Idioms and Idiotisms: Theodore Thass-Thienemann’s The Interpretation of Language and Spectral Inheritance
The late work of the Hungarian émigré linguist and comparatist, Theodore Thass-Thienemann, presents a challenging combination of psychoanalytic discourse and the historical study of languages. His two-volume book entitled The Interpretation of Language (1973) sets out to complement the Freudian anal...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
2019-08-01
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| Series: | Hungarian Cultural Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://ahea.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/ahea/article/view/349 |
| _version_ | 1818899485084876800 |
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| author | György Fogarasi |
| author_facet | György Fogarasi |
| author_sort | György Fogarasi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The late work of the Hungarian émigré linguist and comparatist, Theodore Thass-Thienemann, presents a challenging combination of psychoanalytic discourse and the historical study of languages. His two-volume book entitled The Interpretation of Language (1973) sets out to complement the Freudian analysis of dream images and bodily symptoms via an investigation into the symbolism of ordinary verbal expressions as they appear in the languages of Indo-European cultures. His attention to the unconsciously inherited dimensions of particular idioms opens a path to the linguistic archeology of the human mind and a rethinking of the very notion of “idiom” in terms of “idiotism.” After providing a brief overview of the life and late works of Thass-Thienemann, this study offers a comprehensive analysis of his book. In the final analysis, Thass-Thienemann appears as the provocative thinker of a spectral inheritance, from which even his own discourse is not exempt. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T19:48:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-426322b8932c4de8ad9b27b7d4e8259b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2471-965X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T19:48:43Z |
| publishDate | 2019-08-01 |
| publisher | University Library System, University of Pittsburgh |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hungarian Cultural Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-426322b8932c4de8ad9b27b7d4e8259b2022-12-21T20:08:04ZengUniversity Library System, University of PittsburghHungarian Cultural Studies2471-965X2019-08-01120789110.5195/ahea.2019.349336Idioms and Idiotisms: Theodore Thass-Thienemann’s The Interpretation of Language and Spectral InheritanceGyörgy Fogarasi0University of SzegedThe late work of the Hungarian émigré linguist and comparatist, Theodore Thass-Thienemann, presents a challenging combination of psychoanalytic discourse and the historical study of languages. His two-volume book entitled The Interpretation of Language (1973) sets out to complement the Freudian analysis of dream images and bodily symptoms via an investigation into the symbolism of ordinary verbal expressions as they appear in the languages of Indo-European cultures. His attention to the unconsciously inherited dimensions of particular idioms opens a path to the linguistic archeology of the human mind and a rethinking of the very notion of “idiom” in terms of “idiotism.” After providing a brief overview of the life and late works of Thass-Thienemann, this study offers a comprehensive analysis of his book. In the final analysis, Thass-Thienemann appears as the provocative thinker of a spectral inheritance, from which even his own discourse is not exempt.https://ahea.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/ahea/article/view/349Psychoanalysislanguagesymbolismidiomspectralityanimality |
| spellingShingle | György Fogarasi Idioms and Idiotisms: Theodore Thass-Thienemann’s The Interpretation of Language and Spectral Inheritance Hungarian Cultural Studies Psychoanalysis language symbolism idiom spectrality animality |
| title | Idioms and Idiotisms: Theodore Thass-Thienemann’s The Interpretation of Language and Spectral Inheritance |
| title_full | Idioms and Idiotisms: Theodore Thass-Thienemann’s The Interpretation of Language and Spectral Inheritance |
| title_fullStr | Idioms and Idiotisms: Theodore Thass-Thienemann’s The Interpretation of Language and Spectral Inheritance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Idioms and Idiotisms: Theodore Thass-Thienemann’s The Interpretation of Language and Spectral Inheritance |
| title_short | Idioms and Idiotisms: Theodore Thass-Thienemann’s The Interpretation of Language and Spectral Inheritance |
| title_sort | idioms and idiotisms theodore thass thienemann s the interpretation of language and spectral inheritance |
| topic | Psychoanalysis language symbolism idiom spectrality animality |
| url | https://ahea.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/ahea/article/view/349 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gyorgyfogarasi idiomsandidiotismstheodorethassthienemannstheinterpretationoflanguageandspectralinheritance |