Dialectal Difffghjkl;erentiation

7/29/2019 Dialectal Difffghjkl;erentiation

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Dialectal Differentiation

Language change through time,

space, and circumstances

Credits: This presentation is created by Dr. A.P. Church. It may be

used for educational purposes on condition of acknowledgment. The

author acknowledges the use of maps provided by the Ancient WorldMapping center, http://www.unc.edu/awmc/, which he has modified for

the purpose of this presentation. Other sources used in the

presentation are acknowledged upon use.
http://www.unc.edu/awmc/http://www.unc.edu/awmc/


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InsitutionalLearning Outcomes:I Critical Thinking

(About where, when, why, and how language changes)

II Communication and Technology(Power point, WWW, and other electronic resources)

III Multicultural and Global Awareness

(The study of English and your English is a study of the socio-historicalcontexts of many cultures that have shaped varieties of English)

IV Aesthetic Appreciation(We can not appreciate literature without appreciating the language whichmakes literature possible, but the study of language also allows us toappreciate the various factors that shape its own form and content; thehistory of English is a history of extraordinary diversity, power, and beautyof language in a variety of social and historical contexts.)

V Discipline Content(Understanding English literatures requires understanding Englishlanguages)

These Outcomes are relevant to all of the English Program Outcomes because theydevelop knowledge and skills necessary for critically reading, writing, and thinkingabout language and literature.


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Language is constantly changing

A basic precept of this course is the idea that language isconstantly changing. Since this course is about the historyof the English language, our ultimate goal is to apply this

precept to English and study how it has been and is

changing through time, space, and circumstances.

But language is not just a system of vocal signs by which agroupof humans communicate, it is also a system of vocal signs

by which an individualcommunicates at different times,places, and circumstances. Before we look at the Englishlanguage historically, lets examine howyourlanguage has

been constantly changing.


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How hasyourlanguage changed?

Relevant to time?

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when Ibecame a man, I put away childish things. (Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians)

Relevant to space?

I am become a name;

For always roaming with a hungry heart

Much have I seen and known; cities of men

And manners, climates, councils, governments,

Myself not least, but honour'd of them all;

And drunk delight of battle with my peers,

Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.

I am a part of all that I have met; (Tennyson, Ulysses)

Relevant to circumstances?

I must remind you that you are not to interrupt me if I speak in my accustomed manner. . . . Menof Athens, do not interrupt, but hear me; there was an agreement between us that you shouldhear me out. (Socrates, in Platos Apology)


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Language is shaped by time

The diachronicstudy of language is the study of howlanguage changes through time. It is the study

of historical change. Your language has

changed throughout time, and so has the

English language.

By studying the historical evidence of written

records, scholars have concluded that English, aWestern Germanic language, evolved over

thousands of years from a reconstructed Proto-

Indo-European Language (*PIE).


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PIE Time?

http://www.godecookery.com/twotarts/twotarts.html

14th Century English piemaking, courtesty of Monica Gaudio at

Godecookery.com; not exactly the pie we are looking for. The PIE we are

looking for is . . .
http://www.godecookery.com/twotarts/twotarts.htmlhttp://www.godecookery.com/twotarts/twotarts.html


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Scholars disagree on the number of distinct language groups evolving out of PIE;

I follow Cable and Baugh, who mention eleven distinct groups: Germanic, Celtic,Balto-Slavic, Latin, Albanian, Hellenic, Hittite, Armenian, Tocharian, Iranian,

and Indian. Modern English evolves out of the West Germanic branch of the

Germanic group. The map approximates the location of descendents of these

language speakers today, but the languages evolved at different times since the

approximate date of PIE some 6000 years ago.


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Comparative study of PIE languages began with Sir William Jones, who was an

official of the British empire in the late 18th

century. Studying some of the oldestknown texts written in Sanskrit (an early form of Indian), Jones noticed there

were similarities between Sanskrit, Latin, and Greek. He theorized that they had

originated from a common mother language that has been lostthe Prototypical

Indo-European.


