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Wave theory, in linguistics, provides an explanation of how languages gradually change. Like the concentric rings created when a stone is thrown into a pond, linguistic changes are thought to spread outwards in all directions. In any speech community there will be different configurations of waves intersecting with one another. Linguistic innovation tends to arise in the middle of the social class range, although a number of social factors can affect the rate and direction of change, including age, sex, social class and region. Change can spread along any one of these social dimensions, typically via people who have contacts with more than one social group. MS
See also comparative-historical linguistics; dialectology. |
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