![Wave model Schmidt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Wave_model_Schmidt.svg)
In
historical linguistics
Historical linguistics, also termed diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of language change over time. Principal concerns of historical linguistics include:
# to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages
# ...
, the wave model or wave theory (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
''Wellentheorie'') is a 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. Dialect diffusion spreads from a given point of contact like
wave
In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (res ...
s on the water.
The theory was intended as a substitute for the
tree model
In historical linguistics, the tree model (also Stammbaum, genetic, or cladistic model) is a model of the evolution of languages analogous to the concept of a family tree, particularly a phylogenetic tree in the biological evolution of species. ...
, which did not seem to be able to explain the existence of some features, especially in the
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, Engli ...
, by descent from a
proto-language
In the tree model of historical linguistics, a proto-language is a postulated ancestral language from which a number of attested languages are believed to have descended by evolution, forming a language family. Proto-languages are usually unattest ...
. At its most ambitious, it is a wholesale replacement for the tree model of languages.
During the 20th century, the wave model had little acceptance as a model for language change overall, except for certain cases, such as the study of
dialect continua
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated variet ...
and
areal phenomena; it has recently gained more popularity among historical linguists, due to the shortcomings of the tree model.
Principles
The tree model requires languages to evolve exclusively through social splitting and linguistic divergence. In the “tree” scenario, the adoption of certain innovations by a group of dialects should result immediately in their loss of contact with other related dialects: this is the only way to explain the nested organisation of subgroups imposed by the tree structure.
Such a requirement is absent from the Wave Model, which can easily accommodate a distribution of innovations in intersected patterns. Such a configuration is typical of
dialect continua
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated variet ...
(and of
linkages, see below), that is, historical situations in which dialects share innovations with different neighbours simultaneously, in such a way that the genealogical subgroups they define form an intersected pattern. This explains the popularity of the Wave model in studies of
dialectology Dialectology (from Greek , ''dialektos'', "talk, dialect"; and , ''-logia'') is the scientific study of linguistic dialect, a sub-field of sociolinguistics. It studies variations in language based primarily on geographic distribution and their assoc ...
.
[.]
Johannes Schmidt used a second metaphor to explain the formation of a language from a continuum. The continuum is at first like a smooth, sloping line. Speakers in close proximity tend to unify their speech, creating a stepped line out of the sloped line. These steps are the dialects. Over the course of time, some steps become weak and
fall into disuse, while others preempt the entire continuum. As example Schmidt used
Standard German
Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...
, which was defined to conform to some dialects and then spread throughout Germany, replacing the local dialects in many cases.
Legacy
In modern linguistics, the wave model has contributed greatly to improve, but not supersede, the
tree model
In historical linguistics, the tree model (also Stammbaum, genetic, or cladistic model) is a model of the evolution of languages analogous to the concept of a family tree, particularly a phylogenetic tree in the biological evolution of species. ...
approach of the
comparative method
In linguistics, the comparative method is a technique for studying the development of languages by performing a feature-by-feature comparison of two or more languages with common descent from a shared ancestor and then extrapolating backwards t ...
. Some scholars have even proposed that the wave model does not complement the tree model but should replace it for the representation of
language genealogy.
[.] The recent works have also focused on the notion of a
linkage
Linkage may refer to:
* ''Linkage'' (album), by J-pop singer Mami Kawada, released in 2010
*Linkage (graph theory), the maximum min-degree of any of its subgraphs
*Linkage (horse), an American Thoroughbred racehorse
* Linkage (hierarchical cluster ...
, a family of languages descended from a former dialect continuum: Linkages cannot be represented by trees and must be analysed by the wave model.
History
Advocacy of the wave theory is attributed to
Johannes Schmidt and
Hugo Schuchardt Hugo Ernst Mario Schuchardt (4 February 1842, Gotha (town), Gotha (Thuringia) – 21 April 1927, Graz (Styria)) was an eminent Germany, German linguistics, linguist, best known for his work in the Romance languages, the Basque language, and in mixed ...
.
