areal linguistics

noun

variants: or less commonly area linguistics

Definition of areal linguistics

: a school of historical and comparative linguistics that denies the existence of phonetic laws without exceptions, questions the value of attempts to trace individual languages back to a common ancestral language, and chiefly emphasizes the study of the transmission through space of linguistic innovations which is considered as taking place quite readily even between languages that are not of common origin

— called also neolinguistics

Learn More About areal linguistics

Dictionary Entries Near areal linguistics

areal

areal linguistics

area of expertise

Statistics for areal linguistics

Cite this Entry

“Areal linguistics.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/areal%20linguistics. Accessed 27 Jun. 2022.

Style: MLA

MLA