Comparative Historical Linguistics Research Articles

Genetic relationship between Kaili and Pamona languages: a historical comparative linguistics study

Genetic relationship between Kaili and Pamona languages: a historical comparative linguistics study

Language Kinship of Wooi, Poom, Ansus, and Ambai in Yapen, Papua

This study aims to determine the language kinship in Wooi, Poom, Ansus, and Ambai languages. Data were collected from an interview with the indigenous speakers of Wooi, Poom, Ansus, and Ambai languages. This research employed a historical-comparative linguistics approach, which is the lexicostatistics and glottochronology method. Data were in the form of 200 basic vocabularies and were calculated with lexicostatistics and glottochronology formula. These research findings indicate the 64% language kinship between Wooi and Ansus. That result is the highest percentage of language kinship between the four languages. 54% is between Wooi and Poom. 53% is between Ansus and Ambai. 49% is between Ansus and Poom. 45% is between Wooi and Ambai. And 35% is between Poom and Ambai, which is the lowest percentage of language kinship. Thus, this study proves that Wooi, Poom, and Ansus are the languages classified into a family. Wooi, Ansus, and Ambai are also the languages classified into a family. Meanwhile, Poom and Ambai are classified as stock.

Reconstructing Ḥadīth Discourse in the Digital Age: From Text to Discourse

This article explores the transformation of the Prophet's ḥadīth from a fundamental religious text into a living discourse within culture and the practices of Muslims in the digital era. Technology and digital media have reshaped the understanding, dissemination, and integration of prophetic values into daily life. Using hermeneutic approaches, critical discourse analysis, and historical-comparative linguistics, this article examines how new methodologies in the social sciences and humanities provide deeper insights into these changes. Additionally, the article highlights the importance of considering both historical and contemporary shifts in the understanding of ḥadīth, including the impact of modernity and globalization. The analysis considers the role of scholars, institutions, and digital platforms in shaping new interpretations and applications of ḥadīth. The findings suggest that while traditional understandings of ḥadīth remain influential, there is an increasing openness to diverse interpretations that address contemporary issues and challenges faced by Muslim communities worldwide. The results indicate not only a growing openness to diverse interpretations but also reveal specific ways in which modernity and globalization have redefined traditional ḥadīth scholarship, influencing both the content and context of these interpretations.

Reconstructing Ḥadīth Discourse in the Digital Age: From Text to Discourse

This article explores the transformation of the Prophet's ḥadīth from a fundamental religious text into a living discourse within culture and the practices of Muslims in the digital era. Technology and digital media have reshaped the understanding, dissemination, and integration of prophetic values into daily life. Using hermeneutic approaches, critical discourse analysis, and historical-comparative linguistics, this article examines how new methodologies in the social sciences and humanities provide deeper insights into these changes. Additionally, the article highlights the importance of considering both historical and contemporary shifts in the understanding of ḥadīth, including the impact of modernity and globalization. The analysis considers the role of scholars, institutions, and digital platforms in shaping new interpretations and applications of ḥadīth. The findings suggest that while traditional understandings of ḥadīth remain influential, there is an increasing openness to diverse interpretations that address contemporary issues and challenges faced by Muslim communities worldwide. The results indicate not only a growing openness to diverse interpretations but also reveal specific ways in which modernity and globalization have redefined traditional ḥadīth scholarship, influencing both the content and context of these interpretations.

Tracing the Linguistic Roots of Malay and Batak Languages in Sumatra Island: A Historical Comparative Study

Previous research in comparative historical linguistics has traditionally focused on languages within a single region, overlooking cognate languages in other areas. This study seeks to rectify this by quantitatively and qualitatively describing the kinship between Rejang, Serawai, Lembak (Bengkulu), and Toba, Mandailing, and Nias (North Sumatra) languages. It aims to unearth empirical evidence regarding the timing of divergence between Malay and Batak languages, as well as the grouping of languages and the percentage of kinship between Bengkulu Province and North Sumatra Province. Utilizing Morris Swadesh's lexicostatistics and glottochronology methods, the research evaluates word kinship based on a fundamental 150-word list. Results indicate significant differences among the six languages, particularly with Rejang and Nias displaying low similarity levels, falling below 30% and not even reaching 10%, respectively. The percentage of kinship between local language pairs in Bengkulu and North Sumatra Province averages at 22.66%, classifying them under the "Family stock" category, indicating identical word correlations despite differing phonetic elements. Glottochronological calculations estimate the separation time between Malay and Batak languages to range from 419 to 3,289 BC. This research significantly enhances understanding of regional language kinship and linguistic diversity.

The Origin and Dispersal of Austroasiatic Languages from the Perspectives of Linguistics, Archeology, and Genetics

The Austroasiatic (AA) languages comprise a large language family in mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA) and South Asia. Theoretical, methodological, and material constraints have limited research on the origin and dispersal of AA-speaking populations within historical-comparative linguistics. With the deepening of archaeological and genetic studies, interdisciplinary collaboration has become key to solving this problem. We review the latest hypotheses in linguistics, archaeology, and molecular anthropology and propose insights on the origin and dispersal of AA languages. The ancestors of the AA-speaking populations were suggested to be rice farmers living in the Neolithic Age in southern China. Between 3,000 and 4,500 BP, some of these ancestors who spoke Proto-AA migrated from southern China to northern Vietnam, together with shouldered stone tools and domesticated rice. They mixed with local hunter-gatherers and expanded to the south of MSEA, giving rise to the Mon-Khmer, Aslian, and Nicobarese populations. They also spread to the northeast of India to form the Munda-speaking populations. Another group arrived near Dian Lake in Yunnan about 2,500 BP, where they created the Bronze Drum culture with the Proto- Tai-Kadai (TK)–speaking populations and later spread eastward to northern Vietnam via Guangxi. Finally, the Proto-AA–speaking people who remained in southern China mixed with the Proto-TK–speaking groups from Fujian and Guangdong, leading to a language shift, which we hypothesize was one of the main reasons for the “disappearance” of AA in southern China.

Infinitive as a verb form of the German language

The object of the study is the infinitive of the German language, and the subject is its semantic, structural and functional characteristics, which make it possible to interpret it as a verb form. The authors consider in detail such aspects as the specificity of the infinitive expression of the verbal categorical meaning, which brings it closer to the noun; structural division and microsystem of infinitive forms of the modern German language. Morphological features of the infinitive are considered through the prism of historical changes in the structure of the word in the German language. The authors pay special attention to the syntactic behavior of the infinitive. At the same time, the authors pay special attention to the multifunctionality of the infinitive, which is maximally identical to the nominal parts of speech. At the same time, the authors note the manifestation of the verb character of the infinitive in the ability to form a verb group. The methodological basis of the work is based on a systematic approach to the interpretation of linguistic phenomena in synchrony and diachrony. The theoretical basis of the research is the fundamental principles of general, comparative historical and Germanic linguistics. The comparative method and the method of distributive analysis were used to identify the functional potential of the infinitive and innovative phenomena. The main conclusions of the study are to identify the complexity of interpreting syncretic units to which the infinitive belongs. It was found that during the development of the German language, the infinitive gradually entered its verbal system, losing nominal grammatical features, such as the case paradigm. At the same time, the infinitive acquired verbal signs, as a temporary and collateral meaning. A special contribution of the author is the conclusion that the dual nature of the infinitive, which determines its peripheral position, is the basis for expanding its functional potential, which contributes to the participation of the infinitive in the formation of new grammatical structures/forms. The novelty of the study lies in the identification of such a function of the infinitive as participation in the formation of verb groups, where maximum proximity with the final verb is manifested.

