Historical Linguistics

• 1. Sound Change
• 2. Morphological Change
• 3. Syntactic Change
• 4. Semantic Change
 2. Morphological Change
• Old English
• cow (sg), kine (pl)
– alternation
• stone (sg), stones (pl)
– suffixation of [z]

• Change: cow, cows

– suffixation of [z]
• Proportional Analogy
• => Generalization of a relationship

• a:b :: c:x
• Relationship = N:N+[-z]
• stone:stones :: cow:cows
• Regular > Irregular
• (suffixation > alternation)

• Older form: dive (Pres), dived (Past)

• drive:drove :: dive:dove
• Relationship is the key.

• Verbs
• sing:sang:sung
• ring:rang:rung
• bring:brang:brung
– (overgeneralization in children’s speech)

• But not nouns

• king(sg):kang(pl)
 Paradigm Leveling
• Latin Rhotacism
• /s/ > [r] / V_V

• rūsal > rural

• opesa > opera
• corposeal > corporeal

• Remnants of [s]: rustic, opus, corpus

• Paradigm Leveling
• => Reduce irregularity created by regular
sound change
• Rhotacized
• Nom: honos > honos
• Gen: honos-is > honor-is
• Acc: honos-em > honor-em
• Paradigm Leveled

• Nom: honos > honor

• Gen: honos-is > honor-is
• Acc: honos-em > honor-em
 3. Syntactic Change
• Old English OV order in embedded and
coordinate clauses

• S
• and Eraclyus sona
• and Eraclyus immediately
• O V
• his swurd ateah
• his sword drew
• English Word Order Change: SOV > SVO

• Phrase structure rules:

• S = NP VP
• VP = NP V > VP = V NP
• Old English verb movement in main clauses

• Adv V
• þā ongeat
• then perceived
• S O
• se cyning þæt.
• the king that
• Phrase Structure Rules
• S = NP Aux VP
• VP = NP V
• S’ = _ S

• Movement
• Move V to _ in [S’ _ S]
• S’
• _ S
• NP VP
• NP V
• S’
• V S
• NP VP
• _ NP
• perceived the king that
• Old English: Move V to _ in [S’ _ S]

• Modern English Questions

• Move Aux to _ in [S’ _ S]

• She has left.

• Has she left?
• S’
• _ S

• NP Aux VP

• she has left

• S’
• Aux S

• NP __ VP

• has she left

• Modern English: Aux movement only

• Did she leave?

• *Left she.

• => Insert auxiliary verb

• Old > Modern English

• 1. Head-final VP > Head-initial VP

• (VP = NP V > VP = V NP)

• 2. Move V to _ in [S’ _ S]
• > Move Aux to _ in [S’ _ S]
 4. Semantic Change
• Extension (Widening)
• dog, bird
– specific type > general class
• salary < salārium (Lat)
– ‘allotment of salt’ > ‘wages’
• Reduction (Narrowing)
• hound, fowl
– general class > specific type
• deer
– ‘animal’ > specific type of animal
• girl
– ‘child’ > ‘female child’
• Metaphorical Extension
• broadcast < ‘spread seeds’
• French feuille
– ‘leaf’ > ‘sheet of paper’
• Spanish firma
– ‘fix, make firm’ > ‘signature’
• Elevation
• knight < ‘youth’, ‘servant’
• Japanese samurai < saburafu ‘to serve’
• pretty < ‘crafty, sly’
• nice < ‘foolish’
• Degredation
• spinster < ‘one who spins’
• villain < French ‘farm worker’
• disease < ‘discomfort’