hist introduction

Historical Lingustics

WS 2005/6

Topics

• Patterns of language change

• Explanations of lanaguae change

• Implications of language change

Grammatical changes

• Wegen des Wetters > wegen dem Wetter

• Käme > würde kommen

• Meinetwegen > wegen mir

• Meines Vater‘s Auto> mein Vater sein Auto

• Weil ich das nicht mag > weil ich mag das nicht

British newspapers

We seem to be moving … towards a social and linguistic situation in which nobody says or writes or probably knows anything more than an approximation to what he or she means.

[The Sunday Times 1999]

British newspapers

English used to be a language which foreigners couldn’t pronounce but could often understand. Today it is rapidly becoming a language which the English can’t pronounce and few foreigners can understand.

[The Daily Telegraph 1968]

British newspapers

We go out of our ways to promulgate incessantly … the very ugliest sounds and worst possible grammars.

[The Sunday Times 1986]

Recent changes in English

(1) The media is not objective.(2) These sort of things.(3) He is like: ‚….‘

Recent changes in English

(1) Fortunately, I have a spare fan belt.(2) Honestly, you have no taste in clothes.(3) Hopefully, we‘ll be there in time for lunch.

Recent changes in English

(1) My care is being broken.(2) My house is being painted.(3) This problem is being discussed in class.

(1) My car is repairing.(2) My house is painting.(3) This problem is discussing in class.

What linguists say

The history of all Aryan languages is nothing but a gradual process of decay.

[Max Müller 1886]

What linguists say

In the evolution of languages the discarding of old flexions goes hand in hand with the development of simpler and more regular expedients that are rather less liable than the old ones to produce misunderstandings.

[Otto Jespersen 1922]

What linguists say

Progress in the absolute sense is impossible, just as it is in morality or politics. It is simply that different states exist, succeeding each other, each dominated by certain general laws imposed by the equilibrium of the forces with which they are confronted. So it is with language.

[Joseph Vendryes 1923]

Readings

Aitchison, J. Language Change. Progress or Decay. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Croft, W. 2000. Explaining Language Change. An Evolutionary Approach. Harlow: Longman.

McMahon, A.M.S. 1995. Understanding Language Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hock, H.H. 1991. Principles of Historical Linguistics. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Trask, R.L. 1996. Historical Linguistics. London: Arnold.

Course script

Digitale Bibliothek Thüringen

Search: History of the English language

Everything that students have always wanted to know about phonology (but where ashamed to ask )

Classification of consonants

• Voicing

• Manner of articulation

• Place of articulation

Voiced – voiceless consonants

[f] father[v] vase[s] salt[z] zoo[t] tree[d] door

Manner of articulation

Plosives

Fricatives

Affricates

Nasals

Liquids

Glides

[p] [b] [t] [d] [k] [g] [?]

[c] [J] [q] [G]

[f] [v] [T] [D] [s] [z] [S] [Z][tS] [dZ][m] [n] [Î] [l] [r] [w] [y]

[C] [x] [q] [G][ts] [pf] [®] [R]

Place of articulation

Bilabial

Labiodental

Interdental

Alveolar

Pala-Alev.

Velar

Uvular

Pharyngeal

[p] [b] [m] [w] [f] [v][T] [D][t] [d] [s] [z] [n] [l] [r][S] [Z] [tS] [dZ] [y][k] [g] [Î] [w]

[c] [J][x] [æ] [q] [G][É] [¿]

English consonants

Bilabial Labio-dental

Inter-dental

Alveol. Alveol.-palatal

Velar

Stop p b t d k gAffricate tS

dZFricative f v T D s z S Z hNasal m n ÎLateral l/rGlide w y

Classification of vowels

• height

• advancement

• lip rounding

• tenseness

English vowel chart

English diphthongs

Phonemes and allophones

[thOt] top aspirated[stOp] stopplain

/p t k/ → [ph th kh] / #__, V'[p t k] elsewhere

Contrastive – complementary distribution

[l{k] lack [param] wind[r{k] rack [irim] name[lif] leaf [pal] foot[rif] reef [mal] horse

[l] → [r] / V __ V

[l] elsewhere[r] → [l] / __#

[r] elsewhere

Aspiration

[thOt] top aspirated[stOp] stopplain

/p t k/ → [ph th kh] / #__, V'[p t k] elsewhere

Nasalization

[kæn] can[kãm] come

/V/ → [V] / __N

[V] elsewhere

Vowel lengthening

[bE:d] bed[h{:v] have

/V/ → [V:] / __ [+voice]