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Comparison of PIE Languages: to be

Sanskr it Latin Greek OE MnE

asmi sum eimi eom am

asi es ei eart are (art)

asti est esti is is

smas sumus esmen sindon are

stha estis esti sindon are

santi sunt eisi sindon are


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What similarities and differences do

you see in these forms?


asmi sum eimi eom am

asi es ei eart are (art)

asti est esti is is

smas sumus esmen sindon are

stha estis esti sindon are

santi sunt eisi sindon are


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Comparison of PIE Languages:

common wordsSanskr it Latin Greek OE MnE

pita pater pater fder father

bhratar frater phrater broer brother

mata mater mater modor mother

padam pedem poda fotu foot


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What similarities and differences do

you see in these forms?


pita pater pater fder father

bhratar frater phrater broer brother

mata mater mater modor mother

padam pedem poda fotu foot


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Oxford English Dictionary: Etymology

Etymology is the study of word origins. Many dictionaries willinclude an etymological explanation of a word to place it ina historical context. The most reliable source for Englishlanguage word origins is the OED. It demonstrates thehistory of the English word Father as follows:

[Com. Teut. and Aryan: OE.fdercorresponds to OFris.feder,fader, OS.fadar,fader(LG., Du. vader, vaar), OHG.fater(MHG. and mod.G. vater), ON.faer, -ir(Sw., Da.fader,far), Goth.fadar(found only Gal. iv. 6, the ordinaryword being atta):OTeut.fader:OAryanpater. whence Skr.

pitr, Gr. , L.pater, OIr. athir.


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Evidence for Language Change

From our personal experience we can observe

the differences in our language throughout

time from when we were children, teenagers,

and adults. Perhaps we have recordings or

videos of our speech from different periods

in our lives, or samples of our writing from

elementary school, high school, and college.We also have the testimony of adults who

knew and know us.


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Written Evidence

We dont have recordings or videosfrom hundreds or thousands of years

ago. Our evidence for observing the

change in historical languages comes

from written records of that language,

like the image of the first folio of

Beowulfmanuscript to the right.

We can see differences in PIE

languages by comparing the written

language of early historical records.

We can see how a language like

English has changed through the Old,

Middle, and Modern English periods

by comparing this written evidence:

Image of Beowulf MS, Cotton Vitellius A.xv., British

Museum.


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Lords Prayer Diachronically in English

Do you know the modern English version of this prayer? Ill recite it as you read

either the OE or ME version. What kinds of changes can you see in the four

hundred years that separate the Old and Middle English English periods?

Old English Period

Fder ure, u e eart on heofonum,

si in nama gehalgod.

Tobecume in rice.

Gewure in willa on eoran swa swa on

heofonum.

Urne gedghwamlican hlaf syle us to dg.And forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we

forgyfa urum gyltendum.

And ne geld u us on costnunge,

ac alys us of yfele. Solice.

Middle English Period

Oure fadir that art in heuenes,

halewid be thi name;

thi kyngdoom come to;

be thi wille don, in erthe as in heuene.

Yyue to vs this dai oure breed ouer othir

substaunce,and foryyue to vs oure dettis, as we foryyuen

to oure dettouris;

and lede vs not in to temptacioun, but

delyuere vs fro yuel.

Amen.


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Language is also shaped byspace

Space, in a sense, is geography. OED defines geography asthe description of the earth's surface, treating of itsform and physical features, its natural and politicaldivisions, the climate, productions, population, etc., of

the various countries. Throughout the term, we willexplore how these different geographical factorsinfluence change.

When speakers of a language move into a new space, they

often encounter features associated with the new regionwhich requires them to invent a new word or borrow aword from a different language.


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Although common words like father, mother, and brothermay not necessarily

change as a result of geography, we do know that unique features of ones

environment may result in different words being developed in differentlanguages. For instance, there were no words forjungle, mango, and crocodilein

the earliest Germanic and Slavic languages because the speakers of these

language groups lived in regions where there were no such things. Yet English

eventually acquired these words when it came into contact with languages that

had already found a need for them.

