Scientific discussion «On Potebnia’s Manner of Citation» (based on materials from periodicals of the 1920s)
Abstract
In 1922, Olexander Potebnia`s study «Thought and Language» was published as the first volume of his collected works. This academic publication sparked a scientific debate, initiated by Viktor Petrov’s review «Potebnia and Lotze», which appeared in the «Notes of the Historical and Philological Department of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences» (1923 issue, cover-dated 1924).
The purpose of this article is to highlight the main aspects of the scholarly dialogue.
It has been established that the key issue of the discussion concerned “Potebnia’s manner of quoting” and the need for careful editorial verification of citations. To demonstrate the scientific significance of the issue, V. Petrov conducted his own verification of Potebnia’s quotations from R. G. Lotze (and partly from H. Steinthal). He found that Potebnia’s characteristic style involved frequently omitting quotation marks when citing others.
It has been shown that I. Aizenshtok agreed with Petrov, while scholars associated with the fourth edition of «Thought and Language» – in particular, V. Khartsiyev, the author of the foreword – opposed him. Khartsiyev’s response article, «Potebnia and ‘Quotes’ (On One Scholarly Review)», published for discussion in «Chervony Shlyakh» in 1925, was analyzed. In it, Khartsiyev calls Petrov an «expert on quotations» and a «text lover», accusing him of attempting to revise the established high evaluations of Potebnia’s scientific legacy. Yet he also admits that the issue raised is important and that the publication required substantial revision. The revised and corrected fifth edition appeared in 1926.
The analysis clearly demonstrates that the conclusions reached by scholars in the 1920s remain relevant today, as Potebnia’s «Thought and Language» has been only partially translated into Ukrainian, and only on the basis of the 1862 edition.
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References
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