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Historical change
Historical linguistics explains how forms developed. Comparison works through recurring sound correspondences and grammatical paradigms, not through a few similar-looking words. Reconstructed forms are hypotheses, never photographed ancient texts.
Historical change
Dated evidence
Historical linguistics compares forms from different periods and related varieties. Keep three dates separate: when a work may have been composed, when the surviving manuscript was copied, and when a modern editor published it. A late copy can preserve archaic language, and a scribe can modernize an older text. A dated inscription offers a firmer point for one form than a work transmitted only in much later copies.
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A reading check
Worked question
Two ancient words look alike and mean “sun.” Is that enough to establish common ancestry?
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No. Look for regular correspondences across many words and grammatical forms, with chronological and contact alternatives considered.