The School of Historical Linguistics in Pisa

Abstract

This paper presents an overall picture of the linguistic studies carried out at the Istituto di Glottologia of the University of Pisa, from the middle of the 20th century to the present day. Tristano Bolelli is regarded as the leading figure of the Pisan studies. He worked from an early age to develop linguistic research at the University of Pisa with an original and broad vision, and an eye toward the future. Bolelli taught three generations of linguists in Pisa, whose profiles are synthetically drawn here with reference to their main research areas. Over time, the Pisan linguistic studies have shown both continuity in the study of historical change in Indo-European languages together with the deepening of topics connected to the different theoretical frameworks which have recently emerged. Those who trained in Pisa, and have subsequently become University Professors, adopted Bolelli’s scientific approach, characterised by a great methodological rigour, a true hallmark of the Pisan linguistic studies. Additionally, the breadth of the Pisan scholars’ research fields clearly demonstrates the other distinctive feature of Linguistics in Pisa: great freedom in making choices.