![]() ![]() In morphology, we consider the processes by which new morphological elements are created from earlier independent words (morphologisation), and other processes of morphological development (analogy, exaptation, suppletion). Other approaches are specific to particular levels of linguistics. ![]() Still others look at the role of language use, emphasising, for instance, that inferences and metaphors become entrenched in a language over time, leading to change. symmetrical vowel systems or consistent word-order types) are favoured historically over others. Others have placed the emphasis on the structure of linguistic systems, arguing that certain types of system (e.g. Many linguists attribute language change to child language acquisition, the process by which each generation has to work out the grammar of its language anew. Possible explanations recur in the work of different linguists working in different areas. The focus of the course is on trying to explain why change arises, at whatever level we are considering. We consider both why a new linguistic form should appear in the speech of one individual in the first place, and why that innovation should spread to different linguistic contexts (words, constructions) and to different speakers. ![]() The attempts of various schools of linguists to describe, classify and explain these changes are surveyed, and the implications of change for linguistic theory in general are examined. The lectures illustrate the effects of change on all areas of language, illustrated using data from a wide range of languages. Although linguistics has since the early 20th century been a predominantly synchronic discipline, studying the structure of a language or languages at a specific point in time, this course reflects the view that linguistic systems cannot be completely understood from a purely synchronic perspective: instead, we should also concern ourselves with the ways in which such systems have arisen. One of the few things we can predict with confidence in the field of linguistics is that languages change, although not necessarily how or why such change occurs. This paper is available as Linguistics Tripos Part II: Paper 11, MML Tripos Part II: Paper Li.11, ASNC Tripos Part II: Paper 15 or English Tripos Part II: Paper 29. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |