Linkage (linguistics)
Encyclopedia
In linguistics, a linkage is a group of undoubtedly related languages for which no proto-language
can be reconstructed. Malcolm Ross
, who coined the term, defined it as “a group of communalects which have arisen by dialect differentiation” .
Common to linkages are defining features absent from its geographic extremes. A linkage may result when the members of a dialect chain diverge while sharing subsequent innovations.
An example of a linkage is the one formed the Central Malayo-Polynesian languages
of the Banda Sea
(a sea in the South Moluccas in Indonesia
). The Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages are commonly divided into two branches, Central MP and Eastern MP
, each having certain defining features that unify them and distinguish them from the other. However, while proto-Eastern and proto-Central–Eastern MP languages can be reconstructed (the sibling and parent of Central MP, respectively), a proto-Central MP language reconstruction does not seem feasible. It may be that the branches of Central MP are each as old as Eastern MP, but that they went on to exchange features that are now considered to define them as a family. In Eastern MP, common features can be assumed to have been present in the ancestral language, but this is not the case for Central MP.
Proto-language
A proto-language in the tree model of historical linguistics is the common ancestor of the languages that form a language family. Occasionally, the German term Ursprache is used instead.Often the proto-language is not known directly...
can be reconstructed. Malcolm Ross
Malcolm Ross
Malcolm David Ross is a linguist and professor at the Australian National University. He has published work on Austronesian and Papuan languages, historical linguistics, and language contact.-External links:**...
, who coined the term, defined it as “a group of communalects which have arisen by dialect differentiation” .
Common to linkages are defining features absent from its geographic extremes. A linkage may result when the members of a dialect chain diverge while sharing subsequent innovations.
An example of a linkage is the one formed the Central Malayo-Polynesian languages
Central Malayo-Polynesian languages
The Central Malayo-Polynesian linkage is an erstwhile branch of Austronesian languages. The languages are spoken in the Lesser Sunda and Maluku Islands of the Banda Sea, in an area corresponding closely to the Indonesian provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and Maluku and the nation of East Timor , but...
of the Banda Sea
Banda Sea
The Banda Sea is a sea in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia, technically part of the Pacific Ocean but separated from it by hundreds of islands, as well as the Halmahera and Ceram Seas...
(a sea in the South Moluccas in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
). The Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages are commonly divided into two branches, Central MP and Eastern MP
Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages
The Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages form a putative subgroup of the Malayo-Polynesian languages consisting of over 500 languages. Their relationship is not supported by much linguistic data: per Malcolm Ross, there is "essentially no evidence" that the Halmahera–Cenderawasih and Oceanic...
, each having certain defining features that unify them and distinguish them from the other. However, while proto-Eastern and proto-Central–Eastern MP languages can be reconstructed (the sibling and parent of Central MP, respectively), a proto-Central MP language reconstruction does not seem feasible. It may be that the branches of Central MP are each as old as Eastern MP, but that they went on to exchange features that are now considered to define them as a family. In Eastern MP, common features can be assumed to have been present in the ancestral language, but this is not the case for Central MP.