language change

In HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS, a general term referring to change within a LANGUAGE over a period of time, seen as a universal and unstoppable process. The phenomenon was first systematically investigated by comparative PHILOLOGISTS at the end of the eighteenth century, and in the twentieth century by historical linguists and SOCIOLINGUISTS. All aspects of language are involved, though most attention has been paid to PHONOLOGY and LEXIS, where change is most noticeable and frequent.