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Erik Elgh & Harald Hammarström. 2024. The dialect chain tree.

A perennial conflict in historical linguistics centers around the theoretical and practical virtues of tree-like divergence and wave-like diffusion. The Dialect Chain Tree is an extension of the tree model that incorporates both tree-like descent and disintegration of dialect chains in a systematic fashion. As such, it provides a formalization and sharpening of Ross’ (1997: 212–228) linkage concept that allows integration into quantitative approaches.

Keywords: phylogenetics, subgrouping, dialect chain, trees and waves

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