SOME THEORETICAL BACKGROUND IN THE COMPARATIVE-HISTORICAL RESEARCH OF F.F. FORTUNATOV

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of theoretical and methodological prerequisites of the comparative-historical studies of F.F. Fortunatov, the founder of the Moscow Linguistic School. The main focus is on the principle of “positionality,” which is central to his phonetic reconstructions. According to this principle, sound changes are recognized as regular and determined by specific conditions of the phonetic environment (position) in the speech chain, which corresponds to the Young Grammarians’ doctrine of the strict regularity of phonetic laws. The author demonstrates the application of this principle on the example of one of Fortunatov’s key discoveries – the law on the origin of the ancient Indian cerebral (retroflex) consonants from the Indo-European combinations of the smooth *l with the subsequent dental consonant. The article examines in detail Fortunatov’s polemics with contemporary scholars (H. Bartolome, Iog. Schmidt), his argumentation in defense of his hypothesis, as well as the further fate and criticism of this law. It is emphasized that Fortunatov’s methodological tools, particularly the principle of positionality, were not only successfully applied in Indo-European studies but also had a lasting impact on the development of the Moscow Linguistic School and retain potential for application in comparative-historical studies of other language families. The work has theoretical significance for the history of linguistics and the methodology of comparative studies.