Book review

Review of Les origines de la sémantique de Franz Bopp à Michel Bréal. By Gabriel Bergounioux.

Limoges: Lambert-Lucas, 2024. 168 pp. ISBN 978-2-359359-446-1 / 978-2-359359-711-0 € 29

Gabriel Bergounioux’s Les origines de la sémantique traces the intellectual history of semantics, charting its evolution from Franz Bopp’s comparative grammar to Michel Bréal’s sémantique along a somewhat fluid timeline. While the ‘origins’ of semantics have been well discussed in the literature, Bergounioux offers a work of erudition that situates semantics within broader linguistic, scientific, and historical frameworks. It should be noted that sémantique “semantics” is understood in this book both as the formal science of the 21st century and, depending on context, more broadly as “the study of meaning”.

Taking an unconventional approach, reading the 3-page conclusion first (pp. 133–135) will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the book. The conclusion is undeniably one of its strengths, succinctly summarizing the structure of the 11 content chapters. This approach is particularly helpful because, on a first read, the book’s structure can be challenging due to the shifting paradigms in how the development of semantics is treated by Bergounioux — possibly a deliberate choice. The 11 content chapters oscillate between various perspectives: historical, epistemological, linguistic, or using the linguistic postulates of specific scholars as stepping-stones to deal with this development. Rather than stacking the conceptual ‘bricks’ that led to the development of semantics, Bergounioux seems to ‘peel back’ layers of linguistic considerations from a broader study of language. In doing so, he skilfully weaves together linguistic theory, historical analysis, and socio(-political) perspectives, gradually revealing semantics as a formalised and distinct field of study. However, this is not made clear in the introduction (“Avant-propos”), which provides little detail about the content, structure, or key themes of the book.

Chapters 1 and 2 position Franz Bopp in this journey. Chapter 1 mobilises the figure of Bopp and his work to separate the emerging comparative grammar from Aristotelian doctrine and purely historical considerations in the study of meaning. In Chapter 2, Bergounioux further peels back etymology and phonetics from the study of language, contrasting Bopp’s comparative grammar with Pott’s etymological postulates and Grimm’s phonetic models. However, he overlooks early nineteenth-century contributions to semantic reflections by French synonymists (e.g., Guizot 1809Guizot, François 1809 Nouveau dictionnaire universel des synonymes de la langue Française. Paris: Maradan.Guizot, François 1809 Nouveau dictionnaire universel des synonymes de la langue Française. Paris: Maradan. and Pautex 1833Pautex, Benjamin 1833 Recueil de mots français rangés par ordre alphabétique. Genève: Imprimerie de Ch. Gruaz.Pautex, Benjamin 1833 Recueil de mots français rangés par ordre alphabétique. Genève: Imprimerie de Ch. Gruaz.) and German lexicographers (e.g., Mahn 1817Mahn, Ernst August Philipp 1817 Darstellung der Lexicographie nach allem ihren Seiten, vol. 1–2. Rudolstadt: Krieger.Mahn, Ernst August Philipp 1817 Darstellung der Lexicographie nach allem ihren Seiten, vol. 1–21. Rudolstadt: Krieger. and Koeler 1820Koeler, Georg David 1820 “Über die Einrichtung eines Thesaurus der Lateinischen Sprache”. Litterärische Analekten, vol. 4, ed. by Friedrich August Wolf, 307–369. Berlin: G.C. Nauck.Koeler, Georg David 1820 “Über die Einrichtung eines Thesaurus der Lateinischen Sprache”. Litterärische Analekten, vol. 41, ed. by Friedrich August Wolf, 307–369. Berlin: G.C. Nauck.). These scholars already addressed issues that Bergounioux raises in this chapter — specifically concerning the “first meaning” of words (i.e., classification of meanings) and semantic change (see, among others, Nerlich 2001Nerlich, Brigitte 2001 “The Renewal of Semantic Questions in the 19th Century: The Work of Karl Christian Reisig and His Successors”. History of the Language Sciences, vol 2, ed. by Sylvain Auroux, E. F. K. Koerner, Hans-Josef Niederehe and Kees Versteegh, 1596–1600. Berlin/New York: De Gruyter Mouton.Nerlich, Brigitte 2001 “The Renewal of Semantic Questions in the 19th Century: The Work of Karl Christian Reisig and His Successors”. History of the Language Sciences, vol 21, ed. by Sylvain Auroux, E. F. K. Koerner, Hans-Josef Niederehe and Kees Versteegh, 1596–1600. Berlin/New York: De Gruyter Mouton. and Berlan & Pruvost 2008Berlan, Françoise, and Jean Pruvost eds. 2008 “Synonymie et lexicographie (XVI^e-XXI^e siècles)”. Cahiers de lexicologie 92(1).Berlan, Françoise, and Jean Pruvost eds. 2008 “Synonymie et lexicographie (XVI^e-XXI^e siècles)”. Cahiers de lexicologie 92(1).).

