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Linguistic Heterogeneity and Vocabulary

Linguistic Heterogeneity and Vocabulary. The Case of the Electronic Dictionary Prototype of European Roots Task Group. Simeon Tsolakidis Modern Greek Dialect Research Laboratory University of Patras Greece. COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016.

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Linguistic Heterogeneity and Vocabulary

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  1. Linguistic Heterogeneity and Vocabulary The Case of the Electronic Dictionary Prototype of European Roots Task Group Simeon Tsolakidis Modern Greek Dialect Research Laboratory University of Patras Greece COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  2. Introduction (1)Heterogeneity and Modern Greek “It is perfectly true that the language of everyday life is certainly not homogeneous. Heterogeneity is the rule” (Labov, 1970). Variations consitute a kind of “orderly heterogeneity” inherent in the competence of each speaker and common to the speech community (Weinreich et al. 1968) In case of Modern Greek (MG), one of the languages studied in the frame the Electronic Dictionary Prototype of European ROOTS Task Group (ROOTS) (Villalva & Silvestre, 2015), orderly heterogeneity is the rule concerning the distribution of the derivatives and the composita where [kocino-] and [eriθro-], the two main roots denoting ‘red’, appear. COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  3. INTRODUCTION (2)BASIC AIMS OF THE PRESENTATION a contribution to the study of the distribution of words denoting ‘red’ in MG a presentation of how the above mentioned distribution of words denoting ‘red’ could be or is mirrored in the ROOTS electronic dictionary prototype COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  4. INTRODUCTION (3)IMPORTANT PERIODS OF THE GREEK LANGUAGE (1) Ancient Greek (AG) (Mycenaean texts written in Linear B, Homer, Hesiod, Plato, Aristotle etc.): 17th c. BC – 4th c. BC. Hellenistic Greek (HG) (Plutarch, Lucian, Septuaginta, Greek papyri etc.): 3rd c. BC – 3rd c. AD. HG was the basis for the development of Medieval and Modern Greek, since a very large number of characteristics of Medieval and Modern Greek are already present in HG. COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  5. Introduction (4)important periods of the greek language (2) Medieval Greek (MedGr),the Greek of the Byzantine era: 4th c. – mid 15th c. It is generally accepted that at least around 1100 the Greek language starts, to a large extent, developing into Modern Greek (MG). Especially, since 1750 we have a “rebuilding” of MG, where AG and Western European languages play a very important role. One of the chief developments of MG was the westernization of the language through the massive borrowing of concepts and vocabulary from modern Western European languages, including both neologisms and the adaptation of existing Greek words and other linguistic elements in order to denote Western concepts (Mackridge, 2014). COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  6. Introduction (5)a basic dichotomy in mg vocabulary Origin of words learned vs. popular Words of learned origin have not always existed or been used in the diachrony of Greek, but were invented or re-adopted by scholars etc. in the last two and a half centuries. Words of popular origin, since their appearance, have never stopped being used in every period of the Greek language. (Petrounias, 1988) COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  7. INTRODUCTION (5)CATEGORIES OF MG WORDS OF LEARNED ORIGIN Internationalisms: many learned words are actually loan words from internationalisms based wholly or partly on AG and/or Latin lexical elements [eriθre‘mia] ‘a malignant condition associated with an increase in the total red cell mass of the blood’ < English erythraemia Loan translations [eriθrofru‘ros] ‘Red Guard’ < French garde rouge Semantic loan words: [eri‘θromorfos] ‘red figure (for Ancient Greek vases)’ < MedGr [eri‘θromorfos] ‘red looking, red’ nowadays it conveys the meaning of English red figure (vases) (Petrounias, 1988) COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  8. INTRODUCTION (6)ETYMOLOGY AND WORD HISTORY OF ROOTS DENOTING ‘RED’ IN MG (1) MG [kocino-]< HG [‘kokos] ‘berry’ (gall) of kermes oak, used to dye scarlet’ < Ancient Greek (AG) [‘kok:os] ‘grain, seed (as of the pomegranade)’. [‘kocinos]is for the 1st time attested in a comedy of Menander, written some time between 320 and 290 BC. and it seems to mean ‘scarlet’ or ‘deep red’. MG [eriθro-] < AG [eruthro-] < Indoeuropean h1reudh- [eri‘θros] is for the 1st time attested in Linear B tablets of Knossos at about 13th c. BC COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  9. INTRODUCTION (7) Nowadays [‘kocinos]is