简明语言学教程 chapter_7_change ppt.ppt

L Change (Historical linguistics)nHistorical linguistics is the a branch of linguistics, is mainly concerned with both the description and explanation of language change. Diachronic linguisticsn① the identification of the changes enables us to reconstruct the linguistic history of that language, hypothesizes its earlier forms.n② it also enables us to determine how non-linguistic factors, such as social, cultural and psychological factors, interact over time to trigger linguistic change.Sound Change Morphological regular pattern of pronunciation changes a) Vowel sound change nGreat Vowel Shift元音大换位, which occurred at the end of the Middle English period, approximately between 1400 and 1600 and which involved 7 long vowels, led to one of the major disagreements between the pronunciation and the spelling system of Modern English. For example: Middle English Modern English Five fi:v faiv mouse mu:s maUs feet fe:t fi:t mood m : dmu:d break br Z : ken breik broke br C: ken br EU k Name na:me neim Sound ChangenThe Great Vowel Shiftauaii :eieu:a :əuɔMice [mi:s] [mais]Mouse [mu:s] [maus]nb) Sound loss Some sounds in English have simply disappeared from the general pronunciation of English. -----the voiceless velar fricative / x /, “nicht“ /nixt/ nightsorh /sorx/ sorrow ----- /k/ sound in /kn - / clusters in the word initial position “knight“ “knee“ -----Another sound loss is the deletion of a word-final vowel segment, a phenomenon called apocope.词尾脱落 /na:mə / / neim/ /l Q və/ /l Q v/nc) Sound addition Sound addition includes the gain or insertion of a sound. A change that involves the insertion of a consonant or vowel sound to the middle of a word is known as epenthesis插音 , for example: emty empty glimse glimpsespinle spindlend) Sound movement Metathesis 换位 refers to sound change because of a reversal in the positions of two neighboring sounds. n bridd birdn hros horseMorphological its word order was somehow variable from that of Modern English too. When the direct object was a pronoun in Old English, the subject-object-verb order was used.Change of word ordernThe subject-object-verb order also prevailed in embedded clauses, even when the direct object was not a pronoun.nSince case markings were lost during the Middle English period through sound change, fixed subject-object-verb order became the means of grammatical relation marking. Statistics show that a major change in this aspect occurred between 1300 and 1400, with the verb-object becoming dominant.Change of Word OrderShe him advised.She advised him.Sentence structure: SVO, VSO, SOV, OSVe.g. When he the king visited, he boasted.Change in negation ruleI love thee not.He saw you not.I don’t love you.Not is at the end of the sentence.Auxiliary + notHe didn’t see you.Process of simplificationnChanges reflected in case and gender. Old English Middle Modern English ure / urum oure ourLexical and semantic changenLexical items are the building block of a language, and the changes in this aspect are comparatively more obvious and noticeable. Generally speaking, there are mainly two possible ways of lexical changes: the addition and loss of words, which often reflects the introduction of new objects and notions in social practices.Vocabulary Change nAddition of new words nLoss of words Addition of New Wordscoinage(创新词) clipped words(缩略词) blending(紧缩法) acronyms(词首字母缩略词) back-formation(逆构词法) functional shift borrowing CoinageA new word can be coined outright to fit some purpose, mostly for new things and objects e.g.nKodak nXerox nFord nBenz nToyota Clipped WordsClipping refers to the abbreviation of longer words or phrases, e.g.ngym—gymnasiumnmemo—memorandumndisco—discothequenfridge—refrigerator BlendingA blend is a word formed by combining parts of other words, e.g.nsmog—smoke + fognmotel—motor + hotelncamcorder—camera + recorder ncomsat — communication + satellitenvideophone — video + telephoneAcronymsAcronyms are words derived from the initials of several words, e.g.nCBS---- Columbia Broadcasting SystemnISBN----International Standard Book NumbernWTO WHO PLA AIDS UNESCO APEC OPEC CAD SARSBack-formationNew words may be coined from already existing words by “subtracting” an affix thought to be part of the old word.nedit  editornhawk  hawkernbeg  beggarnbaby-sit  baby-sitterFunctional Shift Words may shift from one part of speech to another without the addition of affixes, which is also called conversion, e.g. nNoun verb: to knee, to bug, to tape, to brake…nVerb noun: a hold, a flyby, a reject, a retreat… nAdj. verb: to cool, to narrow, to dim, to slow…nAdj. noun: a daily, a Christian, the rich, the impossible…BorrowingWhen 。