![WORD RECONSTRUCTION
A set of cognates
from three related
languages
Using the majority principle, we
can suggest that the older
forms will most likely be
based on language 2 or
language 3.
then the consonant
changes must
have been [p] → [b],
[t] → [d] and [k]
→ [ɡ] in order to
produce the later
forms in
language 1.
There is a pattern in these
changes that follows one
part of the “most
natural development principle,”
i.e. voiceless sounds become
voiced between vowels.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/thestudyoflanguage-200907221316/85/The-Study-of-Language-and-Change-8-320.jpg)
The Study of Language and Change
- 1. The study of Language George Yule Language history and change ● Florencia Martinez ● Julieta Dattoli Language and Written Expression IV, 2020 ISFD N°41
- 2. Family Trees All languages have a common ancestor Proto-indo-european This was the original form (proto) of a language that was the source of modern languages in the Indian subcontinent (Indo) and in Europe (European) Indo- European family tree traces the lineage of many modern languages
- 3. Family Connections. There are some common features in writing some word in different language: The fact that similarities occur is a good evidence of a family connection
- 4. Cognates A COGNATE of a word in one language is a word in another language that has a similar form and IS or WAS used with a similar meaning. Somes examples: A COGNATE is necessary to establish family connections between languages Can you notice any similarities? Modern English and German have a common ancestor which is the branch called “Germanic” in the family tree
- 6. Sound Reconstruction Look at these examples of three different languages What can you notice? ● The initial sounds of the words in languages A and B are all /k/ sounds while in language C the initial sounds are all /ʃ/ But… Which sound was the original one? 1. Following the majority principle we can claim that the initial sound in A and B is older than the /ʃ/ sound in language C 1. According to the most natural development principle, change occurs in the direction on stops becoming fricative. /k/ sound is older than /ʃ/ sound Let’s see the direction in which changes take place
- 7. 1 FINAL VOWELS OFTEN DISAPPEAR VOICELESS SOUNDS BECOME VOICED 2 4 CONSONANTS BECOME VOICELESS AT THE END OF WORDS 3 STOPS BECOME FRICATIVES ● Any final vowel disappeared ● Any voiceless consonant became voiced ● Stops consonants DO become fricative Looking at the previous examples The /k/ sound is more likely to have been the original THE MOST NATURAL DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLE
- 8. WORD RECONSTRUCTION A set of cognates from three related languages Using the majority principle, we can suggest that the older forms will most likely be based on language 2 or language 3. then the consonant changes must have been [p] → [b], [t] → [d] and [k] → [ɡ] in order to produce the later forms in language 1. There is a pattern in these changes that follows one part of the “most natural development principle,” i.e. voiceless sounds become voiced between vowels.
- 9. THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH Language has undergone substantial changes through time, we can take a brief look at the history of English, which is traditionally divided into four periods.
- 10. The primary sources for what developed as the English language were the Germanic languages spoken by a group of tribes from northern Europe who moved into the British Isles in the fifth century.
- 11. OLD ENGLISH From the sixth to the eighth century, there was an extended period during which these Anglo-Saxons were con- verted to Christianity and a number of terms from Latin (the language of the religion) came into English at that time. from this period have emerged some words like angel, bishop, candle, church, martyr, priest and school.
- 12. Middle English The End of the Old English period The Beginning of the Middle English periodArrival of the Norman French in England The Normans had a deep influence on England The french-speaking invaders became the ruling class. French was the prestige language The language of peasants remained English
- 13. In the two hundred years, from 1400 to 1600, the sounds of English underwent a change known as the Great Vowel Shift (raising of long vowel sounds). This was the result of: ● EXTERNAL CHANGES ● INTERNAL CHANGES
- 14. SOUND CHANGES
- 15. Syntactic changes (between Old and Modern English ● Word order: In Old English there are a number of different orders that are no longer used. ○ The subject could follow the verb ■ He travelled/ Ferbe he ○ The object could be placed before the verb or at the beginning of the sentence. ○ The use of negative also differs from Modern English. Double negative construction is possible:
- 16. Semiotic changes Modern English differs from Old English in: 1. Borrowed words a. tax, defense, beef... 2. Words that have ceased to be used. a. A common Old English word for man was “were” but it has fallen out of use There are two semiotic processes: 1. Broadening: a specific term which was used to talk about a specific meaning now is used to refer to a general meaning. a. Holy day: change from “Religious feast” to the very general break from work 2. Narrowing: From general meaning to specific. a. Wife: It was used to refer to any woman but has narrowed in its application nowadays to only married women.
- 17. Diachronic and synchronic variation
- 18. Source: ● George Yule. (2006). The Study of Language 4th Edition. New York: Cambridge University Press.