Defining A Linguistic Area – South Asia

In this seminal study, Colin P. Masica explores the theoretical preciseness of the common notion of “linguistic area”. He demonstrates that this concept needs to be subjected to careful analysis as well as comprehensive description to be of use to cultural historians, geographers, and historical linguists. By collating existing descriptive literature, Masica attempts to identify and establish syntactic, morphological, and phonological criteria that characterize this area. He suggests a methodology emphasizing the tracing and mapping of the geographic distribution of these characteristics, to establish their centers and peripheries, which can serve to define a “linguistic area” by their coincidence.