Abstract
AbstractThis essay analyzes the data of prehistorical work in comparative linguistics. These data typically derive from the sector of “basic vocabulary”—words thought to be especially frequent, universal, and resistant to change over time. I show how basic vocabulary data have facilitated transfer between languages, methods, and disciplinary groups. The essay focuses on the standardization of these wordlists by the anthropological linguist Morris Swadesh (1909–67). It argues that the history of basic vocabulary exemplifies “data drag” rather than data-driven change: the labor-intensiveness of wordlist compilation and calibration has only reinforced the use of basic wordlists despite foundational criticisms straddling the move to electronic computing.
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