1. Linguistics for Foreign Languages
Dick Hudson
Godolphin and Latymer School
September 2016

2. Main messages Language can be investigated.
The findings are very interesting.
Investigating language is good for you.

3. Plan
History
Geography
Psychology
Puzzles

4. 1. History Languages change English is changing, e.g.:
/r/ disappeared at the end of a syllable, e.g. farm
/t/ is being replaced by a glottal stop at the end of a syllable.
can I have is being replaced by can I get
fun is turning into an adjective
This is normal and healthy.
Changes spread through contact
But without contact, dialects change in different ways
And dialects turn into languages.

5. Language change gradually makes new languages
English
German
Latin
French
father
Vater [fɑtər]
pater
père
mother
Mutter
mater
mère
brother
Bruder
frater
frère
sister
Schwester
soror
soeur
spinster

6. Language families

7. 2. Geography Languages influence each other
if they’re near each other, so there are many bilingual speakers
if one has high status.
For example, consider the uvular r [R]
made by vibrating your uvula
contrasting with tongue-tip [r]
or English [ɹ]

8. The geography of [R] One theory: It started in 18th-century Paris
It gained prestige from Paris and the court.
It spread in upper-class circles in France.
But also into Germany, Holland and Scandinavia.
And the edge of Italy.

9. Languages borrow sounds words grammar
German etc < French: uvular [R]
French < German, English, Dutch: [ə]
words
omelette, tapas, spaghetti, .....
grammar
English < French/Latin: who etc interrogative > relative pronoun
French < English/German: question by subject-verb inversion
German < French?: simple past > ‘have/be’ + participle

10. Two kinds of change Very very slow change across generations
Children tend to speak just like their parents
Language is remarkably stable
Primary children are very conservative, e.g. playground games and language
Fast change:
borrowing
teen-age ‘slang’
technology
Language is remarkably flexible

11. From Proto-Indo-European to us
generations
guessed
From Proto-Indo-European to us
PIE
-3,500
*gwe:n
‘woman’
Greek
-500
120
γυνή /gyne:/ ‘woman’
borrowed
English
cwen
‘woman’
+600
160
gynaecologist
misogyny
+2,000
200
queen

12. 3. Psychology Languages only exist in people’s minds
not in texts – these are just evidence
not in books (dictionaries, grammars) – these are just descriptions
So they provide a window into their speakers’ minds:
local: how speakers of that language think.
global: how people think.
Different languages make people think differently at least when communicating.

13. Different languages - different messages
manner of movement
Different languages - different messages
direction of movement
Translate into French (or Spanish):
He walked into the room
Not: Il a marché dans la chambre.
But:
Il est entré dans la chambre (en marchant).
direction of movement
manner of movement

14. What about German? Er ist in die Kammer hinein/herein gelaufen.
He is into the room thither/hither in run/walked.
manner in verb
basic contrast = with/without vehicle
direction in obligatory particle hin/her
basic contrast = from/to here

15. Languages are different
English subordinates direction to manner
French subordinates manner to direction
German is like English, but
direction: 'hither' or 'thither'?
manner: with/without vehicle?

16. The routes of English Directions are grammatically optional
But we often define the route.
I went up to Edinburgh yesterday.
I’m going over to Joe’s tonight.
I went in to Oxford Circus, then out to Harrow.
I’m travelling all the way through to Heathrow.
Why do we bother?
How do we decide how to define our route?
Why ‘up’ to Edinburgh?

17. Grammar
German, English and French all form some questions by putting the finite V(erb) before S(ubject)
BUT the rules are different.
German: any V, any S
Schläft Paul? ‘Sleeps Paul?’
English: only auxiliary V, any S
Does Paul sleep? (Not: *Sleeps Paul?)
French: Any V, only pronoun S
Paul dort-il? (Not: *Dort Paul?)

18. Grammar in psychology
Rules of grammar really matter to native speakers!
If you don’t follow them, you’re not a native.
However rebellious you are, you toe the grammatical line!
Nobody messes with irregular verbs.
The rules vary from language to language.
and they don’t necessarily ‘make sense’!
They can create grammatical gaps:
He is.
He is not.
He isn’t.
You are.
You are not.
You aren’t.
I am.
I am not. ?

19. 4. Puzzles Welcome to the UK Linguistics Olympiad! the
Haiti (French) creole
What’s going on?
Welcome to the UK Linguistics Olympiad!

20. Thinking analytically
A language is a complex system.
Maybe the most complex system in the universe???
Language is the most important human invention BY FAR!
A superb tool for communication.
When you think about a language, you’re thinking analytically:
How does this system work?
Thinking analytically about language is good for:
your understanding of how this tool works.
your ability to think about complex systems.

21. So what?
Your target language isn’t just a useful tool – it’s interesting!
Try to understand it as a system:
how it works.
how it developed.
how it’s similar to English and how it’s different.
Then
you’ll use the tool better.
you’ll be able to learn other languages better.
you’ll be able to think better.