Languages have always been in flux, from the beginning of mankind's ability to speak, and they will continue to be always in flux. Historical linguistics is a discipline in which the history of these changes is studied. The historical perspective brings to bear interest in the development of languages, the lost languages of ancient times, the migrations of languages geographically and culturally, the salvage of languages that are on the verge of dying, and predictions...
Languages have always been in flux, from the beginning of mankind's ability to speak, and they will continue to be always in flux. Historical linguistics is a discipline in which the history of these changes is studied. The historical perspective brings to bear interest in the development of languages, the lost languages of ancient times, the migrations of languages geographically and culturally, the salvage of languages that are on the verge of dying, and predictions about present and future changes in language.
Our knowledge of the English language is just one example of the value of the historical linguistic perspective. Linguists have been able to trace its roots all the way back to an "original" Indo-European language through their studies. They are able to make connections between English and other languages, and we have learned that English is a largely Germanic language from linguists, who have traced the similarities between them. Linguists have also found that English comprises elements of Latin, French, and Scandinavian in it, through the examination of the commonality of these languages. Through their research into the English language historically and all over the world, they are able to provide us with its origins and its changes, as it is imported to other places. They can also make some good predictions about future changes through their studies.
Linguists also have a great concern about dead languages and languages that are on the verge of demise. All languages offer precious clues to language in general, and any language that is lost is depriving us of important information about how languages have developed, how they have differed, and how they have remained the same. This gives us precious insights into the relationships between people and language, the relationships between culture and language, the relationships between history and language, and the relationships between geography and language. How we think the same and how we think differently are important insights to be gleaned, and the historical perspective provides the motivation to study dead languages and to save those that are dying, since these offer evidence of this as much as living languages do.
Even though historical linguistics is a specialty, I would say that all of linguistics has to some degree a historical perspective. Most of what we know about language from a linguistic point of view is rooted in its history.
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