Introducing English Linguistics

internal
and 
external
influences
on languages that cause them to change. Croft (2000: 6) does
not necessarily exclude such influences from his theory, claiming that
they are part of a “comprehensive framework for understanding language
change.” At the same time, the influences can be discussed on their own
without recourse to an evolutionary-based theory of language change,
40
INTRODUCING ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

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and the inevitable controversy and confusion that use of the term ‘evolu-
tion’ raises in discussions of language change.