Historical linguistics: Language families, sound change LING 400 Winter 2010

Overview Concepts, terms Concepts, terms Language families and isolates Language families and isolates Types, examples of historical change Types, examples of historical change Please turn off your cell phone

Synchronic linguistics Synchronic linguistics How language works at one point in time How language works at one point in time Diachronic linguistics Diachronic linguistics A.k.a. historical linguistics A.k.a. historical linguistics How language changes over time How language changes over time Includes study of word histories (etymology) Includes study of word histories (etymology) diachronic: [f. Gr. διά “throughout, during” + χρόυ-ος “time” + -IC.] diachronic: [f. Gr. διά “throughout, during” + χρόυ-ος “time” + -IC.] synchronic: syn = [Latinized form of Gr.συν- (= σύν prep. with), “together, similarly, alike” …] synchronic: syn = [Latinized form of Gr.συν- (= σύν prep. with), “together, similarly, alike” …] Challenging Challenging Synchronic vs. diachronic linguistics

Similarities in form and meaning May be due to May be due to borrowing borrowing English beef < Old French boef English beef < Old French boef coincidence coincidence Sahaptin [ ʔɨ | ʃɨ t] ‘worthless, useless’ Sahaptin [ ʔɨ | ʃɨ t] ‘worthless, useless’ inheritance from common ancestor inheritance from common ancestor

Question: which languages seem most similar? ‘water’: A- [t h e], B-[ ʧ i: ʃ ], C-[t h o], D-[t h u] ‘water’: A- [t h e], B-[ ʧ i: ʃ ], C-[t h o], D-[t h u] ‘person’: A-[t ə | n], B-[ti:n], C-[t ə | ni], D-[ | t ə ne] ‘person’: A-[t ə | n ɑ ], B-[ti:n], C-[t ə | ni], D-[ | t ə ne] ‘sun’: A-[no | ʔ oj], B-[ ʔ :n], C-[s], D-[s] ‘sun’: A-[no | ʔ oj], B-[ ʔɑ :n], C-[s ɑ ], D-[s ɑ ] ‘I’: A-[se], B-[ ʔ ink], C-[s ə j], D-[ | s ɪ ni] ‘I’: A-[se], B-[ ʔ ink], C-[s ə j], D-[ | s ɪ ni] ‘’: A-[], B-[ | ʔʃ ], C-[], D-[] ‘ scab ’: A-[ ɬet ], B-[ | ʔɑwtɑʃ ], C-[ ɬot ], D-[ ɬut ] ‘hand’: A-[ ʔ ], B-[ ʔ | ], C-[], D-[ ʔ ] ‘hand’: A-[ loʔ ], B-[ ʔɨ | pɑp ], C-[ le ], D-[ lɑ ̀ ʔ ] ‘abdomen’: A-[ ə ], B-[ | əə̀ ‘abdomen’: A-[ v ə t ], B-[ nɑ | wɑt], C-[p ə t], D-[p ə̀ t] A: Deg Xinag, B: Sahaptin, C: Witsuwit’en, D: Tsek’ene

Athabaskan family A. Deg Xinag D. Tsek’ene C. Witsuwit’en Sahaptian family Sahaptin Nez Perce

Language family Family Family Language Language … Language Language … Dialect Dialect … Dialect Dialect… Idiolect Idiolect Idiolect … Idiolect Idiolect …

Indo- European languages

Language families Trees: show divergence over time Proto-Romance (  Latin) Spanish Portuguese Italian French Romanian... Spanish, Portuguese, Italian are daughters (descendants) of Proto-Romance

Ancestor languages Actually attested: Latin Hypothetical, reconstructed: Proto-Romance

Interpreting historical trees Order of nodes on same level doesn’t matter Order of nodes on same level doesn’t matter Equivalent trees Equivalent trees

Proto-Anglo-Frisian Old English Old Frisian Middle English Modern English Modern Frisian “Frisian” clip

‘Cognate’ and ‘reflex’ Word descended from same source Word descended from same source Proto-Indo-European *ped/pod ‘foot’ Proto-Indo-European *ped/pod ‘foot’ * = not attested * = not attested Greek pod-, English foot are reflexes of *ped/pod ‘foot’ Greek pod-, English foot are reflexes of *ped/pod ‘foot’ Greek pod-, English foot are cognates Greek pod-, English foot are cognates

