Linguistics Final Quiz: Language Change

Synchronic Analysis

Studying the structure of a language at one point in time.

Diachronic Analysis

Studying how the structure of a language changes over time.

Historical Linguistics

branch of linguistics that investigates what kinds of language changes occur, why they occur, and how they spread.

Language Change

The natural development and modifications that occur in a language over time, affecting its . . . 

• phonology (patterns/organization of sounds)

• morphology (how morphemes (affixes) form words)

• syntax

• and semantics

Protolanguage

the earlier common language that all the languages in a family descend.

ex: From that large language tree, the protolanguage is Proto-indo-European

Language Families

Groups of languages that share a common ancestor.

Sister Languages

Languages that share the same parent language.

Relatedness Hypothesis

Two languages may split from a single variety and then independently change, but still show systematic similarities.

Cognates

words with similar forms and meanings

Borrowing

Language adopts a word from another language (e.g., English empanadas).

• reason for similarity across language 

Onomatopoeia

Words that imitate sounds tend to resemble each other cross-linguistically.

• reason for similarity across language.

Family Tree Model

Represents languages splitting from one protolanguage to parent languages into daughter languages.

Wave Theory Model

represents the gradual spread of language - like ripples in water

Phonetic Change

change in pronunciation of an allophone in a language

ex: assimilation

Phonological Change

loss of a phoneme or a change in the distribution of allophones.

Regular Sound Change

change applies to every instance of the sound in its relevant context.

• describes how consistent the sound change is.

/k/ → [tʃ] before /i/ for every word in that language

Conditioned Sound Change

a sound changes only when the sound is in a certain position, surrounded by specific other sounds, or within a particular syllable

• /k/ → [tʃ] / __ {i, e} in just that instance of the rule

Unconditioned Sound Change

There is no special environment that triggers the change.

• sound changes everywhere, no matter what comes before or after it = makes it regular

Assimilation

sound becomes more like a neighboring sound.

ex: The 'n' in "in-possible" becomes an 'm' because 'm' and 'p' are both bilabial, 't' in "want you" becomes a 'ch' sound

Dissimilation

sound becomes less like a neighboring sound.

ex: the tendency for the first /r/ to drop in words like "surprise" and "governor," 

Metathesis

Two sounds switch places.

Deletion

A sound is lost.

Insertion

A sound is added.

Diphthongization

A simple vowel becomes a diphthong.

Monophthongization

A diphthong becomes a simple vowel.

Raising

changes in the height of the tongue in the production of a vowel.

ex: The sound change [ʊ] (like good) to [u]

Lowering

A vowel moves to a lower tongue position.

ex: full vowel like the 'a' in "man" can be lowered to a schwa sound /ə/ in a compound word like "chairman"

Fronting

alterations in the frontness of the tongue in the production of vowels.

ex: Going from using [a] for a word like “calf” to [æ].

Backing

alterations in the backness of the tongue in the production of vowels. 

Morphological Change

change in the morphological structure of a word, the introduction of new words, or the introduction of new morphological processes. 

ex: Past tense of climb, used to be clomb, but now it’s climbed.

Back Formation

Creating a new base form by reanalyzing an existing word
(e.g., burglar → burgle)

Proportional Analogy

four-part proportion, such as A : B :: C : D, or A is to B as C is to D. 

Semantic Extension

occur when a word takes on new appropriate contexts or referents.

Semantic Narrowing (Reduction)

A word’s meaning becomes more specific.

Semantic Elevation

A word gains a more positive meaning (e.g., knight shifting to an honorable title).

Semantic Degradation

A word gains a more negative meaning.

Comparative Reconstruction

systematic comparison of multiple related languages to hypothesize about the protolanguage they descended from

Internal Reconstruction

the analysis of data of a single language

Reasons for Language Change

• loss of homogeneity due to geographical division

• languages in contact with each other begin to show similarities (ex: through borrowing)

Reasons for Language Similarities

• similarity in the apparatus we use to make sounds

ex: sounds [p] and [a] occur in most languages of the world because they are some of the most basic sounds a human can make

• coincidentally hit upon similar ways of expressing the same meaning

ex: the Modern Greek word for eye is [mati], and the Malay word for eye is [mata].

• The word is onomatopoetic (ex: words in

English, Arabic, and Mandarin for a clock ticking are [tɪktɑk], [tɪktɪk], and [tiʔtaʔ].

• at one point, the two languages were the same language—but over time, the language split into two different varieties

Mother/Parent language

the individual language’s most similar or nearest ancestor language.

• that second main category in the language family tree

• ex: Mother language of Farsi is Iranian