Polygenesis (linguistics)
Encyclopedia
In the field of linguistics
, polygenesis is the view that human languages evolved as several lineages independent of one another. It is contrasted with monogenesis
, which is the view that human languages all go back to a single common ancestor.
Polygenesis is not to be confused with the wave theory
, originally propounded by Johannes Schmidt
.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, polygenesis is the view that human languages evolved as several lineages independent of one another. It is contrasted with monogenesis
Proto-Human language
The Proto-Human language is the hypothetical most recent common ancestor of all the world's languages.The concept of "Proto-Human" presupposes monogenesis of all recorded spoken human languages....
, which is the view that human languages all go back to a single common ancestor.
Polygenesis is not to be confused with the wave theory
Wave model (linguistics)
In historical linguistics, the wave model or wave theory is a model of language change in which new features of a language spread from a central point in continuously weakening concentric circles, similar to the waves created when a stone is thrown into a body of water. According to the model,...
, originally propounded by Johannes Schmidt
Johannes Schmidt (linguist)
Johannes Friedrich Heinrich Schmidt was a German linguist. He developed the Wellentheorie of language development.-Biography:Schmidt was born in Prenzlau, Province of Brandenburg...
.
See also
- PolygenismPolygenismPolygenism is a theory of human origins positing that the human races are of different lineages . This is opposite to the idea of monogenism, which posits a single origin of humanity.- Origins :...
- August SchleicherAugust SchleicherAugust Schleicher was a German linguist. His great work was A Compendium of the Comparative Grammar of the Indo-European Languages, in which he attempted to reconstruct the Proto-Indo-European language...
- Ernst HaeckelErnst HaeckelThe "European War" became known as "The Great War", and it was not until 1920, in the book "The First World War 1914-1918" by Charles à Court Repington, that the term "First World War" was used as the official name for the conflict.-Research:...