英语语言学-(精品课件).ppt

Historical  linguistics Sub-field of linguistics Historical linguistics is the sub-field of linguistics that studies language change. It is a diachronic study of language in contrast to the synchronic study. The historical development of language; The processes involved in language change; To reconstruct linguistic history; To establish the language family. The nature of language change All living languages change with time, unless a language is no longer spoken by the general public of a society, such as Sanskrit. As a general rule, language change is universal, continuous, and to some extent, regular and systematic. Language change is extensive, taking place in virtually all aspects of phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicon, and semantics. However, language change is never an overnight occurrence, but a gradual and constant process. Focus The history of English; Linguistic Change of English; Language family; The causes of langue change. The history of English The history of English language is divided into the periods of Old English (roughly from 449 to 1100) Middle English (roughly from 1100 to 1500) Modern English (roughly from 1500 to the present). Major periods in the history of English Most modern English speakers find Middle English only partially comprehensible, and Old English simply intelligible, just like a foreign language. Wīf hūs etan And Seaxan tā sige geslōgan. Old English (And Saxons won the victory.) Many men sayn that in sweveninges. Middle English (Many man say that in dreams.) Old English Dates back to the mid-fifth century when Anglo-Saxons,the speakers of Englisc, invaded the British Isles from northern Europe. The pronounciation of Old English is very different from its modern form. For example, the Old English word “hām” is pronounced as [ha:m]. In terms of morphology, nearly half of the nouns are inflected to mark nominative, genitive, dative, and accusative cases. And suffixes