Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. Preliminaries; 3. Linguistic Areas and Diffusion; 4. The Family Tree Model; 5. Modes of change; 6. The Punctuated Equilibrium Model; 7. More on proto-languages; 8. Recent history; 9. Today's priorities; 10. Summary and prospects; Appendix - where the comparative method discovery procedure fails; References; Index.

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A different approach to the theories on language evolution and change.

Reviews

'I recommend this publication be read by all linguists no matter what their field of interests or specialization are. D's style is witty and to the point, but more relevantly, his previous achievements qualify him to serve as the ideal spokesman on these most significant and sensitive issues, as linguistics enters the new millennium.' Alan S. Kaye, California State University, Fullerton 'It is a work which anyone interested in the prehistory of languages will wish to read. I predict that it will have a significant and healthy influence upon the development of research in this area and in historical linguistics as a whole.' Cambridge Archaeological Journal 'Certainly the most refreshing and stimulating work in the field of historical linguistics I have had the pleasure of reading.' Colin Renfrew, Cambridge Archaeology 'Ground-breaking work in the true sense of the term.' Robert Orr, Diachronica