"... dem Linguisten dagegen kann die Sprache eines Volkes von dem höchsten Interesse sein, das von der Schreibekunst keine Ahnung hat". La riflessione di Schleicher sulle lingue vive

This paper focuses on Schleicher’s view on the relevance of spoken languages for linguistic studies. He believed that the research about spoken languages is a peculiar aspect of linguistic studies, which distinguishes them from the philological ones. In fact, philologists base their research on written traditions, which are not necessary for linguistic studies. Trying to employ a scientific method in his studies, Schleicher did various on-site surveys about linguistic phenomena, finding through his studies that languages consist of varieties. Nevertheless, this element will remain in contrast with the basics of his historical-comparative method.