•Friedrich von Schlegel (1772-1829): coined the phrase 'comparative grammar,' which originially referred to comparing
morphology in Sanskrit
and other Indo-European languages to determine genetic relationships.
•Dane R. Rask
(1787-1832): pioneer in historical/comparative linguistics. He worked out a methodology for
historical/comparative linguistics.
•Jakob Grimm
(1785-1863): devised Grimm's law which states that, "If there is found between two languages agreement
in the forms of indispensable
words to such an extent that rules of letter changes can be discovered for passing from one to the other, then
there is a basic relationship
between these languages."
•Franz Bopp
(1791-1867): worked further on classification of genetic relations among the Germanic languages.
•August F. Pott
(1802-1887): pioneered Indo-European historical linguistics and etymological studies. He was a professor
of linguistics at the
University of Halle.