BIBLIOGRAPHICAL CONTROL OF LINGUISTIC SCHOLARSHIP
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026423 |
| Published date | 01 February 1967 |
| Pages | 99-109 |
| Date | 01 February 1967 |
| Author | LAWRENCE S. THOMPSON |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
THE
Journal of
Documentation
VOLUME 23 NUMBER 2 JUNE 1967
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL CONTROL OF LINGUISTIC
SCHOLARSHIP*
LAWRENCE S. THOMPSON
Professor
of
Classics,
University
of Kentucky
This article is a survey of the broad field of bibliographical control of
linguistic scholarship in the Indo-European languages, although some titles
described here are also pertinent for non-Indo-European languages. Im-
provement of bibliographies in this field as well as desiderata are noted.
Special attention
is
given to the characteristics of existing or needed biblio-
graphies which will permit computerization; but the need for scholarly
insight in planning and supervising the compilation of bibliographies is
also emphasized. Major works such as the Linguistic
Bibliography
and the
MLA
International Bibliography
are reviewed in some detail; and the lin-
guistic bibliographies of individual Indo-European languages, ranging
from the rather extensive literature on Germanic and Romance languages
to areas with smaller circles of interest such as the Celtic languages, also
receive appropriate attention. Bibliographical coverage of both descrip-
tive and historical linguistics is noted. The survey indicates duplication of
effort in certain fields and suggests the need for co-operative effort.
LINGUISTIC bibliography has long been appended to general biblio-
graphies of language and literature; and perhaps this situation
is as
it should
be,
since the interrelationships of the various disciplines in the humanities
and social studies make separation wellnigh impossible. An egregious ex-
ample is the MLA
International
Bibliography.
Nevertheless, the volume and
the characteristics of publication in certain fields often dictate the creation
of specialized bibliographies. Thus when Karl Brugmann started
Indoger-
manische
Forschungen
in 1891, he recognized at once that a bibliographical
supplement was needed and, accordingly, established
the
Anzeiger für
indo-
germanische
Sprach-
und
Altertumskunde.
* This essay will be restricted to Indo-European languages and their modern forms, al-
though some bibliographical works noted here are also pertinent for non-Indo-European
languages.
99
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