We find many eminent linguists circling Louis Hjelmslev in Copenhagen during the different eras of his life. And we know that his academic work was inspired by the ideas these particular linguists shared between each other. In Geneva and Prague there were established circles in which linguistic discussions could bloom, and Hjelmslev felt the need for creating the same kind of forum for sharing linguistic knowledge and discussing language related topics. Hjelmslev initiated a circle at 8 p.m., September 24th 1931 called Cercle Linguistique de Copenhague, in English the Linguistic Circle of Copenhagen, in Danish Lingvistkredsen. Hjelmslev cofounded the circle and was chairman for the group for many years.
Click here to read the monographic series associated with the Linguistic Circle of Copenhagen: Travaux du Cercle Linguistique de Copenhague. You can also download digitalized versions of selected volumes.
Many meetings were held during the reign of Hjelmslev in the Linguistic Circle of Copenhagen and these meetings anchored individuals with an interest in language and linguistics. In the Linguistic Circle of Copenhagen they worked on a comprehensive terminological and systematical project. In a collaboration, they aimed for establishing a revision of the terminology and ways of researching language, especially after Saussure who fathered structuralism and paved new ways for linguistics in the 19th century.
During the timespan of Project Infrastructuralism, we have the opportunity of delving into the development of language theory in a collaboration with and between intelligent Danish linguists of the Linguistic Circle of Copenhagen in the 20th century. By providing availability of these archives and somewhat interactivity by digitalizing them, the digitalized material will provide us with the opportunity of taking a closer look at how relevant problems have been treated and sorted at the time. Because of the wealth of information from Hjelmslev's written correspondences (and also from others from this period), summaries of meetings and other relevant materials we have in the archives, we get to unfold finished solutions before, during and after actual published materials. This is in particular related to the language theory "Glossematics" which was a piece of work that indubitably brought structuralism into the 20th century. Project Infrastructuralism aims for rethinking structuralism and for taking it to the next level and in to the 21st century - this we will do in collaboration with some of the most important linguists in structural linguistics of the 20th century.
