Languoid, Doculect and Glossonym: Formalizing the Notion ‘Language’
Abstract
It is perfectly reasonable for laypeople and non-linguistic scholars to use names for languages
without reflecting on the proper definition of the objects referred to by these names. Simply
using a name like English or Witotoan suffices as an informal communicative designation
for a particular language or a language group. However, for the linguistics community,
which is by definition occupied with the details of languages and language variation, it
is somewhat bizarre that there does not exist a proper technical apparatus to talk about
intricate differences in opinion about the precise sense of a name like English or Witotoan
when used in academic discussion. We propose three interrelated concepts—languoid,
doculect, and glossonym—which provide a principled basis for discussion of different
points of view about key issues, such as whether two varieties should be associated with
the same language, and allow for a precise description of what exactly is being claimed
by the use of a given genealogical or areal group name. The framework these concepts
provide should be especially useful to researchers who work on underdescribed languages
where basic issues of classification remain unresolved.
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