Historical linguistics & the history of languageraha/306a_web/F10Files/HistoryF10.pdf · history of...

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English 306A; Harris

Historical linguistics & thehistory of language

Origins• Lexical, social, and cognitive theories

Mutability• Dialectal differences• Stages of English• Symbolic shifts

Linguistic study• Reconstruction• Language families

Homo sapien #1 You are here


Bow-wow theory

Language arose fromonomatopoeia

Making noises to representelements in the environment:animals, rain, expulsive gas,…


?


Bow-wow theory

Language arose fromonomatopoeia (iconic)

Making noises to representelements in the environment:animals, rain, expulsive gas,…


?

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Pooh-pooh theory(AKA the ouch theory)

Language arose fromspontaneous emotionalnoises

Sighs, moans, cries,ejections of surprise, fear,delight, …


?


Pooh-pooh theory(AKA the ouch theory)

Language arose fromspontaneous emotionalnoises (indexical)

Sighs, moans, cries,ejections of surprise, fear,delight, …


?


• Lexical theories• Nothing about syntax• Nothing about phonology,

morphology, …• Not mutually exclusive

Bow-wow & pooh-pooh theories

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Yadda, yadda, yadda

… that language evolved amonghumans to replace social

grooming because the groomingtime required by our largegroups made impossibledemands on our time.

Language, I argue, evolved tofill the gap because it allows us

to use the time we haveavailable for social interaction

more efficiently.


?


Yo-he-ho theory

Language arose inmuscular and rhythmicefforts accompanyinggroup work

Gathering, distributing,distance-pursuit of prey, …


?


Yo-he-ho theory

Language arose inmuscular and rhythmicefforts accompanyinggroup work (indexical)

Gathering, distributing,distance-pursuit of prey, …


?

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Hmmmmm theory

Communicative systemHolisticRhetoricalMultimodalRhythmic (indexical)MelodicMimetic (iconic)


…a prelinguistic musical modeof thought and action

?


Throwing madonna theory

• Nursing (left-side)• Motor/linguistic

sequencing• Structural• Non-lexical• Piggy-backing theory


?


Piggybacking traits(exaptation)

BoneGillsFeathersPenguin wingsSpeech!

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Neuronpackingtheory

To be, or not tobe. That is the

question.[The origin of languagemay have to do with]certain physical laws

relating to neuronpacking or regulatory

mechanisms.


?


•Bow-wow and pooh-pooh• Lexical• Social

•Throwing Madonna, Neuron-packing• Non-lexical (syntactic)• Cognitive

•Yadda-yadda-yadda• Non-lexical• Social

•Ye-ho-ha, Hmmmmm• Non-lexical• Cognitive-Social

Language origins: sub-total

NOT

MUTUALLY

EXCLUSIVE


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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Middle EnglishWhan that Aprill, with his shoures soote

The droghte of March hath perced to the roote

And bathed every veyne in swich licour,

Of which vertu engendred is the flour;

yadda, yadda, yadda

Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages

The Canterbury Tales, c1380


LONDON


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 wrot

Watz tried for his tricherie, e trewest on erthe

The Green Knight, c1380

Middle English (Northumberland)

Sociolects![class-based groupspeech differences]

Ethnolects![tribal-based groupspeech differences]

Regiolects![geographically-based

group speech differences]



Language variation

!

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Language variationDifferent persons growing up in the samelanguage are like different bushes trimmedand trained to take the shape of identicalelephants. The anatomical details of twigs

and branches will fulfill the elephantine formdifferently from bush to bush, but the

overall outward results are alike.

W.V.O. Quine

Idiolects!


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



1066

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Modern English

Substratum (under-level)Germanic (Angles, Saxons,

Jutes, etc.)king, law, deer, cow, cock,piss, …

Superstratum (over-level)Latinate (Norman French)

monarch, justice, venison,beef, penis, urinate, …


Language change


Mutability

Language change

Internal(isolation, fashion,

prestige, …)External

(trade, war,imperialism, …)

PhonologicalMorphologicalLexicalSyntacticSemantic

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Semantic change (hyponym / hypernym swap)

dog

… poodle hound spaniel …

Toy, French, … Grey, Blood, … Springer, Cocker, … hyponym

hypernymhyponym

hypernym


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


nightknightkneenamecough

…

[nIFt]

[knIFt]

[knij]

[nQm´]

[kAF]

[nAit]

[nAit]

[nij]

[nejm]

[kAf]

Phonological change

Middle English Modern English

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Morphological change

thirdsecondfirst

Present

Present participle, drÿgendePast participle, gedrÿgedInfinitive, drÿgan

drÿgdondrÿgaþPluraldrÿgdedrÿgþdrÿgdesdrÿgstdrÿgdedrÿgeSingularPast



thirdsecondfirst

Present

Present participle, drÿgendePast participle, gedrÿgedInfinitive, drÿgan

drÿgdondrÿgaþPluraldrÿgdedrÿgþdrÿgdesdrÿgstdrÿgdedrÿgeSingularPast



thirdsecondfirst

Present

Present participle, (is) dryingPast participle, (has) driedInfinitive, to dry

drieddryPluraldrieddriesdrieddrydrieddrySingularPast

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thirdsecondfirst

Present

Present participle, (is) dryingPast participle, (has) driedInfinitive, to dry

drieddry∅Pluraldrieddriesdrieddry∅drieddry∅SingularPast


Lexical changes

MayhapsHarkCadEldenBurdalaneSweltersomeClyte

PorkSandwichTofuInterfaceRobotRadarF-bomb


Syntactic change

Good even,Casca:

brought youCaesar home?

Good evening,Casca: didyou bring

Caesar home?

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Mutability

History of English• Periods• Events

Pressures to change• Internal/external• Regio-, socio-, ethno-lects

Types of change• Semantic (e.g., dog/hound)• Phonological (e.g., “cough”)• Morphological (e.g. ‘levelling’)• Lexical (words come, words go)• Syntactic (Yes/no question formation)

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