The Origins and Development of the English Language Chapter 4: The Backgrounds of English John Algeo Michael Cheng National Chengchi University

Similarities between languages English: mom miaow-miaow me pistachio choose glide Welsh mam Chinese mi-mi Swahili mimi Italian pistacchio French choisir Swedish glida

fader faðer vader Vater father

fader faðer vader Vater pater padre pai pére patēr pitar pedar father pare

The language in the Bible is related to the language in the Rig Veda

Psalm 23 (New International Version) 1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Origins of the PIE hypothesis Scholars worked from the socio-political environment in which they were raised What was the great influence on western thought and culture before the 1800’s? What story influenced thought on language?

Origins of the PIE hypothesis Before the 1800s: Bible influence The Tower of Babel: a perfect proto- language existed

Genesis 11:1-9 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, [a] they found a plain in Shinar [b] and settled there.ab 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” 5 But the L ORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The L ORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” 8 So the L ORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel [c] —because there the L ORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the L ORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.c

Origins of the PIE hypothesis The Flood: Noah had 3 sons that repopulated the Earth: Shem, Ham, Japheth Semitic Hamitic Japhetic

Origins of the PIE hypothesis James Parsons, physician 1767 The Remains of Japhet, Being Historical Enquiries into the Affinities and Origins of the European Languages Compared lexical items across many languages

Parson’s numerical comparisons from Singh, The History of English, Page 43 Which language have affinities?

Origins of the PIE hypothesis Parson’s findings: Irish, Welsh, Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Swedish, English, Polish, Russian, Bengali, and Persian had affinities Turkish, Hebrew, Malay, Chinese did not have affinity

Origins of the PIE hypothesis Conclusion: Language of Europe, Iran, and India emerged from a common ancestor, the language of Japheth Not taken seriously; doctor not a philologer

William Jones (September 28, 1746 – April 27, 1794) Greek, Latin, Persian, Arabic, Chinese Knew 13 languages; familiar with Oxford 1773 law degree 1783 Supreme Court judge in Calcutta

Origins of the PIE hypothesis Indian culture was a new subject for European scholarship 1786 – Sanskrit bore a resemblance to Greek, Latin, Gothic, Celtic, and possibly Persian Sanskrit: pitar Greek: pat ē r Latin: pater Suggested a common root language that no longer exists

Origins of the PIE hypothesis Jones showed cognate words Affinities in grammar Systematic variations in sound

Jones’ philologer passage, 1786 His third annual discourse before the Asiatic Society on the history and culture of the Hindus (delivered on February 2, 1786 and published in 1788) with the famed "philologer" passage is often cited as the beginning of comparative linguistics and Indo- European studies. This is Jones' most quoted passage, establishing his tremendous find in the history of linguistics:comparative linguisticsIndo- European studies The Sanscrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists; there is a similar reason, though not quite so forcible, for supposing that both the Gothic and the Celtic, though blended with a very different idiom, had the same origin with the Sanscrit; and the old Persian might be added to the same family.

Jones’ philologer passage, 1786 What does this passage show about Jones’ attitude toward language? The Sanscrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin = grammar is more complicated = more vocabulary words

Languages from Iceland to India are related to a common language Based on the geographic locations of these languages, we now call the language that Jones hypothesized Proto Indo- European

The Proto Indo-European people Who were the people who spoke Proto Indo-European and where did they come from?

X PIE dispersion hypotheses Kurgan Migration, Marija Gimbutas Anatolian Farmer, Colin Renfrew Balkan Black Sea Flood Paleolithic Continuity Theory, DNA evidence

Kurgan Migration—Gimbutas Cognates Based on the analysis of cognates Cognates: “data which displayed similarities in terms of form and meaning not because of borrowing or coincidence, but because of genetic relatedness.” (Singh, 2005)

Similarities between languages: What are the connections between each pair of words? English: mom miaow-miaow me pistachio choose glide Welsh mam Chinese mi-mi Swahili mimi Italian pistacchio French choisir Swedish glida

Cognates (Singh, 2005) Core lexicon: “a set of words which, in their everyday ordinariness, remained impervious to processes such as borrowing or rapid and extensive change” “Concepts ubiquitous to human existence” Mother, father, daughter, son, kind, leader, sun, moon, body parts (head, heart, lung), a deity, basic numerals

