Ursprachlehre

Schmitthenner's (1796-1850) 'Entwurf' (Outline) is one of the philosophical grammars, since its propositions are explicitly theorized, and in addition it is an early example of a historical and comparative grammar which distinguishes itself from many other subsequent grammars by its deliberate theoretical consideration of the empirical data. Schmitthenner saw the protolanguage as »the universal language which comes into phenomenal existence in the specific languages.«