L-complex

noun

L-complex

noun
1

Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences Synonym of dialect continuum.

  • If on the other hand there are speech varieties in the group which are not mutually intelligible with some other members ― like A and C in the example above ― then the group is defined as an L-complex.1981, Curtis McFarland, A linguistic atlas of the Philippines, page 9:
  • !Xun can be described as an L-complex, that is, as a cluster of speech forms that are linked by a chain of mutual intelligibility, but speakers at the extreme ends of the chain do not understand one another.2013, Rainer Vossen, The Khoesan Languages, page 9:

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