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Article published In: Historiographia Linguistica
Vol. 18:1 (1991) ► pp.49–152

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The Linguistic Society of America and North American Linguistics, 1950–1968

 | University of Texas at Austin
Published online: 1 January 1991
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https://doi.org/10.1075/hl.18.1.04hil
Summary
The author, Secretary-Treasurer of the Linguistic Society of America during the crucial phase of the post-World War II growth of linguistics as an autonomous academic speciality, 1950–1968, reports on the events that shaped the LSA and the discipline in North America in general. Whereas the Society counted only 829 members, individual and institutional, in 1950, the total number had risen to 4,375 by 1968. The author narrates, in a year-by-year manner, the acitivities that held the Society together during this period and furthered the exchange of ideas among the different generations of linguists, namely, (1) the annual meetings, traditionally held at the end of December, at which both established scholars and fledgling researchers presented papers and had them discussed; (2) the annual summer institutes, first held for a number of years in a row at the University of Michigan and subsequently at several other campuses in the United States, and (3) the publication of Language, the Society’s organ, ably edited by Bernard Bloch from 1941 until his death in 1965.
Résumé
L’auteur, secrétaire-trésorier de la Société linguistique d’Amérique (LSA) pendant sa phase de croissance la plus importante et le développement de la linguistique comme discipline autonome aux universités nord-américaines, de 1950 à 1968, rapporte les évènements qui ont formé cette science. Il est important de noter que l’adhésion à la LSA s’accroissait de 829 membres, individuels et institutionnels, en 1950 à un chiffre total de 4,375 en 1968. L’auteur raconte, d’une façon régulière d’année en année, les activités de la Société qui ont maintenu la discipline pendant cette période, encouragé l’échange d’idées entre les différentes générations et avancé la discipline, à savoir, (1) les rencontres annuelles, traditionnellement à la fin de décembre, auxquels les érudits établis aussi bien que les jeunes chercheurs faisaient des présentation et des discussions; (2) les institutions d’été, organisées pendant nombre d’années à l’Université du Michigan et ensuite à d’autres universités des États-Unis, et (3) la publication de la revue de la LSA, Language, rédigée avec beaucoup de professionalisme par Bernard Bloch de 1941 jusqu’à sa mort en 1965.
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