Abstract
A question that should be asked in all cases of proposed convergence areas is whether the observed similarities do in fact reflect convergent developments or are due to chance. This paper presents three case studies from South Asia which demonstrate that accidental similarities are more common than is often acknowledged. To rule out chance similarities, convergence accounts must be supported by fine-grained examinations of the geographical and historical evidence.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Introduction
- Convergence or not? Geography, history, and chance
- A bird’s-eye view on South Asian languages through LSI
- The Hindu Kush–Karakorum and linguistic areality
- Indo-Aryan – a house divided? Evidence for the east–west Indo-Aryan divide and its significance for the study of northern South Asia
- How one language became four: the impact of different contact-scenarios between “Sadani” and the tribal languages of Jharkhand
- Book Review
- Katarzyna Marciniak: Studia nad Mahāvastu: sanskryckim tekstem buddyjskiej szkoły mahasanghików-lokottarawadinów = Studies on the Mahāvastu – The Sanskrit text of the Buddhist school of the Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda
- Obituary
- An “epoch in Historical Linguistics and Indo-European scholarship”: in memoriam Romano Lazzeroni (1930–2020)
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Introduction
- Convergence or not? Geography, history, and chance
- A bird’s-eye view on South Asian languages through LSI
- The Hindu Kush–Karakorum and linguistic areality
- Indo-Aryan – a house divided? Evidence for the east–west Indo-Aryan divide and its significance for the study of northern South Asia
- How one language became four: the impact of different contact-scenarios between “Sadani” and the tribal languages of Jharkhand
- Book Review
- Katarzyna Marciniak: Studia nad Mahāvastu: sanskryckim tekstem buddyjskiej szkoły mahasanghików-lokottarawadinów = Studies on the Mahāvastu – The Sanskrit text of the Buddhist school of the Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda
- Obituary
- An “epoch in Historical Linguistics and Indo-European scholarship”: in memoriam Romano Lazzeroni (1930–2020)