INTRODUCTION

Abstract

Eugenio Coseriu is recognized as a central figure in 20th-century linguistics and is widely regarded as the most prominent linguist of Romanian origin. His work was at the forefront of the discipline, contributing to the development of the science of language through his exploration of all areas of theoretical linguistics.

Eugenio Coseriu established himself as a leading figure in international linguistics during his time in Uruguay (1951-1963), with several fundamental and pioneering studies. Thus, in Sistema, norma y habla (1952) and Sincronía, diacronía e historia (1958), he advanced viable theoretical solutions for overcoming F. de Saussure’s dichotomies. In Determinación y entorno (1956), which “contributed to Coseriu’s worldwide fame” (Kabatek 2020, 75), he defined the three levels of language and their related disciplines: a linguistics of speech in general, a linguistics of particular languages, and a linguistics of texts. On the other hand, Coseriu did not limit himself to criticizing and amplifying the structuralist conception. In fact, he elaborated what would later be called Integral Linguistics: “a linguistics whose first task was to configure its own identity by first establishing fundamental distinctions in order to circumscribe, within this edifice, the place that each particular linguistic problem should hold” (cf. Kabatek 2020, 75). Much later, Coseriu would acknowledge that the distinction between the three levels of language organization (the universal level of speech in general, the historical level of languages, and the individual level of texts), in its three aspects (activity, competence and product) represents his most important contribution to the field of international linguistics (Coseriu 1985, xxv-xxxv). After moving to Germany, Coseriu would further develop the conceptual coordinates of his theory in landmark studies (2006, 2007, 2015a, 2015b), thus firmly laying out the foundations of Integral Linguistics.