Daughter language

In historical linguistics, a daughter language, also known as descendant language, is a language descended from another language, its mother language, through a process of genetic descent.[1] If more than one language has developed from the same proto-language, or 'mother language', those languages are said to be sister languages, members of the same language family. These concepts are linked to the tree model of language evolution, in which the relationships between languages are compared with those between members of a family tree. This model captures the diversification of languages from a common source.[2]

Strictly speaking, the metaphor of the mother-daughter relationship can lead to a misconceptualization of language history, as daughter languages are direct continuations of the mother language, which have become distinct by a process of gradual change; the languages are not separate entities "born" to a parent who eventually dies.

Examples
  • English and German are daughter languages of Proto-Germanic, which is a daughter language of Proto-Indo-European.
  • The languages of Italian and French are daughter languages of (Vulgar) Latin, which is a daughter language of Proto-Italic, which is a daughter language of Proto-Indo-European.
  • Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch, which is a daughter language of Proto-Germanic, which is a daughter language of Proto-Indo-European.
  • Chavacano is a daughter language of Spanish, which is a daughter language of (Vulgar) Latin, which is a daughter language of Proto-Italic, which is a daughter language of Proto-Indo-European.
  • Hindi is a daughter language of Sanskrit (Prakrit), which is a daughter language of Proto-Indo-Aryan, which is a daughter language of Proto-Indo-Iranian, which is a daughter language of Proto-Indo-European.
  • Japanese is a daughter language of Old Japanese, which is a daughter language of Proto-Japonic.
  • Modern Hebrew is a daughter language of Biblical Hebrew, which is a daughter language of Canaanite, which is a daughter language of Proto-Semitic, which is a daughter language of Proto-Afroasiatic.
  • Maltese is a daughter language of Arabic, more specifically Siculo-Arabic, an extinct dialect of Arabic once spoken in Sicily, Italy. It is also the only Semitic language to be written in the Latin alphabet.
  • Norwegian BokmÃ¥l is a daughter language of Danish, which is a daughter language of Old Norse, which is a daughter language of Proto-Germanic, which is a daughter language of Proto-Indo-European.
  • Tajik is a daughter language of Persian, which is a daughter language of Proto-Iranian, which is a daughter language of Proto-Indo-Iranian, which is a daughter language of Proto-Indo-European.
  • The languages of Hiligaynon and Cebuano are daughter languages of Proto-Visayan, which is a daughter language of Proto-Philippine, which is a daughter language of Proto-Malayo-Polynesian, which is a daughter language of Proto-Austronesian.
  • Dungan is a daughter language of Chinese, which is a daughter language of Proto-Sino-Tibetan.

See also

References
  1. Matthews, Peter H. The concise Oxford dictionary of linguistics. Oxford University Press (Third ed.). Oxford. ISBN 9780191753060. OCLC 881847972.
  2. Lyle., Campbell (2004). Historical linguistics : an introduction (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. ISBN 0262532670. OCLC 54692867.


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