Abstract
‘I want a clean cup,’ interrupted the Hatter: ‘Let's all move one place on.’ He moved on as he spoke, and the Dormouse followed him; the March Hare moved into the Dormouse's place, and Alice rather unwillingly took the place of the March Hare. The Hatter was the only one who got any advantage from the change: and Alice was a good deal worse off, as the March Hare had just upset the milk-jug into his plate. Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland (1865) Introduction Language changes rarely happen in isolation, and sometimes sequences of linked changes occur in a kind of chain, especially sound changes. But the relationship between the changes is often disputed. Are the sounds pushing or pulling one another? This chapter discusses the controversy. It also briefly mentions the unsolved question of whether such changes affect the syntax also. Sometimes changes affect languages in a relatively minor way. Natural tendencies, exaggerated by social factors, cause disruptions, then the language restores the equilibrium again. The situation is reminiscent of day-to-day house cleaning or simple weeding in a garden, when minor problems are quickly eradicated.
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