Chapter 9 Change and Choice Change and Choice

Chapter 9 Change and Choice

Change and Choice • All living languages change – Affects all parts of language • Phonology, morphology, semantics, orthography… – Can come from within or from contact… • Mechanisms of drift, borrowing, pidgins, creoles… – Can be welcomed or resisted • Multilingualism, diglossia, nationalism, endangered languages… • Understanding change allows us to – – Discover relationships between languages. . . Reconstruct ancient languages… Address issues of language, dialect, and identity… Help to protect endangered languages….

Diversification and Change • As speakers of a language spread out – The language diversifies into dialects • Wash vs warsh, coffee vs cawfee, fourth vs fawth – Eventually the dialects become different languages • Two, deux, due, dos, dve , dva…… • As speakers of languages come into contact – They may borrow from one another • Safari, pajama, tomato, garage, beisbol, falasika…. – In special situations they may create new languages • Pidgins.

Relationships Between Languages • Languages descended from common ancestors – Are considered ‘families’ • mother and daughter languages – Family trees of languages • show branches and sub-branches • Language ‘isolates’ – Are considered sole survivors of ancient families • Languages developed in contact situations – Are considered unique – Are difficult to classify.

Why Languages Change • Prestige – shifting to (r) in NY after WWII (Labov) • Novelty – bits, bytes, e-mail, mp 3, imho, ‘sup • Identity – locals vs tourists - vowels in Cape Cod • Contact – Need to communicate for trade.

How Languages Change: Sounds • Assimilation: illegal, immoral, irresponsible • Dissimilation: Febyuary, English vowel shift – from [a: ] to [o] (stone went from [sta: n] to [ston]) • • • Elision: [cloðz] to [kloz] Metathesis: [æsk] to [æks] Borrowing: – American [ ] borrowed from French – British English retained [ʤ]

How Languages Change: Morphology/Syntax • Misanalysis (redivision): • an apron, a nother; -burger • Regularization: • dived; fishes; safaris, agendas, auditoriums • Loss (and replacement): • adverbs, cases, 2 nd person singular pronouns • Borrowing: – Nudnik, chutzpah, schlep, final ‘not’ from Yiddish • I kid you not.

How Languages Change: Words • • • Narrowing: ‘deer’ once meant any small animal Expansion: box meant specific wood box Metaphorical shift: ‘uptight’ ‘bad’ ‘sick’ ‘gay’ Shortening: dorm, exam, prof, taxi, cab Coining: – acronyms: laser, snafu, phat; bff – blending (portmanteau): slithy, brunch, smog, blog; frenemy • Borrowing – tomato, potato, coyote, pajama, robot, safari, beisbol.

How Languages Change: Spelling • Symbol shift: – <Þ> [θ] and <đ> [ð] both replaced by <th> • Spelling shift: – <colour> changed to <color> – <light> changing to <lite> • Borrowed spellings: – <debt> borrowed from Latin • Old English spelling was <dette>.

Using Borrowed Words to Trace Contact History in a Language • Chinese word for ‘foreign’: – Before 10 th century: {hai-} (sea) • {haitung} = crab apple • {haizao} = date palm – 10 th century thru 16 th century: {fan-} (foreign country) • {fangie} = tomato • {fanshiliu} = pomegranate • {fansu} = sweet potato – 17 th century {yang-} (foreign country) • {yangchong} = onion • {yangjiang} = jerusalem artichoke.

How Fast Do Languages Change? • glottochronology (lexicostatistics) • (Swadesh 1950) – uses “core vocabulary” lists – assumes fixed rate of retention in each list • 200 word list r=80%, 100 word list r=86% – calculates when two languages separated • (log of % of cognates times retention rate) – often correlates with archaeological record.

Reconstructing Ancient Languages • If languages split apart – related languages will be similar to one another • Irish ‘do’ Welsh ‘dau’ Greek ‘duo’ Latin ‘duo’ • Italian ‘due’ Spanish ‘dos’ French ‘deux’ German ‘zwei’ • Dutch ‘twee’ Swedish ‘tva’ Danish ‘to’ Old English ‘twa’ • Polish ‘dwie’ Russian ‘dva’ Bengal ‘dvi’ Persian ‘do’ • Lithuanian ‘du’ Albanian ‘dy’…. . – [d], [t], [dv] [tv], and [dz] – how to find the original sound? – by using the daughter languages – to reconstruct the mother language(s)….

Grimm’s Law • IE [p, t, k] Germanic [f, θ, h] – pater father, tres three, centum [kentum] hundred • IE [b, d, g] Germanic [p, t, k] – labium lip, duo two, genus kin • IE [bh, dh, gh] Germanic [b, d, g] – bhrata brother, rudhiras red (etc. )

Steps in Reconstructing (see W/R pp. 121 -124) • 1. Identify cognates (as opposed to borrowings) – ‘words related by descent from the same language’ • will have similar meanings & sounds – e. g. German ‘zwei’ and English ‘two’ – e. g. German ‘zehn’ and English ‘ten’ Example from Proto-Polynesian: • Maori • tapu Hawaiian kapu Samoan tapu Fijian tabu.

