Historical Linguistics

by R.L. Trask

This is a major introduction to historical linguistics, designed for students who have no background in historical linguistics but who have at least some knowledge of phonetics, phonology, and morphology. The author introduces all major types of change, consequences of change (dialect and
language families), and methods in historical linguistics. Later chapters deal with sociolinguistic aspects of change, language contact, birth and death of languages, language and prehistory, and finally the issue of very remote relations.

Genres: Linguistics, Nonfiction, Language, History, Reference

430 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 1996

About the author

Robert Lawrence "Larry" Trask was Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sussex in England. He was an authority on the Basque language: his book The History of Basque (1997) is an essential reference on diachronic Basque linguistics and probably the best introduction to Basque linguistics as a whole. He was also an authority on historical linguistics, and had written about the problem of the origin of language. He also published two introductory books to linguistics: Language: The basics (1995) and Introducing Linguistics (coauthored with Bill Mayblin) (2000), and several dictionaries on different topics of this science: A dictionary of grammatical terms in linguistics (1993), A dictionary of phonetics and phonology (1996), A student's dictionary of language and linguistics (1997), Key concepts in language and linguistics (1999), The dictionary of historical and comparative linguistics (2000) and The Penguin dictionary of English grammar (2000).

He was at work compiling an etymological dictionary of Basque when he died, posthumously published by Max W. Wheeler (Etymological Dictionary of Basque, 2008).

Reviews

[Austin Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly readable and doesn't require much of a background in general linguistics. Trask's writing is engaging and often quite entertaining for a textbook, enough that I ended up reading it cover-to-cover in a couple weeks. The first six chapters introduce the mechanisms of language change while the final seven look at methodologies and applications.

The author's numerous examples from Basque seem to bother some people online, and I'll admit it started to wear on me, but a non-IE perspective seems helpful in communicating concepts without letting prior knowledge or notions get in the way. I also appreciated Trask's willingness to devote pages to dissenting opinions from the mainstream in the latter parts of the book, if nothing else to show some of the pitfalls that exist in this field for those who aren't devoted to rigorous methodology.

The included exercises are all worth at least reading and giving some thought, those in chapter 8 on the comparative method should be completed in full. The Further Reading sections at the end of each chapter are very detailed, I wish every textbook author took that level of care.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linguistics is supposed to be vague and boring. And believe me, in 99% of the time it is both, the latter stemming inevitably from the former. Larry Trask, however, is one of those few amazing authors who succeed in presenting linguistics in a manageable form, thus revealing its fascinating nature, which is usually hidden under heaps of elaborate, sophisticated, why-say-it-simple-if-you-can-say-it-complicated phrases.

“Historical Linguistics” is student-oriented. While writing many linguists tend to forget that their textbooks will be read by students who might have little or no experience in the given field. Many of the writers go further and forget the simplest rules about acceptability of the text and information load. Let’s not mention any names. Trask's “Historical Linguistics” escapes all these traps with ease and is a pleasure to read. I laughed out loud more than a few times and that says a lot about a textbook. The feeling is more one of having a conversation with a teacher, rather than reading.

At the same time one shouldn't be left with the impression that the textbook simplifies the matter, because this is not the case. It has its share of terminology and it counts on the reader's knowledge on other branches on linguistics, mainly phonology, morphology and syntax. It is not suitable for people who are new to linguistic theory.

I strongly recommend the Trask’s “Historical Linguistics” to all students in the field.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a bit slow in the first half, but once Trask starts getting into the relatedness between languages in chapter 7 (and starts pulling more examples from languages that aren't Basque) the book gets a lot more interesting. Recommend this to anybody that is interested in historical linguistics who wants to get an idea of how we go about proving that languages are related to each other, or how we know what older versions of a language sounded like.

[Joey Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly expressed and very detailed; taught me a lot.

[Menna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very clear book that gives a decent grounding in historical linguistics. Presupposes almost no knowledge, so very good for those that are just starting their foray into linguistics. It was very well written, read fluidly.
I read the second edition, revised by Robert McColl Millar.

[Piotr Kozlowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lack of the answers key to exercises is this book's only drawback. I loved all the Basque-related examples - it is refreshing to see something not centered on Standard Average European for a change.

[Georgie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting and useful book.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

God I hate this book!