The first multi-volume reference work dedicated entirely to the field of diachronic linguistics

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Diachronic and Historical Linguistics is a state-of-the-art resource that explores the mechanisms underlying linguistic evolution. Bridging the gap between theoretical models and empirical research, this comprehensive work connects linguistics with allied disciplines such as psychology, anthropology, sociology, and biology, and provides an enriched understanding of how language interacts with human society and cognition. Contributions from more than 150 leading scholars cover an unparalleled range of key topics, from phonetics and syntax to semantics, pragmatics, and beyond.

Spanning five volumes, the Companion combines cutting-edge theoretical perspectives with detailed case studies from a variety of language families, including underrepresented and non-verbal languages, such as sign languages. By examining the interaction of linguistic systems with societal and environmental factors, this landmark work offers a robust framework for investigating the dynamics of language variation and historical development.

Synthesizing decades of groundbreaking research while paving the way for new discoveries, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Diachronic and Historical Linguistics:

• Presents insights from diverse theoretical frameworks and methodologies in one comprehensive collection
• Features in-depth analyses of diverse languages and language families, including lesser-studied languages
• Explores the dynamics of language change within and across speakers, communities, and societies
• Highlights the role of computational tools and statistical methods in advancing diachronic research
• Establishes connections with related fields to foster interdisciplinary collaboration

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Diachronic and Historical Linguistics is ideal for advanced undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students in linguistics, particularly those taking courses on diachronic linguistics, historical linguistics, and language change. It is an indispensable reference for researchers and practitioners in fields intersecting with language evolution, including academic and professional linguists, philologists, and anthropologists engaged in exploring the complexities of language development and change.

Adam Ledgeway is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Member of the Academia Europaea. Formerly Professor of Italian and Romance Linguistics at the University of Cambridge and now Professor of Italian Linguistics at the University of Bergamo, his research focuses on the historical development and morphosyntax of Romance languages, language change, and contact linguistics.

Edith Aldridge is a Research Fellow at Academia Sinica and a former Associate Professor at the University of Washington. Her expertise lies in diachronic and comparative syntax, focusing on Austronesian languages, Chinese, and Japanese.

Anne Breitbarth is an Associate Professor at Ghent University, specializing in historical German linguistics, morphosyntactic change, and formal corpus linguistics. She has led major research projects and serves as an editor for Taal & Tongval.

Katalin É. Kiss is Professor Emeritus at the Hungarian Research Centre for Linguistics and a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Her research focuses on Uralic languages, syntactic theory, and diachronic syntax. She has authored over 250 scholarly works.

Joseph Salmons is the Lester W.J. "Smoky" Seifert Professor of Language Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. An expert in sound change and historical linguistics, he edited Diachronica for nearly two decades.

Alexandra Simonenko is an Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics at Ghent University. She is currently the Principal Investigator for the ERC-funded project CAUSALITY, aimed at modeling potential cause-effect relations in language change.