Chapter 3 shifts paradigm for an epistemological one. In this chapter, Bergounioux explores how the natural sciences (e.g., biology, zoology) inspired linguistic thought, in particular Schleicher’s naturalistic perspective and the extensive metaphorical network surrounding “living languages” that followed. Bergounioux situates here the development of semantics within broader social, cultural, and scientific contexts, including religion, mythology, colonisation, the Enlightenment, Romanticism, etc., presenting a highly integrated synthesis of knowledge. The chapter’s concluding remarks on anthropological considerations link the emerging tendency towards linguistic classification to the racial theories of the time.

Chapter 4 continues the epistemological approach introduced in the previous chapter with a focus on linguistic archaeology/palaeontology. Bergounioux examines how Indo-European languages have been analysed in terms of both time (historical grammar) and space (comparative grammar). Halfway through the chapter, the author shifts paradigms to present a detailed account of Adolphe Pictet’s postulates on language. This serves as a springboard to discuss how linguistic palaeontology evolved into a framework that linked the ‘roots’ of language to ethnicity, then to geographical identity, and ultimately to the history of civilisations — particularly in relation to ‘the Aryan’. This section would benefit from more nuance, either by including additional scholars of the time (e.g., Schleicher 1863Schleicher, August 1863 Die Darwinsche Theorie und die Sprachwissenschaft. Weimar: Böhlau.Schleicher, August 1863 Die Darwinsche Theorie und die Sprachwissenschaft. Weimar: Böhlau., who tries to apply Darwin’s ‘survival of the fittest’ to linguistics) or alternative perspectives (e.g., Pott 1856Pott, August Friedrich 1856 Die Ungleichheit menschlicher Rassen, hauptsächlich vom sprachwissenschaftlichen Standpunkte, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von des Grafen von Gobineau gleichnamigem Werke. Lemgo: Meyersche Hofbuchhandlung.Pott, August Friedrich 1856 Die Ungleichheit menschlicher Rassen, hauptsächlich vom sprachwissenschaftlichen Standpunkte, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von des Grafen von Gobineau gleichnamigem Werke. Lemgo: Meyersche Hofbuchhandlung., who explicitly refutes racial classifications based on linguistic considerations) (see, among others, Olender 1994Olender, Maurice 1994 Les langues du paradis: Aryens et Sémites, un couple providentiel. 2nd edition. Collection Hautes Études. Paris: Gallimard.Olender, Maurice 1994 Les langues du paradis: Aryens et Sémites, un couple providentiel. 2nd edition. Collection Hautes Études. Paris: Gallimard. and Hock 2023Hock, Hans Henrich 2023 “Early Nineteenth-Century Linguistics”. The Cambridge History of Linguistics ed. by John E. Joseph, Linda R. Waugh & Monique Monville-Burston, 326–344. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hock, Hans Henrich 2023 “Early Nineteenth-Century Linguistics”. The Cambridge History of Linguistics ed. by John E. Joseph, Linda R. Waugh & Monique Monville-Burston, 326–344. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ). These other historical voices, alongside Pictet — who alone takes up 9 of the chapter’s 13 pages — could offer a more comprehensive and nuanced view of the nineteenth-century discussion on these issues.

