Problems in-Computerized Historical Linguistics: the Old Cornish Lexicon

This work represents an attempt to utilize the computer in solving problems in historical linguistics. The corpus upon which it operates is not a language but a recently published etymological dictionary of Old Cornish. 1 Any observations regarding the scarcity or inaccuracy of the data utilized are, therefore, irrelevant, as far as the present paper is concerned. As the dictionary in question was compiled according to the usual methods employed with such works, a detailed explanation of methodology is unnecessary. It should also be noted that Old Cornish is known only through glosses to Latin words, and that in this case <~ Cornish gloss ~ is equivalent to ~ Cornish word ~. With the help of the computer, we have attempted to solve the following problems: a) To establish the percentage of words with and without IndoEuropean etymology in the Cornish lexicon. (Let us stress that this study concerns not a language but an etymological lexicon; hence, the presence or absence of Indo-European etymology should not be construed as a definitive characteristic of a Cornish word. Such statistics are, in fact, relevant only to the present state of research on the subject). b) To establish the degree of certainty concerning the material of Indo-European etymology. c) To evaluate the extent of the connection between elements of Indo-European etymology existing in the Cornish lexicon and the other Indo-European linguistic groups according to the degree of certainty of each individual etymology. d) To establish, on the basis of existing etymological studies of Old Cornish, the lines future research should follow.