The Institute of Linguistics was founded in 1960 as part of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb. From its beginnings until now, the Institute has successfully conducted a great number of domestic and international projects.

History of The Institute of linguistics

The Institute of Linguistics was founded in 1960 by professors Mirko Deanović, Rudolf Filipović, Veljko Gortan and Vojmir Vinja in order to become a meeting spot for researchers in the field of philology. The Institute's principal tasks were 1. participating in the work and development of linguistics and of linguistic methods; 2. dealing with a variety of issues in different branches of general and comparative linguistics; 3. researching the relations between Croatian and other languages; 4. educating young researchers.

The first director of the Institute, until 1963, was professor Lj. Jonke, while professors R. Filipović, R. Katičić and V. Vinja were members of the Board. From 1963 to 1983 R. Filipović was the Institute’s director, followed by M. Moguš who held this position until 1992. From 1992 to 1994 the director was M. Bratanić who in 1994 was succeeded by V. Muhvić-Dimanovski. In 1967 R. Filipović, as director of the Institute, along with many other intellectuals signed the Declaration on the Status and Name of the Croatian Literary Language that was of great importance in the history of Croatian.

Goals

The primary goal of the Institute was best expressed by its founders, who asked the Council of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in 1959 to found the Institute of Linguistics, saying: “In order for university teachers – linguists to advance the sciences represented by their profession, a common, organized effort and close cooperation between representatives of the same and related sciences within the institution that will advance and actively represent our profession in the world…”.The goal of the advancement of linguistics in domestic and international circles was best achieved through various projects that were and are still being undertaken by the Institute. The variety of topics individual researchers and heads of projects dealt with show that the aim of the Institute, among others, has been to cover the most diverse fields in linguistics.