internal reconstruction

noun

, Historical Linguistics.

1. the hypothetical reconstruction of an earlier stage of a language or of some part of it, as its phonology, by deductions from irregularities in its present structure, as the reconstruction of a stage in English when certain instances of r were related to s in a systematic way by comparing the pair was:were to other pairs, as lose:forlorn.

Example Sentences

But before, all attention was on the border, and now we can concentrate on internal reconstruction.”

From New York Times

Suffice it to say that the militaristic party in and out of the government favoured the war with Korea, while the opposing party was against it, considering it injurious to sound national progress, especially at a time when it was an immediate necessity for the welfare of the country to devote all its resources to internal reconstruction.

From Project Gutenberg

Moreover, Japan has had another and not less important business to attend to, that is to say, she had to trim herself, and complete her internal reconstruction, a task which may not perhaps come to its completion for a long time to come.

From Project Gutenberg

The eleven-man Politburo is divided between pragmatists who want to concentrate on internal reconstruction and hard-liners who are bent on military adventure, despite the gruesome hardships involved.

From Time Magazine Archive

Accordingly, in 1877 the chapel was closed, and a sum of money arising from the sale of the Guards' Institute was devoted to the purpose of a complete internal reconstruction.

From Project Gutenberg