Chapter 8 - Historical Linguistics

Question 1

Define synchronic linguistics

Answer 1

The study of language structure that is at a single point in time

Question 2

Define diachronic perspective/linguistics

Answer 2

Linguistics across a span of time

Synonym to historial linguistics

Question 3

Name one of the uses of historical linguistics

Answer 3

Helps in archaeology - to guess what the objects that we find were used for (example: table)
Provides us tools to determine the properties of dead languages

Question 4

What is critical info?

Answer 4

Linguistic information that has a real purpose - ex: by making us able to determine the use of a certain archaeological object

Question 5

What are the 2 components if the pursuit of historical linguistics that we will focus on?

Answer 5

Language change

Language relatedness

Question 6

If there is a language change related to phonology, how will the change be called?

Answer 6

A phonological change

Question 7

How can we describe the relation between previous days’ languages and today’s languages? What does it mean?

Answer 7

As systematic

If we see that u: becomes aw, this change will be systematic accross ALL words

Question 8

If there is a rule for when the change happens (for ex’ X become Z when in front of a vowel but not anywhere else), can we still say that the change is systematic?

Answer 8

Yes

Question 9

How do we call the words from old languages?

Answer 9

Ancestor words

Question 10

How do we call the words descending from old languages?

Answer 10

Descendants words

Question 11

What is the etymology of a word?

Answer 11

Its history

Question 12

What is a conditioned sound change?

Answer 12

Happens in certain environments only (ex: X become Z when in front of a vowel but not anywhere else)

Question 13

What is an unconditioned sound change?

Answer 13

Happens all the time, no matter the environment

Question 14

What does it mean that sound change displays “regularity”?

Answer 14

That when a sound change happens in a word, it will change in all words which have that sound in the same phonological context

Question 15

What is the comparative method used for?

Answer 15

To determine that 2 or + languages are related

Question 16

How is it possible that 4 different languages that are spoken very far form one another can be extremely similar? Name the 4 possibilities

Answer 16

Onomatopoeia: words that represent sounds can resemble each other accross languages

Chance: because of the length of words, there is some extent of chance that they can be similar

Borrowed words: for this to happen, close and extended contact between the populations is required

Genetics: (genesis) - the words have the same origin, they are related

Question 17

How can we qualify the (phonological) differences in related languages?

Answer 17

Systematic

Question 18

What is the genetic hypothesis?

Answer 18

Genetics refers to genesis (origin/source)

This hypothesis suggests that similar languages were once the same linguistic system

Question 19

Why does language change happens?

Answer 19

Because it is transmitted imperfectly from generation to generation; therefore different regions come to have each their own language

Question 20

What is linguistic reconstruction?

Answer 20

Trying to guess what an ancient language looked like using deduction

Question 21

What does it mean if I write that the word of an ancient language for “hat” was *miu?

Answer 21

The * means that this reconstruction is a theory, not an established truth

Question 22

What are sound correspondences?

Answer 22

The correspondence between the sound in an ancient language and it’s form today (ex: *a - [a])

Question 23

What happens when the words for descendent languages are not all the same? How can we guess the earlier form?

Answer 23

We need to figure out rules as to where and how the change happened, that would explain all the differences in the simplest way possible

Question 24

What is relative chronology?

Answer 24

When a certain sound change happened, relative to another (which came first between the 2)