Ancient Languages
Historical linguistics (also called diachronic linguistics) is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:
- to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages
- to reconstruct the pre-history of languages and determine their relatedness, grouping them into language families (comparative linguistics)
- to develop general theories about how and why language changes
- to describe the history of speech communities
- to study the history of words, i.e. etymology.
Read more about Ancient Languages: History and Development, Evolution Into Other Fields, Conservative, Innovative, Archaic
Famous quotes containing the words ancient and/or languages:
“The Ancient Mariner seizes the guest at the wedding feast and will not let go until he has told all his story: the prototype of the bore.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“It is time for dead languages to be quiet.”
—Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972)
Related Phrases
Related Words