Die Sprachen Europas in systematischer Übersicht: linguistische Untersuchungen (Amsterdam studies in the theory and history of linguistic science. Series I, Amsterdam classics in linguistics, 1800-19

In Die Sprachen Europas in systematischer Uebersicht (Bonn 1850) Schleicher works out a naturalistic conception of language and a research program inspired by the methods of the natural sciences, in particular botany and geology. It does not only provide a general exposition of Schleicher's views, of the sharp lines he is drawing between linguistics and philology, of the concept of `Sprachengeschichte' in contradistinction to `Sprachentwicklung', of the methodology of linguistic research, but also - often overlooked - with an attempt at language typology. Inspired by proposals made by Friedrich and August Wilhelm Schlegel and Wilhelm von Humboldt, Schleicher tries to provide a material, scientific basis for language classification. In addition to this edition, the volume contains an introductory article.