Historiographia Linguistica - Volume 32, Issue 3, 2005

In this paper, the author examines a corpus of thirteen grammars for the teaching of French to Spaniards published during the first half of the 19th century. In this transversal analysis account is taken of: (1) the sources cited by these grammarians; (2) how they define grammar and how many parts of speech they identify; (3) how they define the noun (with or without the canonical schema of declension and particular declensional classes); (4) how they define the verb (with or without the canonical categories); and (5) how syntax is dealt with. The object of the present investigation is to determine the explicit and implicit linguistics of these school grammars, at a time when the French ‘grammaire générale’ tradition was penetrating Spanish mother-tongue grammars in Spain and exercises in logical and grammatical analysis were being introduced.

The 1905 book Essai d’analyse psychologique du méchanisme du langage dans la compréhension by Henri Odier (1873–1938) is noteworthy for containing the first published report of details of the sign theory of Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913). This article discusses those details and Odier’s interpretations of them, which stray considerably from what Saussure intended, to judge from his later lectures. Because it is known that Saussure owned a copy of Odier’s book and he appears to have read it carefully, an examination is made of significant references Odier makes to other work. Finally, the negative review of Odier’s book by Antoine Meillet (1866–1936) is considered.