In 2002 to 2007,
Malcolm Ross and his colleagues theorized that
Oceanic languages
The approximately 450 Oceanic languages are a branch of the Austronesian languages. The area occupied by speakers of these languages includes Polynesia, as well as much of Melanesia and Micronesia. Though covering a vast area, Oceanic languages ...
can be best understood as developing through the wave model.
[{{cite journal
, author= Ross, Malcolm and Åshild Næss
, title= An Oceanic Origin for Äiwoo, the Language of the Reef Islands?
, journal= Oceanic Linguistics
, year= 2007
, volume= 46
, issue= 2
, pages= 456–498
, ref=Aiwoo
, doi=10.1353/ol.2008.0003
, hdl= 1885/20053
, s2cid= 143716078
, hdl-access= free
]
Applications
The Wave model provided the key inspiration to several approaches in linguistics, notably:
*
Dialectology Dialectology (from Greek , ''dialektos'', "talk, dialect"; and , ''-logia'') is the scientific study of linguistic dialect, a sub-field of sociolinguistics. It studies variations in language based primarily on geographic distribution and their assoc ...
, the study of
dialectal variation, which often takes the form of
linguistic atlases
Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...
and maps, displaying
isogloss
An isogloss, also called a heterogloss (see Etymology below), is the geographic boundary of a certain linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or the use of some morphological or syntactic feature. Major d ...
es and dialect boundaries (including fuzzy boundaries, cf.
Croissant
A croissant is a buttery, flaky, Austrian viennoiserie pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian kipferl but using the French yeast-leavened laminated dough. Croissants are named for their historical crescent shape, the dough is layered wi ...
,
Rhenish fan
The subdivision of West Central German into a series of dialects, according to the differing extent of the High German consonant shift, is particularly pronounced. It known as the Rhenish fan (german: Rheinischer Fächer, links=no, nl, Rijnlandse ...
);
*
Dialectometry
Dialectometry is the quantitative and computational branch of dialectology, the study of dialect. This sub-field of linguistics studies language variation using the methods of statistics; it arose in the 1970s and 80s as a result of seminal work b ...
, the quantitative and computational branch of dialectology;
*
Historical glottometry Historical Glottometry is a method used in historical linguistics. It is a quantitative, non-cladistic approach to language subgrouping.
The aim of Historical Glottometry (HG) is to address the limitations of the tree model when applied to dialect ...
, a quantitative and diffusionist approach to
language subgrouping and genealogy: its main unit of observation are the individual innovations as they diffused across dialect networks and
linkages (internal to a given
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
), resulting in genetic subgroups that form intersecting patterns;
*
Areal linguistics Geolinguistics has been identified by some as being a branch of linguistics and by others as being an offshoot of language geography which is further defined in terms of being a branch of human geography. When seen as a branch of linguistics, geolin ...
, the study of
language contact
Language contact occurs when speakers of two or more languages or varieties interact and influence each other. The study of language contact is called contact linguistics. When speakers of different languages interact closely, it is typical for th ...
(including across different families), and of the
sprachbund
A sprachbund (, lit. "language federation"), also known as a linguistic area, area of linguistic convergence, or diffusion area, is a group of languages that share areal features resulting from geographical proximity and language contact. The lang ...
s that result from long periods of
language convergence
Language convergence is a type of linguistic change in which languages come to resemble one another structurally as a result of prolonged language contact and mutual interference, regardless of whether those languages belong to the same language ...
;
*
Creole linguistics, the study of
linguistic creoles and
mixed language
A mixed language is a language that arises among a bilingual group combining aspects of two or more languages but not clearly deriving primarily from any single language. It differs from a creole language, creole or pidgin, pidgin language in that ...
s, and of their genesis.
See also
*
Memetics
Memetics is a study of information and culture. While memetics originated as an analogy with Darwinian evolution, digital communication, media, and sociology scholars have also adopted the term "memetics" to describe an established empirical study ...
*
Horizontal gene transfer
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) or lateral gene transfer (LGT) is the movement of genetic material between Unicellular organism, unicellular and/or multicellular organisms other than by the ("vertical") transmission of DNA from parent to offsprin ...
References
Historical linguistics
Sociolinguistics
Linguistic theories and hypotheses
Comparative linguistics