi, Biblioteca Digital Hispánica, Perseus.
- Networks and journals: ARACNE, Dialectología, Filología Española, Literatura, Anales Cervantinos.
Flashcard preview (6 of 40)
- 01
Etymology of the word 'philology':
From the Greek 'philologia', meaning 'love or interest in words'.
- 02
In the modern Romance and Germanic traditions, philology encompasses the two major disciplinary series of:
Linguistics (the science of language) and literary studies.
- 03
In the broadest sense, philology integrates transversal methodologies such as comparative studies and specific ones such as:
Ecdotics or textual criticism.
- 04
Who was the founder of the method applied by Aristarchus of Samothrace to the study of Homer's poems?
Aristophanes of Byzantium.
- 05
During the Alexandrian period, philology became a discipline of an:
Encyclopedic
- 06
During the Imperial period, what term began to replace 'philologist'?
Grammarian
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