New Words for New Worlds


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Jungle, Desert, Forest?The OED explains that the word Jungle was borrowed into English

toward the end of the 18th century, but notice how even as it wasborrowed its meaning was changed to correspond to a geographicalfeature of the Indian Subcontinent that the English were notfamiliar with. The OED etymology of jungle is:

[a. Hindi and Marathijangaldesert, waste, forest, Skr.jangaladry, dry

ground, desert. The change in Anglo-Indian use may be comparedto that in the historical meaning of the word forestin its passagefrom a waste or unenclosed tract to one covered with wild wood. Inthe transferred sense ofjunglethere is app. a tendency to associateit with tangle.]

1. In India, originally, as a native word, Waste or uncultivated ground (=forest in the original sense); then, such land overgrown withbrushwood, long grass, etc.; hence, in Anglo-Indian use, a. Landovergrown with underwood, long grass, or tangled vegetation; also,the luxuriant and often almost impenetrable growth of vegetationcovering such a tract. b. with aand pl. A particular tract or pieceof land so covered; esp. as the dwelling-place of wild beasts.


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Languages, Dialects, and Registers

The variations that emerge over time among people speakingthe same language but in different regions result in whatwe call dialects. Eventually, dialectsmay becomerecognized as new languages. Dialects and languages aretypically associated with particular places.

Language also changes to meet the particular needs of a givensituation. When we change our language to function indifferent social settings, we speak in what are known asdifferent registers; these registers represent cultural

levelsand functional varietiesof English that we may useat work or school, when being formal or informal, orwhen speaking to a friend or a grandfather or aprofessor or policeman.


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Whats a Klinefelter?

Varieties of language that adapt to a contemporary time,place, and circumstance are considered synchronicrather thanhistorical or diachronic. For instance,spatial relationships may be intimate expressions of

a particular community. If you tell another BlueHawk that you saw some dude dressed like Busterat Klinefelter, or if on the Kaibab crew-net I warnsomeone: be advised; theres a widowmakerhanging on the yellowbelly at Shoot em up Dick,

whether or not we are understood depends on theextent our language has been shaped mutually bythe same time, space, and circumstances.

(Shoot em up What?!?!)Go Hawks! ! !


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Language changes in time and space

Just as yourlanguage has been changed by the peculiarities ofyour experiences in time and space, English has changedas a result of its contact with other places and cultures.From its origins as an Indo-European language, through

its development as a form of Germanic known asWestern Germanic into its earliest historical form calledOld English, Engl ish has been constantly changing.

From the earliest historical evidence, we also see that there

were many dialectical differences between the Anglo-Saxon tribes that arrived from different regions of theContinent to what was to become known as England.


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Dialects

David Burnley says the following about Dialects (from OldEnglish: A Multimedia History):

Dialects arise through the variation which is found in

languages according to the geographical locations inwhich they are spoken. Variation may occur at all levelsof analysis, and include variety in everything fromaccent to syntax and semantics. This basic conceptionseems simple enough, but precise definition is less easy.

Variation due to social and stylistic differences may notalways be easy to distinguish from purely geographicalones. And there are other uncertainties.


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Dialects

A dialect is distinguished from the more widespreadform of the language by a set of local variants, but it isoften difficult to identify a geographical area for thatdialect. As we travel across the country, variants tend to

be replaced at different points. A Durham dialect soundsmore like a North Yorkshire dialect than a SouthYorkshire dialect. It is usually dif f icul t to recognise aclear border.David Burnley

The dialectal differences of the Angles and the Saxons thatsettled in Northumbria and Wessex, respectively, maybe seen in the following comparison:


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Caedmons Hymn in Different Regions

of Anglo-Saxon England

Northumbrian Dialect Version

Nu scylun hergan hefaenricaes uard,

metuds maecti end his modgidanc,

uerc uuldurfadur, sue he uundra gihuaes,eci dryctin, or astelid.

