Bloomfield as an Indo-Europeanist

SUMMARYIn Bloomfield's day, Indo-European studies had become ingrown and isolated from general linguistics. Bloomfield was one of those who contributed to restoring Indo-European linguistics to its proper place. His training, especially at Leipzig, gave him control of the data and the theory by which the achievements of the "Neo-Grammarians" had been effected. His mastery of these doctrines is evident in his 1933 Language, whose chapters 17-27 embody an admirable demonstration of the findings of classical Indo-European linguistics. To these, he added considerations of geographical and social variation, leading to the distinction between alterations due to phonetic change and those due to borrowing, both internal (analogical) and external (social). Confirmation of his view of the regularity of sound-change, and hence of the validity of comparative method, was furnished by his well-known reconstruction of Proto-Central Algonquian [Çk]. In this way, Bloomfield contributed majorly to the re-incorporation of Indo-European studies into general linguistics.RÉSUMÉAu temps de Bloomfield, les etudes indo-europeennes s'étaient isolees de la linguistique generale. Bloomfield fut parmi ceux qui contribuerent a faire rentrer la linguistique indo-europeenne dans sa position juste. Son education, surtout a Leipsic, lui donna une connaissance parfaite des don-nees et des theories sur lesquelles les "Neo-Grammairiens" avaient fonde leurs decouvertes. Sa maîtrise de ces doctrines est evidente dans son livre Language (1933), dont les chapitres 17-27 incorporent une demonstration admirable des resultats de la linguistique indo-europeenne classique. A ceux-ci il ajouta des considerations d'ordre geographique et social, en de-montrant comment la variation amène une distinction entre developpement phonetique et l'emprunt interne (analogique) et externe (social). Sa reconstruction bien connue de la combinaison consonantique [Çk] de l'algonkien central primitif fournit une preuve eclatante de la validite de ses vues sur la regularité des changements phonetiques et par consequent de la validite de la methode comparative. De cette faÇon, Bloomfield contribua en grande partie e la reintegration des etudes indo-europeennes dans la linguistique generale.