What is the historical linguistics?

Answer 1

You can think of historical linguistics as archeology of language. In other words, historical linguistics looks at language use during a specific period of time as well as how language changes over time. A person studying historical linguistics might look at how the meaning and/or use of a word has changed over time. They may also search for the first usage of a word.

A historical linguist would have studied how the usage of the word "awful" has changed from the original positive meaning to its current negative meaning. In the early 14th century "awful" was used to mean "inspiring awe" (full of awe). Today we use "awful" to mean something unpleasant.

A historical linguist would have discovered that the word "assassination" was first introduced into the English language in the early 17th century by Shakespeare in his play "Macbeth".

Answer 2

Historical linguistics is the study of language change over time. It looks at how languages develop, evolve, and diverge from a common ancestor, often using methods like comparative linguistics to trace their histories. By studying these changes, historical linguists can uncover insights into past societies, cultures, and migrations.