Cognates Comparing cognates allowed linguists to determine relationships between languages Languages were grouped into language families Since language change in inevitable, regular, and rule governed, it is possible to work backward and recreate lost languages Proto Indo-European is the source of English

Kurgan Migration--Gimbutas Who were the people who spoke Proto Indo-European and where did they come from? Words related to flora, fauna, and society in the Proto-lexicon can provide an indication of: Where they came from Lifestyle/Culture

Indo-European Cognates: Beech – yes Cypress – no

Indo-European Cognates: Birch – yes Yew – yes

Indo-European Cognates: Apple – yes Olive – no

Indo-European Cognates: Mead – yes Vine – no

Indo-European Cognates: Wolf, Bear, Salmon, Snow – yes Ocean, Palm, Coconut – no

In what kind of environment could the Indo- European homeland be located?

Kurgan Migration--Gimbutas Cognates for: –Alder, apple, ash, beech, birch, elm, hazel, linden, oak, willow, yew –Wolf, bear, lox, beaver –Snow, freezing cold No common words for: –Olive, cypress, palm, vine, coconut –Ocean Suggests inland culture in temperate zone

Kurgan Migration--Gimbutas Cognates for: –Plough, yoke, wheel, axle –Ox, cow, sheep, swine, goats, goose, fish –Milk, apples, grain, mead –Family, house, pottery –Wool, leather, wood, stone, bone Yamna culture fits

years old

Yamna Culture Herded domesticated animals Mobile – used wagons Warrior nobility Worshipped sky god associated with thunder (Zeus pater, Jupitar) Sun, horse, boar, snake Elaborate burials in mounds (kurgans)

Belief System of the IE People Pantheon of Gods pan = all (also five), theos = god theos comes from the IE root *deiwos At the top of the pantheon is dyeu-pater What does the name mean? What are cognate names found in Latin and Greek?

IE religion built upon older religion Words that are definitely not IE -inth: plinth, labyrinth, Corinth, hyacinth – from pre-IE inhabitants of the Greek peninsula Many related to mythology like the labyrinth, hyacinth

IE religion built upon older religion Hyacinth Iris

IE religion built upon older religion Labyrinth Minotaur

Belief System of the IE People Credo – I believe in Latin IE has kred-dho Kred or kerd is the root for heart Dho is the word for put, give, or donate To the IE what is a belief?

Belief System of the IE People sep-el-yo means to venerate the dead, perform rituals for the dead What does the Latin word sepelire mean? What is a sepulchre? How did the IE people honor their dead?

Legal system of the IE people Legal Ligature – to link, laws bind people Rex (raj, reich, rix, rey, royal) – there is a leader Jus – justice, bond, net – the laws bind the people together

Culture of the IE people dho (IE root) – put, donate, give Latin donare = give Hittite da ̄ = take or receive nem (IE root) – give Nemesis – Greek god who gave out justice nehman (German) – take

Culture of the IE people ghosti (IE root) guest; host gast (Gothic) - stranger xenos (Greek) – stranger hostis (Latin) – enemy hospit (Latin) – from ghosti-potis – master of strangers ghásati (Sanskrit) – consume

Culture of the IE people pewo (IE root) Latin – pecunia meaning wealth Sanskrit – pasu meaning livestock Old English – feoh meaning cattle Old Norse – fé meaning possession German – vieh meaning cow English - fee meaning payment What conclusion can you draw?

Culture of the IE people vates – Latin for a seer or prophet faith – Old Irish for bard wod – Old English for crazy Woden or Odin is the master of runes, the master of poetry, gave an eye for wisdom wet is the IE word for some kind of mad poet wek or tek is the IE word for weaving texere – Latin for weave, can be to weave words or weave threads

Culture of the IE people kleos is the Greek word for spoken fame kleos aphthiton – undying fame in Greek sravas aksitan – term in the Sanskrit Rig Veda A formulaic phrase used in poetry What conclusion can we draw?

