Chapter published in:
Advances in Iranian Linguistics
Edited by Richard K. Larson, Sedigheh Moradi and Vida Samiian
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 351] 2020
► pp. 29–56

A multi-dimensional approach to classification of Iran’s languages

| Carleton University | Universität Bamberg
| Carleton University
| Carleton University
The enterprise of classification is central to the construction of a language atlas, particularly in the Iranian context. While existing two-dimensional models of language classification are useful as a starting point, they are ultimately incapable of handling some of the important complexities found in Iran’s language situation. To address these issues, we propose a multi-dimensional “language relation web”, based on a force-directed multigraph visualization, as an alternative model for expressing connections between language varieties. This architecture allows for differentiation and representation of multiple types of linkages, each of which constitutes a dimension of classification, in a single visualization: shared genealogical inheritance, structural similarity through contact, and association through ethnic identification. The resulting model provides new insights into the classification of Iran’s languages and raises questions and prospects for the broader classification process.
Keywords: language classification, language atlas, languages of Iran, Iranic (Iranian) languages, tree model, wave model, 3D models, multi-dimensional models, directed graph, force-directed multigraph visualization.
Published online: 22 July 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.351.03ano
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