English language: World Englishes around the world, Lecture notes of English Language

Download English language: World Englishes around the world and more Lecture notes English Language in PDF only on Docsity! SECONDA PARTE CORSO, MODULO B. Language varieties: • Vernacular- it is informal. • Standard- variety that has undergone some linguistic processing, set of accepted rules and both official and everyday functions. There is the formal standard, used in formal situations. There is an informal standard, it is more informal but not as informal as the vernacular language. The informal standard: everyday language, multiple norms of acceptability, no socially stigmatized forms, speakers make judgements as to weather. Order vernacular, informal and formal. Linguistically standards are not better than vernaculars. Socially standards have more prestige. Standard positive impact? They enhance cross regional communication literacy. • LINGUA FRANCA. Form of the language that can be used from people that share different languages. • Bilingualism: individual bilingualism, societal bilingualism, stable bilingualism, language evolution. Individual= 2 native languages in the mind, fishman= psycholinguistic phenomenon. Societal= a society in which 2 languages are used but where relatively few individuals are bilingual. Stable= persistent bilingualism in a society over several generations. Evolution= language shift and diglossia. Diglossia= when languages coexist, one language used in a specific situation and another in other situations. BENEFITS OF BILINGUALISM • Linguistic competence in 2 languages • Job opportunities, lower high school dropout rates. DIGLOSSIA Definitions can be different. a situation where 2 varieties are used in specific situations. The 2 varieties have 2 different functions. For example: there is the classic Arabic, the various Arabic, regional Arabic, colloquial Arabic. Language choice • Code switching- changing from 1 language to another. • Code mixing-speaking in one language but using pieces from another. • Style shifting • Language borrowing SOCIOLINGUISTIC CLASSIFICATION 5 languages based on prestige and vitality. • Vernacular- unstandardized native language of speech community. • Standard- native language of speech community • Classical- language codified in dictionaries and grammars. • Pidgin-hybrid language with lexicon from one language and grammar from another language. • Creole- language acquired by children of speakers of pidgin, or subsequently by speaker of creole. Outcomes of language contact • Language death- no native speakers • Language shift- one language replaces another. • Pidgin-a rudimental system of communication • Creole- creation of a new language based on pidgins or languages in contact. • Lingua franca. PIDGINS AND CREOLE PIDGINS • Arises in a new contact situation involving more than 2 linguistic groups. • Groups need to communicate regularly. • Is nobody’s native language. • Typically, the vocabulary from one of the languages. • Grammar is a kind of cross language compromise with influence from universals of L2 learning. • No elaborate morphological structures. DEVELOPPEMENT • Prepidgin or jargon (less complex) • Stable pidgin • Expanded pidgin. (More complex). It is more developed and less messy. Jargon= contains great individual variation Stable= little bit more complex, more vocabulary, more grammar, contains simple and complex sentences. Expanded= complex grammar and has a developed word formation component. FEATURES of STABLE • Lack of surface grammatical complexity • Lack of morphological complexity • Semantic transparency • Vocabulary reduction EXPANDED PIDGINS • Have developed a more formal role, as regular auxiliary languages. May have official status as lingua franca. • Linguistically more complex to meet needs. • Used for more functions in more situations. • Now has 20.000 speakers. • 44% of the population. MISKITO COAST CREOLE ENGLISH+ HAWAIIAN PIDGIN ENGLISH Hawaiian pidgins were necessitated by the contact between American and Chinese. The Hawaiian natives and Chinese sailors could not understand each other. Motu based pidgin. When did they start invading Britain? 