Historical comparative linguistics and language classification

Abstract

This chapter introduces the methods and goals of historical linguistics, a field concerned with the classification of languages into families, the reconstruction of ancestral languages from which later languages have descended, and how and why languages change. The primary technique used by historical linguists is called the comparative method. It is used not only for establishing the genealogical relatedness of languages and reconstructing their ancestral proto-languages but also for identifying subgroups within families and for disentangling which features of a language have been inherited from an ancestral language and which have been borrowed from other languages. Furthermore, the analysis of reconstructed vocabulary can provide information on ancient cultures, including social, political, economic, and religious aspects, and it can lend insight into the homelands and migrations of groups of speakers and the nature of extent of contact between different groups.