The genetic relationship between Alune, Lisabata, Luhu, and Wemale (Western Seram, Indonesia): a historical-comparative linguistics approach

The genetic relationship between Alune, Lisabata, Luhu, and Wemale (Western Seram, Indonesia): a historical-comparative linguistics approach

The rise of gemination in Celtic

This study investigates systematically the emergence and establishment of geminate consonants as a phonological class in the Celtic branch of Indo-European. The approach of this study is comparative historical linguistics, drawing on diachronic structuralism combined with aspects of language contact studies and functional approaches to language usage. This study traces the development of geminates from Proto-Indo-European (fourth millennium B.C.), which did not allow geminate consonants, to the Common Celtic period (first millennium B.C.), when almost every consonant could occur as a singleton or as a geminate, and on to the earliest attested stages of the Insular Celtic languages (first millennium A.D.). Although they were prominent in the phonology of Proto- and Ancient Celtic (Gaulish, Celtiberian), ultimately geminates were gotten rid of as a phonological class in the individual Insular Celtic languages. This is probably due to the fact that the contrast between lenited and unlenited sounds took on a central role in Insular Celtic phonology, making gemination a phonetically redundant category. Most instances of geminate consonants in Celtic can be explained by regular sound change operating on inherited clusters of consonants. Each sound change will be discussed in a separate section in a rough chronological order. Effectively, gemination is largely a strategy to reduce the number of allowed consonant combinations. To a limited degree, gemination also had a morphological function, especially in the formation of personal names and in the creation of adjectival neologisms. However, there is a residue of words, especially nouns, in the Insular Celtic languages that defy any attempt at etymologising. They are prime suspects of having been borrowed from prehistoric, substratal languages.

Grammaticalization of Nazal Affixes in the Archaic Lexicon of Balinese Language: A Diachronic Study

Balinese has a communication system called Anggah-Ungguhing Basa (language levels). This language level coexists with the social stratification of society. Thus, the language activities of Balinese speakers are influenced by the social stratification of Balinese society. Social stratification and the Anggah-Ungguhing Basa system cause Balinese speakers to have various levels of language taste and variations in its use. In general, Anggah-Ungguhing Basa shows politeness in language. From linguistic studies, of course, such language signs need to be studied, especially regarding the grammatical processes of inherited elements in Balinese. The grammatical process that is the focus is the form and function of nasal affixes in the Balinese language. In this regard, it is very important to study the various grammaticalizations of the Balinese language further, so that these lexicons are appropriate to the language level in Bali. This research aims to thoroughly describe the inherited grammatical units in Modern Balinese. Normatively, these operational concepts are contained in the theory of comparative historical linguistics. Diachronically, the form of nasal affixes in Balinese can be traced. The affixes an-, am-, ang-, any- in Old Javanese are partly reflected in Old Balinese. The changes in each form are the basic morpheme to which it is attached. The basic morpheme begins with the phoneme bilabial, so the appropriate nasal affix is nasal bilabial. This process is called homorganization. In formal texts and traditional Balinese literary works, the affixes an-, am-, ang-, any- are still used. However, in Balinese Lumrah it changes to n-, m-, ny-, ng-.

Studia z antroponimii prasłowiańskiej (В. П. ШУЛЬГАЧ, НАРИСИ З ПРАСЛОВ’ЯНСЬКОЇ АНТРОПОНІМІЇ, ч. VІІ, (Київ 2022, 388 c.)

The subject of the discussion is the volume of studies by Viktor Shulgach, entitled "Essays from Proto-Slavic anthroponymy" ("Нариси з праслов’янської антропонімії"), part VII, Kyiv 2022, p. 388. The monograph concerns the reconstruction of the propria stock of the Proto-Slavic language, consisting of 3190 anthroponymic units. These are interdisciplinary studies, combining knowledge in the field of etymology, diachronic onomastics and comparative-historical linguistics with history and geography. In the first chapter of the work, old somatonyms have been reconstructed. The second chapter is devoted to anthroponymic Proto-Slavic continuants i.e. *bher-, *ger-. It also reconstructs old anthroponyms derived from PSlav. *Dorg-, *Gluх- / *Gluš-, *Vęd-. Their motivational basis is primarily appellative lexis. In the third chapter, the etymologization of selected Slavic anthroponyms is made. The monograph significantly broadens the knowledge in the field of Slavic etymology and the oldest onymic layer, as well as the Proto-Slavic appellative lexis founding it.

