The Evolution of English

A talk by David Evans

Vegetarians

Humanitarians

Olive oil

Baby oil

The film was wicked!

The film was wicked!

How languages evolve

1. Novelty

Old words, new meanings

Crash

Net

Mouse

Apple

Keyboard

New words

• Phishing• Blog• Satnav• Wiki

New words

• Phishing• Blog• Satnav• Wiki

New words

• Phishing• Blog• Satnav• Wiki

New words

• Phishing• Blog• Satnav• Wiki

New words

• Phishing• Blog• Satnav• Wiki

• Neologism• Abbreviation• Blended word• Hawaiian

Sources of hi tech words

• Neologisms

• Abbreviations

• Blended words• Compound words

• Acronyms

• Initialisms

• Phishing

• Blog

• Satnav

• Keypad

• Laser

• PC

Blended or compound words?

• Netiquette• Hypertext• Emoticon• Cyberspace

• Internet + etiquette• Hyper + text• Emotion + icon• Cyber + space

Acronym or initialism?

• Wysiwyg

• FAQ• RAM• CD-ROM• Jpeg

• What you see is what you get

• Frequently asked questions

• Random access memory

• Compact Disc read only memory

• Joint photographic experts group

How languages evolve

1. Novelty2. New technologies and trends

3. Erosion

Erosion

I’ll be seeing you.

Be seeing you.

See you.

See you later.

Later.

La’er.

I’m going to see you tomorrow because we’re both going to the same meeting.

I’m gonna see you tomorrow because we’re both going to the same meeting.

How languages evolve

1. Novelty2. New technologies and trends

3. Erosion4. Analogy

floccinaucinihilipilification

The categorising of something as worthless or trivial

floccinaucinihilipilificational

Pertaining to the categorising of something as worthless or trivial

floccinaucinihilipilificationalise

To cause something to pertain to the categorising of something as worthless or trivial

Word formation

Noun

Adjective

Adjective

+al

Verb

+ise

Noun - verb cycles

Compute

Computer

Computerise

Computerisation

164 irregular verbs +

sneak

164 irregular verbs +

sneak - snuck

dive

164 irregular verbs +

sneak - snuckdive - dove

drag

164 irregular verbs +

sneak - snuckdive - dovedrag - drug

Analogies

sneak - snuck (strike - struck)dive - dovedrag - drug

Analogies

sneak - snuck (strike - struck)dive - dove (drive - drove)drag - drug

Analogies

sneak - snuck (strike - struck)dive - dove (drive - drove)drag - drug (dig - dug)

How languages evolve

1. Novelty2. New technologies and trends

3. Erosion4. Analogy

5. Symbolism

Onomatopoeia

Guess the creature

Ngeong (Indonesian)

Ngiau (Malay)

Tlatzomia (Nahuatl, Mexico)

Guess the creature

Kwaak kwaak (Afrikaans)

Krooks krooks (Estonian)

Korekorekore (Munduruku, Brazil)

Berp (Argentinian Spanish)

Guess the creature

Zoem zoem (Afrikaans)

Bhonbhon (Bengali)

Bunbun (Japanese)

Wing wing (Korean)

Match the sounds

• Ata-ata (Rapa Nui, Easter Island)

• Kekek-kekek (Malay)

• Ringongo (Kiribati, Pacific)

• Yuyurungul (Yindiny, Australia)

• Zonk zonk (Turkish)

• To throb• To snore• To laugh• To giggle• The noise of a

snake slithering through the grass

Match the sounds

• Ata-ata (Rapa Nui, Easter Island)

• Kekek-kekek (Malay)

• Ringongo (Kiribati, Pacific)

• Yuyurungul (Yindiny, Australia)

• Zonk zonk (Turkish)

• To laugh • To giggle

• To snore

• A snake slithering through the grass

• To throb

Kiki and Bouba

Maluma and Takete

Sound symbolism

The sound [i] is associated with the small as it is made by using the tongue to create the smallest cavity in the mouth, while [u o a] are associated with large things as they are produced using a lowered tongue and larger mouth cavity.

[Otto Jespersen]

Phonesthesia

Families of words that share sounds and meanings

Phonesthesia: ‘sn…’

sneeze, sniff, sniffle, snore, snot, snout, snuff, snuffle

sneer, snicker, snide, snob, snooty, snotty

Phonesthesia: ‘gl…’

glare, gleam, glimmer, glimpse, glint, glisten, glitter, gloss, glow

New word: glitzy

Phonesthesia: ‘gr…’

grisly, gristly, grubby, grotesque, grotty, gruesome

New words: grunge, grungy

How languages evolve

1. Novelty2. New technologies and trends

3. Erosion4. Analogy

5. Symbolism

The Evolution of English

A talk by David Evans. April 2009

Word Origins

• Alcohol• Banjo• Jumbo• Pundit• Vampire

• Arabic• Bantu• Swahili• Hindi• Serbo-Croat

Impact on English

• Acceptance of non-standard accents

• Simplified vocabulary and grammar

• Greater influence of other ‘Englishes’

Expansion of English

• English introduced at primary level (China 2001)

• Bilingual models (Finland, Netherlands, Singapore)

• Second official language (Chile, Mongolia)

Hinglish

Life ho to aisi

(Coca Cola)

Life should be like this

Hinglish

Life ho to aisi

(Coca Cola)

Hungry kya?

(Domino’s Pizza)

Life should be like this

Hinglish

Life ho to aisi

(Coca Cola)

Hungry kya?

(Domino’s Pizza)

Life should be like this

Are you hungry?

Hinglish

Life ho to aisi

(Coca Cola)

Hungry kya?

(Domino’s Pizza)

What your bahana is?

(McDonalds)

Life should be like this

Are you hungry?

Hinglish

Life ho to aisi

(Coca Cola)

Hungry kya?

(Domino’s Pizza)

What your bahana is?

(McDonalds)

Life should be like this

Are you hungry?

What’s your excuse?

How languages evolve

1. Novelty2. New technologies and trends

3. Erosion4. Analogy

5. Symbolism6. Contact with other languages

Lexical gaps

• The current decade• Unmarried heterosexual partners• Gender-neutral third person pronoun (to replace

he or she)• Adult children• A collective noun for nephews and nieces

The Welsh puzzle

The Welsh puzzle

22% Welsh population speak Welsh (611,000)

Words of Welsh origin

bard, booth, corgi, crag, druid, flannel,flummery, penguin, pout, whelk

Innit?

-ess

phil

fract

loqu

iatr

clin

The film was sick!

The film was sick!