[V] elsewhere

Flapping

[böQr] butter

[bEQr] better

/t/ → [Q] / after stressed syllables at thebeginning of an unstressed syllable

[t] elsewhere

Morphophomemics[k{ts] cats [kis@z]kisses[dOgs] dogs [dZ@r{fs]giraffes[bUS@z] bushes [garaZ@z] garages[karz] cars [m{tS@z] matches[laIts] lights [dETs]deaths

[b{Îks] banks[s] after voiceless speech sound[z] after voiced speech sounds[@z] after sibilants

Morphophonemics

[ImpOsIbl] impossible[InsEns@tIv] insensitive[IÎkOnsIst@nt] inconsistent

[m] before labials[n] before alveolars[Î] before velars

Exercise 1

Provide the phonetic symbol

a. High front tense unrounded vowel

b. Low back lax unrounded vowel

c. Voiced labiodental fricative

d. Voiceless palatal fricative

e. Voiced velar nasal

[i][a]

[v][S][Î]

Exercise 2

a. [z]

b. [dZ]c. [y]

d. [I]e. [U]

Voiced, alveolar, fricative

Voiced, palatal-alveolar, affricate Voiced, palatal, glide

High, front, lax, unrounded

Provide the articulatory features

High, back, lax rounded

Exercise 3

a. [k, Î, g, x]

b. [v, Z, z, D]c. [w, y]

d. [i, e, o, u]e. [e, o, O, E]

velar

voiced fricatives

glides

tense vowels

Identify the common articulatory features

mid vowels

Exercise 4

a. though

b. easy

c. knife

d. thought

e. contact

[D][i][n]

[T]

Provide the IPA symbol for the first speech sound

[k]

a. judge

b. Thomas

c. physics

d. civic

e. use

[dZ][t][f][s][y]

Exercise 5

a. [ritS]b. [rIdZ]c. [kaIt]d. [{ktSn]e. [T{Îks]f. [Sules]

reach

ridgekite

action

Write in ordinary English

thanks

shoelace

Exercise 5 (Italian)

[faÎgo] mud [tinta] dye

[tEnda] tent [tEÎgo] I keep

[tiÎgo]I dye [fuÎgo] mushroom[nero] black [byaÎka] shite[aÎke] also [dansa] dance[dZEnte] people [sapone]soap

Exercise 5 (Italian)

[faÎgo] mud [tinta] dye

[tEnda] tent [tEÎgo] I keep

[tiÎgo]I dye [fuÎgo] mushroom[nero] black [byaÎka] shite[aÎke] also [dansa] dance[dZEnte] people [sapone]soap

Exercise 6 (German)

[axt] eight [IC] I

[bux] book [ECt] real

[lOx] hole [sprIC] speak[ho:x] hoch [lEC@ln] smile[fluxt] flight [riC@n]

smell[lax@n] laugh [fECt@n] to fence

Exercise 6 (German)

[axt] eight [IC] I

[bux] book [ECt] real

[lOx] hole [sprIC] speak[ho:x] hoch [lEC@ln] smile[fluxt] flight [riC@n]

smell[lax@n] laugh [fECt@n] to fence

Exercise 7 (Old English)[briÎgan] to bring [lUvU] love

[driÎkan] to drink [mannes] mans

[f{st] fast [mo:na] moon[fi:fta] fifth [ni:xsta] next[fOlk] folk [Offrian] to offer

[fOnt] font [Ovans] oven[ha:t] hot [n:on] noon[hlo:T] troop [ru:x]rough[TUÎgEn] full grown [l@Îgan] to lengthen[nixt] night [hr{vn] raven

Exercise 7 (Old English)[briÎgan] to bring [lUvU] love

[driÎkan] to drink [mannes] mans

[f{st] fast [mo:na] moon[fi:fta] fifth [ni:xsta] next[fOlk] folk [Offrian] to offer

[fOnt] font [Ovans] oven[ha:t] hot [n:on] noon[hlo:T] troop [ru:x]rough[TUÎgEn] full grown [l@Îgan] to lengthen[nixt] night [hr{vn] raven

Exercise 7 (Old English)[briÎgan] to bring [lUvU] love

[driÎkan] to drink [mannes] mans

[f{st] fast [mo:na] moon[fi:fta] fifth [ni:xsta] next[fOlk] folk [Offrian] to offer

[fOnt] font [Ovans] oven[ha:t] hot [n:on] noon[hlo:T] troop [ru:x]rough[TUÎgEn] full grown [l@Îgan] to lengthen[nixt] night [hr{vn] raven

Exercise 7 (Old English)[briÎgan] to bring [lUvU] love

[driÎkan] to drink [mannes] mans

[f{st] fast [mo:na] moon[fi:fta] fifth [ni:xsta] next[fOlk] folk [Offrian] to offer

