Abstract
<jats:p>Languages without any living speakers present particular problems for the historical linguist, ranging from decipherment of forgotten scripts to understanding the pragmatics of particles. We outline the methodologies used by linguists to elucidate texts in dead languages with detailed discussion of specific examples, which are chosen to display the diversity of text types and the range of problems which linguists might encounter. In particular, we discuss the different challenges presented by languages with a copious attestation of texts and those from which there are only fragmentary remains. We argue that slightly different methodologies apply to the elucidation of the sound system of dead languages and to the understanding of meaning of texts.</jats:p>