He aerist scop aelda barnum

heben til hrofe, haleg scepen;

tha middungeard moncynns uard,

eci dryctin, fter tiadfirum foldu, frea allmectig

West Saxon Dialect Version

Nu sculon herigean heofonrices weard,

meotodes meahte and his modgeanc,

weorc wuldorfder, swa he wundra gehws,ece drihten, or onstealde.

He rest sceop eoran bearnum

heofon to hrofe, halig scyppend;

a middangeard moncynnes weard,

ece drihten, fter teodefirum foldan, frea lmihtig.

What differences can you see in the


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What differences can you see in the

Northumbrian and West Saxon

dialects of Caedmons Hymn?Northumbrian Dialect Version

Nu scylun hergan hefaenricaes uard,

metuds maecti end his modgidanc,

uerc uuldurfadur, sue he uundra gihuaes,

eci dryctin, or astelid.

He aerist scop aelda barnum

heben til hrofe, haleg scepen;

tha middungeard moncynns uard,

eci dryctin, fter tiad

firum foldu, frea allmectig

West Saxon Dialect Version

Nu sculon herigean heofonrices weard,

meotodes meahte and his modgeanc,

weorc wuldorfder, swa he wundra gehws,

ece drihten, or onstealde.

He rest sceop eoran bearnum

heofon to hrofe, halig scyppend;

a middangeard moncynnes weard,

ece drihten, fter teode

firum foldan, frea lmihtig.


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OE version of Caedmons Hymn

compared to a MnE Translation

Nu we sculon herigean heofonrices weard, Now we must praise the Protector of the heavenly kingdom,

meotodes meahte ond his modgeanc, the might of the Measurer and His mind's purpose,

weorc wuldorfder, swa he wundra gehws, the work of the Father of Glory, as He for each of the wonders,

ece drihten, or onstealde the eternal Lord, established a beginning.

He rest sceop eoran bearnum He shaped first for the sons of the Earth

heofon to hrofe, halig scyppend; heaven as a roof, the Holy Maker;

a middangeard moncynnes weard, then the Middle-World, mankind's Guardian,

ece drihten, fter teode the eternal Lord, made afterwards,

firum foldan, frea lmihtig. solid ground for men, the almighty Lord.


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What Have You Learned?

I hope that this brief introduction has helped youbegin to understand how time, place and

circumstance have influenced language

change. We call this process of change

Dialectal Differentiation.

Dialectal Differentiation is a term that refers to

the process by which language changes over

time and space and circumstance. It is alsoknown as language variation orlanguage

diversification.


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In its broadest application, dialectal differentiationprovides an explanation for how new languagesor dialects emerge from a common language. Asa group or groups of speakers of a common

language become separated from other speakersof the same language, the process of changebegins as they are exposed to differentlanguages, dialects, and other stimuli that result

in changes in phonology, morphology, lexicology,etc. that differentiate them from their originallanguage group over time and distance.


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What else?

We also learned about how we can study a languagediachronicallyor synchronically, from historicalor contemporary perspectives.

We learned that there are differences betweenlanguages, dialects, and registers.

We will continue to study how English is a language

with many historical and contemporaryvarieties and how it has changed in morphology,phonology, lexicology, and orthography.


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Critical Thinking QuestionsPurpose: To think critically about why and how language and languages change.

Questions: What kinds of changes have taken place in English since its *PIE origins?How has western North Dakota shaped your dialect of English?

How does your language change when you are writing rather than speaking?

Do you have any other questions?

Evidence: What evidence to we have to answer the question?

Interpretations/Conclusions: How are we interpreting the evidence? What are ourconclusions?

Ideas, Concepts, Theories: Are there any particular theories or ideas that help us

understand the issue?

Assumptions: What assumptions or presuppositions do we have regarding the issue?

Implications/Consequences: If our interpretations or conclusions about the evidenceare correct, what are the implications and consequences of our thinking?


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Language change through time,

space, and circumstances-The End-

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Dialectal Difffghjkl;erentiation