Linguistic Circle of Prague

Linguistic Circle of Prague

​TANAKA Akio

The Linguistic Circle of Prague was taught from CHINO Eiichi in his class of Structural Linguistics in the late 1970s. 

We first met at the university in 1969. He was young, probably the age 30s. I was 21 years old. Now referring his chronological record, CHINO was born in 1932, graduated Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in 1955, entered Carrel University at Czechoslovakia in 1958 and returned to Japan in 1964. So we met after 5 years from his returning. Sometimes we conversed at the coffee shop near the station we used. California, it was the name of the shop, up the rattled stairs, under the dim light. It was the youth time of mine and probably with him. 

The greatest thing he gave me was teaching me the existence of KARCEVSKIJ Sergei in the Linguistic Circle of Prague. My latter half life was almost determined by KARCEVSLIJ's one paper, " Du dualisme asymetrique du signe linguistique" .One day on the train after school, he calmly but definitely said to me that he never was linguist because he never discovered any new language or law and he only was the introducer to general linguistics. 

Now I really think that I am also never linguist nor introducer. I only love language, so have written on language or its around till now. CHINO taught me the the study or rather more deep attitude to the life itself. 

Regretfully he died in 2002, age 70.He wrote several books on linguistics. The masterpiece that I confirmed is Janua Linguisticae reserata 1994, that is the general invitation to linguistics for further studying of wide and deep view. The title was determined by the famous book of Jan Amos Komensky 1592-1670, Janua Linguarum reserata 1632. Here I feel CHINO's deep love to the history and culture to Czechoslovakia where he studied for Czech in 7 years.

[Note] 19 July 2012
I frequently heard on Linguistic Circle of Prague (LCP) from CHINO. But now standing in the twilight of my learning, I have not understood anything about it essentially, but still now it has been much heritage for contemporary language study than my thinking. I am already old and can never start to cultivate the new frontier on LCP or its successive study. Only saying is what I really recognise that LCP and Russian philology is the heimat of my language study. It is and will be the heimat of my soul evermore.

[Note 2] 14 December 2015
I have not visited Prague till now. In the remained life, I hope that someday I will visit the Golden city, that my teacher CHINO Eiichi called Prague so, and also told me the days of Charles university in Prague and his near-graduation-time of youth with the deepest memories dear to him.

Tokyo
13 July 2012
19 July 2012 Note added
14 December 2015 Note 2 added
Sekinan Research Field of Language