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Article published In:
Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area
Vol. 41:1 (2018) ► pp.106–127

Linguistic history and historical linguistics

| University of Bern

This invited response to a piece by LaPolla, published in issue 39/2 of LTBA, addresses both LaPolla’s misrepresentations of the history of linguistics and his flawed understanding of historical linguistics. The history of linguistic thought with regard to the Tibeto-Burman or Trans-Himalayan language family vs. the Indo-Chinese or “Sino-Tibetan” family tree model is elucidated and juxtaposed against the remarkable robustness of certain ahistorical myths and the persistence of unscientific argumentation by vocal proponents of the Sino-Tibetanist paradigm, such as LaPolla.

Keywords: Tibeto-Burman linguistics, Trans-Himalayan, historical linguistics, history of linguistics
Article outline
  • 1.Rāvaṇa and Lapolla
  • 2.Julius von Klaproth and his time
  • 3.A legacy of enduring contributions
  • 4.Paradigm shift and scientific revolutions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 20 July 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ltba.18005.dri
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