The Big Bang

The Tower of BabelProf. Julia NeeBased on Ch. 8 of The Language Instinct by Steven PinkerAre languages more similar or more different?Martin Joos: languages could differ from each other without limit and in unpredictable waysNoam Chomsky: a Martian scientist would conclude that earthlings, aside from their mutually unintelligible vocabularies, speak the same languageThoughts?2Are these similarities or differences?Isolating languages vs. Agglutinating languagesIsolating: Use fixed words to mark the players in a sentence.The dog bit the man.The man bit the dog.Agglutinating: Add affixes to mark the players in a sentence.Person.marker+base+aspect-mood.marker (Mixe)Fixed word order vs. flexible word order

Word OrderWhat are the possible orders for Subject Object Verb?SVO and SOV account for the majority of languagesA few are VSOLess than 1% OVSOSV?The fact that there are six possibilities, but only two are common and one may not even exist is there some underlying mental grammar?4Theories explaining language universalsThere is a language gene (the capacity to learn language is a part of our brain)Language originated only onceLanguage developed out of a general learning strategy in our brain

Are we genetically wired for language learning?What if language originated only once?All existing languages come from the original sourceSimilarities come from that original languageCounter-arguments:CreolizationNew signed languages

Creolization: two languages come into contact speakers develop a pidgin, then a creole (2 generations); follows language universals, even if those universals are not present in either of the original languages6CreolizationWhen speakers of different languages are forced to communicate, they develop pidginsPidgin: strings of words borrowed from the component languages; variable in word order; little or no standard grammarHawaiian sugar plantations called for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Philippinos, and Puerto Rican workersTHERE ARE NO NATIVE SPEAKERS OF A PIDGIN7CreolizationEx:Me cap buy, me check make.He bought my coffee; he made me out a check.I bought coffee; I made out a checkWhen the second generation of speakers is exposed to the pidgin, they regularize it into a language, with a standard grammarEx:Da firs japani came ran away from japan come.The first Japanese who arrived ran away from Japan to here.Complete grammar; use English verbs as auxiliaries, prepositions, case markers etc.

FLESH THIS OUT8Signed LanguagesNaturally occurring languages that are found wherever there is a community of deaf peopleSigned Languages are not necessarily related to one anotherNicaraguan Sign Language1979: Establishment of the first school for the deaf in NicaraguaBrought together deaf students from around the country never before exposed to sign languageDue to the Sandinista governmentTrained children in lip reading and speechVideo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjtioIFuNf8 (7mins)9Signed LanguagesFirst students brought their own systems of gesture or homesignCombined to form a pidgin Lenguaje de Signos NicaragenseYounger deaf students were exposed to the pidginCreated a creole Idioma de Signos Nicaragensehttp://www.columbia.edu/~as1038/pdf/Senghas1995a.pdf

Full study10Signed LanguagesISN was more complex and had fixed grammatical structuresGreater number of verbs with a greater number of argumentsGreater number of inflections per verbGreater agreement on each verbNew students learn the more complex systemAre we genetically wired for language learning?What if language originated only once?CreolizationNew signed languagesWhat if language universals reflect universals of problem solving and thought?Why would it be easier to conceptualize things one way or another?Rules are arbitrary in an information sense, but not in a grammatical sense

START HERE ON TUESDAYMice-eater vs. *rats-eater

12Language AcquisitionHypothesis that there is a critical period in language acquisition (before age 7)Our general problem solving skills increase with age, but our language learning skills decrease with ageChildren are excellent at figuring out language rules subconsciously; adults are terrible at figuring them out consciouslyCritical Period in Language AcquisitionNeed to be exposed to language input during the critical period before about 7 years old in order to develop languageEvidence for a critical period:ImmigrantsChildren in captivityDeaf children of hearing parentsImmigrants:Living in the US at least 10 yearsShown sentences with grammatical errors: The farmer bought two pig. The little boy is speak to a policeman.Immigrants arriving between 3-7 = American-born individuals8-15 = worse17-39 = worst of allDeaf children of hearing parentsNever as good at signed languages as those exposed in early childhoodChildren in captivityGenie: discovered at age 13 (1970) in an LA suburb; kept without interaction with other humans no language input; could only say Mike paint. Applesauce buy store. I like elephant eat peanut.Isabelle: discovered at age 6.5 from her grandfathers house where she lived with her mute mother learned to speak normally Why does the paste come out if one upsets the jar? Do you go to Miss Masons school at the university?

