词法学中提到，语言石化指的是两个相近的概念，一是保留了该古老语言发音上的特征但失去了文法规则，另一则是失去了文法上的使用频率（例如：词缀），但某些词汇仍在使用。[1]
语言石化也包括了语素石化和字汇石化。
- ^ The Dictionary of Historical and Comparative Linguistics, by Robert Lawrence Trask,
Another definition of fossilization: fossilization is a process in which incorrect linguistic features become a permanent part a person speaks and writes in a language. p. 125
