---
title: Philology
author: Jenni Irving
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/Philology/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 1970-01-01
---

# Philology

_Authored by [Jenni Irving](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/jenni.irving/)_

Philology is derived from the [Greek](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/greek/) terms φίλος (love) and λόγος (word, reason) and literally means a love of words. It is the study of language in literary sources and is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics. Philology is generally associated with Greek and Classical Latin, in which it is termed philologia. The study of philology originated in European [Renaissance Humanism](https://www.worldhistory.org/Renaissance_Humanism/) in regards to Classical Philology but this has since been combined to include in its definition the study of both European and non-European languages. The idea of philology has been carried through the Greek and Latin [literature](https://www.worldhistory.org/literature/) into the English language around the sixteenth century through the French term philologie meaning a 'love of literature'

Generally philology has a focus on historical development. It helps establish the authenticity of literary texts and their original form and with this the determination of their meaning. It is a branch of knowledge that deals with the structure, historical development and relationships of a language or languages.

### The Branches of Philological Studies

Comparative philology is a branch of philology which analyses the relationship between languages. For instance, the commonalities between Latin and [Etruscan](https://www.worldhistory.org/Etruscan_Civilization/) or further flung languages of Asian or African provinces.

Cognitive philology studies written and oral texts in consideration of the human mental processes. It uses [science](https://www.worldhistory.org/science/) to compare the results of research using psychological and artificial systems.

Decipherment is another branch of philology which looks at resurrecting dead languages such as done achieved by Jean-Francois Champollion in the decipherment of Hieroglyphs with the use of the [Rosetta Stone](https://www.worldhistory.org/Rosetta_Stone/) and more recently by Michael Ventris in the decipherment of [Linear B](https://www.worldhistory.org/Linear_B_Script/). Decipherment would be key to the understanding of still little understood languages such as [Linear A](https://www.worldhistory.org/Linear_A_Script/).

Textual philology editing is yet another branch of philology with includes the study of texts and their history in a sense including textual criticism. This branch was created in relation to the long traditions of Biblical studies; in particular with the variations of manuscripts. It looks at the authorship, date and provenance of the text to place it in its historical context and to produce 'critical editions' of the texts.

#### Editorial Review

This human-authored definition has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/).

## Timeline

- **1822 CE**: Champollion announces decipherment of hieroglyphic [writing](https://www.worldhistory.org/writing/).

## Cite This Work

### APA
Irving, J. (2012, June 05). Philology. *World History Encyclopedia*. <https://www.worldhistory.org/Philology/>
### Chicago
Irving, Jenni. "Philology." *World History Encyclopedia*, June 05, 2012. <https://www.worldhistory.org/Philology/>.
### MLA
Irving, Jenni. "Philology." *World History Encyclopedia*, 05 Jun 2012, <https://www.worldhistory.org/Philology/>.

## License & Copyright

Submitted by [Jenni Irving](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/jenni.irving/ "User Page: Jenni Irving"), published on 05 June 2012. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.