Louis Hjelmslev facts for kids

Louis Trolle Hjelmslev (born October 3, 1899 – died May 30, 1965) was a Danish linguist. A linguist is someone who studies language. His ideas helped create the Copenhagen School of linguistics.

Hjelmslev came from a family of academics; his father was a mathematician. Louis Hjelmslev studied different languages and how they compare to each other. He studied in Copenhagen, Prague, and Paris. In 1931, he started a group called the Cercle Linguistique de Copenhague (Linguistic Circle of Copenhagen).

With another linguist, Hans Jørgen Uldall, Hjelmslev created a new way to understand language. He called this theory glossematics. It built on the ideas of Ferdinand de Saussure, another famous linguist. Glossematics focused on the formal rules and structures of language. It looked at language separately from things like sociology (how societies work) or psychology (how the mind works). Hjelmslev believed that studying language was like a formal science, similar to math. His ideas became very important in how people studied language and semiotics (the study of signs and symbols).

Life of Louis Hjelmslev

Louis Hjelmslev was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1899. In 1917, he started studying at the University of Copenhagen. He first studied Romance languages, then changed to comparative philology. This field compares different languages and their histories.

In 1921, he traveled to Lithuania to do fieldwork. He finished his master's thesis on Lithuanian phonetics (the study of speech sounds) in 1923. He earned his doctorate in 1932 for his work on Baltic languages. Later, he became a professor at the University of Copenhagen.

The Linguistic Circle of Copenhagen

Hjelmslev and other Danish linguists started the Linguistic Circle of Copenhagen on September 24, 1931. They were inspired by a similar group in Prague. The Circle was a place for linguists to discuss new ideas about language.

At first, they focused on understanding the phoneme, which is the smallest unit of sound in a language. Later, their discussions led to the full theory of glossematics. This theory was greatly influenced by structuralism, a way of looking at things as systems of related parts.

The group grew quickly and published many important works. They also started an international journal called Acta Linguistica. This was one of the first journals dedicated to structuralism in language studies. Hjelmslev was the chairman of the Circle for most of his life, until shortly before he passed away in 1965. The Linguistic Circle of Copenhagen still exists today.

Hjelmslev's Ideas on Language

Hjelmslev published his first paper when he was 25 years old. His first major book, Principes de grammaire générale (Principles of General Grammar), was finished in 1928. It is a key book for understanding his early ideas.

In the 1930s, Hjelmslev wrote another important book, La catégorie des cas (The Category of Case). In this book, he looked closely at how languages use "cases." Cases are like different forms of a noun or pronoun that show its role in a sentence (for example, "he" versus "him").

Hjelmslev's most famous book is Prolegomena to a Theory of Language, published in 1943. In this book, he said that the ways linguists studied language back then were not systematic enough. He wanted to create a more logical and scientific way to study language.

Like Ferdinand de Saussure, Hjelmslev saw language as a system of signs. He believed that a good theory of signs should be consistent, complete, and as simple as possible.

Hjelmslev's Sign Model

Hjelmslev's idea of a sign built on Saussure's model. Saussure said a sign has two parts: the signifier (the sound or image) and the signified (the concept or meaning).

Hjelmslev changed these terms to expression plane and content plane. He also added the idea of form and substance. This created four parts for a sign:

• Form of content: The way meaning is structured in a language.
• Form of expression: The way sounds or written marks are structured.
• Substance of content: The actual meaning or concept.
• Substance of expression: The physical way a sign is shown, like sounds or written words.

For Hjelmslev, a sign is a connection between the form of content and the form of expression. These forms are then shown through the content substance (meaning) and expression substance (physical form). The expression substance can be sound, hand movements (like in sign languages), or written marks.

In short, Hjelmslev wanted to create a scientific way to analyze any system of signs. He believed that the structure of language was the most important thing to study.

Why Hjelmslev's Work Matters

Hjelmslev suggested a bold new way to study language. He emphasized that the main focus of linguistics should be language itself and the human culture that constantly shapes it. He also thought about how language helps society remember and pass on its knowledge.

His ideas were challenging but very helpful at the time, and they are still important today. Later thinkers, like Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, have used Hjelmslev's ideas in their own work.

Special Words Hjelmslev Used

Hjelmslev created some new terms for his linguistic units, like glosseme, ceneme, prosodeme, and plereme. These were similar to terms like phoneme (smallest sound unit) and morpheme (smallest meaning unit).

His book Prolegomena to a Theory of Language also defines many special terms. These terms help explain his unique way of analyzing any system of signs.

Selected publications

• Hjelmslev, Louis (1928). Principes de grammaire générale. Copenhague: Bianco Lundo.
• Hjelmslev, Louis (1935/37). Catégorie des cas (2 volumes). Acta Jutlandica VII, IX.
• Hjelmslev, Louis (1953[1943]). Prolegomena to a Theory of Language. Baltimore: Indiana University Publications in Anthropology and Linguistics (IJAL Memoir, 7) (2nd OD (slightly rev.): Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1961. Dt.: Hjelmslev 1974.
• Hjelmslev, Louis (1956). Sur l'indépendance de l'épithète. Copenhague: Historisk-filologiske Meddelelser udgivet af Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, i kommission hos Ejnar Munksgaard.
• Hjelmslev, Louis (1975). Résumé of a Theory of Language. Travaux du Cercle linguistique de Copenhague, vol. XVI. Copenhague: Nordisk Sprog- og Kulturforlag.

See also

In Spanish: Louis Hjelmslev para niños