ABSTRACT

Approach developed within the ‘qualitative paradigm’ of variational linguistics for representing linguistic variability in the form of a model. The approach is based on the presumption that linguistic varieties are hierarchically structured and clearly distinguishable from one another. Individual linguistic features that define varieties are ordered in an implicational matrix in such a way that the presence of certain given features allows one to deduce the presence of certain other features, though not vice versa, as represented in the following matrix:

Varieties Features V1 F1 F2 F3 F4

V2 F1 F2 F3

V3 F1 F2

V4 F1

The matrix represents an implicational hierarchy and affords a schematic representation of the rule-ordered features among the related varieties.