36.3006, Calls: Linguistique de l'écrit - "Special Issue: Writing at the Prague Linguistic Circle" (Jrnl)
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Subject: 36.3006, Calls: Linguistique de l'écrit - "Special Issue: Writing at the Prague Linguistic Circle" (Jrnl)
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Date: 06-Oct-2025
From: Testenoire [pierre-yves.testenoire at sorbonne-nouvelle.fr]
Subject: Linguistique de l'écrit - "Special Issue: Writing at the Prague Linguistic Circle" (Jrnl)
Journal: Linguistique de l'écrit
Issue: Writing at the Prague Linguistic Circle
Call Deadline: 01-Dec-2025
To mark the centenary of the founding of the Prague Linguistic Circle,
the journal Linguistique de l’écrit wishes to devote its 2026 special
issue to this research group's contribution to linguistic approaches
to writing.
The theme of writing is not spontaneously associated with the
activities of the Prague Linguistic Circle (PLC). It even contradicts
the image usually associated with the Circle, which remains attached
to the invention of phonology – its "battle cry" according to its
president, Vilém Mathesius (1966 [1936]: 144). However, the Circle's
work goes beyond the description and theorisation of phonological
systems. The main syntheses devoted to the PLC (Fontaine 1974, Viel
1984, Raynaud 1990, Mahmoudian & Sériot 1994, Toman 1995, Procházka,
Malá & Šaldová 2010, etc.) have highlighted the diversity of the
fields explored by the Prague scholars: morphophonology, syntax,
lexicon, grammatical, poetic and semiotic studies, etc. Few mention
writing among the Circle's important themes. Yet two of its
participants and major figures in passing on the Circle's legacy –
Josef Vachek and Roman Jakobson – emphasised the importance of this
issue. Vachek (1966: 101-103) lists "Problems of written language and
orthography" among the major areas of focus of the CLP, and Jakobson
draws the attention of the editors of the issue of the journal Change
devoted to the Circle (1969) to the place occupied by writing. Based
on Jakobson's testimony, Jean-Pierre Faye writes that "the question of
writing was frequently raised and discussed in the Prague Circle"
(Faye & Robel 1969: 85). This assertion is confirmed by all the
sources and documents available today. It can be seen, for example, in
the programmes of the Circle's meetings, where the theme of writing
recurs very often (Čermák, Poeta & Čermák 2012). It is addressed in
papers by Troubetzkoy , Karcevski , Artymovyč , Novák , Trnka ,
etc. Issues related to the reform of Czech spelling, its written
language and its standardisation are an important, albeit
little-known, part of the Circle's activities (Sinzelle Poňavičová
2022). These issues are addressed in the 1929 Theses, which also
discuss the duality of the "oral manifestation" and "written
manifestation" of language, as well as the "strong influence on spoken
literary language" exerted by written language. Although these issues
are not treated in a unified manner within the functional approach
developed in Prague, they are at the heart of several texts – e.g.
Havránek (1937) – many of which share the hope for a future "science"
or " theory of writing" (Troubetzkoy 1969 [1935], Vachek 1945). They
also gave rise to major works, in particular by Vladimir Buben,
Influence de l'orthographe sur la prononciation du français moderne
(1935), and Joseph Vachek: "On the problem of written language" (1989
[1939]), “Written language and printed language” (1948). Long after
the dissolution of the Circle in 1952, Vachek continued his reflection
on the status of written language (Vachek 1973, 1989). His work, along
with Mukařovský's remarks on "graphic processes" (1969 [1931]) and
Artymovyč's autonomist positions (1932a, 1932c), attest to the fact
that the CLP's treatment of writing cannot be reduced to the
phonocentrism generally attributed to the Prague school (cf. Jakobson
1976: 77-78). This diversity must also be viewed in the light of the
approaches to writing developed in other schools – Geneva, Copenhagen,
American school – as illustrated by the dialogue between the texts of
Uldall (1944), Vachek (1945) and Pulgram (1951). In this respect, the
place of writing in the development of Prague phonology deserves to be
questioned. This is also true of the comparisons with writing systems
that run through Troubetzkoy's phonological writings (1936: 8, 11,
1949 [1939]: 70). They echo the analyses of Albano Leoni (2014), which
highlight the prevalence of the alphabetical model at work in
structural phonology.
