Why Do Languages Change?

Why Do Languages Change? PDF Author: Robert Lawrence Trask
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521838029
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
Packed with fascinating examples, this entertaining book explores changes in the English language over time.

Why Do Languages Change?

Why Do Languages Change? PDF Author: Robert Lawrence Trask
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521838029
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
Packed with fascinating examples, this entertaining book explores changes in the English language over time.

Why Do Languages Change?

Why Do Languages Change? PDF Author: Larry Trask
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139485180
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
The first recorded English name for the make-up we now call blusher was paint, in 1660. In the 1700s a new word, rouge, displaced paint, and remained in standard usage for around two centuries. Then, in 1965, an advertisement coined a new word for the product: blusher. Each generation speaks a little differently, and every language is constantly changing. It is not only words that change, every aspect of a language changes over time - pronunciation, word-meanings and grammar. Packed with fascinating examples of changes in the English language over time, this entertaining book explores the origin of words and place names, the differences between British and American English, and the apparent eccentricities of the English spelling system. Amusingly written yet deeply instructive, it will be enjoyed by anyone involved in studying the English language and its history, as well as anyone interested in how and why languages change.

Exploring Language Change

Exploring Language Change PDF Author: Mari Jones
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136522409
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
In this student-friendly text, Jones and Singh explore the phenomenon of language change, with a particular focus on the social contexts of its occurrence and possible motivations, including speakers’ intentions and attitudes. Presenting new or little-known data, the authors draw a distinction between "unconscious" and "deliberate" change. The discussion on "unconscious" change considers phenomena such as the emergence and obsolescence of individual languages, whilst the sections on "deliberate" change focus on issues of language planning, including the strategies of language revival and revitalization movements. There is also a detailed exploration of what is arguably the most extreme instance of "deliberate" change; language invention for real-world use. Examining an extensive range of language situations, Exploring Language Change makes a clear, but often ignored distinction between concepts such as language policy and planning, and language revival and revitalization. Also featured are a number of case studies which demonstrate that real-life language use is often much more complex than theoretical abstractions might suggest. This is a key text for students on a variety of courses, including sociolinguistics, historical linguistics and language policy and planning.

Language Change

Language Change PDF Author: Leiv Egil Breivik
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 9783110119954
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks, as well as studies that provide new insights by approaching language from an interdisciplinary perspective. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing. To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Birgit Sievert.

Language Change

Language Change PDF Author: R. L. Trask
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 0415085632
Category : Linguistic change
Languages : en
Pages : 74

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Book Description
First Published in 1994. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Research Guide on Language Change

Research Guide on Language Change PDF Author: Edgar C. Polomé
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN:
Category : Linguistic change
Languages : en
Pages : 586

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Book Description


Language Change

Language Change PDF Author: Jean Aitchison
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107023629
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
How and why do languages change? Where does the evidence of language change come from? How do languages begin and end? This introduction to language change explores these and other questions, considering changes through time. The central theme of this book is whether language change is a symptom of progress or decay. This book will show you why it is neither, and that understanding the factors surrounding how language change occurs is essential to understanding why it happens. This updated edition remains non-technical and accessible to readers with no previous knowledge of linguistics.

Language Change

Language Change PDF Author: Joan Bybee
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107020166
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
This new introduction explores all aspects of language change, with an emphasis on the role of cognition and language use.

Language History, Language Change, and Language Relationship

Language History, Language Change, and Language Relationship PDF Author: Hans Henrich Hock
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 628

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Book Description
TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks as well as studies that provide new insights by building bridges to neighbouring fields such as neuroscience and cognitive science. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing.

Language Evolution

Language Evolution PDF Author: Morten H. Christiansen
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191581666
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
What is it that makes us human? This is one of the most challenging and important questions we face. Our species' defining characteristic is language - we appear to be unique in the natural world in having such an incredibly open-ended system for putting thoughts into words. If we are to truly understand ourselves as a species we must understand the origins of this strange and unique ability. To do so, we need to answer some of the most intriguing questions in contemporary scientific research: Where did language come from? How did it evolve? Why are we unique in possessing it? This book, for the first time, brings together the leading thinkers who are trying to unlock the puzzle of language evolution. Here we see the latest ideas and theories from fields as diverse as anthropology, archaeology, artificial life, biology, cognitive science, linguistics, neuroscience, and psychology. In a series of seventeen well-written and accessible chapters we get an unrivalled view of the state of the art in this exciting area. Current controversies are revealed and new perspectives uncovered, in a clear and readable guide to the latest theories. This collection marks a major step forward in our quest to understand the origins and evolution of human language. In doing so it sheds new light on the process of evolution, the workings of the brain, the structure of language, and - most importantly - what it means to be human. Language Evolution is essential reading for researchers and students working in the areas covered, and has been used as a textbook for courses in the field. It will also attract the general reader who wants to know more about this fascinating subject.