Sprachbund

A sprachbund (/ˈsprɑːkbʊnd/, from German: Sprachbund [ˈʃpʁaːxbʊnt] , lit. 'language federation'), also known as a linguistic area, area of linguistic convergence, or diffusion area, is a group of languages that share areal features resulting from geographical proximity and language contact. The languages may be genetically unrelated, or only distantly related, but the sprachbund characteristics might give a false appearance of relatedness.

A grouping of languages that share features can only be defined as a sprachbund if the features are shared for some reason other than the genetic history of the languages. Without knowledge of the history of a regional group of similar languages, it may be difficult to determine whether sharing indicates a language family or a sprachbund.[1]

  1. ^ Mallinson, Graham; Blake, Barry J. (1981). Language Typology – Cross-linguistic Studies in Syntax. North-Holland. pp. 17–18. ISBN 0-444-863117.