Internal Reconstruction

Recovering earlier stages of a single language from patterned alternations within it, without recourse to comparison with related languages.

Definition

Internal reconstruction is a method that infers an earlier stage of a single language by analyzing patterned alternations and irregularities within it, attributing them to prior sound changes or analogical developments.

Scope

This topic covers the method of internal reconstruction, which uses synchronic alternations and morphophonemic irregularities within one language to infer an earlier, more regular state. It is used where comparative evidence is unavailable, such as for language isolates or for changes that postdate the breakup of a family, and it complements the comparative method.

Core questions

• How can earlier states of a language be inferred from a single language alone?
• What kinds of synchronic alternations provide evidence for internal reconstruction?
• How does internal reconstruction complement the comparative method?
• What are the limits of what internal reconstruction can recover?
• How is internal reconstruction applied to isolates and to post-split changes?

Key theories

Alternation as residue of earlier regularity

Morphophonemic alternations within a language are treated as the residue of earlier sound changes that disturbed an originally regular state; reconstructing that prior state removes the alternation.

History

Internal reconstruction grew out of structuralist analysis of alternations and is exemplified by Saussure's reconstruction of Indo-European laryngeals from internal Indo-European evidence, later confirmed by Hittite. It became a standard complement to the comparative method, especially valuable where related languages are lacking.

Debates

Reliability relative to the comparative method

Because it relies on a single language, internal reconstruction can be ambiguous and cannot always distinguish among possible earlier states; it is generally regarded as less powerful than, but complementary to, the comparative method.

Key figures

• Ferdinand de Saussure
• Anthony Fox
• Lyle Campbell

Seminal works

• fox1995
• campbell2013

Frequently asked questions

When is internal reconstruction used instead of the comparative method?

It is used when there are no related languages to compare, as for isolates, or to probe changes that occurred after a family split, when comparative evidence is silent.

What is a famous success of internal reconstruction?

Saussure's positing of Indo-European laryngeal segments on internal grounds was later confirmed when Hittite, deciphered decades afterward, preserved reflexes of those sounds.