Abstract：Abstract: Studies of textual differences often clarify the factual details in linguistic historiography. The original Czech texts of Phonemic Notes on Standard Slovak and Phoneme and Phonology are not included in the newly published ninth volume of Selected Writings: Roman Jakobson (2013-2014). Therefore, most researchers still have to rely on the English translations in Volume I to reflect on the early concept of distinctive feature. However, some details in the English translation are misleading and have concealed part of the historical facts. This article compares the original Czech texts with their English translations in order to clarify the might-be interlingual textual misunderstandings concerning the divisibility of phoneme, the paradigmatic nature of distinctive feature, and the names and classifications of the distinctive features. It is hoped that it could provide an example on how to avoid anachronism in the research of history of linguistics.
Key words: distinctive feature; interlingual textual differences; anachronism
