Roman Jakobson: A Pioneering Linguist and Literary Theorist

Roman Jakobson: A Pioneering Linguist and Literary Theorist

Roman Jakobson (1896-1982) was a prominent Russian-American linguist and literary theorist, born on 11th October 1896 in Russia. He was actively involved in two influential linguistic circles: the Moscow Linguistic Circle, a group of social scientists active from 1915-1924, and the Prague Linguistic Circle, which focused on structuralist literary analysis. Challenging the Bolshevik Revolution and Pursuit of Freedom Jakobson was critical of the Bolshevik Revolution, as he believed it stifled creative freedom and encouraged conservatism and orthodoxy. Consequently, he fled Prague in 1939 and sought refuge in Denmark. Eventually, in 1949, he moved to Harvard University in the United States. Communication Functions of Language Roman Jakobson defined six essential "Communication Functions" of language, each serving a unique purpose: 1. Referential Function This function pertains to referring to context, mental states, or situations. 2. Poetic Function The poetic function focuses on conve…