Ferdinand de Saussure

Ferdinand de Saussure, (born Nov. 26, 1857, Geneva, Switz.—died Feb. 22, 1913, Vufflens-le-Château),
Swiss linguist whose ideas on structure in language laid the foundation for much of the approach to and
progress of the linguistic sciences in the 20 th century.

While still a student, Saussure established his reputation with a brilliant contribution to comparative
linguistics, Mémoire sur le système primitif des voyelles dans les langues indo-européennes (1878;
“Memoir on the Original System of Vowels in the Indo-European Languages”). In it he explained how the
knottiest of vowel alternations in Indo-European, those of a, take place. Though he wrote no other book,
he was enormously influential as a teacher, serving as instructor at the École des Hautes Études (“School
of Advanced Studies”) in Paris from 1881 to 1891 and as professor of Indo-European linguistics and
Sanskrit (1901–11) and of general linguistics (1907–11) at the University of Geneva. His name is affixed,
however, to the Cours de linguistique générale (1916; Course in General Linguistics), a reconstruction of
his lectures on the basis of notes by students carefully prepared by his junior colleagues Charles Bally
and Albert Séchehaye. The publication of his work is considered the starting point of 20 th-century
structural linguistics.

Saussure contended that language must be considered as a social phenomenon, a structured system
that can be viewed synchronically (as it exists at any particular time) and diachronically (as it changes in
the course of time). He thus formalized the basic approaches to language study and asserted that the
principles and methodology of each approach are distinct and mutually exclusive. He also introduced
two terms that have become common currency in linguistics—“parole,” or the speech of the individual
person, and “langue,” the system underlying speech activity. His distinctions proved to be mainsprings
to productive linguistic research and can be regarded as starting points on the avenue of linguistics
known as structuralism.

Roman Jakobson
Roman Jakobson (1896-1982) was one of the greatest linguists of the 20 th century. He was born in Russia and was a
member of the Russian Formalist school as early as 1915. Jakobson taught in Czechoslovakia between the two world
wars, where, along with N. Trubetzkoy, he was one of the leaders of the influential Prague Linguistic Circle. When
Czechoslovakia was invaded by the Nazis, he was forced to flee to Scandinavia, and went from there to the United
States in 1941. From 1942 to 1946 Jakobson taught at the École Libre des Hautes Études in New York City, where
he collaborated with Claude Lévi-Strauss.

In 1943 he became one of the founding members of the Linguistic Circle of New York and acted as its vice president
until 1949. He taught at numerous institutions from 1943 on, including Harvard University and MIT. Through his
teaching in the United States, Jakobson helped to bridge the gap between European and American linguistics. He
had a profound influence on general linguistics (especially on Noam Chomsky's and Morris Halle's work) and on
Slavic studies, but also on semiotics, anthropology, psychoanalysis, ethnology, mythology, communication theory and
literary studies. His famous model of the functions of language is part of the intellectual heritage of semiotics.

L.L. Zamenhof
L.L. Zamenhof, in full Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof, pseudonym Doktoro Esperanto (Esperanto: “Doctor
Hopeful”), (born December 15, 1859, Białystok, Poland, Russian Empire [now in Poland]—died April 14,
1917, Warsaw), Polish physician and oculist who created the most important of the international
artificial languages—Esperanto.

A Jew whose family spoke Russian and lived in an environment of racial and national conflict on the
Polish-Russian borderland, Zamenhof dedicated himself to promoting tolerance, mainly through the
development of an international language. After years of experiment in devising such a tongue, working
under the pseudonym of Doktoro Esperanto, he published an expository textbook, Lingvo Internacia
(1887; Dr. Esperanto’s International Language). His pseudonym, Esperanto (“[one] who hopes”), was to
become the language’s name.

In addition to continuing his medical career, Zamenhof worked to develop Esperanto and organize its
adherents. The first Esperanto magazine appeared in 1889, the beginnings of formal organization in
1893. With some literary and linguistic skill, Zamenhof developed and tested his new language by
translating a large number of works, including the Old Testament, Hamlet, Hans Christian Andersen’s
Fairy Tales, and plays of Molière, Goethe, and Nikolay Gogol. At the first international Esperanto
congress at Boulogne, France (1905), and at successive annual congresses in various European cities,
Zamenhof delivered a number of memorable addresses, but he renounced formal leadership of the
Esperanto movement at Kraków, Poland, in 1912. His Fundamento de Esperanto (1905; 17 th ed., 1979;
“Basis of Esperanto”) established the principles of Esperanto structure and formation

Isabelo de los Reyes

Isabelo de los Reyes y Florentino, also known as Don Belong (July 7, 1864 – October 10, 1938), was a
prominent Filipino politician, writer, and labor activist in the 19 th and 20th centuries. He was the original
founder of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, an independent Philippine national church. He is now
known as the “Father of Philippine Folklore”, the “Father of the Philippine Labor Movement”,[1] and the
“Father of Filipino Socialism”.

As a young man, de los Reyes followed his mother's footsteps by initially turning to writing as a
career; his works were part of the 1887 Exposicion General de las Islas Filipinas in Madrid. He later
became a journalist, editor, and publisher in Manila, and was imprisoned in 1897 for
revolutionary activities. He was deported to the Kingdom of Spain, where he was jailed for his
activities until 1898. While living and working in Madrid, he was influenced by the writings of
European socialists and Marxists.
Returning to the Philippines in 1901, de los Reyes founded the first labor union in the country.
He also was active in seeking independence from the United States. After serving in
the Philippine Senate in the 1920s, he settled into private life and religious writing. De los Reyes
wrote on diverse topics in history, folklore, language, politics, and religion. He had a total of 27
children with three successive wives; he survived all his wives and 12 of his children.

Edward Sapir
Edward Sapir, (born January 26, 1884, Lauenburg, Pomerania, Germany [now Lębork, Poland]—
died February 4, 1939, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.), one of the foremost American linguists
and anthropologists of his time, most widely known for his contributions to the study of North
American Indian languages. A founder of ethnolinguistics, which considers the relationship of
culture to language, he was also a principal developer of the American (descriptive) school of
structural linguistics.Edward Sapir, (born January 26, 1884, Lauenburg, Pomerania, Germany
[now Lębork, Poland]—died February 4, 1939, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.), one of the
foremost American linguists and anthropologists of his time, most widely known for his
contributions to the study of North American Indian languages. A founder of ethnolinguistics,
which considers the relationship of culture to language, he was also a principal developer of the
American (descriptive) school of structural linguistics.