Eric Buyssens
Buyssens, Eric
Born July 6, 1900, in Ghent. Belgian linguist and Germanist.
Buyssens is a representative of the so-called functional trend in contemporary structural linguistics, which examines not only the interrelationships of linguistic elements but also the relationship of linguistic systems to extralinguistic reality. Buyssens has studied functional linguistics in the light of the general theory of signs (semiology) and believes that it should be complemented by etiological linguistics, which studies the sign system of language in the context of social reality. Buyssens has also dealt with problems of historical linguistics.
WORKS
Les Langages et le discours. Brussels, 1943.Verité et langue: Langue et pensée. Brussels, 1960.
Linguistique historique. Brussels-Paris, 1965.