Building on the previous chapter, Chapter 5 explores comparative mythology, emphasising how human cognition shapes perceptions of the physical world and, in turn, influenced the development of semantics. Much like observed in Chapters 1 and 2, Bergounioux uses an author, Max Müller, and his linguistic theories on comparative mythology as a stepping-stone to illustrate how these underpinned concepts such as civilisation, nation, and folk identity (Volk).

Chapter 6 takes a more direct ‘peel-back’ approach, focusing on the nineteenth-century scission between meaning and sound (semantics and phonetics), particularly through the figure of Michel Bréal. Bergounioux examines the phonetic theories of several scholars (e.g., Müller, Bopp, Grimm, Curtius, Brugmann, and Saussure), navigating the intellectual dialogue of the time and properly highlighting the convergences and divergences between them.

The following Chapter 7 is strikingly epistemological, and its objective clearly laid out: “a reflection on how a rationalised understanding of mental activity has shaped the development of linguistics [i.e., the scientific discipline]” (p.79; translation NG).11.“une réflexion sur les effets qu’une connaissance rationalisée de l’activité mentale a eus sur la conceptualisation linguistique.” It is perhaps best encapsulated by Bergounioux’s own words: “The aim [of this chapter] is to understand the conditions under which a rivalry arose between a ‘science of the mind’ and a theory of meaning […] In short, what place did a theory that sought to explain human thought have for a theory of language?” (ibid.; translation NG).22.“On se propose de saisir dans quelles conditions s’est établie une compétition entre une ‘science de l’esprit’ et une théorie du sens […] En un mot, quelle place une théorie qui entendait rendre compte de la pensée réservait a une théorie du langage.”

Chapters 8 and 9 focus on two leading figures of French semantics: Darmesteter and Bréal. Bergounioux skilfully integrates biographical references with detailed descriptions of their linguistic theories, situating them within their historical and intellectual contexts. The chapter on Darmesteter is somewhat awkwardly constructed, with an unusually detailed focus on hunting metaphors, leaving little room for a more thorough discussion of his catachresis, which is only briefly mentioned. However, Darmesteter’s approach to catachresis is significant because it breaks away from etymological considerations, lays part of the groundwork for Bréal’s semantic reflections, and contributes to the psychological turn in late nineteenth-century semantics (see, among others, Nerlich 2000Nerlich, Brigitte 2000 “La sémantique et la polysémie: de la conceptualisation à la désignation de domaines et concepts linguistiques nouveaux”. Bréal et le sens de la sémantique ed. by Gabriel Bergounioux, 183–194. Orléans: Presses de l’Université d’Orléans.Nerlich, Brigitte 2000 “La sémantique et la polysémie: de la conceptualisation à la désignation de domaines et concepts linguistiques nouveaux”. Bréal et le sens de la sémantique ed. by Gabriel Bergounioux, 183–194. Orléans: Presses de l’Université d’Orléans., De Palo 2001De Palo, Marina 2001 La conquista del senso: la semantica tra Bréal e Saussure. Roma: Carocci.De Palo, Marina 2001 La conquista del senso: la semantica tra Bréal e Saussure. Roma: Carocci., and Bisconti 2017Bisconti, Valentina 2017 Le sens en partage: Dictionnaires et théories du sens. XIXe-XXe siècles. Lyon: ENS Éditions. Bisconti, Valentina 2017 Le sens en partage: Dictionnaires et théories du sens. XIXe-XXe siècles. Lyon: ENS Éditions. ).

