3.The Evolution of the language.

The evolution or historical development of language is made up of diverse facts & processes. The description of linguistic history is usually presented in accordance with the division of language into linguistic levels( morphological, syntactic, lexical, phonetic). The evolution of language includes also many facts which pertain to the functioning of the language in the speech community. These functional aspects constitute what is known as external history of the language & imprase a large number of diverse methods. The spread of the language in geographical & social space. The differentiation of the language into functional variations.

One can distinguish 3 main types od differece in language:-geographical,-socail,-temporal.

Linguistic changes imply temporal differences which become apparent if the same elements of parts of the language are compared at historical stages.They are transformation of the same units in time which can be registered as distinct steps in their revolution.

Example: O.E. fundon

12th/13th founden

M.E. to find-found

The concept of linguistic changes is not limited to internal structural changes. It also include temporal differences in the position of the given unit in language space, that is extent of its spread in the functional varieties of the language. A new feature(a word, a sound) can be recognized as a linguistic change only after it has been excepted for general used in most prestige variety(Literary standart of language). For instance, in 10th & 11th c. many Scandinavian words penetrated into the northern dialect of the English language(sky, cold, day)

Most linguistic changes involve some kind of substitution & can be called replacemets. Replacemetns are subdivided in 2 different parts:

1)one-to-one replacement

It occurs when a new unit mainly takes the place of the old one but {u}->but{^}

To go->goed

->went(now)

2)merging or merger(объединение или поглощение)

(later known as splitting or split)

Occurs when 2 distant units take place of one.

The modern common case of nouns is the result of the mergen of 3 O.E. cases Nom.,Gen.,Akk.

Some changes are pure in novations, which do not replace anything or pure losses. Thus we should regard as innovations numerous new words which were borrowed or coined to denote entirely new objects or ideas such as hijacking, babysitter & so on. On the other hand many words have been lost together with the objects or ideas which have become obslid.

In books on language history one may often come across one more division on linguistics changes into historical & analogical. This distinction was introduced by the young Grammarian school in the late 19th century. A change is defined as historical only if it can be shown as a phonetic modification of an earlier form.(the modern pl. ending –es has descended directly from its prototype O.E.-as due to the phonetic reduction & loss the vowel in the unstressed ending.

Stan-as->W.E

Ston-es

An analogical form does not develop directly from its prototype. It appears only analogy of other forms similar in meaning or shape.

Example. Pl. Ending –es began to be added to nouns which had never taken –as but had used other endings –u, -an, -a..etc. it was a change by analogy.