5000 BCE

Kurgans 4000 BCE

3000 BCE Anatolian

Expansion 2000 BCE

Evolution 500 BCE

500 CE Huns invade from East

Medieval 1500 CE Turks invade

Indo-European languages today

World Language families

Official Indo-European languages today

Anatolian Farmer Hypothesis Colin Renfrew Believed some significant historic event must have accompanied the expansion by the speakers of PIE Agriculture Language spread peacefully with the dispersion of farming technology

Anatolian Farmer Hypothesis Homeland in Anatolia Expanded into Greece in 7 th millennium BCE

Armenian homeland

Haplogroup R1a distribution

Features of the Proto Indo- European Language

Features of Proto Indo-European Types of languages: Isolating, Agglutinative, Inflective Isolating –Every morpheme forms a different word –Chinese Agglutinative (Incorporative) –Combine grammatical morphemes with a lexical stem –Grammatical morphemes are discrete & don’t change –Strung onto the lexical stem –Swahili, Turkish

Agglutinative example Swahili I will like you: nitakupenda –ni – ta – ku – penda –(I) (future) (2 nd person object) (verb stem: like) I liked you: nilakupenda –ni – la – ku – penda –(I) (past) (2 nd person object) (verb stem: like) I like him: nitampenda –ni – ta – m – penda –(I) (future) (him as object) (verb stem: like)

Inflective languages Inflective –Inseparable inflections are fused to the lexical stem –Greek, Latin –I love: Amo –Am – o –(love) (first person, singular, present tense, indicative)

What kind of language is English? says –inflective unfriendliness –agglutinative the, for, to, by, no –isolating

PIE Morphology Parts of speech –Nouns/Adjectives –Pronouns –Verbs –Prepositions Nouns/Adjectives and Pronouns were inflected for Case, Number, and Gender

Noun/Adj Inflections: 8 cases Nominative: They saw me. (subject) Vocative: Officer, I need help. (person addressed) Accusative: They saw me. (direct object) Genitive: Shakespeare’s play. (possessor or source) Dative: Give her a hand. (indirect object, recipient) Ablative: He abstained from it. (what is separated) Locative: We stayed home. (place, where) Instrumental: She ate with chopsticks. (means, instrument)

Germanic cases Nominative: They saw me. (subject) –Vocative: Officer, I need help. (person addressed) Accusative: They saw me. (direct object) Genitive: Shakespeare’s play. (possessor or source) Dative: Give her a hand. (indirect object, recipient) Ablative: He abstained from it. (what is separated) Locative: We stayed home. (place, where) –Instrumental: She ate with chopsticks. (means, instrument)

Noun/Adj Number and Gender Number: singular, plural, dual Gender: male, female, neuter

Proto Indo-European Nouns Singular Nom. Voc. Acc. Gen. Dat. Abl. Loc. Ins. *ekwos *ekwe *ekwom *ekwoso *ekw ō y *ekw ō d *ekwoy *ekw ō Plural Nom/Voc Acc. Gen. Dat./Abl. Loc. Ins. *ekw ō s *ekwons *ekw ō m *ekwobhyos *ekwoysu *ekw ō ys

Pronouns Cases (3) Number (3) Gender (3) Person: first, second, third

Verb Inflections Person Number Aspect (kind of like tense): Completion, duration, repetition of action Voice Mood

IE Verb Aspect Present: continuing action in progress Imperfect: continuing action in the past Aorist: momentary action in past Perfect: completed action Pluperfect: completed action in the past Future: actions to come (Evolved into only present and past tense in Germanic languages)

IE Voice Active Passive Middle (reflexive) Germanic lost the passive and middle voices and expressed these notions by phrases rather than inflections

IE Mood Indicative: statements or questions of fact Imperative: expressing commands Optative: expressive wishes Subjunctive: expressing will Injunctive: expressing unreality

IE Mood evolution into Germanic Indicative: statements or questions of fact –Imperative: expressing commands Optative(  Subjunctive): expressive wishes Subjunctive: expressing will Injunctive: expressing unreality (Oscar Meyer weiner song)

Proto Indo-European was an inflective language: Verb inflections EnglishSanskritGreekLatinI-E I bear you bear he bears we bear you bear they bear bhar ā -mi bhara-si bhara-ti bhar ā -mas bhara-tha bhara-nti pher ō pherei-s pherei phero-mes phere-te phero-nti fer ō fer-s fer-t feri-mus fer-tis feru-nt *bher ō *bheresi *bhereti *bheromes *bherete *bheronti

Word Order Greenburg (Some Universals of Grammar) SVO languages: –verb + object: The workman made a horn. –noun + modifier: the size of the building –conjunction + noun: the Senate and the House –preposition + object: Harold fought with him. SOV languages usually reverse these features

