FLUX OF LANGUAGE Mechanism of linguistic change: There is no single explanation for changes in living languages.

Theories that are proved to be important 1/7 When a very large and closely knit of group of people adquieres a new language, then the modifications they may do will persist among their descendants,

Theories that are proved to be important 2/7 When a conquering minority of people imposed its language on a conquered population must often have its language modified by its victims.

Theories that are proved to be important 3/7 Prestige: people with the most prestige are more likely to be imitated. When a social group goes up or down in the world, its pronunciation may gain or loose prestige (the Russian Revolution or the French Revolution)

Theories that are proved to be important 4/7 For political reasons a language may be imposed to unify a country (hebrew in Israel)

Theories that are proved to be important 5/7 We all try to economize energy in our actions, we tend to take short cuts in our organs of speech. This is a factor of linguistic change

Theories that are proved to be important 6 /7 Changes in grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and word meaning. The influence of other language: nations with high political, commercial and cultural prestige tend to influence their neighbours.

Theories that are proved to be important 7 /7 As society changes there are new things that need new names: physical objects, institutions, set of attitudes, values, concepts. New words are produced to handle them or existing words are given new concepts.

The discovery of Sanskrit and Grimm`s law. William Jones British Servant declared that “ Sanskrit bore to Latin and Greek a stronger affinity both in the roots and in the form of the grammar …”

Later Grimm´s Law  Grimm´s law states that where Latin amd Greek words have P-T-K, Germanic languages have F-TH-H, eg: pater –vater or frater-brother. In the same way ….B-D-G in Ltin became P-T-K in Germanic.  Exceptions to Grimm´s law were explained by Karl Verner¨s law

Verner´s Law  If P-T-K folow the accent they shift regularly to F-TH-H but but …. If they they precede the accent they become B-D-G eg: centum- hundred.  After many studies scholars began to suspect that Sanskrit contributed to the recognition and determination of the relation that exists among the languages to which it is allied.

Linguistic change in English  There are three periods of rapid change in English Language : OLD ENGLISH- MIDDLEE AGE ENGLISH AND MODERN ENGLISH

THROUGH TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE  There is a short passage from the Bibble which has been translated into English at different times.The paasage is from chapter xv of the Gosspel

Some examples  In a passage of the Bible before the Norman Conquest in the eleven century:  Long vowels are marked with macron ( horizontal line ) over them, short vowels are left unmarked.  Words change according to their grammatical function.  Word order: eg “ … and he the house approached “( subject – verb- object ) or other example : “ ….then called he a servant “ ( verb-subject-object) 

The same passage by John Wycliffe in 1384  Middle English texts: the types of letter g: G-GH- and from Old English the letter “ yogh” correspond to modern “ Y” eg: years but in “ nigth” corresponds to “ gh”. The passage uses the letter “ i” and “ j” is decoratevely. However the word order is very close to that of the present day.

The same passage of the famous King James Bible of the year 1611:  We have the personal pronoum thou : you and its plural : ye, and the accusative thee.  Thine: yours  Word order : “ neither transgressed I….. Thy commandement…..” ( verb. Subject- Object )