Chapter 10 provides a detailed analysis of Bréal’s Essai de sémantique (1897Bréal, Michel 1897 Essai de sémantique. Paris: Hachette.Bréal, Michel 1897 Essai de sémantique. Paris: Hachette.), highlighting its methodological innovations and theoretical contributions. Here Bergounioux also places Bréal in dialogue with his contemporaries. However, in 10.1 he overlooks the contributions of other scholars before Bréal, notably Reisig (1839)Reisig, Christian Karl 1839 Professor K. Reisig’s Vorlesungen über lateinische Sprachwissenschaft, herausgegeben mit Anmerkungen von Dr. Friedrich Haase. Leipzig: Lehnhold.Reisig, Christian Karl 1839 Professor K. Reisig’s Vorlesungen über lateinische Sprachwissenschaft, herausgegeben mit Anmerkungen von Dr. Friedrich Haase. Leipzig: Lehnhold., to a discussion of the intellectual understanding of linguistic phenomena. The tone of this chapter is surprisingly and somewhat refreshingly critical of Bréal—an unusual approach in the literature when dealing with this figurehead of French linguistics.

The final content chapter, although the book’s title suggests a focus “from Bopp to Bréal”, is devoted to Antoine Meillet. As in Chapters 8 and 9, Bergounioux offers a detailed account of Meillet’s life, work, and linguistic thought, primarily in contrast to Bréal’s semantics (and to a lesser extent to Saussure’s structuralism), which is framed as a more or less active rivalry.

The book ends with two appendices that are never referred to in the main text: the tables of contents of La Vie des mots (Darmesteter 1887Darmesteter, Arsène 1887 La vie des mots étudiée dans leurs significations. Paris: Delagrave.Darmesteter, Arsène 1887 La vie des mots étudiée dans leurs significations. Paris: Delagrave.) and of the Essai de sémantique (Bréal 1897Bréal, Michel 1897 Essai de sémantique. Paris: Hachette.Bréal, Michel 1897 Essai de sémantique. Paris: Hachette.). This is followed by a valuable 18-page bibliography,33.Some key figures in the history of semantics are missing, such as Peter Schmitter and Gerda Haßler (various publications could be cited), as well as more recent publications by some of the cited authors: Brigitte Nerlich (only her publication of 1992Nerlich, Brigitte 1992 Semantic Theories in Europe. Amsterdam: Benjamins. Nerlich, Brigitte 1992 Semantic Theories in Europe. Amsterdam: Benjamins. is mentioned) and Pierre Swiggers (only his publication of 1997Swiggers, Pierre 1997 Histoire de la pensée linguistique: analyse du langage et réflexion linguistique dans la culture occidentale, de l’Antiquité au XIX^e siècle. Paris: Puf.Swiggers, Pierre 1997 Histoire de la pensée linguistique: analyse du langage et réflexion linguistique dans la culture occidentale, de l’Antiquité au XIX^e siècle. Paris: Puf. is mentioned). and the book’s own table of contents.

Bergounioux’s task was a daunting one: to describe the development of semantics as a formal science, a structured discipline that has evolved into its modern form. Although the structure of the book is innovative, the paradigm shifts — such as the oscillation between historical, epistemological and linguistic perspectives — between chapters or even within chapters feel somewhat awkward. A second reading of the book provides clarity and reveals a literary effort — as opposed to a traditionally structured text — worthy of a French scholar. The author’s analyses are rich in historical detail, showing how linguistic ideas about meaning developed alongside broader shifts in knowledge. The narrative occasionally assumes familiarity with nineteenth-century linguistic scholarship; the book contains useful topical summaries (e.g., pp. 35–36, 80, 102, 122, and 125), but sometimes the author goes into highly technical detail that may challenge more novice readers. Furthermore, the anachronistic use of sémantique — to refer to both the formalised science of the 21st century and ‘the study of meaning’ — limits further lexical considerations pertinent for the ‘origins’ of semantics (e.g., Zweideutigkeit, Mehrdeutigkeit, Semasiologie in the German linguistic tradition), which fall outside the book’s scope.

All in all, Gabriel Bergounioux has produced a book of impressive erudition that emphasises the importance of placing scientific knowledge and linguistic thought not only in their historical context, but also in dialogue with the scholars and the diverse intellectual trends of their time. This approach encourages a broader understanding of how various perspectives, ideas, and socio-cultural factors influenced the development of — in the scope of this book — semantics.