Word Order Most Indo-European languages are SVO Proto Indo-European was SOV Proto-Germanic had more SOV characteristics than modern German English is evolving to being more SVO in characteristics –10 th century 84.4% of possessives before nouns –14 th century 15.6% of possessives before nouns –the building’s size vs. the size of the building

PIE Phonology Prosody: –Accent (stress) based on pitch differences –Free accent: could occur on different syllables depending on the form of the word Germanic Prosody –Word stress based on loudness not pitch –Primary stress on root syllable –Weak stress on other syllables –Intermediate stress on secondary root or prefix Later Germanic word stress became fixed on first syllable

X PIE Consonants Stops, Fricative, Resonants, Laryngeal Fricative [s] Resonants [m, n, l, r, j, w] Stops: BilabialDentalVelarLabiovelar Voicelessptkkwkw Voicedbdggwgw Voiced Aspirated bhdhghgh w

Reconstructed sample of PIE Once there was a king. He was childless. The king wanted a son. He asked his priest: “May a son be born to me!” The priest said to the king: “Pray to the god Varuna”. The king approached the god Varuna to pray now to the god. “Hear me, father Varuna!” The god Varuna came down from heaven. “What do you want?” “I want a son.” “Let this be so”, said the bright god Varuna. The king’s lady bore a son. To réecs éhest. So nputlos éhest. So réecs súhnum éwelt. Só tóso cceutérm prcscet: “Súhnus moi jnhyotaam!” So cceutéer tom réejm éweuqet: “Ihgeswo deiwóm Wérunom”. So réecs deiwóm Werunom húpo- sesore nu deiwóm ihgeto. “Cluttí moi, phter Werune!” Deiwós Wérunos kmta diwós égweht. “Qíd welsi?” “Wélmi súhnum.” “Tód héstu”, wéuqet loukós deiwos Werunos. Reejós pótnih súhnum gegonhe.

Reconstructed sample of PIE On the mountain a sheep that had no wool saw horses — one pulling a heavy waggon, one a great load, and one swiftly carrying a man. Then the sheep said to the horses: “It pains my heart to see a man driving horses”. Then the horses said: “Listen, sheep: it pains our heart to see man, the master, making himself a warm garment from sheep’s wool, when the sheep has no wool”. On hearing this, the sheep fled into the plain. Gwrhéei hówis, qésyo wlhnéh ne est, hécwons spécet, hoinom kke gwrhúm wóccom wéccontm, hoinom-qe méghm ppórom, hoinom-qe ccménm hóocu ppérontm. Hówis tu hecwoippos weuqét: “Céer hekknutór moi, hécwons héjontm hnérm widntéi”. Hécwoos tu weuqónt: “Cluttí, hówei, céer kke hekknutór nsméi widntppós: hnéer, pótis, héwyom r wlhnéhm seppi qrnéuti nu qqérmom wéstrom; nécci héwyom wlhnéh hésti”. Tód cecluwóos hówis héjrom ppugét.

[The] Sheep and [the] Horses On [a] hill, [a] sheep that had no wool saw horses, one [of them] pulling [a] heavy wagon, one carrying [a] big load, and one carrying [a] man quickly. [The] sheep said to [the] horses: "[My] heart pains me, seeing [a] man driving horses". [The] horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see [this]: [a] man, [the] master, makes [the] wool of [the] sheep into [a] warm garment for himself. And [the] sheep has no wool". Having heard this, [the] sheep fled into [the] plain. Owis Ekwôskwe Gwrrêi owis, kwesyo ne êst, ekwôns espeket, oinom ghe gwrrum woghom weghontm, oinomkwe megam bhorom, oinomkwe ghmmenm ôku bherontm. Owis nu ekwomos ewewkwet: "Kêr aghnutoi moi ekwôns agontm nerm widntei". Ekwôs tu ewewkwont: "Kludhi, owei, kêr ghe aghnutoi nsmei widntmos: neer, potis, owiôm r sebhi gwhermom westrom kwrnneuti. Neghi owiôm esti". Tod kekluwôs owis agrom ebhuget.

