Children who say goed instead of went are applying a pattern. Analogy is the extension of a structural pattern from one set of forms to another on the basis of perceived similarity.

In historical linguistics, analogy regularizes paradigms after sound change has created irregularities. In learning and everyday creativity, speakers analogize to fill gaps or coin novel forms. The same cognitive tendency supports metaphor and non-linguistic reasoning.

Analogical change interacts with sound change across generations. Linguists model it with proportional formulas and with computational pattern learners. It remains one of the main engines of morphological change.

• Extension of a linguistic pattern by similarity
• Drives morphological regularization
• Operates in learning and historical change
• Interacts with sound change over time