Louis Hjelmslev

Glossematics is a formal theory of language developed by Louis Hjelmslev as a rigorous, algebraic approach to linguistic structure. It builds upon Ferdinand de Saussure's structuralist ideas by proposing that language can be analyzed as a self-contained system of dependencies between expression and content. Hjelmslev outlined the theory in his major work "Prolegomena to a Theory of Language," published in 1943.

The Copenhagen School is a tradition in structural linguistics founded by Louis Hjelmslev and Hans Jørgen Uldall at the University of Copenhagen. It is recognized as one of the major European structuralist schools alongside the Prague School. The Copenhagen School is primarily associated with Hjelmslev's glossematic theory.

Hjelmslev expanded upon Saussure's structuralist approach by proposing a more formal analysis of the linguistic sign system. While Saussure identified the duality of signifier and signified, Hjelmslev refined this into the planes of "expression" and "content," each with their own "form" and "substance." This allowed for a more abstract analysis of linguistic structure independent of its physical or semantic realization.

Louis Hjelmslev lived from 1899 to 1965. He was a professor at the University of Copenhagen, where he developed and taught glossematic theory for much of his career. His work influenced later developments in semiotics and structural linguistics throughout the mid-twentieth century.