5 - Macro-convergence

Summary

This chapter discusses and analyses the nature of convergence between languages which are either not closely related or entirely unrelated. Attention is given to the processes involved in linguistic convergence, with particular attention being given to the nature of linguistic areas. The question is asked, to what extent can the post-Darwinian language family tree model of descent and relationship, which works well for Indo-European, be applied to other proposed language families? The case study focusses on the potential for western and central Europe being a linguistic area.