HiphilangsciBrigitte Nerlich (@metaphornerd) on our podcast 🤩
In episode 57, James McElvenny (Siegen) talks with Brigitte Nerlich (Nottingham) about her career in the history of linguistics and the public understanding of science.
New month brings a new episode of our podcast 🤩
This time James McElvenny (Siegen) talks to Nick Enfield (Sydney) about his research into connections between linguistic signs and concepts.
Like every month, February 2026 brings a new batch of recent publications in the history and philosophy of the language sciences 🤩
Recent publications in the history and philosophy of the language sciences – February 2026
Вельмезова, Екатерина, ред. 2025. Тарту в истории славянской филологии, Вып. 3: Из истории Тартуско-московской семиотической школы. [Tartu in the History of Slavic Philology, Issue 3: From the Hist…
Episode 55 is out 🤩
This time, James McElvenny (Siegen) interviews Janette Friedrich - in German! - about her career in (the history of) philosophy, psychology, and linguistics.
When pictures speak, they podcast 😉
Neil Cohn (@neilcohn) joins James McElvenny to talk about his new book and the shared cognitive foundations underlying visual art and spoken language.
The first 2026 edition of our newsletter on recently published works in the history and philosophy of the language sciences is here 🤩
Recent publications in the history and philosophy of the language sciences – January 2026
Historiographia Linguistica 52(2). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 211 p. ISSN 0302-5160Publisher’s website ArticlesThe conjunction between coordination and subordination in missionary grammars of…
The impact of Marrism on the history of linguistics was surpassed by its role as an instrument of power. This is illustrated by the fate of scholars such as Yevgeni Polivanov (1891–1938), who was first exiled and later executed for his opposition to Marrist teachings.
7/7 #Histlx
On 20 June 1950, however, the Marrist era ended abruptly with the publication of the paper "Marxism and Problems of Linguistics," authored by none other than Joseph Stalin (1878–1953). Marrism was rejected as a misinterpretation of Marxist principles.
6/7 #Histlx
Marr died in 1934, but his students, such as Ivan Meshchaninov (1883–1967), developed his theories further. After World War II, Marrism was even exported to countries within the Soviet sphere of influence as the official party line in linguistics.
5/7 #Histlx
His class-based perspective led Marr to predict that in a communist, classless society, everyone would speak a single language. Prior to that, however, the idea that people are united by their language rather than by their class was rejected as a false bourgeois idea.
4/7 #Histlx