Discusses language classification and how and why languages diversify and spread.

Lyle Campbell is Professor of Linguistics in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Utah.

1. Introduction: how are languages shown to be related to one another?; 2. The beginning of comparative linguistics; 3. 'Asiatic Jones, Oriental Jones': Sir William Jones' role in the rise of comparative linguistics; 4. Consolidation of the comparative linguistics; 5. How some languages were shown to belong to Indo-European; 6. Comparative linguistics of other languages and regions; 7. How to show languages are related: the methods; 8. The philosophical-psychological-typological-evolutionary approach to language relationships; 9. Assessment of proposed distant genetic relationships; 10. Beyond the comparative method?; 11. Why and how do languages diversify and spread?; 12. What can we learn about the earliest human language by comparing languages known today?; 13. Conclusions: anticipating the future.