1. The Romantic Era's Focus on Origins:
* The 19th century was a time of immense interest in the origins of things - cultures, languages, civilizations, and even humanity itself. This "Romantic" fascination with the past, with roots and beginnings, fueled a drive to understand how languages evolved over time.
2. The Rise of Comparative Philology:
* This new field, pioneered by figures like Franz Bopp and Jacob Grimm, employed the comparison of related languages to reconstruct their common ancestor (Proto-Indo-European, in their case). This method offered a powerful tool for tracing language change and understanding linguistic relationships.
3. Linguistic Nationalism:
* The 19th century witnessed a surge in nationalistic movements across Europe. Linguists were often involved in defining national languages and promoting their use, drawing connections between language and national identity. Studying language origins and historical development became crucial for these efforts.
4. Scientific and Intellectual Curiosity:
* The scientific revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries fostered a spirit of investigation and discovery. Linguists saw language as a complex system ripe for scientific inquiry. They sought to discover the underlying principles governing language change and to trace the history of languages in a rigorous, systematic manner.
5. The Influence of Darwin:
* Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection had a significant impact on all scientific disciplines, including linguistics. It provided a framework for understanding the gradual changes that languages undergo over time, and the concept of descent with modification became a central theme in historical linguistics.
6. Religious and Philosophical Considerations:
* Some linguists believed that studying the history of languages could shed light on the origin of human language itself, and by extension, the nature of human thought and the relationship between language and culture. This search for the "Ursprache" (primordial language) often intertwined with religious and philosophical questions about the origins of humanity.
In summary: 19th-century linguists' interest in historical linguistics was driven by a fascinating blend of intellectual curiosity, scientific ambition, nationalist fervor, and the spirit of the Romantic era. Their pioneering work laid the foundation for modern historical linguistics and continues to shape our understanding of language and its evolution.