Language Families and Proto-IndoEuropean

Language Families

• Proto-IndoEuropean is the parent of many language families, including Latin, French, Spanish, and Italian
• Proto-Germanic is another language family, which separated into dialects 500 to 1000 years ago and includes languages like English, Dutch, German, Icelandic, and Swedish

Language Variation

• Everyone speaks at least one language, and most people speak more than one
• No one talks exactly the same way at all times
• Dialects start with the same system, but their histories leave different parts of the parent system intact

Vernacular Languages

• Vernacular refers to the language or dialect spoken by ordinary people in a country or region
• Characteristics of vernacular languages:
  • Unstandardized and acquired in the home as a first language
  • Used for relatively circumscribed functions
  • Can be used to refer to informal and colloquial varieties of language
• Examples of vernacular languages:
  • Native language of a country or locality
  • Everyday language spoken by a people
  • Variety of language specific to a social group or region

Standard Language

• Develops as a result of a sociopolitical process
• Includes both formal and informal varieties
• Characteristics of standard language:
  • Written and codified
  • Recognized dictionary and grammar
  • Standard pronunciation
• Example: Standard English is used in print, taught in schools, and spoken by educated people

Lingua Francas

• First coined in the 17th century by Italians
• Refers to a language used for communication between people of different languages
• Example: English is a common lingua franca today
• Characteristics of English as a lingua franca:
  • Differ from Standard English in article usage, preposition usage, and morpheme use
  • Incorporates third-person singular usage and lacks gerunds

Pidgin and Creole

• Pidgin is a new language that develops in situations where speakers of different languages need to communicate
• Vocabulary comes mainly from one language (the lexifier)
• Creole is a language that develops when children start learning a pidgin as their first language
• Characteristics of creole:
  • Not restricted in use
  • Has a full range of functions

Minority Dialects

• Refers to varieties of language used by minority ethnic groups
• Examples:
  • African American Vernacular English in the USA
  • London Jamaican in Britain
  • Aboriginal English in Australia

Indigenized Varieties

• Refers to languages spoken mainly as second languages in ex-colonies with multilingual populations
• Example: Singlish (spoken in Singapore)

Gender, Sex, and Language

• Sex refers to biological characteristics, while gender refers to societal constructions and belief systems
• Gendered language can lead to gender inequality and stereotypes
• Examples of gendered language:
  • Mr. and Ms.
  • Gender-biased job titles
  • Gendered greetings
• Examples of gender-inclusive language:
  • Gender-neutral job titles
  • Gender-neutral greetings
  • Gender-neutral pronouns

Language and Age

• Definition: Age pattern refers to a characteristic type of age-graded linguistic variation
• Characteristics of language and age:
  • Adolescents use more non-standard varieties
  • Younger adults use more standard forms
  • Older adults use more non-standard forms again
  • Each new generation of speakers repeats the age pattern

Speech Community

• Definition: A group of people who share linguistic norms and interact with the same speech signals
• Characteristics of speech community:
  • At least two members
  • Shared linguistic norms and expectations
  • Members may belong to other groups and come and go

Linguistic Borrowing

• Definition: The process by which a word from one language is adapted for use in another
• Reasons for borrowing:
  • Cultural contact and exchange
  • Conquest
  • Prestige
  • Influence of technology and media
  • Convenience
• Changes in vocabulary and speech:
  • Phonological adaptation
  • Morphological integration
  • Syntactical adjustments
  • Cultural context in usage

Language Contact

• Definition: The use of more than one language in the same place at the same time
• Effects of language contact:
  • Borrowings
  • Pidgins and creoles
  • Multilingualism
  • Bilingualism
  • Diglossia
  • Social prestige and power
• Examples of language contact:
  • Middle English period: French words influenced English
  • Portuguese colonization in Sri Lanka: Rise of Sri Lanka Indo-Portuguese
  • American colonization in the Philippines: Emergence of Tagalog-English and Bisaya-English### Language and the Family
• In the family setting, mothers are often positioned as the primary caregivers, which can lead to fathers being linguistically assigned a more peripheral role.
• This reinforces the idea that people prioritize the party they believe to be more relevant.

Language and Social Class

• Social class is defined by socioeconomic status and creates distinct language patterns, or sociolects.
• Language awareness involves changing one's language based on negative or positive judgments.
• Examples of language awareness include adapting to a standard accent to get a job (positive judgment) or being hesitant to speak due to fear of judgment (negative judgment).
• Social class influences how people choose to speak to one another, even if they do not recognize it.

Types of Power

• Legitimate power: derived from role, age, status (e.g., elderly people, grandparents, doctors).
• Referent power: based on admiration and respect (e.g., K-Pop, teachers).
• Expert power: based on special knowledge or expertise (e.g., politicians, doctors).

Language, Power, and Politeness

• Politeness is the practical demonstration of good manners or etiquette.
• Politeness theory, developed by Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson, posits that individuals possess two distinct types of 'face':
  • Positive face: one's desire to be liked and appreciated.
  • Negative face: the preservation of personal rights and freedoms.
• There are two types of politeness strategies:
  • Positive politeness: involves making someone feel good about themselves.
  • Negative politeness: seeks to ensure that the listener does not feel taken advantage of.
• Face-threatening acts can be directed at the listener or speaker, and can lead to discomfort or offense.