The issue of writing was of concern to the members of the Prague
Linguistic Circle because it involves the various dimensions of
language – functional, social, semiotic – that they sought to
understand. Writing was difficult to ignore for a school that strove
to combine language theory and literary theory. The diversity of
questions that these subjects have raised or are capable of raising
today will be the focus of the next issue of Linguistique de l'écrit.
This issue follows on from the seminal contributions of Hall (1960),
Arrivé (1983), Chiss & Puech (1983), and Anis (1984, 1988) on the
emergence of structural approaches to writing. Its ambition is to shed
light, in the light of recent research, on this little-known aspect of
the ideas and work carried out within the Prague Linguistic Circle, as
well as their productivity a century after its foundation.
It also aims to broaden the analysis to include how the CLP's
proposals were articulated or confronted with other intellectual and
artistic traditions. The Czech and Russian avant-gardes, in
particular, worked extensively on graphic materiality and scriptural
experimentation, providing fertile ground for dialogue with the Prague
school's reflections. Similarly, subsequent debates on phonocentrism –
whether informed by Derrida's philosophical approaches or by the
perspectives of the linguistics of enunciation developed by
Bachtin/Vološinov and Benveniste – constitute a space where the
Circle's legacy has been revisited, discussed and even contested. This
openness will make it possible to situate the CLP's contribution
within a broader history of theories of writing and its role in
language.
Broadly speaking, issues relating to writing can be addressed either
in the works of the Prague Circle or on the basis of those works. For
example, contributions may focus on:
- The role of writing in Prague theory (phonology, poetics,
aesthetics, etc.)
- The definitions, status and uses of concepts: writing, script,
written language, literary language, linguistic culture, etc.
- Problems of spelling, the relationship between oral and written
language, phonemes and graphemes;
- Issues of norms, linguistic standardisation, literary language,
linguistic culture;
- The place of writing in society, literature and education;
- Analysis of the work of CLP members (Artymovyč, Buben, Havránek,
Vachek, etc.) and their legacy;
- The sources of the CLP's ideas on writing and writing systems,
their reception and transmission;
- Comparison with approaches to writing developed in other centres
(e.g. the Copenhagen School);
- The CLP's contributions to the linguistics of writing;
- The links and dialogues between the Circle and the Czech and
Russian avant-gardes, which accorded an essential place to graphic
experimentation and scriptural practices;
- The subsequent reception of the Prague theses on writing in
theoretical debates on phonocentrism, whether philosophical (Derrida)
or derived from the linguistics of enunciation (Bachtin, Benveniste).
Submission and Evaluation Procedures:
Article proposals and all contributions should be sent to:
redaction at linguistique-ecrit.org
Article proposals (one page) will be evaluated by the issue
coordinators, and articles will then undergo double peer review in
accordance with the journal's editorial policy as indicated on its
website (https://linguistique-ecrit.org/pub-188266, Instructions /
Submit an article tab). Articles may be written in English or French.
Schedule:
Receipt of draft submissions (one page + bibliography): 1 December
2025
Notification of acceptance: 15 December 2025
Receipt of articles: 31 March 2026
Return of evaluations: 31 May 2026
Receipt of articles after rewriting: 31 August 2026
Publication: Autumn 2026
References:
Albano Leoni, Federico (2014). Des sons et des sens. La physionomie
acoustique des mots, Lyon: ENS Éditions.
Arrivé, Michel (1983). "Les Danois aux prises avec la substance de
l'encre", Langue française 59, pp. 25-30.
Anis, Jacques (1984). "La construction du graphème et ses enjeux
théoriques", Archives et documents de la Société d'histoire et
d'épistémologie des sciences du langage, First series, 5, pp. 1-27.
Anis, Jacques, with the collaboration of Jean-Louis Chiss and
Christian Puech, 1988, L’écriture. Théorie et description. Brussels:
De Boeck.
Artymovyč, Agenor (1932a). "Pysana mova" [The Written Language],
Zbirnyk Ukrajinśkoho vysokoho pedagogičnoho instytuta v Prazi [Works
of the Ukrainian Higher Pedagogical Institute in Prague] II, pp. 1–8.
Artymovyč, Agenor (1932b). "Fremdwort und Schrift," Charisteria
Guilelmo Matheiso quiquagenario a discipulid et ciculi linguistici
pragensis sodalibus oblata. Prague: Pražský linguistický kroužek
[Prague Linguistic Circle], pp. 114-118.