Reconstructing: Step 2 • 2. Develop a table of correspondence sets M H S F t a p u k a p u t a b u

Reconstructing: Step 3 • 3. Use the correspondence sets to reconstruct the ancestral phonemes (proto-phonemes) M t a p u H k a p u S t a p u F t a b u ancestral *t *a *p *u

Reconstructing: Step 4 • 4. Chart the ancestral sounds consonants vowels stops bilabial alveolar *p *t *u *a You may need to go back and forth between steps 3 and 4 until the charts look right -- aim for good balance, logical lines, in the charts.

Reconstructing: Step 5 • 5. Develop rules to explain sound changes – from ancestral to modern sounds Maori Hawaiian *t k Samoan Fijian *p b • Only create rules for sounds which change • Create general rules from groups of similar rules.

Reconstructing: Step 6 • 6. Reconstruct likely ancestral words – use the rules and the ancestral (proto) sounds – how might each word sound in the protolanguage? *tapu (don’t forget the * ).

The Indo-European Family www. zompist. com/languages. html

Other Language Families

Proto-Indo-European: Language & Culture • sounds – *duwo, *treyes, *kwetores, *bhrater, *dhugeter • morphology – three genders: male - female - neuter – three pronoun numbers: single, plural, dual – eight cases – complex tenses, modal verbs • culture – patrilocal residence.

Larger Groupings? Nostratic (Shevoroshkin 1964) • Aquitanian (Proto Basque) • Afro. Asiatic (Hamito. Semitic) – Semitic, Egyptian, Cushitic, Chadic, Berber • Kartvelo. Eusian – Kartvelian – Eusian • Sumerian – Eme. Gir – Eme. Sal • Caspian – Bore. Altaic v Boreal (Dravidian, Eskaleut, Yukaghir, Uralic – Indo. Etruscan v Indeo. European v Etrusco. Rhaetic (Etruscan, Rhaetian)

Other Possible Groupings? • Amerind, Na-Dene, Eskimo-Aleut – Greenberg & Ruhlen 1987 • Dene-Caucasian – Shevoroshkin 1990.

Pidgins • Develop in contact situations – trading/colonization • Are incomplete languages – – Simplified grammar Reduced lexicon Limited subject matter Never used as a first language (mother tongue) • Are hard to place on family trees – host’s grammar – intruder’s lexicon • Rarely last beyond a generation or two.

Creoles • Develop from pidgins – Plantations, more stable speech communities • Are complete languages – – Grammar is elaborated Lexicon is expanded (using ‘dominant’ language) Subject matter is broadened Can be first language of community • Often seen as bad version of ‘lexifier’ language – Haitian Kreol seen as “bad” French – African American English seen as “bad” English • May persist long-term, become standardized • Swahili, Haitian Kreol, AAE, Tok Pisin, (English? ).

Other Ideas About Pidgins & Creoles • Theoretical (innatist) Linguistics: – Develop from innate bioprogram • Similarities to child language • Reveal the universal grammar • Historical Linguistics: – Can be traced to Sabir • 10 c southern French dialect (the lingua franca) • Was spread throughout Mediterranean by sailors • Then spread further by European colonization.

How Ideas Can Affect Policy • the Ebonics controversy – Oakland school board decides AAE is a Creole • a different language from English • “genetically based and not a dialect of English” – Make sure you understand what this means! • descended from African languages – i. e. , through pidgnization-creolization process • but treated as inferior variety of English in U. S. – Board asks for bilingual approach in schools • where teachers learn & use AAE to teach standard.

Bilingualism & Diglossia • Bilingualism: using two different languages – Who is expected to be bilingual (or multilingual)? • Everyone? Immigrants? Minorities? – Stable vs transitional bilingualism? • Diglossia: using two varieties of one language – ‘high’ and ‘low’ varieties • formality of situation determines choice – German & Swiss German – Classical & Colloquial Arabic – Marked & ‘Standard’ varieties of English? .

Code Switching • Takes place at linguistic boundaries – Segments are internally ‘correct’ • ‘let’s go to – la playa’ • ‘Do you want that with – au jus? ’ • Also at social/cultural boundaries – Public and private domains – Formal and informal situations – Can be used to mark identity, stance.

National and Ethnic Identity • Language can be a source of division – Basque & Spanish are two different languages • Basque is linked to ethnic pride • Language is used as an argument for independence • Can language be a source of unity? – Czechoslovakia: one language, different cultures • Language not enough to keep country unified – People now think in terms of Czech and Slovak languages – China: many languages, all called Chinese • Politics more important in keeping country unified.

Standard Languages • • Carry more social prestige Are thought of as ‘more correct’ Are preferred formal occasions The choice is usually ‘arbitrary’ – the speech of an ‘upper’ class – or a group seen as powerful, respected • Note how the status of speakers can affect the status of a variety • English as a de-facto standard in the US.

Official Languages • • Recognized by the ‘state’ Are used in legal, political contexts Are taught, used in schools Possible to have more than one – Switzerland has 4 official languages – India has 2 official languages • Does an official language create unity? … – English-Only movements in the US • Question: which variety of English? .

Geographic Variation: American English Dialects PBS: Do you speak American? Mapping American English Pop vs soda

The Current Situation • 5, 000 -6, 000 “languages” in the world – depending on definition of language, dialect • some still ‘undiscovered, ’ undescribed • some on the verge of extinction • what do we lose when we lose a language? • is English becoming a world language? – Advantages, disadvantages? .