--see also

<[LINK]> and its daughters

<[LINK]> historicity links and related matter

<[LINK]>

Pike on the problems of interpreting synchronically-described

clusters:

In the process of change from one phonemic system

to a differnt phonemic system of the same language,

there may be a time during which parts of the two

systems exist simultaneously and in conflict within the

speech of of singlew individuals. . . . It is

impossible to give a purely synchronic description of a

complex mixed system, at one point in time, which shows the

pertinent facts of that system; directionm of

change is a pertinent characteristic of the system and

must also be known if one wishes to have a complete

descriptipon of the language as it is structurallly

constituted

--from Fries and Pike (1949),

"Coexistent Phonemic Systems" quoted from 161 of Weinrich, Labov,

and Herzog in Lehmann, _Directions..._ (full cite on 190)

This quote can be generalized through paraphrase by using

"culture" for "language" and Pike's back formation of "emic" from

"phonemic":

In the process of change from one emic system to a

different emic system of the same culture, there may be

a time during which parts of the two systems exist

simultaneously and in conflict within single

individuals. . . . It is impossible to give a purely

synchronic description of a complex mixed system, at

one point in time, which shows the pertinent facts of

that system; directionm of change is a pertinent

characteristic of the system and must also be known if

one wishes to have a complete description of the

culture as it is structurallly constituted