Language Dynamics and Change 7 (2017) 252–285 brill.com/ldc Evaluating proposals of language genealogical relationship The Beck-Wichmann-Brown (bwb) system Cecil H. Brown Northern Illinois University
[email protected] Abstract In an endeavor to objectify and provide uniformity to the comparative method of his- torical linguistics, this study describes the Beck-Wichmann-Brown (bwb) system for evaluating lexical sets assembled as evidence for proposals of language genealogical relationship. The approach quantitatively assesses the degree of support that collec- tions of comparative sets provide for proposals, with regard to whether or not observed lexical similarity exceeds coincidental expectation. bwb is illustrated through applica- tion to an assemblage of 51 comparative sets compiled by Pache (2016) for the affiliation of Pumé and Chocoan languages of South America. This study presents and ranks bwb quantitative results for 65 language comparisons (of global distribution) and pro- poses a framework for interpreting ranked findings. Evaluations for the 65 comparisons are compared with those provided by three online classifications of the world’s lan- guages. Keywords comparative method – distant genetic relationship – historical linguistics – language classification – language families – Swadesh basic vocabulary 1 Introduction The comparative method of historical linguistics compiles evidence in support of the genealogical relatedness of languages. This evidence typically consists of words from compared languages that are similar in sound and meaning, i.e., © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2017 | doi: 10.1163/22105832-00702003Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 03:44:14AM via free access evaluating proposals of language genealogical relationship 253 lexical lookalikes. If matched words are not only similar but also attest to reg- ular sound correspondences, the words may be cognate, i.e., inherited from a common ancestral language.