Philology is the study of written texts, particularly ancient ones, and the history of words in different languages. It was more common in the 19th century and focused on language as it pertains to literature and culture. Today, it is concerned with deciphering texts and understanding language through them. The field has its roots in comparative and historical linguistics, and modern methods began in the 19th century with the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone. Some writing systems, such as Linear A, remain a mystery.
A philologist is a type of linguist, although the exact meaning of the term has changed over the years. Philology literally means “love of words,” and the field often deals with literature more than other branches of linguistics. In modern academia, the term is generally understood to mean the study of written, usually ancient, texts.
It was much more common in the 19th century than it is today for a linguist to be called a philologist. Philology was the forerunner of today’s linguistics, which has changed to favor spoken over written data. Comparative and historical linguistics, in which words from different languages are compared and contrasted to determine current or historical relationships between languages, have their roots in the 19th century field.
In an earlier era, this person focused his studies on language as it pertains to literature and culture. Also of interest were individual words, their history and the common history of words in different languages. Literary interpretations and the study of language went hand in hand; in this respect, the modern field of comparative literature can also be seen as rooted in philology.
Today, the field is no longer concerned with literary interpretation, but is instead concerned with deciphering texts and understanding language through texts, not understanding literary texts through language. A philologist may work with poorly understood languages that are no longer spoken, such as when a textual recording is all one knows about the language.
Modern methods of philology also began in the 19th century, most notably with the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone in 19, which paved the way for the translation of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. The decipherment of ancient texts is complicated by the poor physical quality of many documents and the lack of consistency in the spelling and writing styles of many ancient authors and scribes. Work is ongoing on some writing systems, such as those of the ancient Maya and Etruscans, and some, such as the infamous Linear A of the ancient Minoans, remain a complete mystery.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
