Historical linguistics

1. Historical linguistics • Mutability • Dialectal differences • Stages of English • Symbolic shifts • Linguistic study • Reconstruction • Language families • Origins • Lexical, social, and cognitive theories Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

2. History of English Aetalects! far out … outasite … groovy… rilly [really]… greaser … dude … cool … hip … keen … neat … swell Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

3. Early modern English • I 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 well • That 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 Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

4. Middle English • Whan 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 Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

5. Middle English (Northumberland) Regiolects! • 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°t • Watz tried for his tricherie, †e trewest on erthe • The Green Knight, c1380 Sociolects! Ethnolects! Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

6. Language variation ! English 306A; Harris

7. Language variation 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. Idiolects! Idiolects! W.V.O. Quine English 306A; Harris

8. 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 Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

9. 1066 English 306A; Harris

10. 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

11. MutabilityLanguage change • Internal (isolation, fashion, prestige, …) • External (trade, war, imperialism, …) Phonological Morphological Lexical Syntactic Semantic English 306A; Harris

12. Semantic change (hyponym / hypernym swap) • dog • … poodle hound spaniel … • Toy, French, … Grey, Blood, … Springer, Cocker, … hypernym hyponym hypernym hyponym English 306A; Harris

13. Middle English hound … dogge poodle spaniel … Mastiff, Basset, … Toy, French, … Springer, Cocker, … hypernym hyponym hypernym hyponym dog hound hound dogge Semantic change (hyponym / hypernym swap) • Modern English • dog • … poodle hound spaniel … • Toy, French, … Grey, Blood, … Springer, Cocker, … English 306A; Harris

14. Phonological change • night • knight • knee • name • cough • … Middle English Modern English • [nIFt] • [knIFt] • [knij] • [nQm´] • [kAF] • [nAit] • [nAit] • [nij] • [nejm] • [kAf] English 306A; Harris

15. Morphological change English 306A; Harris

16. Morphological change English 306A; Harris

17. Lexical changes • Tofu • Interface • Robot • Radar • Sandwich • Mutton • Fornication • Mayhaps • Hark • Cad • Elden • Burdalane • Sweltersome • Clyte English 306A; Harris

18. Syntactic change Good even, Casca: brought you Caesar home? Good evening, Casca: did you bring Caesar home? English 306A; Harris

19. MutabilitySubtotal • History 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

20. Origins and varieties of languages • Reconstruction • Contrast and compare • Proto-languages • Language families • Indo-European • Pre-Indo-European • Origins • Lexical theories • Language theories English 306A; Harris

21. Philology • Looking at texts for noteworthy signifier/signified linkages • Contrast and compare English 306A; Harris

22. English father mother brother sister king milk meat German Vater Mutter Bruder Schwester König Milch Fleisch Philology, reconstruction, and language familiesGrimm’s Law English 306A; Harris

23. Philology, reconstruction, and language familiesGrimm’s Law Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

24. Philology, reconstruction, and language familiesGrimm’s Law /f/ /p/ Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

25. Philology, reconstruction, and language familiesGrimm’s Law /p/—>/f/ Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

26. Philology, reconstruction, and language familiesGrimm’s Law Proto-Indo-European (*PIE) hypothetical, reconstructed language Proto-Germanic Proto-Italic Proto-Indic Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

27. Language families Germanic Italic Indic Families Philo-logical evidence English 306A; Harris

28. Proto-Indo-European (*PIE) Germanic Italic Indic Families Philo-logical evidence Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

29. Indo-European Families Germanic Italic Indic Philo-logical evidence English 306A; Harris

30. Indo-European family English 306A; Harris

31. Bow-wow theory • Language arose from onomatopoeia (iconic) Making noises to represent elements in the environment: animals, rain, expulsive gas, … Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

32. Pooh-pooh theory(AKA the ouch theory) • Language arose from spontaneous emotional noises (indexical) Sighs, moans, cries, ejections of surprise, fear, delight, … Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

33. Bow-wow & pooh-pooh theories • Lexical theories • Nothing about syntax • Nothing about phonology, morphology, … • Not mutually exclusive English 306A; Harris

34. 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. Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

35. Yo-he-ho theory • Language arose in muscular and rhythmic efforts accompanying group work (indexical) Gathering, distributing, distance-pursuit of prey, … Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

36. Throwing madonna theory • Nursing (left-side) • Motor/linguistic sequencing • Structural • Non-lexical • Piggy-backing theory Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

37. 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. Neuron packing theory Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris

38. Language origins: sub-total • Bow-wow and pooh-pooh • Lexical • Ye-ho-ha, Throwing Madonna, Neuron-packing • Non-lexical • Cognitive • Yadda-yadda-yadda • Non-lexical • Social NotMutuallyExclusive English 306A; Harris

39. Historical linguistics • Languages 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 Homo sapien #1 You are here English 306A; Harris