Conflicting Methodologies of Shona Dialect Classification

Abstract

A first step in the reconstruction of linguistic prehistory is the construction of a language classification. This paper distinguishes between two basic approaches to this operation, the formal and informal. The formal approach is characterised by the use of an explicit algorithmic procedure leading to an objective and repeatable classification. The informal approach, on the other hand, is characterised by the use of an implicit incompletely specified procedure leading to subjective and in some cases arbitrary classifications. Often in this latter approach assumptions about linguistic prehistory are introduced into the method of constructing the initial classification itself, leading to the logical circularity termed feedback. There are, of course, many intermediate positions between these two approaches. Some approaches, for example, are formal to the extent that an explicit algorithm is employed but informal to the extent that selected results are modified on subjective intuitive grounds. It is obvious than an objective repeatable classification constitutes a superior basis for subsequent reconstruction of linguistic prehistory.