Difference between revisions of "Family"
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(→Related terms: Rearranged the order of the key terms (now alphabetical)) |
Kirk Miller (talk | contribs) (→See also: another, + spelling) |
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*[[Daughter Language]] | *[[Daughter Language]] | ||
*[[Genealogical Classification]] | *[[Genealogical Classification]] | ||
| − | *[[Language | + | *[[Language Family]] |
| + | *[[Language Isolate]] | ||
*[[Sister Language]] | *[[Sister Language]] | ||
*[[Subgroup]] | *[[Subgroup]] | ||
Revision as of 10:23, 5 March 2019
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
- Ancestor Language
- Daughter Language
- Genealogical Classification
- Language Family
- Language Isolate
- Sister Language
- Subgroup
Other languages
German Sprachfamilie
