Ancient languages and algorithms

Abstract Historical linguistics has experienced an upsurge in methodological innovation. However, owing to the constraints of contemporary publication, these innovations often appear in print in a format which is technical, dense and less than fully accessible. Moreover, because these innovations are still young and have often arisen in other fields before being translated to historical linguistics, our own discipline has yet to accumulate a stock of trusted explanations of them, presented lucidly and addressed specifically to our field and to its scientific concerns. This special issue is dedicated to promoting the accessibility of new methods. Despite their technical details, most new methods in historical linguistics rest upon a rationale and an essential logic that are perfectly comprehensible to interested historical linguists, so long as they are communicated in a fashion that is sympathetic and respectful to a linguistic audience. This introduction contextualizes the five papers of the special issue.