Esa Itkonen

Esa Itkonen (born 3 January 1944) is a Finnish linguist, philosopher and language theorist. He is professor emeritus of general linguistics at the University of Turku. Itkonen has authored several publications on linguistic methodology, philosophy of linguistics, history of linguistics, and linguistic typology. He has defended a humanist approach to linguistics, criticising sociobiology, generative grammar, and Cognitive Linguistics.

Career

Esa Itkonen earned his PhD at the University of Helsinki in 1974. He was Professor of general linguistics at the University of Turku from 1982 to 2012 and Docent of philosophy at the University of Jyväskylä from 1988 to 2012.

Books in English (1975) Concerning the Relationship between Linguistics and Logic. University of Helsinki. (1976) Linguistics and Empiricalness : Answers to Criticisms. University of Helsinki. (1978) Grammatical Theory and Metascience : A Critical Investigation into the Methodological and Philosophical Foundations of "Autonomous" Linguistics. John Benjamins. (1983) Causality in Linguistic Theory : A Critical Investigation into the Philosophical and Methodological Foundations of 'Non-Autonomous Linguistics'. Indiana University Press. (1991) Universal History of Linguistics : India, China, Arabia, Europe. John Benjamins. (2003) Methods of Formalization beside and inside Both Autonomous and Non-autonomous Linguistics. University of Turku. (2003) What Is Language? : A Study in the Philosophy of Linguistics. University of Turku. (2005) Analogy as Structure and Process : Approaches in Linguistic, Cognitive Psychology, and Philosophy of Science. John Benjamins. (2005) Ten Non-European Languages : An Aid to the Typologist. University of Turku.