ABSTRACT:
Rossi-Landi’s main contribution to linguistic theory consists in taking seriously into consideration social and power relations built into the formal structures of language. He had of course predecessors. Apart from Hegel and Marx, the whole humanistic tradition from Dante to Vico can be reckoned among them. It will be examined whether and to what extent Rossi-Landi relied on Vico’s ideas in developing his own revolutionary views on the sociality of language and sign systems. At the same time, also Vico’s role in discovering language as a means of power and class struggle will be appreciated.
