State

状态

A term used in linguistics to refer to the condition of a language at a hypothetical point or period of time, e.g. Middle English, sixteenth century, 1920s. States of languages thus constitute the subject-matter of synchronic linguistics.

语言学用来指一种语言在一假设的时间或时段的状况，例如英语中古时期的状态、16世纪的状态、本世纪20年代的状态。语言的状态因此属于共时语言学的研究范围。