CONTENTS
Acknowledgements = ⅵ
1 Introduction = 1
2 Preliminaries = 7
3 Linguistic areas and diffusion = 15
3.1 What can diffuse = 19
3.2 Languages in contact = 22
4 The family tree model = 28
4.1 Criteria = 30
4.2 Proto-languages 45
4.3 Dating = 46
4.4 Subgrouping = 49
5 Modes of change = 54
5.1 Changes within languages = 54
5.2 Language splitting = 58
5.3 The origin of language = 63
6 The punctuated equilibrium model = 67
6.1 Linguistic equilibrium = 68
6.2 Punctuation = 73
6.3 Some examples = 85
7 More on proto-languages = 97
8 Recent history = 103
9 Today's priorities = 116
9.1 Why bother? = 116
9.2 Some modern myths = 128
9.3 What every linguist should do = 135
10 Summary and prospects = 139
10.1 The punctuated equilibrium model = 139
10.2 Concerning comparative linguistics = 140
10.3 Concerning descriptive linguistics = 143
10.4 Concerning languages = 145
Appendix - where the comparative method discovery procedure fails = 149
References = 153
Index = 163
