“Historical grammar” and “historical linguistics”: the problem oflinguistic history in the comparison between Giacomo Devoto and BenvenutoTerracini

Abstract

The problem of «linguistic history» stands out as one of the crucial theoretical challenges in linguistic reflection of the last century, which extensively explored this matter, starting from a confrontation with the limitations of the late nineteenth-century paradigm of «historical grammar». Examining the contrasting perspective of the new model of early twentieth-century «historical linguistics», this paper aims to analyse some of its specific variations, paying particular attention to the Italian linguistic reflection of the period and the proposals of Giacomo Devoto (1897-1974) and Benvenuto Terracini (1886-1968): scholars that, in a profound consideration of the historicity of linguistic phenomena, concurrently asserted the necessity for «linguistic history» to be traced back to speakers and their experiences, considered as foundation and ultimate reason of the historical evolution of languages.