COLL-C 104 Lecture 4: C104 Lecture 4 Notes (Jan. 23)
4 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
Proto-indo-european language- ancestor of all indo-european languages. 1-23-17: similarities in vocabulary/grammar seen in many modern and dead languages, started in anatolia (turkey) in fertile farming region. Spread as farming swept away hunting/gathering by populations, rather than techniques: many different major language phyla. Greenberg (1963) found 45 universals in 30 languages studied: absolute universal- true in all languages; no language makes questions by reversing all words, statistical universal- likely rules for given language to have; subject usually precedes object. If language has subject, object, verb: it is very probably postpositional. If language has verb, subject, object: it is necessarily prepositional. 3 theories of what caused universals: descendants from one mother language- easy to debunk. Mother language would have too little influence to preserve universals. Radical differences have occurred, ie. creoles and sign languages. Implications and statistical generalizations cannot be transmitted; only comparative linguists know they exist. Correlations break down over time, eventually erased.
