ABSTRACT
Threewidespreadhistoriographicalassumptionsneedtobediscussed beforewesummarizethemoregeneraleffortsofthecentury'scentral decades.Itisoftenstatedthatthelinguistsofthetime:
(a)acceptedinfullSchleicher'snaiveorganicism:languagewasan independentorganismsubjecttonaturallaws;ithadnohistory, butalifesimilartothatofnaturalorganisms.