Buben, Vladimir (1935). Influence de l’orthographe sur la
prononciation du français moderne. Bratislava : Travaux de la faculté
des Lettres de l’Université Komenský de Bratislava.
Chiss, Jean-Louis & Puech, Christian (1983). "La linguistique et la
question de l’écriture. Enjeux et débats autour de Saussure et des
problématiques structurales", Langue française 59, pp. 5-24.
Čermák, Petr, Poeta, Claudio & Čermák, Jan (2012). Pražský
lingvistický kroužek v dokumentech [The Prague Linguistic Circle in
Documents], Prague, Academia.
Faye, Jean-Pierre & Robel, Léon (éd.) (1969). Change 3 : Le Cercle de
Prague.
Fontaine, Jacqueline (1974). Le Cercle linguistique de Prague. Paris :
Mame.
Hall, Robert A. (1960). "A theory of graphemics," Acta Linguistica
8(1), pp. 13-20.
Havránek, Bohuslav (1937). "Český 'pravopis' za posledních padesát
let" ["Czech 'spelling' over the last 50 years"], Slovo a slovenost
3/2, pp. 124-127.
Jakobson, Roman (1976). Six leçons sur le son et le sens. Paris:
Minuit.
Mathesius, Vilém (1966 [1936]). "Ten Years of the Prague Linguistic
Circle" in Vachek Josef (ed.), The Linguistic School of Prague, an
introduction to its theory and practice. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press, pp. 137–151.
Mahmoudian, Mortéza & Sériot, Patrick (éd.) (1994). Cahiers de l’ILSL
5 : L’École de Prague : l’apport épistémologique.
Mukařovský, Jan (1969 [1931]), "Plan graphique, phonologie et
poétique", Change 3, pp. 88-90 [extrait de "La phonologie et la
poétique", Travaux du Cercle linguistique de Prague 4, pp. 278-288].
Procházka, Martin, Malá, Markéta & Šaldová, Pavlína (eds.) (2010). The
Prague School and Theories of Structure. Göttingen: V & R unipress.
Pullgram, Ernest (1951). "Phoneme and Grapheme: a parallel", Word 7,
pp. 15-20.
Raynaud, Savina (1990). Il Circolo Linguistico di Praga (1926-1939).
Radici storiche e apporti teorici. Milan: Vita & Pensiero.
Sinzelle Poňavičová, Ilona (2022). "Positionnement du Cercle
linguistique de Prague vis-à-vis de la langue standard et son rôle
dans la vie publique de la Tchécoslovaquie de l’entre-deux-guerres".
24èmes Rencontres des Jeunes Chercheurs (RJC) en Sciences du Langage.
“Du linguiste à son objet : la distance en question(s)”, p. 6-45.
https://hal.science/hal-03918869v1/document
Toman, Jindřich (1995). The Magic of a Common Language. Jakobson,
Mathesius, Trubetzkoy, and the Prague Linguistic Circle. Cambridge
Mass. – London: The MIT Press.
Troubetzkoy, Nikolaï (1969 [1935]). “Note pour une science pure de
l’écriture”, Change 3, pp. 85–87.
Troubetzkoy, Nikolai (1936). "Essai d'une théorie des oppositions
phonologiques", Journal de psychologie 33, pp. 5-18.
Troubetzkoy Nikolaï (1949 [1939]). Principes de phonologie, translated
by Jean Cantineau. Paris : Klinscksieck.
Uldall, Hans Jørgen (1944). "Speech and writing," Acta linguistica 4,
pp. 11-16.
Vachek, Joseph, (1989 [1939]), "On the problem of written language",
Written Language Revisited. Amsterdam – Philadelphia: John Benjamins,
pp. 103-115.
Vachek, Joseph (1945). "Some remarks on writing and phonemic
transcription," Acta linguistica 5(1), pp. 86-93.
Vachek, Joseph, (1948). "Written language and printed language."
Recueil linguistique de Bratislava 1, pp. 67–75.
Vachek, Josef (1966). The Linguistic School of Prague, an introduction
to its theory and practice. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Vachek, Josef (1973). Written language: general problems and problems
of English. The Hague – Paris: Mouton.
Vachek, Joseph (1989). Written Language Revisited. Amsterdam –
Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Viel, Michel. (1984). La notion de “marque” chez Trubetzkoy et
Jakobson. Paris: Didier.
Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics
History of Linguistics
Ling & Literature
Phonology
Writing Systems
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