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English 306A; Harris
Historical linguistics
Mutability• Dialectal differences• Stages of English• Symbolic shifts
Linguistic study• Reconstruction• Language families
Origins• Lexical, social, and cognitive theories
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English 306A; Harris
History of English
Aetalects!
far out … outasite …
groovy… rilly [really] …
greaser … dude …cool … hip
… keen … neat … swell
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English 306A; Harris
Early modern EnglishI am no orator, as Brutus is;But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man,That love my friend; and that they know full wellThat gave me public leave to speak of him:For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth,Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech,To stir men's blood
Julius Caesar, c1599
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English 306A; Harris
Middle EnglishWhan that Aprill, with his shoures sooteThe droghte of March hath perced to the rooteAnd bathed every veyne in swich licour,Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
yadda, yadda, yaddaThanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
The Canterbury Tales, c1380
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London
English 306A; Harris
Si† en †e sege and †e assaut watz sesed at Troye,†e bor° brittened and brent to bronde and askez,†e tulk †at †e trammes of tresoun †er wro°tWatz tried for his tricherie, †e trewest on erthe
The Green Knight, c1380
Middle English (Northumberland)
Sociolects!
Ethnolects!
Regiolects!
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English 306A; Harris
Language variation
!
English 306A; Harris
Language variation
Idiolects!
Different persons growing up in the same language are like different bushes trimmed and trained to take the shape of identical elephants. The anatomical details of twigs
and branches will fulfill the elephantine form differently from bush to bush, but the
overall outward results are alike.
W.V.O. Quine
Idiolects!
English 306A; Harris
Old English
Nu sculon herigean heofonrices weard, meotodes meahte, and his modge†anc, weorc wuldorfæder, swa he wundra gehwæs, ece drihten, or onstealde.
Caedmon’s hymn, c670
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English 306A; Harris
1066
English 306A; Harris
Modern English
Substratum (under-level)Germanic (Angles, Saxons
etc.)king, law, deer, cow, cock, piss, …
Superstratum (over-level)Latinate (Norman French)
monarch, justice, venison, beef, penis, urinate, …
English 306A; Harris
Mutability
Language change
Internal(isolation,
fashion, prestige, …)
External(trade, war,
imperialism, …)
PhonologicalMorphologicalLexicalSyntacticSemantic
English 306A; Harris
Semantic change (hyponym / hypernym swap)
dog
… poodle hound spaniel …
Toy, French, … Grey, Blood, … Springer, Cocker, …
hyponym
hypernymhyponym
hypernym
English 306A; Harris
Semantic change (hyponym / hypernym swap)
Modern English
dog
… poodle hound spaniel …
Toy, French, … Grey, Blood, … Springer, Cocker, …
hyponym
hypernymhyponym
hypernym
Middle English
hound
… dogge poodle spaniel …
Mastiff, Basset, … Toy, French, … Springer, Cocker, …
dog
hound dogge
hound
English 306A; Harris
nightknightknee
name cough
…
[nIFt][knIFt] [knij]
[nQm´] [kAF]
[nAit][nAit] [nij]
[nejm] [kAf]
Phonological change
Middle English Modern English
English 306A; Harris
Morphological changePresent
Past
Singular
first drÿge drÿgde
second drÿgst drÿgdes
third drÿgþ drÿgde
Plural drÿgaþ drÿgdon
Infinitive, drÿgan
Past participle, gedrÿged
Present participle, drÿgende
English 306A; Harris
Morphological changePresent
Past
Singular
first dry dried
second dry dried
third dries dried
Plural dry dried
Infinitive, to dry
Past participle, (has) dried
Present participle, (is) drying
English 306A; Harris
Lexical changes
MayhapsHarkCadEldenBurdalaneSweltersomeClyte
TofuInterfaceRobotRadarSandwichMuttonFornication
English 306A; Harris
Syntactic change
Good even, Casca:
brought you Caesar home?
Good evening, Casca: did you bring
Caesar home?
