Porzio Gernia, Maria Luisa/Larissa Bonfante
Giuliano Bonfante and Historical Linguistics, 1930-2000

Translated by Steven Baker. With a preface by Michael Weiss.

Bonfante kann als eine Jahrhundertgestalt der italienischen Indogermanistik gelten - mit Blick auf sein kontroversenreiches wissenschaftliches Werk ebenso wie auf sein persönliches Leben, das in seiner Jugend u.a. vom Kampf gegen den Faschismus geprägt war. Der Band unternimmt den Versuch einer persönlichen und intellektuellen Biographie. - Giuliano Bonfante (1904-2005) was an Italian linguist who lived through the tumultuous historical period of the twentieth century, in which he took an active part, personally, politically, and intellectually. This intellectual biography was written by Maria Luisa Porzio Gernia, his successor to the Linguistics Chair at the University of Turin. It follows the course of his adventurous life, in Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States during the years of Fascism and the Second World War, and back to Italy and a prolific, successful scholarly career. Throughout, he developed his ideas on the Indo-European languages and their relation to modern languages, especially the Romance languages. Bonfante's most conspicuous scholarly legacy is in the field of historical linguistics, where he transformed our understanding of Indo-European languages and the relationships between them; he also pointed out the archaic and conservative character of Latin, contrasting with the innovative character of Greek. His love of literature informed much of his work, as did his belief that language is above all expressive, that it is poetry. The book includes three of his articles, and "A Daughter's Memories" by Larissa Bonfante. 146 Seiten, gebunden (Indogermanische Bibliothek. 3. Reihe: Untersuchungen/Universitätsverlag Winter 2018)