IF WERE SWIMMING IN TIME AFTER DAY 1, GET THESE STUDIES FOR THE STUDENTS TO PRESENT THEMSELVES!14ImmigrantsStudied immigrants living in the US at least 10 yearsShown sentences:The farmer bought two pig.The little boy is speak to a policeman.Immigrants arriving between 3-7 performed the same as US-born individuals8-15 performed worse17-39 performed worstWild ChildrenGenieMike paint.Applesauce buy store.I like elephant eat peanut.IsabelleWhy does the paste come out if one upsets the jar?Do you go to Miss Masons school at the university?Genie: discovered at age 13 (1970) in an LA suburb; kept without interaction with other humans no language input; could only say Mike paint. Applesauce buy store. I like elephant eat peanut.Isabelle: discovered at age 6.5 from her grandfathers house where she lived with her mute mother learned to speak normally Why does the paste come out if one upsets the jar? Do you go to Miss Masons school at the university?

16Deaf Children of Hearing ParentsDeprived of language input if they are not exposed to a signed languageDevelop gesture or homesignWhen exposed to signed languages, they can learn, but if they are too old when theyre first exposed, they never gain fluencySpecific Language ImpairmentInability to inflect (plural, tense)The boy eat three cookie.Yesterday the girl pet a dog.Could not pass the wug testSass sasssWug wugnessZat zackleGiven intensive speech and language therapy, but it didnt solve the problemSpecific Language Impairment

Classic example of dominant gene: Those who have the disease have a 50% chance of passing it onIf youre not impaired, your children are not impairedCould the children have learned it? Not likely same environment (even the third generation twins)19AphasiaDamage to Brocas area Brocas aphasiaUnderstand what is said but have difficulties speaking (slow, ungrammatical)Mebuild-ingchairs, no, no, cab-in-nets. One sawthen, cutting woodworkingDamage to Wernickes area Wernickes aphasiaFluent speech, but doesnt make sense[What kind of work have you done?] We, the kids, all of us, and I, we were working for a long time in theyou knowits the kind of space< I mean place rear to the spedwanMebuild-ingchairs, no, no, cab-in-nets. One sawthen, cutting woodworking20Aphasia and ASLSpeakers of ASL are affected the same way by aphasia!Can use their hands for purposes other than signingCan pantomime

Shows that ASL actions are organized differently in the brain than other actions21Teaching Language to ApesAllen and Beatrice Gardner taught a chimp named Washoe a version of sign languageFrancine Patter raised gorillas Koko and Michael with signsHerbert Terrance worked with the chimp Nim ChimpskyEquivalent of 3 year old EnglishHumans usually improve on this; even in cases where theyre exposed to incomplete language (pidgin) they add complexity22What discovery marked the beginning of comparative linguistics? / Cul descubrimiento inici el campo de lingstica comparada?What is the strongest factor used in defining a language as a language or as a dialect? / Cul es la consideracin ms decisiva en etiquetar un habla como lengua o dialecto?Why is African American Vernacular English considered only a dialect of English? / Por qu se considera que el ingls vernculo de los africanos-americanos es nada ms que un dialecto de ingls?Identify the following rules as prescriptive or descriptive:Double negation is used in African American Vernacular English.You shouldnt use double negation in English.The second person singular past tense inflection in Spanish is aste or iste; these are the only acceptable forms.In Mexican dialects of Spanish, -astes, -aste, -istes, and istes are all used as second person singular past tense inflections.Identifiquen las siguientes reglas como prescriptivas o descriptivas:Se usa negacin doble en ingls vernculo de los africanos-americanos.No se debe usar negacin doble en ingls. La inflexin para la segunda persona singular, tiempo pasado, en espaol es aste o iste; no se aceptan otras formas.En dialectos mexicanos del espaol, -astes, -aste, -iste, y istes son aceptadas como inflexiones para la segunda persona singular, tiempo pasado.Describe the process of creolization. / Describan el proceso de criollizacin.Is it possible that language originated only once? Consider creolization and the presence of new signed languages in your response. / Es posible que el lenguaje se originara una sola vez? Consideren criollizacin y las nuevas lenguas de signos en su respuesta.

