Publisher's Synopsis
Historical Linguistics will provide a readable and not too technical introduction to historical linguistics with an emphasis on problem-solving. In particular, there will be a focus throughout on how to "do" historical linguistics. It is designed primarily for use in introductory classes and should be especially useful for instructors who themselves are not trained historical linguists or who do not have a ready stash of exercises on hand. Very little if any knowledge of linguistics on the part of the reader is assumed, and what knowledge is needed will be provided. Each chapter will begin with explanatory prose about the phenomenon in question, introduce the essential technical terminology, and then continue with numerous graded examples of problems and how to go about solving them, how to choose among competing solutions, etc. The book will contain ample exercises so students can put into practice the techniques they learn.
Chapter One: Methodological Preliminaries
Popular vs. linguists conceptions of "language" and "change" and the need to define the object of study. Notion of "grammar" and the task facing a child during language acquisition. The non-continuous transmission of grammars and reanalysis during child language acquisition as source of language change. Discussion and rejection of other approaches (laziness of speakers, etc.).
Chapter Two: Sound Change
The articulatory and acoustic basis of sound change. Other approaches to sound change: laziness, frequency, etc., and why they don't work. The traditional types of sound change and how they focus on the results of reanalysis rather than reanalysis itself. Conditioned and unconditioned sound change and the Neo-Grammarian hypothesis. Sound change and morphological structure. Ordering of sound changes. Sample problems. Exercises.
Chapter Three: Morphological and Lexical Change
Morphemes and morphological processes: derivation, inflection, etc. The lexicon. "Real" morphological change vs. "fake" morphological change and how the latter is just lexical change. Traditional types of morphological change and how most of them are lexical change. Redefining analogy in terms of productive and default morphology. Kurylowicz's "laws of analogy."A problem in historical morphology: Comparative Proto-Polynesian. Exercises.
Chapter Four: Semantic Change
Semantic change as one of the prime examples of discontinuity of grammar transmission. Evidence that meanings do not "change" but simply get replaced. Traditional types of semantic change. Grammaticalization. Exercises. [Note: Grammaticalization may be turned into a separate chapter.]
Chapter Five: Syntactic Change
Defining syntactic change and differentiating it from lexical and morphological change. Syntactic change and reanalysis. Discussion of various case studies, including the rise of ergativity and change in basic word orders. Exercises.
Chapter Six: Internal Reconstruction
Reconstruction. Internal Reconstruction. Various case studies. Internal reconstruction and the recovery of serial changes. Orthographic evidence of earlier linguistic stages [may go into the philology chapter]. Exercises.
Chapter Seven: Comparative Reconstruction
The comparative method and the establishment of language relationships. Comparative reconstruction. The validity of the method outside of Indo-European. Long-range comparison. Examples of reconstruction. Exercises.
Chapter Eight: Indo-European
Basic introduction to Indo-European; famous sound changes; a bit on history of English; the Indo-European laryngeals as a case study in the power of the comparative method. Exercises.
Chapter Nine: Philology
Definition and importance of philology. Dealing with manuscripts, inscriptions, and other primary sources. Textual transmission and establishment of manuscript stemmata. The lectio difficilior and other philological principles. Examples of good philology and the results we can get from it. Exercises.
Chapter Ten: Language Contact
Borrowing and the myth that core words, productive morphology, and syntax are almost never borrowed. Linguistic areas and areal features. Pidgins and Creoles. Exercises.
Chapter Eleven: Dialectology and Sociolinguistics
Nature, aims, and findings of 19th-century dialectology. Dialect atlases and dialect maps. William Labov and sociolinguistics. Language variation and challenges to the Neogrammarian hypothesis. Exercises.
