Philology vs. linguistics

Linguistics is a relatively young discipline, formally dating from roughly the mid-19th century.  In the study of language, it was preceded by philology, which has hoary roots going all the way back to Pāṇini (520-460 BC) and beyond.

In my own lifetime, until recently I preferred to identify myself as a philologist, but that met with too many dumb stares, so I gave up on that.  Now, however, I find that there is a World Philology Union to carry the torch for this venerable profession, so perhaps there's hope for reviving my lost lifework after all.

From the WPU's website:

The World Philology Union (WPU) was founded on 2 December 2021 in Oslo, Norway. The WPU is an international association whose purpose is to promote philology worldwide, in research, education, society and culture.

The first General Assembly of the WPU was held in Rome, 15 December 2022. At the same occasion, the first WPU conference was held, 14–16 December, hosted by the Sapienza University of Rome and ISMEO – The International Association of Mediterranean and Oriental Studies. This conference discussed the current state of philology at universities and other academic institutions worldwide.

…

The philological study of ancient and classical texts, traditionally the very core of the humanities, has during the last generation or so been either completely marginalized within university departments or, at some universities, even altogether banished from the academic portfolio. This development is partly due to general policies of higher education, but one can argue that it is primarily a consequence of trends within the humanities themselves.

While there is ample reason to lament this development, one must also take action to ensure the preservation and flourishing of the rich academic traditions within the different fields of philology. Without these fields, which historically and conceptually lie at the very core of the study of human culture, the very existence of the humanities as a meaningful academic activity is at risk. It should also be emphasised that any effort to sustain and develop studies and research on historical languages today must include all the major literary traditions of the world.

Philologists in all fields should unite to promote philology as a unified discipline on all levels of education and research. This is the purpose of the World Philology Union (WPU).

…

The founding members of the WPU recognize that philology is not only a method within other fields. The philological approach is indeed in itself an autonomous discipline – intrinsically comparative and genuinely global and macro-historical.

The WPU will expressly encourage global membership and promote philological research projects involving international collaboration. It will support younger researchers and seek to procure funding for their projects in the form of scholarships. The union will support existing philological programs at universities and help establish new ones. An important task will be to help the traditionally distinct philological traditions explore each other’s insights and perspectives, and encourage research projects that require the participation of more than one philological tradition. The overall goal of the WPU will be to help secure recognition of philology as one of the most central and useful disciplines in the humanities.

While the later meaning of the word philology is not necessarily directly related to its use by Plato in the Phaedrus, it is not uncommon that also practitioners of philology in the modern meaning incorporate into their craft something of the old meaning, viz. “love of intellectual discourse” (in the Greek context the latter is incidentally more or less synonymous with “predilection for table talk”). To appreciate the whole story, one needs to start from the beginning of the Phaedrus. The passage in question is a part of Socrates' initial refusal to give a speech on friendship (227a–237a). Text with translation and references on Perseus.

So far as I can tell, the membership of the WPU is almost exclusively European and Northeast Asian, with only one American.  This is not to say that we in North America are uninterested in philology, for which see "Selected readings" below.  Since the numbers on both sides of the The Pond are minimal, we should join forces and work toward the revitalization of this noble discipline.

Selected readings

• "Philology and Sinology" (4/20/14)
• "What would a 'return to philology' be a return to?" (4/19/14)
• "Playing philologist at summer camp" (4/20/14)
• "Chinese, Greek, and Latin" (8/8/17)
• "'In Pāṇini We Trust'" (12/15/22)
• "Implementing Pāṇini's grammar" (12/1/23)

[Thanks to Jens Braarvig]