Teaching Language to ApesBasic signed communicationTaught explicitlyApply signs to larger categoriesProduce new strings of signs

Equivalent of 3 year old EnglishHumans usually improve on this; even in cases where theyre exposed to incomplete language (pidgin) they add complexityOne learned the word for drinking straw and applied it to all tubesWater bird = swan; cookie rock = stale roll

24Teaching Language to ApesApes use of signs suggests:They have concepts that are structured similarly to oursThey can attach concepts to external symbols (signs)Do they have a mental grammar?Have basic word order (Roger tickle Lucy vs. Lucy tickle Roger)Very redundant (give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you)As the utterances get longer, they dont get more complex (unlike child speech development): play me, me Nim, tickly me, eat Nim play me Nim, eat me Nim, eat Nim eat, tickly me Nim eat drink eat drink, eat Nim eat Nim25Teaching Language to ApesDont acquire vocabulary the same way as human childrenApe language learning more similar to learning a written language system like ChineseAcquisition of signs may be the result of general learning strategies; language learning is different

Human children learn about 10 words a day to get up to 10,000 words by age 5

26Teaching Language to ApesCan apes communicate?Can they acquire grammar?Is their communication like the human use of language?Why is this significant for comparative linguistics?Look for similarities and differences that are significantSome linguistic traits are common, so they may have arisen by chanceTraits that are more unique are more reliable for comparing related languagesIf we are genetically wired for language, all languages are likely to have SOMETHING in commonEnd here Tuesday???28Why do languages change?Freeman Dyson: it is natures way to make it possible for us to evolve rapidly by creating isolated ethnic groups in which undiluted biological and cultural evolution can proceed swiftlyBut linguistic evolution does not have foresight

Why do languages change?The formation of different languages and of distinct species, and the proofs that both have been developed through a gradual process, are curiously parallelwe find in distinct languages striking homologies due to community of descent, and analogies due to a similar process of formationLanguages, like organic beings, can be classed in groups under groups; and they can be classed either naturally, according to descent, or artificially by other characters. Dominant languages and dialects spread widely, and lead to the gradual extinction of other tongues. A language, like a species, when extinct, neverreappears. -DarwinFactors in Language ChangeRelated languages are the result of evolution from a common language or proto-languageLanguages change through:Variation: linguistic innovationHeredity: ability to learnIsolation: migration or social barriersLearning in Language EvolutionWhy do we need to learn languages? Why isnt the language innate?Communicative we need to share our code with our communicative partnersGeneration to generation, there are changes learning language rather than having fully innate language allows us to adaptTakes a lot of hard wiring to have a genetic component for EVERY linguistic elementVariation in Language EvolutionBorrowingCoining new wordsReanalysis: listener interprets language differently from the speakernaranja norange a norange an orange those orangeshammer-did hammeredSyntactic Changes: optional things become obligatoryGive him a book and give a book himReanalysis we are constantly looking for rules, so sometimes we find rules where there are none!33SeparationThe majority of the language is preserved each generationColin Renfrew: Indo-European spread as farmers began cultivating more and more territory

Separation

FLESH OUT THE SPREAD OF INDO-EUROPEAN35Separation

HittiteWas spoken in present-day TurkeyDate back to 16th or 17th century BC!

