Историческое развитие языка с позиции разных уровней языка

Linguistic changes are usually slow & gradual unlike human society language undergoes no revolutions or sudden brakes. The slow raid of linguistic change is seen in the gradual spread of new features in language space. It’s important to note that different parts of the language develop at different parts of language develop at different rate. It is open said that a vocabulary of a language can change very rapidly. This is true only if we compare lexical changes with other linguistic levels. Lexical changes are quite conspicuous & easy to observe. The system of phoneme can be suggested to sudden or rapid changes since it must preserve the oppositions between the phonemes required for the distinctions of morphemes. Sometimes phonetic changes effect a whole set of sounds(group of vowels or consonants) the grammatical system is very slow to change. Being the most abstract of linguistic levels it must provide stable formal devises for arranging words into classes & for сonnecting them into phrases & sentences.

From comparing the state of linguistic units before or after a change one can determine the nature of a change, defined its type & direction. The forms can be similar in meaning but slightly different in form. In the same way new meaning may arise in the existing words or form in addition to their main meaning. Synchronic variation is to be found in every language, at every stage of its history. It is caused by 2 main factors: 1) functional differentiation of language; 2) tendencies of historical development. Language is heterogeneous system. It’s system of imegerable complicity. The rage of synchronic variation largely depends on the distinction of the main functional varieties & also on variable use of the language in different conditions of communications of varial social groups & in individual forms of speech.

At every period of history language offers a wide choice of expressive means to the speaker. From this stock consciously or unconsciously the speaker select forms of expression suitable in the given situation. In making this choice he observes the speech habits of his social group or employees forms of expression current in other varieties of the language, sometimes he creates new expressive means(phrases, words etc.) in accordance with productive historical tendenses.

Causes of Language Revolution.

The causes or moving factories of language history have always attracted the attention of linguists & have given rise to various explanations & theories. In the earlier 19th century philologists of the romantic trend Herder & Grimm interpreted the history of Indo-European & especially the Germanic languages as decline & degradations. Most of this languages have been loosing their richness of grammatical form.

Like any movement in nature & society the evolution of language is caused by the stage of opposites.

2 main forces: 1) growing & changing needs of men in the speed community

2) the resistance force that curbs the changes & preserves the language in a state, fit for communication

the most widely excepted classification of factors relevant to language history divide them into external or extra linguistic & internal also intro linguistic or systemic. External factors increase variety of conditions сonnected with different aspects of human life.(physiological aspects) also political or economic unity, geographical area, literature, etc. Internal factors of language evolution arise from the language system:1) general factors(in all languages) 2)specific factors(operating in 1 language or in a group of related languages).

Изменение гласных в M. E.

Quantitative vowel changes in E.M.E.

At the end of O.E. and in the immediately succeeding centuries accented vowels underwent a number of qualitative changes, which effected the employment & the phonological staters of short & long vowels in the language. In later O.E. and in E.M.E., vowels length began to depend on phonetic conditions, the earliest of position quantitative changes was the readjust consonant clusters.

1. short vowels were lengthened before 2 home-organic consonants, a sonorant and plosive, consequently renamed or became long.

O.E. wild[i]-M.E.wild[i:]

2. all the groups of 2 or more consonants produced a reverse effect. They made the proceeding long vowel short. All vowels in this position become short

O.E.cepte-M.E. kepte

3. this alternation in the treatment of vowel quantity took place sometime later in 12 or13c. Short vowels became long in open syllables. This lengthening mainly affected the more open of that short vowels [e, a, o] But sometimes it is also found in the close vowels [I,υ(кувшинчик)] In the process of lengthening close vowels acquired more open quality

O.E. wike - M.E. weke -N.E.week

O.E. nama – M.E. name

Qualitative vowel changes in E.M.E.

Development of monophthongs.

As compared with quantitative changes, qualitative vowel changes in E.M.E. were less important. They affected several monophthongs and displayed considerable dialectal diversity. On the whole they were independent of phonetic environment. In some averse the vowel [y] [y:] developed into [e] and [e:], in others they changed into [I] and [i:]. In S-W and W-Midland the 2 vowels were sometimes preserved as [y] and [y:]. But later were moved back word and merged with [υ(кувшин)] and [u:].

In E.M.E> the long O.E. [ə:] was narrowed to [o:]. This was the early instance of the growing tendency of all long monophthongs to become closer. The tendency was intensified in late M.E. When all long vowels changed in that direction. a: become c: (c в другую сторону) in all dialects except the Northern group.

O.E. stan M.E.(northern dialect) stane N.E. stone

The short O.E.[ǽ] was replaced in M.E. by the back vowel [a] accept the naralized [ᾶ] which became [o]

O.E.pǽt-M.E. & N.E. that

O.E. earm-M.E. & N.E. arm

Development of diphthongs.

One of the most important sound changes of the E.M.E. period was the loss of O.E. diphthongs & the growth of new diphthongs with new qualitative & quantitative distinctions. Its the result of this changes, the vowel system2 set of diphthongs: long & short.

System of vowel in L.M.E.

To sum up the results of Early M.E. vowel changes it is necessary to observe the system of vowels. In L.M.E. the system of vowels was no longer symmetrical. The O.E. balance of long & short vowels had been disrupted and was never restored again.

Correlation through quantity can no more be regarded as the basis of phoneme’s oppositions in the vowels system.

Monophtongs Short: i e a o u Long: i: e: a: o: u: ə: З:

Diphthongs

short: ei əi oi au

long: au: ou:

Билет №5