considered to be a word of popular origin and it is the basic word for ‘red’ in vernacular MG and sometimes in more official registers [eri‘θros] is considered to be a word of learned origin and the basic word for ‘red’ the majority of the documents of official written MG COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  10. LEARNED VS. POPULAR IN THE LEVEL OF USE (1) A lot of words of learned origin are nowadays popular in the level of use [eri‘θra] ‘rubella’ < feminine of adjective [eri‘θros] it conveys the meaning of French rubéole [eri‘θra] is of learned origin (it was invented by a doctor or maybe a scholar worked in the field of medicine). Nowadays is a popular word used both in vernacular and the written speech for denoting ‘rubella’ (it replaced the popular word [ru‘sça] < [‘rusus] ‘red (haired)’ < Latin russus ‘red’ COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  11. LEARNED VS. POPULAR IN THE LEVEL OF USE (2) A lot of words of learned origin are nowadays learned in the level of use, too [e‘riθima] < AG [e‘ruthe:ma] is the non-vernacular medical term for ‘redness or flush upon the skin’ coexisting with the popular [ko‘cinizma] (< [‘kocinos]) COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  12. WORDS OF POPULAR ORIGIN AND USE, DERIVED FROM [ERIΘRO-] (1) Common MG [li‘θrini] ‘pagellus erythrinus, common pandora’ < MedGr [li‘θrinos] < HG [eru‘thri:nos] with the loss of the unstressed initial vowel and dissimilation [r-r > l-r] of the first [r] MedGr [li‘θrinos] is attested as [lu‘trino] in a MG dialect in South Italy. COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  13. WORDS OF POPULAR ORIGIN AND USE, DERIVED FROM [ERIΘRO-] (2) It generally seems that words with a descedent of h1reudh- survived in MG dialects. Nowadays due to the increasing use of StandardMG, in all domains, the number ofdialectal speakers has been dramatically reduced, andthus, several dialects are already extinct or threatened by extinction But, until 1920 MG dialects were at their fullest extent. (Trudgill, 2007) COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  14. WORDS OF POPULAR ORIGIN AND USE, DERIVED FROM [ERIΘRO-] (3) As Tonnet (2003) in 19th c. “knowing the dialects wasn’t a matter of academic curiosity: it was the indispensablecondition for Greeks to understand each other”. Standard MG is based on Common MG of 19th c. Common MG can be defined as “the varieties of Greek that were spoken by people who were trying to avoid regionalisms when conversing withpeoplefrom other Greek-speaking areas” (Mackridge, 2014). COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  15. WORDS OF POPULAR ORIGIN AND USE, DERIVED FROM [ERIΘRO-] (4) Some Standard MG vocabulary originate from MG dialects vocabulary [liθ‘rini]is one of these cases [‘dzanero]‘a kind of yellow damson’ < slav. čĭrnik through a Northern Greek dialect COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  16. TWO CHANNELS FOR HETEROGENEITY IN MG VOCABULARY words of popular origin dialectal non dialectal 2) words of learned origin diachronic borrowing b) internationalisms c) loan translations or semantic borrowing COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  17. COEXISTANCE OF THE PRODUCTS OF THE TWO CHANNELS ‘to blush with shame or timidity’ [eriθri‘o] – [koci‘nizo a‘po dro‘pi] learned - popular In collocational level, [koci‘nizo] needs more often the coexistence of a phrase denoting the reason for blushing. COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  18. COEXISTANCE OF THE PRODUCTS OF THE TWO CHANNELS ‘common pandora, pagellus erythrinus’ [pa‘elos eri‘θrinos] – [li‘θrini] learned - popular [‘paelos eri‘θrinos] is the scientific term for [li‘θrini]. It is a very interesting example of how different channels of Greek vocabulary enrichment intertwine. COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  19. THE LEARNED CHANNEL AND THE HETEROGENEITY OF MG [pa‘elos eri‘θrinos] < Neo-Latin pagellus erythrinus (coined by Linnaeus in the mid-17th c.) erythrinus < Ancient Greek [eru‘thri:nos] Greek scholars borrowed [eri‘θrinos] both from Ancient Greek and Neo-Latin. They did not coined a new term as in case of [eriθro‘vlasti] < English erythroblast but they reintroduced into Greek a word used in a previous period of Greek. COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  20. THE HETEROGENEITY OF MG IN ROOTS Various ways of reflecting the heterogeneity of MG vocabulary in ROOTS model: in the etymological part in Table 1 with the lexicographic and lexicological assessment in Table 2 with the evidence of the time span of each word (here the heterogeneity is reflected in colocational level, too) in Table 3 with the evidence for the morphological relationships between the words. COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  21. THE HETEROGENEITY OF MG IN ROOTS: ETYMOLOGY