Difference between revisions of "Family"

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(New page: A '''family''' of languages (or language family) is a group of languages that have developed from a common ancestor. ===Comments=== Some linguists have tried to establish separate...)
 
(→‎Related terms: Rearranged the order of the key terms (now alphabetical))
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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.
  
===Related terms===
+
===See also===
*[[subgroup]]
+
*[[Ancestor Language]]
*[[genealogical classification]]
+
*[[Daughter Language]]
*[[daughter language]]
+
*[[Genealogical Classification]]
*[[ancestor language]]
+
*[[Language Familiy]]
*[[sister language]]
+
*[[Sister Language]]
 +
*[[Subgroup]]
  
 
===Other languages===
 
===Other languages===

Revision as of 09:11, 1 June 2014

A family of languages (or language family) is a group of languages that have developed from a common ancestor.

Comments

Some linguists have tried to establish separate terms for larger and smaller groups of languages, or for groups with greater and shallower time-depth. None of these are as universally accepted and used as family. Here are some of them:

Origin

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