LIN100Y1 Lecture : Ling Second Half of Second Semester Notes.docx
Document Summary
Concerned with description and explanation of language change: change. The changes from old middle modern english imply that all components of the grammar from meaning (semantics) to individual sounds (phonology) are subject to change. [8th c. english (pg. 221: causes of change (and variation) Consonant deletion: fifths, didn"t, pumpkin, sandwich, coupon, which, duct tape. By insertion of a vowel in between consonants. Vowel insertion: [ae lit] [ae lit] b. change through analogy, reanalysis. Eg. a napron an apron, a nadder an adder, an ekename a nickname. Folk etymology: reanalyze unfamiliar morphemes into more familiar ones: Girasole jerusalem artichoke musquasch muskrat; cerise cherry hamburg + er ham + burger c. language contact/borrowing. Borrowing of words from one language in another, due to frequent interaction among languages/dialects. Native english vocabulary = original germanic (anglo-saxon) words. English was in contact with much of the world. Spelling often reflects older pronunciation; speakers reintroduce lost sounds eg. often [af n] Loanwords: in french and latin th" pronounced *t+:
