Family: Difference between revisions
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A '''family''' of languages ( | A '''family''' of languages (a '''language family''') is a group of languages that developed from a common historical [[ancestor]]. | ||
A language '''isolate''' is a family of one, such as [[Basque]] or [[Sumerian]]. | |||
===Comments=== | ===Comments=== | ||
Some linguists have tried to establish separate terms for | Some linguists have tried to establish separate terms for families with greater and shallower time-depth, or of different subdivisions within a family. Here are some of them: | ||
*[[stock]], [[super-stock]] | *[[stock]], [[super-stock]] | ||
*[[phylum]] | *[[phylum]] | ||
*[[genus]] | *[[genus]] | ||
===Origin=== | None of these are as universally accepted and used as the word 'family'; a branch of a family may also be called a family (such as the [[Germanic languages|Germanic family]] within the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European family]]). | ||
===Origin of the term=== | |||
This term was apparently adopted by linguists from biology, where a group of similar plants had been called family since the mid-18th century, if not earlier. The term is deeply entrenched in linguistics since at least the mid-19th century. | This term was apparently adopted by linguists from biology, where a group of similar plants had been called family since the mid-18th century, if not earlier. The term is deeply entrenched in linguistics since at least the mid-19th century. | ||
===See also=== | ===See also=== | ||
*[[Daughter Language]] | *[[Daughter Language]] | ||
*[[Genealogical Classification]] | *[[Genealogical Classification]] | ||
*[[Sister Language]] | *[[Sister Language]] | ||
===Other languages=== | ===Other languages=== | ||
Latest revision as of 03:57, 5 January 2021
A family of languages (a language family) is a group of languages that developed from a common historical ancestor.
A language isolate is a family of one, such as Basque or Sumerian.
Comments
Some linguists have tried to establish separate terms for families with greater and shallower time-depth, or of different subdivisions within a family. Here are some of them:
None of these are as universally accepted and used as the word 'family'; a branch of a family may also be called a family (such as the Germanic family within the Indo-European family).
Origin of the term
This term was apparently adopted by linguists from biology, where a group of similar plants had been called family since the mid-18th century, if not earlier. The term is deeply entrenched in linguistics since at least the mid-19th century.
See also
Other languages
German Sprachfamilie