Language

Variation and Change

Introduction

Ling2039
C Flynn
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 Introduction
There are three aspects to the course
course:

™Language
™Variation
™Change

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 Language
- i.e. the structure of language:
Grammar

™Phonology
™Syntax
™Semantics
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 Variation –
variety, different.

™Geographic variation
ZSocial variation
™Variation in style
ZVariation by gender

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 Geographic variation
™ American English
™ Australian English
™ Canadian English
™ British English
™Southeast English
™Northern English
™Scottish English
™Irish English
™Norwich English

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 Social variation

Upper class
Upper middle class
Lower middle class
Working class
Lower class

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 Variation in style

™ Formal
™ Casual
e.g., Gentlemen, please be seated.
Shut up and sit down!

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 Social and geographical
variation

Social variation

Geographical variation

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 Change –
Varies as time goes by
™ "Time changes all things: there is no reason why
language should escape this universal law. "
Ferdinand de Saussure 1915.
™ "The process of linguistic change has never been
directly observed – we shall see that such observation,
with our present facilities, is
inconceivable.“ Leonard Bloomfield 1933.
™ "No one has yet observed sound change, we have
only been able to detect it via its consequences."
Charles Hockett 1958. 9
 Methodological principle

™Diachronic linguistics –
the study of language change.

™Synchronic linguistics –
the study of the state of a
language at a given point in time.
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™ "The opposition between the two
viewpoints – synchronic and diachronic
- is absolute and allows of no
compromise."

Ferdinand de Saussure 1915.

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The tree-trunk analogy of Saussure
Synchronic linguistics

Diachronic
linguistics

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How linguists
study changes in progress
™ We are going to study

Z What linguists have done

Z How they did it

and ….
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