Rozwój myśli językoznawczej na Uniwersytecie Wileńskim w pierwszym trzydziestoleciu XIX wieku w świetle badań Anny Kaupuż

The aim of this article is to show the development of linguistic thought at Vilnius University in the period 1805–1832 on the basis of the unpublished doctor’s dissertation The Essays on the History of Slavic Philology at Vilnius University at the Beginning of the 19th Century [Очерки по истории славянской филологии в Вильнюсском университете в начале XIX века] of Anna Kaupuż (1924–1994), a good archive expert. Following the materials found in the Lithuanian, Polish and Russian archives, the researcher reveals the place of linguistic issues in the didactics and scholarly interests of Vilnius University professors during this period of the development of historical-comparative linguistics. The research activities of Ivan Cherniavsky (1768–1822), Eusebius Slovacki (1773–1814), Leon Borovsky (1784–1846), and Ivan Loboiko (1786–1864), professors who held positions in the two departments, that is, in the Department of Russian Language and Literature and the Department of Rhetoric and Poetry, during the period in question, are examined in detail. The research allows to conclude that linguistic views of the afore-mentioned researchers were fully in line with the spirit of the period – their worldview was still influenced by classicist thinking but the comparativist ideas had reached the University, research in the Lithuanian language started, and the works in the field of dialectology were published. Thanks to I. Loboiko, Vilnius University became one of the few academic centres in Europe of that time, where comparative grammar of Slavic languages was taught.

Glottochronology and the Divergence of Common-Kartvelian

An alternative variant of the family tree of the Kartvelian languages, different from the G. Deeters’ one, has recently again appeared in the Kartvelian comparative-historical linguistics. According to the alternative genealogical tree, Svan-Zan language unity and Georgian (as an independent language) were formed at the first stage of the divergence of Common-Kartvelian. At the following stage Svan-Zan language unity differentiated into Svan and Zan languages. The Deeters’s scheme, the kartvelologists have actually become aware of due to T. Gamkrelidze and G. Machavariani, proposes formation of Georgian-Zan language unity and Svan (as an independent language) at the first stage of the divergence. In favor of the Deeters’ scheme, T. Gamkrelidze calls the fact that archaic characteristics of Common-Kartvelian have been preserved in Svan, and in addition, a significant number of innovations (both in lexis and in the grammatical structure) have been found to be common in Georgian and Laz-Megrelian, the latter being the daughter languages of Zan. The results of the glottochronological calculations (performed independently by G. Klimov and T. Gamkrelidze), based on M. Swadesh’s method of glottochronology, are in favor of the Deeters’ tree. As it is known, M. Swadesh’s method of glottochronology, which enables the calculation of the absolute chronology of the proto-language, was proposed in the early 1950s. Both supporters and critics of glottochronology immediately appeared, and soon, some refinements to M. Swadesh’s model were made. An important role in the refinement has been played by S. Starostin. Reinterpreting the old model of glottochronology, he has changed the calculating formula as well. The results of the preliminary analysis (based on Starostin’s model) of the data from the etymological dictionaries of the Kartvelian languages are presented in the paper, and they are clearly in favor of Deeters’ tree.

In the Labyrinths of Time and Language: on the 85th Anniversary of Prof. L.G. Zubkova

Lyudmila Georgievna Zubkova was a professor, Doctor of Philology, famous Russian linguist, author of more than 100 works on general and comparative historical linguistics, philosophy and theory of language, history of linguistics, methodology of linguistics, phonology, morphonology, morphology of the Russian language, linguistic semantics and semiotics. She supervised more than 20 candidates of philological sciences. L.G. Zubkova worked at Peoples’ Friendship University named after Patrice Lumumba (1960-2002), taught at Lomonosov Moscow State University and was a professor of the Department of Russian Language and General Linguistics at Moscow State Pedagogical University (2002-2021). The study gives a review of the most significant stages of professor L.G. Zubkova’s scientific activity and her scientific heritage.

