This only covers the most illuminating or interesting findings from my research. For my other notes, you can look here: my.noodletools.com/public/170930163818250945437156 and here: docs.google.com/document/d/1_pIYp8WEzkilDBN5URfosL_r2CXSUOoMgBUnHUR0YE0/edit
My Introductory Sources
What Language Is by John McWhorter
I used What Language Is as the introduction to my study, and it made for a very good introduction. It opened my eyes to a more holistic view of language. Namely, it made me think about it in much more human terms. “...speaking is, first, largely subconscious and, second, rapid. Below the level of consciousness and going by too quickly to think much about, speaking is ripe for habit-forming, for mission creep. Once something gets started, it has a way of hanging around and settling in” (McWhorter 29). Humans don’t need to think about speaking their native language any more than cats need to think about meowing. A cat doesn’t focus on the exact pitch of her meow when she asks for food, she focuses solely on her intent to be fed. Likewise, humans focus on the content of what their speech when they’re talking to people, not about the grammar they’re using. As a result, it’s easy for changes to creep in. |
In one part of What Language Is, McWhorter imagines a future English where the modern usage of “I’m all…” to mean “I said…” results in this:
After many years, McWhorter imagines us unconsciously beginning to hear the m in I’m all as the first consonant in what was once all and dropping the l’s at the end of the word. And this process occurs with all the other pronouns. This creates a new word for say that has a completely irregular conjugation, so we can see this kind of habit forming causing profound changes to the language.
We mostly think of language in terms of how we’ve been taught to use it effectively, such as in writing, marketing, and public speaking. That’s very understandable. It’s when we use those skills that we most engage with our words themselves as well as what they express. But our unconscious habits are just as important to consider because they drive language change. They help us understand language not just as a tool for communication, but as a dynamic and complex natural phenomenon.
We mostly think of language in terms of how we’ve been taught to use it effectively, such as in writing, marketing, and public speaking. That’s very understandable. It’s when we use those skills that we most engage with our words themselves as well as what they express. But our unconscious habits are just as important to consider because they drive language change. They help us understand language not just as a tool for communication, but as a dynamic and complex natural phenomenon.
After reading a few chapters of What Language Is, I narrowed my focus to the English language specifically rather than all languages. The two main sources for this goal, The English Language and The History of English Podcast, haven’t yet given me any huge, central insights like McWhorter, but I will share the most useful and interesting facts I’ve gleaned from each of them.
The English Language: A Historical Introduction by Charles Barber
From The English Language: A Historical Introduction, I learned one of the signs that two or more languages are related is if their sounds change to the same sound in the other language many times. For example, Old English stān (stone) is stein in Old High German, bān (bone) is bein, hām (home) is heim and so on. This consistent change from ā to ei tells us that the two languages are probably related.
From The English Language: A Historical Introduction, I learned one of the signs that two or more languages are related is if their sounds change to the same sound in the other language many times. For example, Old English stān (stone) is stein in Old High German, bān (bone) is bein, hām (home) is heim and so on. This consistent change from ā to ei tells us that the two languages are probably related.
The History of English Podcast
From The History of English Podcast, I learned that sound changes happen as a kind of domino effect. For example, in the parent language of all the Indo-European languages, which include English, Latin, and Sanskrit, there was an aspirated b sound, meaning more air and more force was put behind the sound. This eventually changed to an unaspirated b, but this pushed the unaspirated b that was already in the language into becoming p.
From The History of English Podcast, I learned that sound changes happen as a kind of domino effect. For example, in the parent language of all the Indo-European languages, which include English, Latin, and Sanskrit, there was an aspirated b sound, meaning more air and more force was put behind the sound. This eventually changed to an unaspirated b, but this pushed the unaspirated b that was already in the language into becoming p.
An Introduction to Language by Victoria Fromkin
This textbook is the main source I engaged with in Quarter Two. The knowledge I gained from it is contained in these sections:
Morphology
Morphology is the study of linguistic units of meaning and how they combine to form new meaning.
Syntax
Syntax is the study of how sentences are structured.
Meaning
Meaning is about what words mean.
Phonology
Phonology is the study of how human sounds are articulated and how they come together.