Leonard Bloomfield

Leonard Bloomfield (April 1, 1887 – April 18, 1949) was an American linguist who led the development of structural linguistics in the United States during the 1930s and the 1940s.

Quotes

• As one of the greatest monuments of human intelligence is by no means an exaggeration; no one who has had even a small acquaintance with that most remarkable book could fail to agree. In some four thousand sutras or aphorisms - some of them no more than a single syllable in length - Panini sums up the grammar not only of his own spoken language, but of that of the Vedic period as well. The work is the more remarkable when we consider that the author did not write it down but rather worked it all out of his head, as it were. Panini's disciples committed the work to memory and in tum passed it on in the same manner to their disciples..
  • Chavarria-Aguilar, 0 L edited by Traditional India - refer to chapter on Grammar - By Leonard Bloomfield Hall- Place of Publication: Englewood ClIffs, NJ Date of Publication: 1964 p. 109-113 as quoted in Londhe, S. (2008). A tribute to Hinduism: Thoughts and wisdom spanning continents and time about India and her culture

• While in the classical world scholars were dealing with language in a somewhat metaphysical way, the Indians were telling us what their language actually was, how it worked, and how it was put together. The methods and techniques for describing the structure of Sanskrit, which we find in Panini have not been substantially bettered to this day in modem linguistic theory and practice. We today employ many devices in describing languages that were already known to Panini's first two commentators.
  • Chavarria-Aguilar, 0 L edited by Traditional India - refer to chapter on Grammar - By Leonard Bloomfield Hall- Place of Publication: Englewood ClIffs, NJ Date of Publication: 1964 p. 109-113 as quoted in Londhe, S. (2008). A tribute to Hinduism: Thoughts and wisdom spanning continents and time about India and her culture

• It was in India, however, that there rose a body of knowledge which was destined to revolutionize European ideas about language.
  • Chavarria-Aguilar, 0 L edited by Traditional India - refer to chapter on Grammar - By Leonard Bloomfield Hall- Place of Publication: Englewood ClIffs, NJ Date of Publication: 1964 p. 109-113 as quoted in Londhe, S. (2008). A tribute to Hinduism: Thoughts and wisdom spanning continents and time about India and her culture