Linguistics for lively minds Dick Hudson Loughborough Grammar

Linguistics for lively minds Dick Hudson Loughborough Grammar School December 2017 1

Exploring other languages: Japanese script uses three kinds of characters: • Kanji (Chinese characters) 漢字 • meaning-based • used for Japanese translations of Chinese words • Katakana • sound-based • used for words borrowed from other languages • e. g. コンピュータ (konpyūta, "computer“) • Hiragana • used for Japanese words where Kanji doesn’t work or is too posh 2

A puzzle: Japanese ‘hiragana’ phonetic script How does it work? Q 3. One character perpuzzle …? now? Q 5. Q 1. Can Are meanings we solve the relevant? Check. . . or work Wikipedia it out!… Q 4. or right-left? Q 2. Left-right One character per letter/sound? 3

More data, and the puzzle deepens tsu do n Bad news! The two columns If character = syllable, how are can ordered characterseparately! = n? ka How many syllables in How can we know harden? What’s the second they correspond? vowel? longest Compare word-lengths! Is n special in other ways? Maths or language? 4

The challenge Not in basic data How can we know what Work them out! these characters are? 5

How does the system work? voiceless voiced 6

Welcome to linguistics! • Finding out how languages work • Look at the data! • Looking for patterns and systems • Not just random facts • General categories applying to all languages • E. g. voicing (voiced/voiceless) • But every language is organised differently 7

Explore our ancestor, Old English • 450 on: Spoken by the Anglo-Saxon EU immigrants from Germany • Replaced both low-class Welsh and high-class Latin. • Strongly influenced by Old Norse, the language of the next wave of EU immigrants: the Vikings • Written, e. g. Beowulf • Nowadays called Old English, but previously called Anglo-Saxon • 1066: Replaced in writing by French and Latin • Renamed Middle English • Re-emerged in writing in the 14 th century, e. g. Chaucer • 2015: it featured in the UK Linguistics Olympiad 8

nominative – accusative case But we still have the relics of ‘case’ What have we lost since Old English? Singular – dual – plural But we still have the relics of ‘dual’ 9

Possession in Ulwa • Ulwa is spoken in Nicaragua • It contains some English words • But it’s not English! • e. g. it distinguishes • inclusive us = me and you • exclusive us = me and someone else 10

Ulwa (Nicaragua) From English 11

'infix' suffix Zooming in on Ulwa Suffix or infix? Infix after an initial long syllable (CVV or CVC). Otherwise suffix. -ni = "our (inc)" -ma = "your (sing)" -kana = "their" -mana = "your (plur)" 12

Manam Island • A small volcanic island. • On the Equator 13

What's up in Manam? 14

What are they like in Manam? They're like us. They enjoy a day at the seaside. 15

Try the Manam puzzle • From the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad • Be prepared to question your initial assumptions! 16

Manam Island, Papua New Guinea auta = North ilau = South uklo. org The sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu, Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang live. Can you work out who lives where? 1. 17

Manam Island, Papua New Guinea auta = North ilau = South ata = West awa = East 2. uklo. org The sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu, Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang live. Can you work out who lives where? 1. 18

Manam Island, Papua New Guinea auta = North ilau = South ata = West awa = East uklo. org The sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu, Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang live. Can you work out who lives where? 1. 5. Sala 19

Manam Island, Papua New Guinea auta = North ilau = South ata = West awa = East uklo. org The sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu, Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang live. Can you work out who lives where? Tola 1. 5. 3. Sala 20

Manam Island, Papua New Guinea auta = North ilau = South ata = West awa = East 1. 5. Tola 4. 3. Sala uklo. org The sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu, Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang live. Can you work out who lives where? Sulung DEAD END! THINK AGAIN! 21

Manam Island • A small volcanic island. • On the Equator 22

What's a fixed point in Manam? 23

Manam Island, Papua New Guinea New idea: Use the A red herring! volcano peak as reference point uklo. org The sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu, Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang live. Can you work out who lives where? 1. auta = up ilau = down 24

Manam Island, Papua New Guinea uklo. org up/down clockwise/anti-clockwise = left/right when looking up 2. The sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu, Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang live. Can you work out who lives where? 1. auta = up ata = left ilau = down awa = right 25

Manam Island, Papua New Guinea uklo. org The sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu, Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang live. Can you work out who lives where? 2. 1. 5. Sala auta = up ata = left ilau = down awa = right 26

Manam Island, Papua New Guinea uklo. org The sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu, Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang live. Can you work out who lives where? Sulung 4. 2. Tola 1. 3. 5. Sala auta = up ata = left ilau = down awa = right 27

Manam Island, Papua New Guinea uklo. org The sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu, Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang live. Can you work out who lives where? 8. Butokang Success!! Pita 6. Sulung 4. 2. 1. Tola 7. 5. 3. Sala auta = up ata = left ilau = down awa = right 28

So what? • Languages are structured • Not just a random collection of bits. • Linguistics investigates this structure • It’s a science, where hypotheses can be tested. • The structure is really interesting because • • • it varies enormously between languages. it can change. it’s very complex. it affects how we talk about the world and even how we understand it. it’s part of our minds. 29

Thank you. • This show is downloadable: • dickhudson. com/talks • For more information about UKLO (the Linguistics Olympiad): • www. uklo. org 30