Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A geographic boundary line delimiting the area in which a given linguistic feature occurs.
Wiktionary
- n. A line indicating the geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature on a map.
Etymologies
- From iso- + Ancient Greek γλῶσσα. (Wiktionary)
- iso- + Greek glōssa, language, tongue. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Hence, the term isogloss, from iso - ` same '+ gloss”
“Gimbutas academia algonquian arabic assyrian athabaskan bureaucracy celtic credentialism crete dictionary elamite esperanto feminism gender geography isogloss language hat languages logic mandarin maya mediterranean mycenaean north caucasian persian phonetics proto-steppe racism sanskrit senet venetic”
“I made this simple isogloss map to show at a glance how I would explain Proto-Steppe's development into the later proto-languages known and studied and it relates, as always, to the unpixelated view of the Wave Model of language change.”
“The isogloss boundaries are much clearer in the full sized version Picasa automatically shrank it.”
The PIE and Pre-PIE pronominal system from the perspective of a wave model
“As they expanded, they began, for inscrutable Frankish reasons, to devoice word-final obstruents this is the blue isogloss, thereby establishing Frankish as its own distinct, highly conservative dialect.”
The PIE and Pre-PIE pronominal system from the perspective of a wave model
“After the dialectal variations of the Proto-Indo-European genitive rolled around in my brain for a while, I started pondering on the *-bʰi-/*-mi- isogloss line that seperates some dialects from each other by virtue of an innovation in instrumental plural case endings2.”
“I figured that if the original plural common to Proto-Indo-European (PIE), Proto-Aegean, Proto-Uralic and Proto-Altaic (PA) was *-it, then presumably PIE and PA share the isogloss of Sibilantization of word-final *-t.”
My suspicion regarding the source of *r2 in Pre-Altaic seems to be confirmed
“Phonation shift would in effect be a barrier to this burgeoning isogloss wave.”
“Look carefully at my isogloss map posted in Markedness and the uvular proposal in PIE.”
Winter's Law in Balto-Slavic, "Hybrid Theory" and phonation - Part 2
“More isogloss amusement for the linguistic nerd at...”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘isogloss’.
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Word Words
This used to be my nym list, but there are so many words about words, I think it's time to expand and open.
acronym, antonym, aptronym, autoantonym, autonym, bacronym, capitonym, contranym, contronym, eponym, exonym, heteronym and 120 more...
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phrontistery - i
from phrontistery.info
iamatology, iamb, ianthine, iatraliptic, iatramelia, iatrarchy, iatrochemistry, iatrogenic, iatrology, iatromathematics, iatrophobia, ibidem and 510 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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art & linguistics
macron, isochrony, irrealis, isogloss, majuscule, preverb, prevocalic, tonogenesis, volitive, experiencer, enclitic, lithophane and 24 more...
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Terms of Phonetics
Phonetic concepts that are fascinating or novel.
An open-ended list, so this can also include abstract or linguistic terms.tessaraphthong, samprasarana, great vowel shift, phonotactics, t-glottalization, hushing, bilabial, lexicostatistics, hachek, surd, ɲɟǃǃʎ, isogloss and 32 more...
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graphism
of or related to drawing—forms, tools, techniques, processes, practices, etc.
limn, vectorial, limned, synecdoche, adumbrate, lapis, colophon, grapheme, isogloss, sciagraphy, palimpsest, homunculus and 18 more...
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delightful descriptors
petrichor, omphaloskepsis, ouroboros, oneiric, flaneur, saunter, dishabituation, fractalization, eudemony, phosphorescence, holographic, umwelt and 136 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, I
irenic, inimical, ignotism, infrangible, internecine, illumine, ingot, imposter, iconoclast, indefeasible, indefatigable, impingement and 184 more...
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Logodaedalus' Lexical Locutionary
Discombobulating the illiterate since the middle of the last century.
adiaphora, agitprop, alliteration, apophthegm, autarky, bête noire, bezoar, biorhythm, braggadocio, canaille, confabulate, confrère and 339 more...
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Favorite Words II
antipode, subsumed, maladroit, quidnunc, tonsorial, savvy, vignette, retrograde, flummoxed, ne plus ultra, icosahedron, plethora and 138 more...
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(the Mind) Baubles
Shiny, tinkly-trinkety miniments.. (a place to hang my windchime-words).
afterlithe, omniana, hiplings, littératrice, blisters, bathysphere, belletristic, deliquium, fissiparity, glister, glossolalia, jaspure and 40 more...
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obscurities
obscure but intriguing words
anthropophagous, limicolous, swannery, salicaceous, cruciverbalist, anaphrodisia, anfractuousity, saprophage, agrostology, rupicolous, cunctation, fungible and 41 more...
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Classical (Greco-Roman)
Via the classical world.
abhor, entrails, spawn, forge, gorge, profound, assail, sarcophagus, pyre, adamant, attest, salient and 80 more...
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thesaraheffect's list
words that taste good
watermark, ennui, vorpal, cellar, acquiesce, injudicious, injudiciously, shandyism, expediate, umbrage, ennui, color me... and 10 more...
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Linguistic lagniappe
Words, phrases, or factoids that don't seem to belong on any of my other lists.
isogloss, polysynthetic, phoneme, morpheme, archiphoneme, diglossia, decreolization, allophone, toneme, allomorph, tone sandhi, group genitive and 21 more...
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laurea's Words
lackadaisical, laelia, laurel, frippery, lascivious, cacophony, effectuate, leukorrhea, kerfluffle, nickelodeon, garrulous, onomastics and 63 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for isogloss.
reesetee *snort*
Pro, you're a gem. Sep 10, 2008
Prolagus As in, Oh, Dr. Goodword, I'm so sorry I offended you with my suffixes. Apparently, the -ie isogloss just skirts your castle. Sep 10, 2008
reesetee Sure you will! Just walk around today finding excuses to use isogloss. It's a cinch! :-) Sep 10, 2008
she Why are some of the prettiest words the ones I'll never, ever-ever-ever find occasion to use? *weeps* Sep 10, 2008
reesetee I'd imagine these would be relatively fluid and/or overlapping? Jun 20, 2007
whichbe A line drawn on a map to indicate the boundary where one sound or word stops being used and another begins to be used in its place. Jun 20, 2007