Major Changes from PIE to Germanic

New vocabulary – no cognates with other IE language  1/3 new words  many new words related to sailing, war, fish  sea vs. mar vs. thalassa  but the common words  navor (navigate, navy) related to boats  er (or re due to metathesis ) meaning to row

Major Changes from PIE to Germanic Reduced tenses: present and preterit  Preterit with dental suffix  (past tense with d or t at the end of words) Fewer noun declensions (4 main ones+2)  Nominative, Accusative, Genitive, Dative Accent on first syllable Sound changes in some vowels

Major Changes from PIE to Germanic Sound changes to the IE stops As explained by Grimm’s Law

First Sound Shift – Grimm’s Law In the first millennium BCE IE stops transformed into different stops in Germanic languages Probably took several centuries to complete the change (Second sound shift occurred between Low German and High German, resulting in the difference between English and Modern German) Ship-Schiff, Apple Apfel, out-aus, break-brechen, …

Grimm’s Law – Jacob Grimm

First Sound Shift – Grimm’s Law Sometimes there are intermediate forms, but the end result is Germanic words with stops are different from Latin/Greek words. Can you summarize the rule?

Voiced aspirated stops (Stage 1) Indo-Eurob h bhr ā ter d h dhug(h)t ē r g h ghosti Latinf-/-b- fr ā ter f-/-b-h-/-d-/-g- hostis Greekphph t h thugat ē r khkh Germanicb brother d daughter g guest

Voiceless stops (Stage 2) Indo-Europpətērppətēr t treyes k krn- Latinp pater t tres k cornu- Greekptk Germanicf father θ three h horn

Voiced stops (Stage 3) Indo-Eurob treb/abel- d dw ō /drew g genu- /gwen- Latinb trabs d duo g genu b (Russian) jabloko d (Greek) dr ū s (oak) g (Greek) gun ē Germanicp thorp/apple t two/tree k knee/queen

Grimm’s Law

Exceptions After s –Spuo (Latin) – spit –stella (Latin) – star After voiceless stop –octo (Latin) – eahta (OE) –capto (Latin) - haft

More Exceptions (Grimm’s Law p>f, t> θ,k>h ) PIE – p ə t ē r Latin – pater Greek – pat ē r What should this word become in a Germanic language?

More Exceptions (Grimm’s Law p>f, t> θ,k>h ) PIE – p ə t ē r Latin – pater Greek – pat ē r What should this word become in a Germanic language? English – father Gothic – fadar [faðar] Icelandic faðir Old English – fæder [fæðer] Why are these exceptions?

More Exceptions (Grimm’s Law p>f, t> θ,k>h ) (Latin) centum > (Latin) caput > (Greek) klutós > (Greek) dekás > (Sanskrit) snusá > d hundred b haubiþ (Gothic) d hlud (OE) g tigus (Gothic) r snoru (OE) p > f > b? / t > θ > d? / k > h > g?

Verner’s Law A rule to explain the exceptions and show that the changes from Indo-European to Germanic was regular Voiceless fricatives became voiced fricatives in the Germanic languages under certain conditions

Verner’s Law p > f / t > θ / k > h p > β / t > ð / k > Ɣ / s > z Surrounded by voiced sounds Syllable before it is NOT stressed NOT the first sound of the word p > β > b / t > ð > d / k > Ɣ > g / s > z > r

Verner’s Law (t > ð > d ) PIE – p ə t ē r Latin – pater Greek – pat ē r Not the first sound 1 st syllable not stressed Surrounded by voiced English – father Gothic – fadar [faðar] Icelandic faðir Old English – fæder [fæðer]

Verner’s Law k > Ɣ > g exert [ ɪ g ˈ z ǝ rt] exist [ ɪ g ˈ z ɪ st] exercise [ ˈɛ ks ǝ rsa ɪ z] Not the first sound 1 st syllable not stressed Surrounded by voiced

Verner’s Law: Surrounded by voiced sounds after unstressed syllable IE voiceless stops GermanicVerner’s Law Later pf β b t θ ð d kx/h Ɣ g s z r

More Examples of Verner’s Law was – were exert, exist vs. exercise, exigent OE: leosan “to lose” vs. -loren “lost” (lovelorn)

Major Changes from PIE to Germanic WHY did Germanic change so much from the other IE language? Why will a language change quickly?

Major Changes from PIE to Germanic Contact with other cultures Adult learners

Major Changes from PIE to Germanic Phoenician contact? Phoenicians were great sailors timeline acceptable Used a lot of fricatives

Major Changes from PIE to Germanic

West Germanic Languages