Bloomfieldian (adj./n.)

Characteristic of, or a follower of, the linguistic approach of the American linguist Leonard Bloomfield (1887–1949), as exemplified in his book Language, published in 1933. Bloomfieldianism refers particularly to the school of thought which developed between the mid-1930s and 1950s, especially in America, and which was a formative influence on STRUCTURAL LINGUISTICS. It was especially characterized by its behaviouristic principles for the study of MEANING, its insistence on rigorous DISCOVERY PROCEDURES for establishing linguistic units, and a general concern to make linguistics AUTONOMOUS and scientific (in a BEHAVIOURIST sense). A reaction against Bloomfieldian tenets was a powerful force in producing GENERATIVE grammar. Though Bloomfieldianism is no longer fashionable, some of its methods are still widely used in field studies.