Źródła a typy badań historycznojęzykowych

Abstract

The article discusses the diversity of language data sources which are used in the research work of his-torical linguists. The extant historical linguistic documentation varies significantly. The first division that seems particularly salient concerns the reliability of written documents and the certainty of a linguistic fact. The second division is based on the different types of text: text as a source of language material and text about language. A researcher who engages in a historical linguistic analysis always makes a choice as far as the excerption of the material is concerned. Decisions concerning the number of sources which are ex-amined and their type influence the manner in which the analysis is conducted as well as the conclusions that are drawn.