Language isolate No known related languages No known related languages Basque (France, Spain) Basque (France, Spain) Sumerian (extinct lg. of Iraq) Sumerian (extinct lg. of Iraq) Haida and Zuni (N. America) Haida and Zuni (N. America)

Sound change Phonetic change Phonetic change change in pronunciation of phonemes change in pronunciation of phonemes English rhotic: [r] > [ ɹ ] (most varieties of English) English rhotic: [r] > [ ɹ ] (most varieties of English) Phonological change Phonological change Change in phoneme inventory Change in phoneme inventory Regularity of sound change Regularity of sound change

Change in phoneme inventory Proto-Indo-European > Old Irish Proto-Indo-European > Old Irish *pətēr ‘father’ > athair [a | θar j ] *pətēr ‘father’ > athair [a | θar j ] *nepot- ‘nephew’ > nie *nepot- ‘nephew’ > nie *tepent-s ‘warm’ > tëe *tepent-s ‘warm’ > tëe PIE had /p/; Old Irish lacks /p/ PIE had /p/; Old Irish lacks /p/

Unconditioned sound change merger

Grimm’s Law

Conditioned sound change Old English /ü/ > Modern English / ʌ / / ___rC Old English /ü/ > Modern English / ʌ / / ___rC wyrst [würst] > worst wyrst [würst] > worst wyrcan [würkan] > work wyrcan [würkan] > work gyrdel [gürd ɛ l] > girdle gyrdel [gürd ɛ l] > girdle byrþen [bürθ ɛ n] > burden byrþen [bürθ ɛ n] > burden Elsewhere, Old English /ü/ > Modern English / ɪ / Elsewhere, Old English /ü/ > Modern English / ɪ / cynn [kü n ] > kin cynn [kü n ] > kin hyll [hü l ] > hill hyll [hü l ] > hill synn [sü n ] > sin synn [sü n ] > sin pytt [pü t ] > pit pytt [pü t ] > pit

Modern English voiced fricatives Old English /f θ s/ Old English /f θ s/ fiif ‘five’, wulf ‘wolf’, ofer ‘over’, weorþan, wearþ ‘to become’/’became’, þing ‘thing’, sendan ‘to send’, nosu ‘nose’, wesan/wæs ‘to be’/’was’ fiif ‘five’, wulf ‘wolf’, ofer ‘over’, weorþan, wearþ ‘to become’/’became’, þing ‘thing’, sendan ‘to send’, nosu ‘nose’, wesan/wæs ‘to be’/’was’ 700 A.D. addition of intervocalic voicing rule 700 A.D. addition of intervocalic voicing rule [over], [weorðan], [nozu]; [v ð z] in complementary distribution with [f θ s] [over], [weorðan], [nozu]; [v ð z] in complementary distribution with [f θ s] Other changes to the language Other changes to the language Borrowings from Kentish (dialect map next slide) Borrowings from Kentish (dialect map next slide) Fricatives voiced fricatives word-initially in Kentish Fricatives voiced fricatives word-initially in Kentish væt ‘barrel’ replaced fæt væt ‘barrel’ replaced fæt vyxen ‘female fox’ replaced fyxen vyxen ‘female fox’ replaced fyxen Shortening of intervocalic long voiceless fricatives: [ff] > [f], [θθ] > [θ], [ss] > [s] Shortening of intervocalic long voiceless fricatives: [ff] > [f], [θθ] > [θ], [ss] > [s] Middle English final [ə] loss: [bāðə] ‘bathe’ > [bāð] Middle English final [ə] loss: [bāðə] ‘bathe’ > [bāð] Now [f v] (etc.) contrast in all environments; split Now [f v] (etc.) contrast in all environments; split

Major OE dialect areas West Saxon (most OE docs) Mercian > Modern English Kentish Northumbrian

Summary Historical linguistics Historical linguistics language change over time language change over time is challenging is challenging Language families and isolates Language families and isolates