Prominent Founders of the Prague School
The Prague School is recognized as one of the most significant linguistic schools, established in 1926 and originally known as the Prague Linguistic Circle. The strong traditions of Prague’s linguistic thought greatly contributed to the success of this school, which has influenced modern linguistic thinking more than any other school or linguistic group in the history of contemporary linguistics.
The Prague School was founded by a generation of thinkers and linguists passionate about the ideas of Ferdinand de Saussure, Bohuslav Havránek, and the Fortunatov School of Slavonic Studies. Below is a summary of the most renowned founders of the Prague School:
Václav Mathesius
The esteemed linguist Václav Mathesius was born on August 3, 1882, in Pardubice, located in present-day Czech Republic. Recognized as one of the leading linguists in the Czech lands, he was the founding figure of the Prague Linguistic School. Mathesius studied at Charles University in Prague and became a professor of English in 1912, having earned his degree in Germanic and Romance Studies. He passed away in Prague in 1945.
Nikolai Trubetzkoy
Nikolai Trubetzkoy was born in 1890 in Moscow, the son of a Russian prince. He attended Moscow University until 1918, then continued his studies at the University of Rostov and Sofia University. In 1922, he was appointed a professor of Slavic linguistics at the University of Vienna. Influenced by Saussure, he also had a significant impact on Roman Jakobson. Trubetzkoy died in 1938 at the age of 48.
Jan Mukařovský
Born in 1891 in Písek, Jan Mukařovský studied aesthetics and linguistics at Charles University, where he obtained his doctorate in 1915. He worked as a professor at a high school teaching Czech and French and was one of the initial founders of the Prague School. In 1948, he was appointed an extraordinary professor at Charles University and later served as the university’s president. He passed away in Prague in 1975.
Josef Vachek
Josef Vachek was born in 1909 in Prague and is considered one of the most notable linguists of the modern era as well as a key figure in the establishment of the Prague Linguistic School. He founded the English linguistics department at Masaryk University’s Faculty of Arts and served as its honorary doctor. Vachek received his doctorate in 1932 from Charles University and became a professor of English in 1946, contributing to the development of social sciences. He died in Prague in 1996.
Bohumil Trnka
Bohumil Trnka was born on June 3, 1895, and studied at Charles University, where he became a professor of language in 1930. He played a significant role in advancing the study of the English language and was a prominent founding member of the Prague Linguistic Circle. He passed away in Prague in 1984.
Roman Jakobson
Recognized as one of the most prominent linguists of the 20th century, Roman Jakobson was born in 1896 in Russia. He became a member of the Russian Formalist School in 1915 and studied in Czechoslovakia between the two world wars. In 1941, he relocated to the United States due to the war and taught at the New School for Social Research in New York, becoming a founding member of its linguistic circle. Jakobson died in 1982.