Language and Ethnicity

• Language is a means of expressing one's ethnic identity, and an individual's idiolect can convey important characteristics that contribute to their ethnicity.
• Ethnicity has a stronger relationship with language than gender, age, or social class.
• Cultural evolution has contributed to the emergence of distinct languages and ethnicities as humans settled in various areas.

Linguistic Borrowing

• Linguistic borrowing occurs when speakers use words from another language in their own language.
• Lexical borrowing involves incorporating foreign words into a language.
• Examples of borrowed words in English include "person" (from Latin), "very" (from Old French), and "war" (from Old French).

Historical Development of Language

• Human language has two features: vocal properties and generative properties.
• The historical development of language can be explained by successive modification and natural selection.
• Noam Chomsky and Charles Darwin have different perspectives on the historical development of language, reflecting their distinct disciplinary backgrounds and theoretical frameworks.

Development of the English Language

• Old English (450-1000 BCE):
  • Started with the arrival of Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) who invaded Britain.
  • Characterized by a complex system of declensions and conjugations.
  • Incorporated Latin loanwords due to Christianization and Scandinavian words due to Viking invasion.
• Middle English (1066-1500):
  • Mixed with Old Norse due to Viking invasions.
  • Established French as the language of royals and power.
  • Borrowed words from Latin and French.
• Early Modern English (1500-1800):
  • English became the language of power and influence again.
  • Developed through the Renaissance, the invention of printing, and contact with other languages.
• Late Modern English (1800-Present):
  • Characterized by a vast expansion of vocabulary due to technological advancements and globalization.### Development of Evolutionary Theory and Print Media
• Introduced terms: natural selection, species, genetics, newspaper, journalism, editor, typewriter, telegram, telegraphy, telephone, cable

The English Language Family Tree

• Part of the Indo-European language family, one of the largest language families in the world
• Indo-European language family has 10 main branches: Anatolian, Albanian, Armenian, Balto-Slavic, Celtic, Greek, Germanic, Indo-Iranian, Italic, and Tocharian

Indo-European Language Family

• Originated in Southern Europe near the Asian border, spreading both East and West
• Mixed with non-European tongues, resulting in different subgroups or branches of language and different dialects
• Hybrid hypothesis for the origin and spread of the Indo-European languages by Max Planck
  • Began to diverge around 8100 years ago
  • Migrated to the Pontic-Caspian and Forest Steppe around 7000 years ago
  • Subsequent migrations spread into parts of Europe around 5000 years ago

Features of Indo-European Languages

• Cognates between Romance and Germanic languages (e.g., mother - English, madre - Spanish and Italian, Mère - French, Mãe - Portuguese, Mutter - German)
• Dual number in Indo-European besides singular and plural
• Different patterns of inflections for different sets of nouns
• Different inflections in adjectives for different cases, numbers, and genders

Branches of Indo-European Languages

• Anatolian: Dominant in Turkey's Asian portion and northern Syria; extinct languages include Lydian, Lycian, Palaic, and Luvian
• Indo-Iranian:
  • Two sub-branches: Iranian and Indic
  • Spoken in Iran, Pakistan, and India, and areas close to these countries
  • Sanskrit belongs to the Indic sub-branch
  • Oldest variety is Vedic Sanskrit, used in the Vedas (Ancient India's collections of religious texts and hymns)
• Greek:
  • Collection of different dialects
  • Over 3,000 years of written history
  • Dominant in the Aegean Sea and surrounding areas, the Peloponnese peninsula, and the Balkans' southern end
• Italic:
  • Dominant in the Italian peninsula
  • Latin belonged to this branch
  • Surviving languages include Italian, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, and Spanish
• Celtic:
  • Branch has Insular Celtic and Continental Celtic as sub-branches
  • Spread across areas that are now the Western Czech Republic, Austria, and Southern Germany
  • Gaulish was the main language of Continental Celtic
  • Remaining Celtic languages include Breton, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, and Irish Gaelic
• Germanic:
  • Three sub-branches: West Germanic (Old High German, Old Saxon, and Old English), North Germanic (Old Norse), and East Germanic (extinct)
  • Germanic-speaking people inhabited areas along Southern Scandinavia up to the North Baltic Sea coast
  • Modern survivors include Yiddish, Frisian, Dutch, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, and Danish
• Armenian:
  • Origin not yet established
  • Thought to have come from the Balkans and entered Anatolia around the 2nd millennium BCE
• Tocharian:
  • Spoken in Western China's Taklamakan Desert
  • Two languages: Tocharian A and Tocharian B
  • Extinct branch of the Indo-European language family
• Balto-Slavic:
  • Has Baltic and Slavic sub-branches
  • Balts occupied areas surrounding Western Poland up to the Ural Mountains
  • Slavs resided close to the Western Polish borders to the Dnieper River
  • Modern survivors include Lithuanian, Latvian, Russian, Slovak, Serbian, Polish, Croatian, Czech, and Bulgarian

Changes in the English Language

• Evolved from Old English to Middle English to Modern English
• Changes include phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical, and semantic changes
• Grimm's Law describes the consonant shifts that differentiated the Germanic languages from other Indo-European languages
• The Great Vowel Shift explains the pronunciation of long vowels from Middle English to Modern English