English 306A; Harris
Mutability
SubtotalHistory of English
• Periods• Events
Pressures to change• Internal/external• Aeta-, regio-, socio-, ethno-lects
Types of change• Semantic (e.g., dog/hound)• Phonogical (e.g., “cough”)• Morphological (e.g. ‘levelling’)• Lexical (words come, words go)• Syntactic (Yes/no question formation)
English 306A; Harris
Reconstruction• Contrast and compare• Proto-languages
Language families• Indo-European• Pre-Indo-European
Origins• Lexical theories• Language theories
Origins and varieties of languages
English 306A; Harris
Philology
• Looking at texts for noteworthy signifier/signified linkages
• Contrast and compare
English 306A; Harris
Philology, reconstruction, and language families
Grimm’s Law
Englishfathermotherbrothersisterkingmilk meat
GermanVaterMutterBruder
SchwesterKönigMilch
Fleisch
English 306A; Harris
Philology, reconstruction, and language families
Grimm’s Law
English German Latin Sanskrit Modern Old father faeder Vater pater pitar mother modor Mutter mater matar
fish fisc Fisch pisces patan
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English 306A; Harris
Philology, reconstruction, and language families
Grimm’s Law
/p//f/
English German Latin Sanskrit Modern Old father faeder Vater pater pitar mother modor Mutter mater matar
fish fisc Fisch pisces patan
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English 306A; Harris
Philology, reconstruction, and language families
Grimm’s Law
/p/—>/f/
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English 306A; Harris
English German Latin Sanskrit Modern Old father faeder Vater pater pitar mother modor Mutter mater matar
fish fisc Fisch pisces patan
Proto-Germanic
Philology, reconstruction, and language families
Grimm’s Lawhypothetical, reconstructedlanguage
Proto-IndicProto-Italic
Proto-Indo-European (*PIE)
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English 306A; Harris
Language families
English German Latin SanskritModern Old
father faeder Vater pater pitarmother modor Mutter mater matar
fish fisc Fisch pisces patan
Germanic IndicItalicFamilies
Philo-logicalevidence
English 306A; Harris
Proto-Indo-European (*PIE)
English German Latin SanskritModern Old
father faeder Vater pater pitarmother modor Mutter mater matar
fish fisc Fisch pisces patan
Germanic IndicItalicFamilies
Philo-logicalevidence
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English 306A; Harris
Indo-European
English German Latin SanskritModern Old
father faeder Vater pater pitarmother modor Mutter mater matar
fish fisc Fisch pisces patan
Germanic IndicItalicFamilies
Philo-logicalevidence
English 306A; Harris
Indo-European family
English 306A; Harris
Bow-wow theory
Language arose from onomatopoeia (iconic)
Making noises to represent elements in the environment: animals, rain, expulsive gas, …
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English 306A; Harris
Pooh-pooh theory(AKA the ouch theory)
Language arose from spontaneous emotional noises (indexical)
Sighs, moans, cries, ejections of surprise, fear, delight, …
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English 306A; Harris
• Lexical theories• Nothing about syntax• Nothing about phonology,
morphology, …
• Not mutually exclusive
Bow-wow & pooh-pooh theories
English 306A; Harris
Yadda, yadda, yadda
… that language evolved among humans to replace
social grooming because the grooming time required by
our large groups made impossible demands on our
time. Language, I argue, evolved to fill the gap
because it allows us to use the time we have available for social interaction more
efficiently.
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English 306A; Harris
Yo-he-ho theory
Language arose in muscular and rhythmic efforts accompanying group work (indexical)
Gathering, distributing, distance-pursuit of prey, …
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English 306A; Harris
Throwing madonna theory
• Nursing (left-side)• Motor/linguistic
sequencing• Structural• Non-lexical• Piggy-backing theory
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English 306A; Harris
Neuron packing theory
To be, or not to be. That is the question.
[The origin of language may have to
do with] certain physical laws relating to neuron packing or
regulatory mechanisms.
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English 306A; Harris
• Bow-wow and pooh-pooh• Lexical
• Ye-ho-ha, Throwing Madonna, Neuron-packing• Non-lexical• Cognitive
• Yadda-yadda-yadda• Non-lexical• Social
Language origins: sub-total
Not
Mutually
Exclusive
English 306A; Harris
Historical linguisticsLanguages change over time
• External (war, imperialism, trade, …)• Internal (fashion, prestige, isolation, …)
Types of changes• Semantic, phonological, morphological, lexical, …
Genealogical relationships• Reconstructed proto-languages• Language families
Language origins• Lots of guesses, no clear solutions• Lexical, social, and cognitive variants
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