Before modern linguistics, careful reading of texts was the main path into language history. Philology is the study of language through written historical sources, combining linguistic analysis with literary and cultural interpretation.

Philologists establish reliable texts, trace manuscript traditions, and reconstruct earlier language stages from documents. The comparative method grew in philological contexts. Classical, biblical, and medieval philology remain active alongside digital approaches to older corpora.

Philology bridges linguistics and the humanities. It supplies evidence for etymology and historical grammar while attending to how texts were produced and transmitted. Close, patient reading remains its hallmark.

• Historical study of language through written sources
• Includes textual criticism and linguistic reconstruction
• Foundational for historical linguistics
• Combines linguistic and cultural analysis