Макрокомпаративистика: новое в изучении славянских и тюркских языков

The article is devoted to the comparative analysis of the names of parts of the human head in the Slavic and Turkic languages. The relevance of its topic consists in the debatable nature of the problems of the origin of the Russian words ‘rot (mouth)’, ‘usta (mouth)’, ‘ukho (ear)’, ‘litso (face)’ and others, in the ambiguity of scientists’ opinions regarding their etymology and in the importance of solving relevant issues for the theory of linguogenetics. The purpose of the article is a comparative analysis of the nominees of human head parts in the Slavic and Turkic languages in the aspect of nostratics. In the course of the research, methods of comparison, analogy and reconstruction were used, the identity of the origin of the names of the ear, mouth, face and some other parts of the head in the Slavic and Turkic languages was established, and the position that the formal-sound and semantic differences of the compared words do not go beyond the general laws of language divergence was substantiated. The results of the work can be useful for the theory of comparative historical linguistics and for the practice of compiling etymological dictionaries of the languages of Eurasia.

PEWARISAN FONEM VOKAL PROTO AUSTRONESIA KE BAHASA JAWA DAN BAHASA MINANGKABAU

The purpose of this study is to explain the changes and inheritance of PAN vowels into Javanese (BJ) and Minangkabau (BM) languages. The approach used is the Comparative Historical Linguistics (LHK) approach. The data used is 200 swadesh vocabulary lists. The method used for data analysis is comparative historical method. The results of this study indicate that the inheritance of vowel phonemes in Javanese and Minangkabau languages ​​occurs in linear forms and innovative forms. Linear forms in Javanese are found in vowel phonemes /*a/, /*i/, /*e/, /*ə/ and /*u/ and innovative forms in Javanese are found on the vowel phonemes /*a/, /*i/, /*u/. the changes in vocal phonemes that occur in the innovative form occur in vocal phonemes /*a/ which change into vowel phonemes /o/, /ə/, and /e/. The vowel phoneme /*i/ changes to the vowel phoneme /e/ and the vowel phoneme /*u/ changes to the vowel phoneme /o/. For vowel phoneme forms in the Minangkabau language it is also found in linear and innovative forms where in vowel phonemes the linear form is found in the vowels /*a/, /*i/ and /*u/. In the innovative form it is found in the vowel phonemes /*a/, /*ə/, /*u/ where the vocal phonemes /*a/ and the vowel phonemes /*ə/ and /*u/. The changes in vocal phonemes that occur are the vocal phoneme /*a/ which changes to the vocal phoneme /o/, the vocal phoneme /*ə/ changes to the vocal phoneme /a/, and the vocal phoneme /*u/ changes to the vocal phoneme /o/.

Less-known pages of the history of Georgian-Baltic scientific relations: George Akhvlediani and Jānis Endzelīns

Professor George Akhvlediani (1887-1973) was the great Georgian scholar with multiple interests. He worked in several areas of linguistic inquiry. He wrote major works on general linguistics, general and experimental phonetics, speech therapy, Indo-Europeanand Kartvelian languages, some of them being seminal. After having received higher education at Kharkiv and Petrograd universities, Akhvlediani returned to his homeland and became one of the founders of Tbilisi University (26/1/1918). He pioneered in such disciplines as general linguistics and general phonetics. He was in charge of the Department of General Linguistics which played a historical role in the emergence and development of the linguistics thought in Georgia. It should be noted that Jānis Endzelīns (1873-1961), the great Latvian philologist and linguist, immensely contributed to Akhvlediani’s training as a scholar. He has been aknowledged as a major expert of the Baltic languages and an ornament in the field of comparative-historical linguistics. George Akhvlediani was awarded a gold medal for his oeuvre “An essay of the history of liquid and nasal consonants in Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, and Slavic languages”. Professor Endzelīns wrote a comprehensive review on the work and highly appreciated it. George Akhvlediani always recalled the consideration and care shown by Jānis Endzelīns with great gratitude, evidenced by their correspondence. Five letters, sent by Endzelīns to Tbilisi, addressed to Akhvlediani, are kept in the Museum of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University.

