Linguistics and Shakespeare Ms. Scaggs, 9th Grade English

First…an example of a “click” language:

Why do languages sound so different from one another? Most people believe that language originated in several different places around the world at the same time. These languages evolved independently into different language families. This is why some languages, like Italian and Spanish, sound very similar, while others, like Icelandic and Spanish, sound completely different. Other people believe all language originated in one area of the world and then spread out to form different families as people migrated.

Linguistics Linguistics is the study of language forms and meanings, how it is acquired, how it is produced, and how it changes. Small changes in our language happen constantly, such as new words forming. But it takes hundreds of years to make major changes, such as the grammatical structure of our language (for example, to get from Shakespeare’s form of English to ours today).

English belongs to the Germanic family

After English formed…. Old English (500 – 1100) – completely incomprehensible compared to modern English Middle English (1100 – 1500) – difficult to understand, but can still be read today Early Modern English (1500 – 1800) – Shakespeare’s language, does look different but much easier to understand Late Modern English (1800 – present) – our current form of English.

Samples of Old English and Middle English

Linguistic Terms to Know

Phoneme Phonemes are the smallest individual sounds that exist in a language. For us, it is the sound that each letter of the alphabet makes. Even though British English is the same language as American English, we have some differences in phonemes. For example, even though we use the same letter “a,” they are actually different phonemes (sounds). American British “bath” “bath” sounds like the “a” sounds like the “a” in “cat” in “water”

Syntax Syntax is the structure and order of words in a language. Although some parts can be switched around occasionally, there are actually rules about what parts of sentences in different languages are allowed to move and how they can move. We don’t have to be taught these rules – we just know them as native speakers. For example, here is a syntax switch that is okay in our language: √ During the day, we went to school. √ We went to school during the day.

Syntax (continued) But here is a syntax switch that is NOT okay in our language. It strikes us as weird or wrong if we hear someone do this. √ I have to remember to feed my cat when I get home from school. X I have to remember to feed my cat cat when I get home from school. Here’s another one. √ I ran home. English has a syntax order of Subject – Verb – Object, so this would never work. X I home ran. There are certain errors in syntax that are common in people who are just learning the language. But sometimes a person will make certain syntax errors and not think it sounds wrong. Some of these errors are used to diagnose brain disorders or where strokes/brain injury have occurred.

Semantics Semantics are the meanings of words, phrases, and sentences, including meaning that is implied (connotations or double meanings). Words often change meaning over time. Amelioration is when a word gets a more positive meaning over time. Perjoration is when a word gets a more negative meaning over time. Example of amelioration: “wicked” Example of perjoration: “attitude”

Semantics (continued)

Differences Shakespeare’s Phonemes We can tell differences in phonemes from some of the rhymes that Shakespeare uses. For example, he may treat “rain” and “again” as a rhyme. But today, we see the “ain” sound in “rain” and the “ain” sound in “again” as different phonemes. In Early Modern English, some of these sounds really WERE the same phoneme, so they would have sounded like a rhyme back then. But sometimes, he is just treating it like a rhyme because it LOOKS similar.

Differences in Shakespeare’s Syntax Our normal sentence structure in Late Modern English is Subject – Verb – Object. For example: John (subject) caught (verb) the ball (object). Shakespeare will often switch this order up to Subject – Object – Verb (John the ball caught) or even Object – Subject – Verb (The ball John caught). Early Modern English WAS a lot more flexible at moving word order around, so sometimes these are changes that were considered normal during the time. But other times, he is switching syntax to make certain rhymes or rhythms work.

Differences in Shakespeare’s Semantics Some words that Shakespeare uses do not have the same meaning today. For example, when he refers to “humour,” he is often talking about the 4 bodily humors that determined personality, not comedic humor. He also uses a lot of double meaning and innuendos through semantics – he had a great knowledge of puns and used them constantly in his works.