2. English 306A; Harris Historical linguistics & the history of language Origins Lexical, social, and cognitive theories Mutability Dialectal differences Stages of English Symbolic shifts Linguistic study Reconstruction Language families Homo sapien #1 You are here

3. English 306A; Harris Bow-wow theory Language arose from onomatopoeia Making noises to represent elements in the environment: animals, rain, expulsive gas, … Homo sapien #1 You are here ?

4. English 306A; Harris Bow-wow theory Language arose from onomatopoeia (iconic) Making noises to represent elements in the environment: animals, rain, expulsive gas, … Homo sapien #1 You are here ?

5. English 306A; Harris Pooh-pooh theory (AKA the ouch theory) Language arose from spontaneous emotional noises Sighs, moans, cries, ejections of surprise, fear, delight, … Homo sapien #1 You are here ?

6. English 306A; Harris Pooh-pooh theory (AKA the ouch theory) Language arose from spontaneous emotional noises (indexical) Sighs, moans, cries, ejections of surprise, fear, delight, … Homo sapien #1 You are here ?

7. English 306A; Harris Lexical theories Nothing about syntax Nothing about phonology, morphology, … Not mutually exclusive Bow-wow & pooh-pooh theories

8. English 306A; Harris Yadda, yadda, yadda … that language evolved among humans to replace social grooming because the grooming time required by our large groups made impossible demands on our time. Language, I argue, evolved to fill the gap because it allows us to use the time we have available for social interaction more efficiently. Homo sapien #1 You are here ?

9. English 306A; Harris Yo-he-ho theory Language arose in muscular and rhythmic efforts accompanying group work Gathering, distributing, distance-pursuit of prey, … Homo sapien #1 You are here ?

10. English 306A; Harris Yo-he-ho theory Language arose in muscular and rhythmic efforts accompanying group work (indexical) Gathering, distributing, distance-pursuit of prey, … Homo sapien #1 You are here ?

11. English 306A; Harris Hmmmmm theory Communicative system Holistic Rhetorical Multimodal Rhythmic (indexical) Melodic Mimetic (iconic) Homo sapien #1 You are here …a prelinguistic musical mode of thought and action ?

12. English 306A; Harris Throwing madonna theory Nursing (left-side) Motor/linguistic sequencing Structural Non-lexical Piggy-backing theory Homo sapien #1 You are here ?

13. English 306A; Harris Piggybacking traits (exaptation) Bone Gills Feathers Penguin wings Speech!

14. English 306A; Harris Neuron packing theory To be, or not to be. That is the question. [The origin of language may have to do with] certain physical laws relating to neuron packing or regulatory mechanisms. Homo sapien #1 You are here ?

15. English 306A; Harris Bow-wow and pooh-pooh Lexical Social Throwing Madonna, Neuron-packing Non-lexical (syntactic) Cognitive Yadda-yadda-yadda Non-lexical Social Ye-ho-ha, Hmmmmm Non-lexical Cognitive-Social Language origins: sub-total Not Mutually Exclusive

16. English 306A; Harris Early modern English I am no orator, as Brutus is; But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man, That love my friend; and that they know full well That gave me public leave to speak of him: For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth, Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech, To stir men's blood Julius Caesar, c1599 Homo sapien #1 You are here

17. English 306A; Harris Middle English Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour; yadda, yadda, yadda Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages The Canterbury Tales, c1380 Homo sapien #1 You are here L o n d o n

18. English 306A; Harris Si † en † e sege and † e assaut watz sesed at Troye, † e bor ° brittened and brent to bronde and askez, † e tulk † at † e trammes of tresoun † er wro ° t Watz tried for his tricherie, † e trewest on erthe The Green Knight, c1380 Middle English (Northumberland) Sociolects! [class-based group speech differences] Ethnolects! [tribal-based group speech differences] Regiolects! [geographically-based group speech differences] Homo sapien #1 You are here

19. English 306A; Harris Language variation !

20. English 306A; Harris Language variation Different persons growing up in the same language are like different bushes trimmed and trained to take the shape of identical elephants. The anatomical details of twigs and branches will fulfill the elephantine form differently from bush to bush, but the overall outward results are alike. W.V.O. Quine Idiolects!

21. English 306A; Harris Old English Nu sculon herigean heofonrices weard, meotodes meahte, and his modge†anc, weorc wuldorfæder, swa he wundra gehwæs, ece drihten, or onstealde. Caedmon’s hymn, c670 Homo sapien #1 You are here

22. English 306A; Harris 1066

23. English 306A; Harris Modern English Substratum (under-level) Germanic (Angles, Saxons, Jutes, etc.) king, law, deer, cow, cock, piss, … Superstratum (over-level) Latinate (Norman French) monarch, justice, venison, beef, penis, urinate, …

24. English 306A; Harris Language change

25. English 306A; Harris Mutability Language change Internal (isolation, fashion, prestige, …) External (trade, war, imperialism, …) Phonological Morphological Lexical Syntactic Semantic

26. English 306A; Harris Semantic change (hyponym / hypernym swap) dog … poodle hound spaniel … Toy, French, … Grey, Blood, … Springer, Cocker, … hyponym hypernym hyponym hypernym

27. English 306A; Harris Semantic change (hyponym / hypernym swap) Modern English dog … poodle hound spaniel … Toy, French, … Grey, Blood, … Springer, Cocker, … hyponym hypernym hyponym hypernym Middle English hound … dogge poodle spaniel … Mastiff, Basset, … Toy, French, … Springer, Cocker, … dog hound dogge hound

28. English 306A; Harris night knight knee name cough … [nIFt] [knIFt] [knij] [nQm´] [kAF] [nAit] [nij] [nejm] [kAf] Phonological change Middle EnglishModern English

29. English 306A; Harris Morphological change PresentPast Singularfirstdrÿgedrÿgde seconddrÿgstdrÿgdes thirddrÿgþdrÿgde Pluraldrÿgaþdrÿgdon Infinitive, drÿgan Past participle, gedrÿged Present participle, drÿgende

30. English 306A; Harris Morphological change PresentPast Singularfirstdrÿgedrÿgde seconddrÿgstdrÿgdes thirddrÿgþdrÿgde Pluraldrÿgaþdrÿgdon Infinitive, drÿgan Past participle, gedrÿged Present participle, drÿgende

31. English 306A; Harris Morphological change PresentPast Singularfirstdrydried seconddrydried thirddriesdried Pluraldrydried Infinitive, to dry Past participle, (has) dried Present participle, (is) drying

32. English 306A; Harris Morphological change PresentPast Singularfirst dry  dried second dry  dried thirddriesdried Plural dry  dried Infinitive, to dry Past participle, (has) dried Present participle, (is) drying

33. English 306A; Harris Lexical changes Mayhaps Hark Cad Elden Burdalane Sweltersome Clyte Pork Sandwich Tofu Interface Robot Radar F-bomb

34. English 306A; Harris Syntactic change Good even, Casca: brought you Caesar home? Good evening, Casca: did you bring Caesar home?

35. English 306A; Harris Mutability History of English Periods Events Pressures to change Internal/external Regio-, socio-, ethno-lects Types of change Semantic (e.g., dog/hound) Phonological (e.g., “cough”) Morphological (e.g. ‘levelling’) Lexical (words come, words go) Syntactic (Yes/no question formation)