[fOnt] font [Ovans] oven[ha:t] hot [n:on] noon[hlo:T] troop [ru:x]rough[TUÎgEn] full grown [l@Îgan] to lengthen[nixt] night [hr{vn] raven

The Indo-European

Language Family

GermanicGermanic

West Germanic North Germanic East Germanic

English Swedish Gothic

Frisian Danish Vandal

German Norwegian Burgundian

Yiddish Icelandic

Dutch

Afrikaans

Romance

French CatalanItalian GalicianSpain SardinianPortuguese ProvencalRomanian Rhomansh

Sir William Jones

‘Old’ Languages

Indo-European (3500)SemiticChineseJapaneseArabicTurkishDravidianAfrican languagesNative American languages

Phonetic evidence

You spotted snakes with double tongue,Thorny hedge-hogs, be not seen;Newts, and blind-worms, do no wrong;Come not near our fairy queen.

(Shakespeare)

Phonetic evidence

‘cosul’ consul‘cesor’ censor(Latin inscriptions)

Phonetic evidence

‘We produce this letter by pressing the lower lip on the upper teeth. The tongue is turned back towards the roof of the mouth, and the sound is accompanied by a gentle puff of breath.’

(Roman grammarian)

700 English

500 Armenian400 Gothic

0

200 Latin

400 Classical Sanskrit

800 Greek

1000 Old Persian

1200 Hittite

1500 Vedic Sanskrit

3000 Proto Indo-European

Sound correspondences between Sanskrit, Latin and Greek

Sanskrit Latin Greekasmiasiastismassthasanti

sumesestsumusestissunt

einieiestiesmenesteeisi

English German Swedishsun Sonne sol house Haus huscat Katze katapple Apfel äpplefather Vater faderhand Hand handgo gehen garsee sehen sarhear hören hörarun rennen rännardream träumen drömar

English-German sound correspondences

time Zeittongue Zungeten zehntame zahmtent Zeltto zutwo zweitwins Zwillinge

Second Germanic sound shift

time Zeittongue Zungeten zehn

that dasthere dathrough durch

pan Pfannepath Pfadpole Pfahl

hat hasseneat essenlet lassen

grip greifendeep tiefsleep schlafen

English-German sound correspondences

cheesechildchin

cheerychurch

king

KäseKindKinnKirscheKirche

König

Sound correspondences in Romance

Italian Sardinian Romansh French SpanishHundredSkyStagWax

tSEntotSelotSErvotSera

kEntukElukErbukEra

tsjEnttsiltsErftsairaE

sa sjElsERsiR

tSjentSjelotSjerbotSera

Numerals in Indo-European

English Gothic Latin Greek Sanskrit

onetwothreefourfivesixseveneightnineten

ainstwaiTrijafidworfimfsaihssibunahtauniuntaihun

unusduotresquattuorquinquesexseptemoctonovembedecem

heisduotreistettarespenteheksheptaoktoenneadeka

ekasdvatrayascatvaraspancasatsaptaastanavadasa

PIE numbers

Proto-Indo-European English*sems, *oi- one*duwo / *dwo two*treyes three*kwetwores four*penkwe five*sweks / *seks six*septam seven*októ eight*newan nine*dekamt ten

Sound correspondences across unrelated languages

Arabic Urdu Turkish Swahili Malaynewstimebookservicebeggar

xabarwaqtkitabxidmatfaqir

xabarvaqtkitabxidmatgarifaqir

habervakitkitaphizmetfakir

habariwkatikitabuhudumafakiri

khabarwaktukitabkhidmatfakir

Latin Old English Gothic/p/ /f/

/t/ /θ/

/k/ /x/h/

/b/ /p/

/d/ /t/

/g/ /k/

pedumpiscis

trestu

cordemcentum

turba ‘crowd’

edodecem

agergenus

fotfisc

three [Tri]thou [TaU]

hearthundred

thorp ‘village’

eatten

acrekin

fotusfiskis

thrirthuUhairtohund

itantaihun

akrskuni

IE Old English Gothic

/bh/ /b//dh/ /d//dh/ /d/

*bhero*dhura*ghostis

berandurugasts

baíradaúrgiest

Grimm’s law

*p t k f T x/h

*b d g p t k

*bh dh gh b d g

Exceptions to Grimm’s law

[p t k]

[f T x] [b d g]

Sanskrit Old Englishvártate weorTanvarárta wearTvavrtimá wurdonvavrta:ná worden

Verner’s law

[p t k] [f T x] / [stressed syllable] __

[b d g] / [unstressed syllable] __

Neogrammarian Hypothesis

Every sound change takes place according to laws that admit no exceptions.

[Karl Brugmann]

Internal Reconstruction

[D] [T]father thinkmother thieffeather thickheather thinweather thighbother thank