Principles of Historical Linguistics

by Hans Henrich Hock

Historical linguistic theory and practice contains a great number of different 'layers' which have been accepted in the course of time and have acquired a permanency of their own. These range from neogrammarian conceptualizations of sound change and analogy to present-day ideas on rule change and language mixture. To get a full grasp of the principles of historical linguistics it is therefore necessary to understand the nature and justifications (or shortcomings) of each of these 'layers', not just to look for a single 'overarching' theory. The major purpose of the book is to provide in up-to-date form such an understanding of the principles of historical linguistics and the related fields of comparative linguistics and linguistic reconstruction. In addition, the book provides a very broad exemplification of the principles of historical linguistics.

Genres: Linguistics, Language, Textbooks

744 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Christopher]

This book is the bible of historical linguistics for anyone looking to work with the Indo-European languages (whether the earliest IE languages for reconstructing Proto-Indo-European, or e.g. later developments within the Romance family for appreciating the breakup of Latin). Hock’s book serves as a follow-up to a basic textbook on historical linguistics, and over its 700-plus pages it reinforces all those basics of sound changes, analogy, sociolinguistic variation etc. while getting into much greater depth on every subject, all illustrated by a plethora of examples.

New summaries of the field of historical linguistics appear from time to time, but I am still as impressed by Hock’s work as I was when I first encountered it in the early millennium. This is a book so informative and so clearly written, that an undergraduate can read it cover-to-cover with pleasure and then be fully prepared to start contributing to the field themselves.

[A. Johnson]

It helps to know German to understand his examples. It won't hurt to read Sanskrit, either.