MG [kocino-]< HG [‘kokos] ‘berry’ (gall) of kermes oak, used to dye scarlet’ < Ancient Greek (AG) [‘kok:os] ‘grain, seed (as of the pomegranade)’ < maybe Mediteranean *cosco- (cf. Portugues cosco, Spanish cuesco ‘kernel’) Frisk (1960: 895) MG [eriθro-] < AG [eruthro-] < Indoeuropean h1reudh- COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  22. THE HETEROGENEITY OF MG IN ROOTS: TABLE 1 In case of [kocino-] somebody can see that 50% of the words listed, appear as a headword in Dimitrakos’ Great Dictionary of the Whole Greek Language, which has been compiled according to a more ‘learned’ view of MG about 30% of the words listed, appear as a headword in Kriaras’ dictionary of MedGr and Early MG as well in the modern major dictionaries and data corpora of MG used in ROOTS COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  23. THE HETEROGENEITY OF MG IN ROOTS: TABLE 1 In case of [eriθro-] somebody can see that more than 85% of the words listed, appear as a headword in Dimitrakos’ Great Dictionary of the Whole Greek Language only 1 word ([eriθros]) appear in Kriaras’ dictionary of MedGr and Early MG, and 18-29 words (out of 107) appear in the modern major dictionaries and data corpora of MG corpora used in ROOTS COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  24. THE HETEROGENEITY OF MG IN ROOTS: TABLE 2 The great majority of [eriθro-] words appear by rule in texts belonging to registers higher than the registers in which the texts of [kocino-] appear [eriθro-]: scientific texts about flora, medical texts etc. [kocino-]: texts belonging to various more everyday life registers, for example, novels, texts from travel guidebooks, sport newspaper articles, cooking recipes etc. COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  25. THE HETEROGENEITY OF MG IN ROOTS: TABLE 2 and 3 More than 73% of MG words based on [eriθro-], concerning their appearance in Modern Greek period, are firstly attested in 19th or 20th c. About 40% of MG words based on [kocino-], concerning their appearance in Modern Greek period, are firstly attested in 15-17th c. COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  26. The heterogeneity of ‘red’ roots in ROOTS crosslinguistically The words meaning “red” in various Indo-European languages do not go back to the same root, cf. Spanish rojo, French rouge, German rot and Italian rosso go back to Indo-European (h1)reudh-, Portuguese vermelho goes back to Latin vermiculus MG [‘kocinos] goes back to Ancient Greek (AG) [‘kok:os] COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  27. The homogeneity of ‘red’ roots in ROOTS crosslinguistically Words meaning that something has to do with “red”, in various European languages go back to the same root at least concerning the internationalisms of the scientific vocabulary, cf. MG [eriθromi’cini], Portuguese eritromicina, German Erythromycin, Polish erytromycyna, MG [eriθro’vlasti], Portuguese eritroblasto, Polish erytroblast, German Erythroblast MG [eriθrocitosi], German Erythrozytose, Polish erytrocytoza, Portuguese eritrocitose COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  28. The homogeneity of ‘red’ roots in ROOTS crosslinguistically ROOTS through its structure gives the opportunity to highlight not only the heterogeneity which generally characterizes the European linguistic landscapebut also the homogeneity, some common “roots” at least in special domains of vocabulary, where it is highlighted a basic (at least must-be) characteristic of European culture: the ability of creatively adopting elements of each other’s civilisation COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  29. REFERENCES Labov, William (1970): The study of Non-standard English. Champaign. Mackridge, Peter (2014): “The Greek language since 1750”, in Carpinato, C. & Tribulato, O. (eds.): Storia e storie della lingua greca. Venezia. Petrounias, Evangelos (2001): “The special state of Modern Greek etymology”, in:Agouraki, G. et al (eds.): Proceedings of the 4th ICGL, 360-366. Thessaloniki. Tonnet, Henri (2003): A history of Modern Greek. Athens (in Greek) Trugdill, Peter (2007). Modern Greek dialects. Thessaloniki (http://www.greeklanguage.gr/greekLang/modern_greek/studies/diale cts/thema_a_1_1en/) Villalva, Alina / Silvestre, João Paulo (2015): “Filling gaps in dictionary typologies: ROOTS – a morphological historical root dictionary” in: Villalva, A. & Silvestre J. P. (eds.): Planning non-existent Dictionaries. Lisbon. Weinreich, Uriel / William, Labov / Herzog, Martin (1968): “Empirical foundations for a theory of language change”, in Lehmann W. & Malkiel Y. (eds.), Directions for historical linguistics. Austin. COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

  30. Thank you for your attention COST ENeL Action Meeting Barcelona 2016

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