Written syllabically with logograms for borrowed wordsDifficult to know the exact sounds (esp. vowels) b/c its extinct and it was a syllabic writing system37TocharianDiscovered in 1900 in ChinaTwo distinct dialectsTexts that were found are incomplete

Along the silk roadTexts are mostly translation of Buddhist writings good because easy to translate; bad because didnt tell much about culture of tocharians38Indo-IranianIndicIranianIndicOldest is Sanskrit, specifically the Vedic language of the VedasPanini wrote grammar in 4th century BCSanskrit used (like Latin) long after it was no longer spokenDeveloped into languages of modern India (Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarathi, Sinahlese, Romani)Originated in Punjab, then spread to the southVeda = knowledge; oldest hindu religious textsDravidian languages (UNRELATED) are the farthest south40Hindi-Urdu

One/Two/ThreeDevanagari script vs. variation on Arabic script41IranianAvestan language used in the Bible of teachings of ZarathustraOld Persian language of King Darius of the Persian empire

Balto-SlavicSlavicOld Church Slavonic oldest from c. 865 ADFirst use of Cyrillic alphabetEast Slavic Russian, UkrainianSouth Slavic Bulgarian, Macedonian, BCSWest Slavic Polish, Czech, Slovakian, SorbianBalticLithuanian and LatvianOld Prussian (now extinct)Latvian and Russian/Polish44Balto-Slavic NumbersNumberRussianPolishLatvian1 [ah-DEEN]jedenViens/viena2 [dvah]dwaDivi/divas3 [tree]trzyTris/tris4 [che-TYH-ree]czteryetri/etras5 [pyat']piPiece/piecas6 [shehst']szeSei/seas7 [syehm]siedemSeptini/septinas8 [VOH-seem]osiemAstoni/astonas

9 [DYEH-vit']dziewiDevini/devinas10 [DYEH-sit']dziesiDesmitCelticOriginally from Central EuropeBecame extinct on the continentOnly Insular Celtic survivedCelticWelshCornishBretonIrish46ItalicLatinItalianSpanishCatalanPortugueseFrenchRomanianOccitanExtinct languages of the Italian Peninsula (Umbrian, Oscan, Faliscan, South Picene)Video of Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian47GermanicSouth of Norway and Sweden, Denmark and GermanyEast Germanic (Gothic) extinctNorth Germanic (Scandinavian languages)West Germanic (English, Frisian, Dutch, German)Angles and Saxons went to England, where they spoke Old EnglishFrisian is the closest relative of English because Angles, Saxons, and Frisians were a community in NW Germany before the migration to EnglandClips from Germanic languages vid48ConclusionsLanguages of the world have profound similarities despite surface differences.This leads us to believe that we have an underlying language instinct that is hard-wired into our brains.Language evolves in a way that is similar to species evolution: innovation, heredity, and isolation contribute to new language traits.1. Critical periodA. Because people speak different languages, we need this ability in order to communicate.1. Periodo crticoA causa de que la gente habla lenguas distintas, se necesita esta habilidad para comunicarse.2. Specific language impairmentB. Exercise where people are asked to form the plural of words.2. Trastorno especfico del lenguajeB. Ejercicio en el cual se pregunta anotar el forma plural de palabras.3. Brocas aphasiaC. The first part of our lives when we are able to successfully acquire language.3. Afasia de BrocaC. La primera parte de la vida en la cual se puede aprender idiomas exitosamente.4. Wernickes aphasiaD. Borrowing and reanalysis are examples of this.4. Afasia de WernickeD. Prstamo y reanalysis son ejemplos de ello.5. Wug testE. A disorder that causes people to speak fluently, but the speech doesnt make sense.5. Examen WugE. Un trastorno que causa un habla normal, pero que no tiene sentido.6. LearningF. Because people do not live in united geographical areas their languages develop differently.6. AprendizajeF. Porque la gente no vive en reas unidas por geografa sus lenguas desarrollan de maneras distintas.7. SeparationG. A genetic disorder that results in the inability to fully learn language.7. SeparacinG. Un trastorno gentico que resulta en la incapacidad de aprender el lenguaje.8. VariationH. A disorder that causes people to understand what is said but have difficulties speaking.8. Variacin H. Un trastorno que resulta en una persona quien puede entender lenguaje, pero quien tiene dificultades en hablarlo. 50Separation

Extra Credit: Name any three languages that are in the same language family listed here!

Credito Extra: Nobra tres lenguas de la misma familia de uno de las familias nombradas aqui!9101112131415161718