Analyze linguistic evolution comparatively

Classify sound changes as unconditioned, conditioned, assimilation, dissimilation, or deletion.

Apply the concept of phonological environments to predict where sound changes occur.

Describe the Neogrammarian principle of exceptionless sound laws.

Recognize examples of sporadic sound changes and irregular developments.

Identify potential cognates based on similarity in meaning and phonetic form.

Distinguish between sound change and borrowing as explanations for phonological similarity.

Identify loanwords and distinguish them from inherited vocabulary using phonological and morphological criteria.

Collect and organize cognate sets across related languages systematically.

Establish sets of regular sound correspondences from cognate data.

Distinguish between genuine cognates and chance resemblances using the regularity of correspondences.

Apply the majority principle to propose initial proto-phoneme reconstructions.

Apply phonetic plausibility criteria to evaluate and refine potential reconstructions.

Reconstruct proto-forms for cognate sets using established correspondences and reconstruction principles.

Determine the relative chronology of sound changes based on their interaction.

Check a reconstructed phonological inventory for typological plausibility and systemic balance (e.g., symmetry, gaps).

Verify that the proposed sound changes consistently derive the attested forms in daughter languages from the reconstructed proto-forms.

Analyze how a single proto-phoneme can split into multiple phonemes in a daughter language due to a conditioned sound change.

Analyze how distinct proto-phonemes can merge into a single phoneme in a daughter language, obscuring their original distinction.

Apply evidence from splits and mergers to refine proto-form reconstructions.

Identify corresponding morphological paradigms (e.g., noun declensions, verb conjugations) across cognate sets.

Apply the comparative method to reconstruct individual proto-morphemes (e.g., case endings, personal endings).

Assemble reconstructed morphemes into a partial proto-paradigm (e.g., a noun case system or a verb tense).

Identify cases of analogical leveling in morphological paradigms and explain their effect on reconstruction.

Classify types of semantic change (e.g., broadening, narrowing, pejoration) and reconstruct probable proto-meanings from cognates.

Distinguish between shared innovations and shared retentions in related languages.

Apply the criterion of shared innovations to establish subgroups within language families.

Construct family tree diagrams from established subgrouping evidence to model language relationships.

Apply lexicostatistics to estimate language relationship strength using cognate percentages from a Swadesh list.

Critically evaluate the limitations of the family tree model, lexicostatistics, and glottochronology.

Analyze how morphological reanalysis and other restructuring processes can create irregularities in historical data.

Identify major typological features of syntax (e.g., word order, case alignment) relevant to historical comparison.

Compare word order patterns (e.g., SVO, SOV) across related languages to identify historical shifts.

Describe the primary evidence types and principles for syntactic reconstruction (e.g., directionality of grammaticalization).

Reconstruct the basic constituent order (e.g., SOV, SVO) of a proto-language using evidence from its descendants.

Identify and explain irregular developments and their historical causes in complex datasets.

From a given set of cognates, establish the complete set of regular sound correspondences.

Using a provided set of sound correspondences, reconstruct the proto-forms for a given cognate set.

From a comparative dataset, identify and justify a set of shared innovations for subgrouping.

Construct and defend a family tree model based on a given set of shared innovations.

Given a dataset and a preliminary phonological reconstruction, analyze morphological alternations to refine the reconstruction or relative chronology.

Given a subgrouping hypothesis based on shared phonological innovations, evaluate it using evidence from lexical or semantic patterns.

Produce a concise historical narrative for a language family, synthesizing findings from phonology, morphology, and semantics to explain its development.