L-complex

English

Noun

L-complex (plural L-complexes)

1. (linguistics) Synonym of dialect continuum.
   • 1981, Curtis McFarland, A linguistic atlas of the Philippines, page 9:

     If on the other hand there are speech varieties in the group which are not mutually intelligible with some other members ― like A and C in the example above ― then the group is defined as an L-complex.

   • 2013, Rainer Vossen, The Khoesan Languages, page 9:

     !Xun can be described as an L-complex, that is, as a cluster of speech forms that are linked by a chain of mutual intelligibility, but speakers at the extreme ends of the chain do not understand one another.