These are summaries of the Linguistics course: Language variation and change. These summaries are both based on the book of Aitchinson, as the main information of the lessons.
Aitchison, J. (2013). Language Change: Progress or Decay? 4th ed. - Summary Chapters 7,8,9
Aitchison, J. (2013). Language Change: Progress or Decay? 4th ed. - Summary Chapter 10
Aitchison, J. (2013). Language Change: Progress or Decay? 4th ed. - Summary Chapters 4,5,6
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Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA)
Engelse Taal en Cultuur, English Language and Culture
Linguistics - Language variation and change
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Chapter 12: Repairing the patterns
Therapeutic changes
Language has an inbuilt self-regulating capacity which restores and maintains a patterned
equilibrium.
Human memory isn’t finite, it’s infinite as long as it the information is well organized. Also, every
language contains a finite number of patterns, these patterns enable humans to remember any
language effortlessly.
Language contains an inbuilt self-regulating device which restores broken patterns and prevents
disintegration1. It is, however, the speakers of a language who perform these adjustments in
response to some innate need to structure the information they have to remember. There are 3
possible theories for how speakers of a language make adjustments:
1. Strong version: they practise prophylaxis (action to prevent something before it even
happens) — is dismissed: language does not show any tendency to avoid potential problems.
In fact, quite the opposite happens.
2. Medium version: the problems are tackled before they get out of hand
3. Weak version: language is in danger of becoming chaos and only then changes are made
These three versions are all categories of therapeutic change.
Each language picks a different set of sounds from the sum total which it is possible to produce with
the human vocal organs. However, the sounds picked will not be a random selection. There is
always a strong tendency for symmetry. For instance, voiced + voiceless sounds.
Fricative: consonants in which the air flowing from the lungs is partially impeded 2 at some point,
resulting in audible friction.
The fricative [ʃ] had no partner, but is now paired with [ʒ]. And [h] also had no partner, and is now
disappearing from English.
Vowels are formed by moving the tongue around the mouth in such a way as never quite to touch
anything else (e.g. roof of the mouth or teeth) so that the air flowing from the lungs is relatively
unimpeded.
Vowel pairs
i/y u If one of a pair moves, the other is likely to follow a few years or decades later.
e o For instance, if [e] moves closer to [i], [o] will follow suit by moving closer to
æ a [u]. An example of this is seen in Martha’s Vineyard: [ai] and [au] moving
…………………...around together.
1 The process of coming to pieces
2 Delay/prevent
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