Language-Change

Age of Languages:

1. How old is English?

   • Old English: Emerged around the 5th century AD with the Anglo-Saxon invasions of Britain.

   • Written Evidence: Old English texts, such as Beowulf (8th-11th century), provide early records.

   • Development: Evolved through Middle English (11th-15th century) to Modern English (16th century onward).

2. How old is Polish?

   • Old Polish: Began to form around the 10th century AD with the establishment of the Polish state.

   • Written Evidence: The earliest texts include:
     Bulla gnieźnieńska (1136), Psałterz Floriański, Biblia Królowej Zofii, Kazania Świętokrzyskie

   • Development: Evolved into Middle Polish (16th-18th century) and Modern Polish (19th century onward).

3. How old is any language?

   • Proto-Languages: Most languages trace back to earlier proto-languages (e.g., Proto-Indo-European for many European languages).

   • Continuous Evolution: Languages evolve gradually, making it difficult to pinpoint an exact "birth" date.

4. Criteria for Determining Age:

   • Written Evidence: Old manuscripts, inscriptions, and texts provide the earliest records (e.g., Beowulf for English, Bulla of Gniezno for Polish).

   • Indirect Evidence: References in foreign documents or records (e.g., Roman accounts of Germanic tribes).

   • Related Languages: Comparative linguistics helps trace language families and their divergence (e.g., English and German as Germanic languages).

   • Nationhood: The emergence of a distinct language often coincides with the formation of a national identity (e.g., Polish with the Polish state).

• The only surviving manuscript of Beowulf is the Nowell Codex, housed in the British Library.

Major Periods in the History of English:

1. Old English (Anglo-Saxon) (449–1100):

   • c. 500 AD: Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons, Jutes) invade Celtic Britain, replacing Celtic-Roman languages with Germanic.

   • Characteristics: Highly inflectional, pure Germanic language.

   • 793 AD: Viking invasions introduce Old Norse loanwords.

2. Middle English (1100–1500):

   • 1066: Norman Conquest brings French loanwords.

   • Characteristics: Loss of inflections; Great Vowel Shift begins.

   • Language Contact: Significant French influence on vocabulary and structure.

3. Early Modern English (1500–1700):

   • Key Events: Tudors come to power (1485), discovery of America (1492), printing press introduced by William Caxton (1476).

   • Characteristics: Emergence and codification of standard English; development of grammars and dictionaries.

   • Expansion: English spreads outside the British Isles.

Sound Changes in Language:

1. Qualitative Change:

   • Involves a shift in the quality of a sound.

   • Examples:

     • niesę > niosę (Polish)

     • green [gre:n ] > [gri:n ] (English vowel shift).

2. Quantitative Change:

   • Involves lengthening or shortening of sounds.

   • Example:

     • Old English lang [lang] > late OE [la:ng ] > early ME [lo:ng ] > late ME [long] > [loŋ].

3. Assimilation:

   • A sound becomes similar to a neighboring sound.

   • Examples:

     • I can buy it [ai km bai]

     • Pan Bóg [pambuk] (Polish)

     • impossible, illegal, irregular

     • z czym [szczym] (Polish)

     • Is this yours?, issue.

4. Dissimilation:

   • A sound becomes less similar to a neighboring sound.

   • Example:

     • Latin marmor > French marbre > English marble.

5. Metathesis (Transposition):

   • Sounds switch places within a word.

   • Examples:

     • gars > grass

     • brid > bird

     • arm vs. ramię (Polish)

     • mleko vs. milk.

6. Epenthesis (Addition):

   • A sound is added to a word.

   • Examples:

     • emti > empty

     • thunor > thunder.

7. Elision (Loss):

   • A sound is omitted.

   • Examples:

     • probably [probli]

     • cupboard, forehead

     • w og(ó)le (Polish).

8. Lenition (Weakening):

   • A sound becomes weaker or softer.

   • Examples:

     • American English letter [leDer]

     • pater vs. father.