Hans Aarsleff
Hans Christian Aarsleff | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 19, 1925 Hørsholm Municipality, Denmark |
| Occupation(s) | Linguist, professor |
| Years active | 1956–1997 (Princeton University faculty) |
| Known for | History of linguistics, intellectual history, philosophy of language |
Hans Christian Aarsleff (born 19 July 1925) is a Danish scholar in linguistics and an emeritus professor of English at Princeton University, a position he has held since 1997. His expertise lies in the development of linguistics, the evolution of philosophy, and the history of ideas spanning the 17th through 19th centuries.
Biography
Aarsleff completed his secondary education in 1943, excelling in science and mathematics, before pursuing English language and literature studies at the University of Copenhagen. In 1948, he was awarded a scholarship to undertake graduate work at the University of Minnesota, where he remained until his appointment at Princeton University in 1956. His doctoral thesis, titled “The Study of Language in England, 1780–1860,” was finalized in 1960 and later published by Princeton University Press in 1967, with a reissue in 1983; this work has since become a foundational text for scholars studying the history of linguistics. He achieved full professorship at Princeton in 1972 and continued there for the duration of his academic career. In recognition of his contributions, Aarsleff was inducted into both the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1994.
Academic work
The scope of Aarsleff’s scholarship encompasses the history of linguistics, philosophy, intellectual history, and science. He has authored significant essays on prominent thinkers including Leibniz, Locke, Condillac, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Descartes, and Herder. His influential 1982 volume, “From Locke to Saussure: Essays in the Study of Language and Intellectual History,” is regarded as a key contribution to the discipline. Additionally, he provided important entries on John Wilkins and Thomas Sprat for Charles C. Gillispie’s “The Dictionary of Scientific Biography.” A conference held at the Sorbonne in 1991 to honor him resulted in the publication of a festschrift entitled “La linguistique entre mythe et histoire” (1993).
Aarsleff’s writings have provoked debate by emphasizing French philosophical impacts on Humboldt, a perspective contested by German academics. Likewise, he posited that Hippolyte Taine significantly influenced Ferdinand de Saussure’s fundamental concepts—a viewpoint challenged by Saussure specialists due to absence of explicit citations.
In his 1970 article “The history of linguistics and Professor Chomsky” published in Language, Aarsleff critically examined Noam Chomsky’s approach to historical scholarship, accusing it of partiality. While many experts concurred with his assessment, Chomsky’s vigorous responses rendered Aarsleff a contentious figure within circles aligned with Chomskyan linguistics.
Notable publications include:
- 1967. “The Study of Language in England, 1780–1860.” Princeton University Press.
- 1970. “The history of linguistics and Professor Chomsky.” Language 46: 570–585.
- 1978. “Taine and Saussure.” The Yale Review 68: 71–81.
- 1982. “From Locke to Saussure: Essays on the Study of Language and Intellectual History.” University of Minnesota Press / The Athlone Press.
- 1988. Introduction to Wilhelm von Humboldt's On Language, Cambridge University Press.
- 2001. Edited translation of Étienne Bonnot de Condillac’s Essay on the Origin of Human Knowledge, Cambridge University Press.