language classification

Grouping criterion

Record whether a grouping asserts descent, structural similarity, contact association or a specified combination.

1. What linguistic relationship does membership in this classification assert? definition
2. If several criteria are combined, how can an agent distinguish the contribution of each? boundary

Category and link meaning

Specify whether categories form a hierarchy, permit overlap or represent positions on independently assessed dimensions.

1. Does a link mean descent, inclusion, similarity or contact, and which inferences does that meaning permit? definition
2. Can a language belong to multiple groups under the same criterion, and how should those memberships be interpreted? boundary

Unit delimitation

Record what each unit includes and whose convention determines its boundary.

1. Does this label denote an individual language, a variety, an umbrella grouping or another unit? definition
2. Which source determines the boundary, and which named varieties does it include or exclude? provenance

Stage-specific coverage

Separate a language's historical stages and attested varieties where their differences affect classification.

1. Which historical stage, regional variety and attestation period does the assignment concern? boundary
2. What evidence permits the assignment to extend beyond the varieties or periods directly sampled? provenance

Genealogical argument

Capture the argument for shared descent or a particular subgroup, including how alternative explanations were assessed.

1. What comparative evidence supports the proposed descent relationship or subgroup, and where is the argument documented? provenance
2. How does the argument assess borrowing, chance resemblance and shared retentions as alternatives to the claimed relationship? boundary

Feature and contact assessment

Record how features are defined and sampled, and whether a claim concerns similarity alone or an explanation through contact.

1. Which features were coded, from which varieties, and how were variation and missing observations handled? measurement
2. For an areal claim, what supports contact as an explanation beyond geographic proximity or shared features? provenance

Qualified assignment

Attach each membership or withheld assignment to a scheme, source and explicit assessment.

1. Who asserts this membership, in which scheme version, and with what stated qualification? provenance
2. If no membership is assigned, does that reflect insufficient evidence, excluded coverage, conflict or a claim about the absence of demonstrated relatives? boundary

Disagreement localisation

Identify whether schemes differ in unit boundaries, members, relationship claims, ranks or terminology.

1. Do the schemes disagree about linguistic relationships, or do they use different labels, ranks or classification units? boundary
2. Which memberships and relationships can be mapped between the schemes without losing their original meaning? action

Permitted classification use

Connect a proposed use to the scheme's criteria, coverage and limitations.

1. Does this scheme support the intended task, such as ancestry lookup, feature comparison or selection of a language sample? action
2. Which proposed conclusions about intelligibility, ethnicity, proficiency or legal status require evidence beyond group membership? boundary

Revision impact

Distinguish evidential reclassification from renaming or unit redefinition, and preserve prior assignments for interpretation.

1. Was this change prompted by new linguistic evidence, a revised unit boundary, a naming decision or a changed classification method? provenance
2. Which lookups, comparisons and derived conclusions need review after the change, and how will the earlier assignment remain traceable? action

Check these first

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these check these first hold for the sense of language classification this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Kinds and varieties

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of language classification this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Identifiers and schemes

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of language classification this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Standards and regulation

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of language classification this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Real-world use

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of language classification this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Failure modes and hazards

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of language classification this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Regional variation

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of language classification this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

1. Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of language classification this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance