Comparative linguistics

classic compilation of basic concepts for the purposes of historical-comparative linguistics

study of language change over time

range of dialects that vary geographically

study of the relationships between two or more languages

ability of speakers of two language varieties to understand the other

thumb|240px|Diagram showing relationships between etymologically related words In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language.

Process of reinterpretive word formation

Glottochronology (from Attic Greek 'tongue, language' and 'time') is the part of lexicostatistics which involves comparative linguistics and deals with the chronological relationship between languages.

philosophical method of comparativism, technique for studying the development of scientific fields by comparing them, apparently, in different language groups

essay by Dante Alighieri

model of language change in which a new language feature (innovation) or a new combination of language features spreads from its region of origin, affecting a gradually expanding cluster of dialects

database of language structures

words that look or sound alike, but are not related

Lexicostatistics is a method of comparative linguistics that involves comparing the percentage of lexical cognates between languages to determine their relationship. Lexicostatistics is related to the comparative method but does not reconstruct a proto-language. It is to be distinguished from glottochronology, which attempts to use lexicostatistical methods to estimate the length of time since two or more languages diverged from a common earlier proto-language. This is merely one application of lexicostatistics, however; other applications of it may not share the assumption of a constant rate

study published in 1854 on African languages

linguistic study

1741 essay by Gottfried Hensel

branch of linguistics

linguistic method developed by J. Greenberg to determine genetic relatedness between languages, now generally regarded as misleading

computational comparative linguistics program

non-fiction work by Calvert Watkins