Dionysus of Thrace. Greek philosopher, who lived in the 2nd century BC, teacher at the Rhodes school . His main work was Grammar , the first systematic study of the structure of language , which interests not only philologists, but also students of the philosophy of language. It divides the grammar into six parts: plain reading, exegesis of texts, exegesis of words, etymology , paradigms of inflection and textual criticism. In the problem of the evolution of language, Dionysus defended analogism (new words are formed by analogy with pre-existing ones) against anomalism.
Summary
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- 1 Biographical data
- 1 Authorship discussed
- 2 Significant work
- 3 Sources
Biographical data
He was born in the year 170 , in ancient Greece . The earliest known grammar is that of Dionysus of Thrace, which is a treatise on the classes of words. There is a reason why it is a treatise on word classes, for all empirical beliefs, for the purpose of actual study, have as their first task taxonomic or classificatory work. What is observed first must be classified in an orderly fashion, and this is also the case with natural languages. The first element that can be identified is the word, one is fully aware of it, thus, Dionysius of Thrace says that the first thing to do is classify the words, and thus the grammar is born. Olíscolo then writes the first syntax and the first syntax principles.
Disputed authorship
The authorship of Dionisio is disputed for several reasons, among them that:
- In the prologue 6 parts are mentioned but only one is known about the study of analogical irregularities.
- Another later grammarian, Apolonio Díscolo , speaks of him but not of his grammar.
- The only surviving manuscript is from the 5th century , well after the life of Dionysus of Thrace.
