"wave model"の定義と意味

What is the "wave model"?

The wave model is a theoretical framework in linguistics that describes how linguistic features, such as sounds, words, or grammatical structures, spread and change across geographical areas over time. This model visualizes language change as a series of waves that ripple out from a central point, with each wave representing the adoption of a feature by different groups or communities. As the waves expand, they may overlap and interact, leading to variations and the development of dialects. The wave model helps linguists understand how language evolves in response to social, cultural, and historical factors, illustrating the dynamic nature of language change and the relationships between different speech communities.