Kinship Terminology as a (Still) Significant Anthropological Analytical Category

This paper explains the concept of kinship terminology as an analytical category in anthropology and highlights its importance. Special attention is given to the differences in approach and methodology employed in anthropology compared to comparative philology and historical linguistics when it comes to this type of research. In addition to discussing the typology of kinship terminology systems, the paper addresses current knowledge regarding two longstanding questions: 1. the relationship between kinship terminology and non-linguistic elements (principles of social organisation and kinship behaviour), and 2. historical changes and transformations of kinship terminological systems.
 From the perspective of contemporary anthropology, when interpreting the prevalence of different types of kinship terminology worldwide, it is necessary to consider and distinguish between two principles of grouping: the ‘principle of propinquity’ and the ‘principle of form.’ The principle of propinquity can be applied when dealing with societies that are linguistically, geographically, and historically connected. When terminologies with the same formal characteristics, including identical rules of kinship classification, exist in geographically, linguistically, and historically distinct and distant societies, the principle of form is applied, which focuses more on logical rather than historical connections between systems.
 While earlier studies focused on finding logically powerful and empirically efficient analytical means of classification, in recent decades the emphasis has increasingly shifted towards broader social, historical, and cognitive issues and processes. Contemporary approaches to kinship terminology aim to identify and explain variations rather than categorise such systems into one general category or another. Because what matters is not which category fits better, but rather which features can be combined in different ways to form a concrete system in the real world.

Reflection of Consonant Phonemes /b/ dan/d/ in Toba Batak Language into /p/dan /t/ in Angkola Batak Language

The aim of this research was to describe the reflection of consonant phonemes /b/ and /d/ in Toba Batak language into /p/ and /t/ in Angkola Batak language. The theory used in this paper was the theory of Comparative Historical Linguistics which consists of two views, namely Types of Phonetic Changes and Types of Phonological Processes. The method used by the author was a comparative method between the Toba Batak language and the Angkola Batak language with a focused on the phoneme changes /b/ to /p/ and /d/ to /t/ in both languages. Based on the analysis described in the discussion chapter, it can be concluded that the consonant reflection phonemes /b/ and /d/ in Toba Batak language undergo linear changed to /p/ and /t/ in Angkola Batak language in the initial, middle and final positions. The changing included b > p and d > t, the changed occured consistently in the initial, middle and the final positions

Hubungan Kekerabatan Bahasa Jawa Dan Bahasa Melayu (Kajian Linguistik Historis Komparatif)

Language as a means of human communication has become one of the interesting studies from time to time considering that language is dynamic. The science that studies language is linguistics, in which between branches of linguistics there is comparative historical linguistics. This study aims to describe how comparative linguistic studies are between Javanese regional languages and Malay regional languages. This research uses descriptive qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitatively it functions to collect data and analyze it both orally and in writing, while quantitatively to get comparisons and the number of percentages between language kinships obtained by using lexicostatistics techniques. The data source for this research is a Pontianak Malay language text entitled Bawang Merah and Bawang Puteh . The steps taken to determine language kinship are: (1) determine the basic vocabulary of Bawang Merah and Bawang Puteh folklore, (2) determine the pairs of the two languages, (3) determine the time of separation and age of language kinship. Based on the results of the analysis, Javanese and Malay were the only languages between 2325 – 1845 years ago. Javanese and Malay languages separated into a proto language between 302 - 178 AD (calculated by 2023).