Editing Leonard Bloomfield (section)

==Indo-European linguistics==
Bloomfield's earliest work was in historical Germanic studies, beginning with his dissertation, and continuing with a number of papers on Indo-European and Germanic phonology and morphology.<ref>Bloomfield, Leonard, 1909/1910</ref><ref>Bloch, Bernard, 1949, 88</ref>  His post-doctoral studies in Germany further strengthened his expertise in the [[Neogrammarian]] tradition, which still dominated Indo-European historical studies.<ref>Lehman, Winfred, 1987, pp. 163–164</ref> Bloomfield throughout his career, but particularly during his early career, emphasized the Neogrammarian principle of regular [[sound change]] as a foundational concept in historical linguistics.<ref name="Bloomfield, Leonard, 1925"/><ref name="Bloomfield, Leonard, 1928a">Bloomfield, Leonard, 1928a</ref>

Bloomfield's work in Indo-European beyond his dissertation was limited to an article on [[palatal consonant]]s in Sanskrit<ref>Bloomfield, Leonard, 1911</ref> and one article on the Sanskrit grammatical tradition associated with Pāṇini,<ref>Bloomfield, Leonard, 1927</ref> in addition to a number of book reviews. Bloomfield made extensive use of Indo-European materials to explain historical and comparative principles in both of his textbooks, ''An introduction to language'' (1914), and his seminal ''Language'' (1933).<ref name="Lehmann, Winfred, 1987, 164-165">Lehmann, Winfred, 1987, pp. 164–165</ref> In his textbooks he selected Indo-European examples that supported the key Neogrammarian hypothesis of the regularity of sound change, and emphasized a sequence of steps essential to success in comparative work: (a) appropriate data in the form of texts which must be studied intensively and analysed; (b) application of the [[comparative method (linguistics)|comparative method]]; (c) reconstruction of proto-forms.<ref name="Lehmann, Winfred, 1987, 164-165"/> He further emphasized the importance of [[Dialectology|dialect studies]] where appropriate, and noted the significance of sociological factors such as prestige, and the impact of meaning.<ref>Lehmann, Winfred, 1987, 165</ref> In addition to regular linguistic change, Bloomfield also allowed for [[Loanword|borrowing]] and [[Comparative method (linguistics)|analogy]].<ref>Lehman, Winfred, 1987, 167</ref>

It is argued that Bloomfield's Indo-European work had two broad implications: "He stated clearly the theoretical bases for Indo-European linguistics" and "he established the study of Indo-European languages firmly within general linguistics."<ref>Lehmann, Winfred, 1987, pp. 167–168</ref>

===Sanskrit studies===
As part of his training with leading Indo-Europeanists in Germany in 1913 and 1914 Bloomfield studied the Sanskrit grammatical tradition originating with [[Pāṇini]], who lived in northwestern [[India]] during the fifth or fourth century BC.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Pāṇini: a survey of research|last=Cardona|first=George|date=1997|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=8120814940|location=Delhi|language=en|oclc = 1014545991}}</ref> Pāṇini's grammar is characterized by its extreme thoroughness and explicitness in accounting for Sanskrit linguistic forms, and by its complex context-sensitive, rule-based generative structure. Bloomfield noted that "Pāṇini gives the formation of every inflected, compounded, or derived word, with an exact statement of the sound-variations (including accent) and of the meaning".<ref>Bloomfield, Leonard, 1929, 274; cited in Rogers, David, 1987, p. 88</ref> In a letter to Algonquianist Truman Michelson, Bloomfield noted "My models are Pāṇini and the kind of work done in Indo-European by my teacher, Professor Wackernagel of Basle."<ref>Hockett, Charles, 1987, p. 41</ref>

Pāṇini's systematic approach to analysis includes components for: (a) forming grammatical rules, (b) an inventory of sounds, (c) a list of verbal roots organized into sublists, and (d) a list of classes of [[Morpheme|morphs]].<ref>Rogers, David, 1987, 90</ref> Bloomfield's approach to key linguistic ideas in his textbook ''Language'' reflect the influence of Pāṇini in his treatment of basic concepts such as ''linguistic form'', ''free form'', and others. Similarly, Pāṇini is the source for Bloomfield's use of the terms ''exocentric'' and ''endocentric'' used to describe [[Compound (linguistics)|compound]] words.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wujastyk|first=Dominik|date=1982|title=Bloomfield and the Sanskrit Origin of the Terms 'Exocentric' and 'Endocentric'|journal= Historiographia Linguistica|language=en|volume=9|issue=1–2|pages=179–184|doi=10.1075/hl.9.1-2.19wuj|issn=0302-5160}}</ref><ref>Rogers, David, 1987, pp. 103–114</ref> Concepts from Pāṇini are found in ''Eastern Ojibwa'', published posthumously in 1958, in particular his use of the concept of a [[Null morpheme|morphological zero]], a [[morphology (linguistics)|morpheme]] that has no overt realization.<ref>Rogers, David, 1987, pp. 120–122</ref> Pāṇini's influence is also present in Bloomfield's approach to determining [[Lexical category|parts of speech]] (Bloomfield uses the term "form-classes") in both ''Eastern Ojibwa'' and in the later ''Menomini language'', published posthumously in 1962.<ref>Rogers, David, 1987, pp. 126–128</ref>