Skip to contentScholarGate
LibraryBookshelfDeskReview StudioAssistant
Sign in
Comparative Method/Evidence
Method evidence record

Comparative Method

The Comparative Method is a foundational technique in historical linguistics for reconstructing ancestral languages and establishing genetic relationships between related languages. Pioneered by Sir William Jones in 1786, it systematically compares phonological, morphological, and lexical features across languages to identify regular sound correspondences and trace their shared origins. This method underpins modern historical linguistics and has been essential for understanding language families worldwide.

Sources recorded, not reviewed

Source record

Citations copied verbatim from the method’s source record. No claim-level verification is inferred from them.

Comparative Historical Linguistics Method
Taxonomic method record · process-pipeline / linguistics
  • Hock, H. H. (1991). Principles of Historical Linguistics (2nd ed.). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. · DOI 10.1515/9783110219135
  • Campbell, L. (1998). Historical Linguistics: An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. · URL
  • Greenberg, J. H. (1953). Historical linguistics and unwritten languages. In A. L. Kroeber (Ed.), Anthropology Today. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. · URL
Open full method

Curated claims

Claims persisted in the evidence ledger, each with its own assessment.

No curated claims yet

This view does not invent a claim assessment when the ledger has none.

Related methods

Generated from the method graph and shown as machine-suggested relations — no evidence claim is inferred.

Same method familyCorpus Linguisticsmachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Same method familyDialectometrymachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Same method familyGlottochronologymachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Taxonomic bucketInternal Reconstructionmachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.

Evidence status

Sources recorded, not reviewed

Bibliographic sources are present. Claim-level evidence review has not been performed.

Sources

3 recorded citations, copied from the method source record.

Actions

Open method page
ScholarGate

A content-first reference library for research methods — what each one is, how it works, and where it comes from.

Open data (CC-BY)

Explore

  • Library
  • Search the library…
  • Browse by field
  • Fields
  • Journey
  • Compare
  • Which method?

Reference

  • Subjects
  • Atlas
  • Glossary
  • Methodology
  • Philosophy

Your tools

  • Bookshelf
  • Desk
  • Chat

Company

  • About
  • Pricing
  • Contact
  • Suggest a method

Entries are compiled from published sources for reference. Verifying the accuracy and suitability of any information for your own use remains your responsibility.

© 2026 ScholarGate · A research-method reference library
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Terms
  • Delete account