The Study of Languages is one of James Joyce's first essays and an early indication of his
lifelong interest in philology the focus of this volume of essays. The collection investigates
three aspects of Joycean linguistics. The first set of essays studies the language of Joyce's
later writings. In the second part Joyce's own linguistic investigations are retraced. The
third part examines the historical context of 'popular philology'. This volume sheds light on
the relationship between Joyce's later writings and his reading of studies by linguists such as
Richard Paget Charles Kay Ogden Ivor Armstrong Richards Fritz Mauthner Otto Jespersen
Richard Chenevix Trench and Max Müller. Based on notebook research and textual genetics these
essays show how important the study of languages was to Joyce and how it played a crucial role
in the development of his writings as it contributed and gave shape to the languages of Ulysses
and Finnegans Wake.