449 AD. This is the beginning of the OE period. Heptarchy Were the seven petty kingdoms that flourished from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 5th century until they were consolidated in the 8th century into the 4 kingdoms of Mercia, Wessex, Northumbria and East Anglia. Different dialects There are 4 dialects. • Northumbrian- northern England and southeaster Scotland • Mercian- central England • Kentish- southeaster • West Saxon- south and southwest England ALFABETH- fuborc. Historical notes • Christian missionaries begin to arrive in Britain in 597. Conversion of the Anglo Saxons • 7th century First Christian missionaries, linguistic consequences on OE Letters • The Wynn, transliterated as W. • The ash, transliterated as AE. • The thorn, transliterated as TH, θ . • The eth. CONSEQUENCES and linguistic consequences. • Latin became the language of an original literature culture in the monasteries. • Several borrowings from Latin and Greek. • Vocabulary referring to the matters of religion, education, and learning. Ex: maesse, altare and scol. • A few calques. Ex. Evangelian. VIKING RAIDS, INVASION AND SETTLEMENT • 9TH century. VIKING AGE CA 787-1042 At the turn of the 8th century people in present day Sweden, Norway and Denmark begin to leave their homes and travel. Viking invasion of Anglo Saxon England can be divided in 3 stages. • 1 stage= expeditions by small bands of Vikings warriors • 2 stage= after 850 attacks by larger and well organized Vikings forces • 3 stage= until 1042. Fresh large-scale attacks. OE LINGUISTIC FEATURES • PG ai> OE LONG A • Pg au> OE EA (e long). • Pg ue> OE EO AND EO (e long). • Pg iu> OE io. From Germanic to old English sound changes • FRONT MUTATION. It is a type of sound change in which a back vowel is fronted, or a front vowel is raised if the following syllable contains I, long I, or J. subsequently the I, long I and J disappeared or changed to E. • PG a> ags ae: • Pg a> ags e • Pg o> ags e: • Pg u> ags Y They account for the irregular plurals that we have today. Examples • Pg mus with long u/ musiz with long u > oe mus/mys with long u and long y. • Pg fullaz (adjective)/ fullijan > OE full/ fyllan • Pg tanb/ tanbiz > oe tob with long o/ teb with long e. • Pg mann/ manniz > OE mann/ men VOWEL BREAKING= the sound changes of a monophthong into a diphthong or triphthong. In old English breaking and retraction changed stressed short and long front vowels I, e, ae to short and long diphthongs. (servono esempi) PALATALISATION= changes the place of the articulations or manner of articulation of consonants. (servono esempi). Palatalisation of the velar consonants k and g, both its allophones. • Pg k became OE tʃ • Pg sk became OE tʃ • Pg g became OE cg and dg. Examples • Pg keusan> oe ceosan with long e • Pg skal > oe sceal • Pg laggjian > oe lecgan • Pg geban > oe giefan ABSORPTION OF NASALS BEFORE FRICATIVES • Proto Germanic nasals n and m are lost before any voiceless fricatives f, th, s, x. DEVELOPPEMENT OF VOICELESS FRICATIVES AND H LOSS • Between vowels and between a voiced consonant and a vowel. • Exemples: PWG broper > oe bropor with 1 o long. VOWELS, SPELLING AND PHONOLOGY Vedi la Tabella nelle slide. CONSONANTS • Oe had no symbol V. the grapheme f was used to represent both f and v. • In other words, f and v were allophones og the phoneme f. • When the f occurred within a word, before a voiced sound and was not doubled it was pronounced v. • In all positions it was pronounces f. • Oe had no symbol Z. the grapheme s was used to represent both s and z. • In other words, s and z were allophones of the phoneme s. • Oe had 2 symbols to represent b and th. Fh and th. These 2 symbols were used indiscriminately. • In early OE both K and tJ, were allophones of the same phoneme k. • In late OE k and tj became distinct phonemes. • Both sounds in both eras were graphically represented by the symbol c. • It is not always possible to know which pronunciation to use because the vowel following c may well have changed since times. • In most positions oe K became palatalized when it follows s. • G represented both j and g. • N represented the phoneme n, both its allophones n and ng, the last one when occurred before velar plosives. • H represented a more strongly articulated consonant than it does today, probably a x or c con cediglia except at the beginning of a syllable where it is still represented h. • R also represented a more powerfully articulated consonant that it does today. OE LINGUISTIC FEATURES Synthetic language. Synthetic relations are expressed with inflections. It is conveyed by inflectional endings. There are 5 cases. • Nominative • Accusative • Genitive • Dative (instrumental). 3 genders. • Masculine • Feminine • Neutral 2 numbers. • Singular • Plural (+ dual, only for pronouns).