Nikolai Trubetzkoy

Prague Circle prince who turned the phoneme into a system of oppositions — the founding of phonology.

Core Principles & Analysis

• His Principles of Phonology, published posthumously in 1939, founded the discipline.
• He analyzed sound systems as webs of distinctive oppositions rather than inventories.
• Gestapo harassment over his anti-Nazi writings hastened his death in Vienna.

Specifications & Metrics

• ERA: 1890 – 1938