sprogområde

A sprogområde, often translated as "language area" or "linguistic area," refers to a geographical region where languages share common characteristics due to prolonged contact and mutual influence, rather than solely due to genetic relationship. These shared features can extend across various linguistic levels, including phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon. For example, a common feature in a sprogområde might be a particular vowel sound, a specific grammatical construction, or the borrowing of a significant number of words from one language to another.

The concept of a sprogområde is distinct from a language family. Languages within the same family, such as the Romance languages, share similarities because they descended from a common ancestor. However, languages from different families, when brought into close contact over centuries, can develop shared traits that are not present in other members of their respective families. This diffusion of linguistic features is known as linguistic convergence.

Prominent examples of sprogområde include the Balkan sprachbund, where Albanian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Greek exhibit shared grammatical features like the loss of the infinitive and the development of a postposed definite article. Another is the Northwest Coast sprachbund in North America, characterized by features like ergativity and an extensive use of derivational morphology found in languages from unrelated families. The study of sprogområde is crucial for understanding language change and the complex interplay between human societies and their languages.