Theories and Models of Language Change Homeworks Exercise I - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Theories and Models of Language Change

Session 2: Evolutionary Approaches to Language Change Roland Mühlenbernd April 28, 2015

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Motivation

◮ evolutionary models view language change as directed

processes rather than arbitrary fluctuations

◮ language change shows general pattern on a larger scale ◮ Georg von der Gabelentz (Die Sprachwissenschaft, 1891)

attributes most changes to two counteracting forces: strive for brevity and need for clarity

◮ opposed selective pressures

◮ “brevity” leads to reduced variants and overuses of the

same lexical form(s)

◮ “expressiveness” invites to move from one set of lexical

forms to another

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Morphological Basics

A morpheme is

◮ smallest grammatical unit in a

language

◮ can be classified between free

and bound

◮ free morphemes can be arranged

as compounds

◮ bound morphemes

◮ can be classified as

derivational (change word meaning or class) and inflectional (modify a word’s number/case/tense without modifying meaning or class)

◮ appear as affixes (prefix,

suffix, infix)

◮ can change the root

Examples:

◮ dog-house ◮ un-happy ◮ group-s-’s’ ◮ probe-able-ly ◮ under-estimate-ing ◮ un-believe-able ◮ Wäld-er-n ◮ fan-bloody-tastic

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Spiral Model of von der Gabelenz (1891)

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Biological VS Cultural Evolution

◮ language as mental capacity evolved according to

biologically evolutionary processes

◮ language change is viewed as being a part of cultural

evolution

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Universal Darwinism

◮ Universal Darwinism stands for general evolutionary

mechanisms: variation, selection and self-replication

◮ biological and cultural (also linguistic) evolution, both are

manifestations of these mechanisms

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Universal Darwinism

Dennett’s conditions for evolution:

• 1. variation: continuing abundance of different elements
• 2. replication: elements have capacity to create copies
• 3. differential “fitness”: number of copies of element

depending on interaction between element features and environmental features (selection) Does this hold for language change? Explain exemplary.

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Language Change - Broad and Narrow Sense

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Exercise I

What are - according to Dennett (1995) - the three conditions that evolution occurs?

◮ Variation √ ◮ Fitness (Selection) √ ◮ Replication √ ◮ Mutation ◮ Imitation ◮ Invasion

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Exercise II

What replicates - according to Dawkins (1976) - in cultural evolution (as counterpart to genes in biological evolution)?

◮ Memes √ ◮ Ideas ◮ Linguistic items

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Exercise III

Anette Rosenbach presents a number of different studies that incorporate evolutionary approaches to language change. Assign the following references (author and year) to the according topic under investigation.

• 1. language change in the broad sense

◮ emergence of linguistic diversity (Nettle 1999a) ◮ emergence of linguistic universals ◮ phonetically motivated sound change (Blevin 2004) ◮ typological case-marking systems (Jäger 2007) ◮ universal word order preferences (Kirby 1999)

• 2. language change in the narrow sense

◮ word order change in the history of English (Clark 2004)

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Variation and Change

“[n]ot all variability and heterogeneity in language structure involves change; but all change involves variability and heterogeneity” Labov and Herzog, 1968

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Variation and Change

◮ Labov and Herzog (1968) distinguish between the

emergence of a new variant from their spread through the speech community

◮ Both processes essentially mirror variation and selection:

new variants come into use, and selectional pressures lead to their replication

◮ But how does variation comes about? How does linguistic

innovation arise?

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Linguistic Innovation and Actuation

◮ Linguistic research has primarily addressed the

spread/propagation of change rather than its innovation

◮ Notable exception: Milroy & Milroy 1985; Milroy 1992

address the process of actuation in terms of social-network analysis1

◮ New variants may emerge for various reasons, but they

• nly turn into a change once they come to bear on the

linguistic system

◮ Actuation is the minimal step an innovation needs to

become a change

◮ Croft (2000) distinguishes between creation (innovation/

actuation) and diffusion (propagation) of a new form

◮ Note: it’s only the successful innovation that we register

1Note that innovation and actuation are two separate processes.

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Linguistic Selection Question: is linguistic selection rather driven by functional or social factors?

Roland Mühlenbernd Introduction

Motivation Universal Darwinism Studies: Overview

Homeworks

Exercise I

Linguistic Variation

Variation and Change Linguistic Innovation Linguistic Selection

Homeworks

Homeworks

◮ Read the article ‘Language change as cultural evolution:

Evolutionary approaches to language change’(Rosenbach, 2008), Sections 4.1 - 4.2 (pages 31 - 47)

◮ solve the appropriate exercises given on ILIAS