Marrism
/ˈmɑːrɪz(ə)m/Linguistics
noun
The body of Marxist linguistic theories put forward by Marr and his followers (especially I. I. Meshchaninov), in which language was regarded as monogenetic (with all languages developing from four elements, sal, roš, jon, and ber) and as belonging to social class rather than nationality (being, in Marxist terms, part of the social and economic superstructure rather than the base); advocacy of such theories.
- Marrism dominated Soviet linguistics after Marr's death until it was denounced by Stalin in 1950..
Origin
1950s; earliest use found in Archivum Linguisticum. From the name of Nikolaj Jakovlevič Marr, Georgian-born Russian linguist, archaeologist, and ethnographer + -ism, probably after Russian marrizm.