Diachrony and synchrony
Complementary viewpoints in linguistic analysis
Synchrony and diachrony are two complementary viewpoints in linguistic analysis. A synchronic approach – from Ancient Greek: συν- ("together") + χρόνος ("time") – considers a language at a moment in time without taking its history into account. In contrast, a diachronic – from δια- ("through, across") + χρόνος ("time") – approach, as in...