Linguistics Ch 17 Language History and Change_TV

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Study of Language week 4

Today's lesson

• recap ch. 10 & 11 (Pragmatics & Discourse Analysis)
• introduction ch. 17 (language history and change)
• information/introduction chapters of choice 

D)understandig the meaning of a word by looking at co-text is using  __________

A) here & there are examples of  __________

B) asking a question to express criticism is an example of  __________

C) you can damage someone's public self-image by using a __________

E) when a speaker makes use of assumptions about (general) knowledge a listener has:  __________

F) the listener’s ability to recognize what is meant: _________

inference

an indirect speech act

a face threatening act

the linguistic context

spatial deixis

presupposition

And you? - Me too

According to Penny

question mark or full stop

but.... ehmm... 

come to think of it, 

adjacency pair

hedge; maxim of quality

completion point

filled pause

hedge: maxim of relation

Language history and change

Learning objectives for today:  

By the end of this session you will be able to

• Recognize and give examples of some linguistics terminology concerning language development and language families.
  
• Explain what cognates & false friends are, and explain their role in language reconstruction.
  
• Understand the meaning and principles of language reconstruction.
  
• Recognize some historic language changes, esp. for the English language.
  

How many living languages are there in the world approximately?

Languages in the world

• appr. 7117 spoken languages
• 3,982 have a developed writing system.
• 30% is endangered

Which language has the greatest number of native speakers?

Which language is spoken by the greatest number of non-native speakers?

Papua New Guinea 

840 living languages

Language history

• Many languages (although they may seem very different) have a common ancestor.
  
• If they have a common source; how did they come to be so different?
  

                                (language development (lack of contact)

• How come  some languages from different families seem so similar?
  

                                (loan words and other influences (e.g. contact)

Family connections

• Like human families; can be quite complex.
  
• Family connections are not always clear. (try to discover ‘genetics’)
  
• How can a common source  (the common ancestor) be found?

A way to find the common ancestor: 

Language Reconstruction

• Proto-language (original form)
  
• Cognates: words that developed from the same ancestral source. A word in a language that has a similar form and meaning in another language
  

      e.g. friend, Freund, vriend (Germanic languages)

               amigo, amico, ami (Latin languages)

Cognates

Often “basic” words in a language:

• Numbers / days
  
• Relatives
  
• Animals
  
• Food & drink
  
• Body parts
  

False friends

Can you give 2 or 3 words
from the same language family
for 1 concept?

Comparative reconstruction

Reconstruct the proto-form from cognates

Procedures: 

• Majority principle
  
• Most natural development principles (changes that are likely). 
• Sound and word reconstruction
  

Example:

Majority principle:

1= corpo, 2. = crudo or cru, 3. = ?

Example:

Most natural development principle:

• Final vowels often disappear (vino > vin):
  
• Voiceless becomes voiced (..t.. > ..d..)
  
• Stops become fricatives ( / k / > / ʃ / )
  
• Consonants become voiceless at end (rizu > ris)

On the basis of the following data and using the majority principle, what is the most likely proto-form?

1. Butter (German)
2. boter (Dutch)
3. butter (English)
4. butter (Swedish)

Based on the most natural development principle of “stops become fricatives”; what seems to be the most likely proto form of the following:

1. geben (German)
2. geven (Dutch)
3. give (English)

History of the English language

• Old English (Anglo-Saxon)
  
• Middle English
  
• (Early) Modern English
  

Invaders:

Anglo-Saxon is the basis of Old English.

Many basic terms (cognates):

Mann (man)

Wif (woman)

Cild (child)

Hus (house)

Mete (food)

Etan (eat)

Drincan (drink)

Anglo-Saxon Britain

- Different small kingdoms

- Wars between the kingdoms 

- Viking invasions and Danelaw

- development of Old English also known as Anglo-Saxon English

Later invaders

Vikings / Norsemen / Danes

787 – 1000

Influence on language: new words, towns (-by, -thorpe), family names (-son)

More invaders: start of Middle English

1066 – Battle of Hastings.

French and Latin influence on the Language

French loan words: army, court, defence, prison, beef, pork, religion, armour, saint, clergy. (about 10,000 words, 75% survives in present day English)

Latin loan words: conspiracy, gesture, substitute, intellect, etc

In many cases we will find the influence of history in Modern English:

• King = Old English
  
• Royal = French influence
  
• Regal = Latin influence

Anglo-Saxon / old English

French

Latin

mount

rise

ascend

Sound changes = (most natural development)

1. Sounds disappear: hlud- loud    /  knight (now silent letter)
2. Metathesis = Reversal in position of sounds:                                                                      frist > first                       waeps > wasp         ros > ors (comp. Dutch; paard)
3. Epenthesis = Addition of a sound to middle of word: timr > timber
4. Prothesis = Addition of sound to beginning of word: schola > escueala  (not in English!)

Syntactic changes; Word order

Old English:

Subject + Verb : he ferde

But also: Verb + Subject : ferde he = he travelled

Or: Subject + Direct Object + Verb:

                             he hine geseah = he saw him

Semantic changes

Words disappear and new words appear.

(meaning of) words can change:

Broadening:      Holy day > holiday

                                 bridde (small bird in nest) > bird

Narrowing:

                                 hund (dog) > hound (specific kind of dog)

                                 deer (animal) > deer (specific kind of animal)

                                  lust (pleasure in general) > lust (sexual pleasure)                                                           (compare:  Dutch: mijn lust en mijn leven)

The Old English word “wife” (= woman) is the source of the Modern English word “wife” (= married woman)
What is the technical term used to describe this type of meaning change?

Can you give an example of broadening of meaning?

Language changes in context

Diachronic: historical perspective over time

(compare Old English and Middle English)

Synchronic: difference within one language in different places and among different groups at the same time.

(compare British English with American English, or upper class English with middle class English.)

When you compare present day working class English with upper class English, you are looking at:

1. diachronic variations
2. synchronic variations

Learning objectives achieved?  

By the end of this session you will be able to

• Recognize and give examples of some linguistics terminology concerning language development and language families.
  
• Explain what cognates & false friends are, and explain their role in language reconstruction.
  
• Understand the meaning and principles of language reconstruction.
  
• Recognize some historic language changes, esp. for the English language.
  

Next lesson: 

Chapter 18: Language and regional variation