As of

[pdh0224]

Dear teacher,

Though language is not ordinarily thought of as of essential interest to the students of social science, it powerfully conditions all of our thinking about social problems and processes.


Q : Why was "as of" used in the sentence? What is different with "Though language is not ordinarily thought of essential interest to the students of ....."


All the best,

[Alan]

Although an alternative version would be '...thought TO BE of essential interest...', the original is also possible, and represents '...thought of as WE THINK OF SOMETHING (THAT IS) of...', making a passive use of the phrasal verb 'think of'.