Historical Linguistics Research Articles

Loanwords in Basic Vocabulary as an Indicator of Borrowing Profiles

Abstract Loanwords carry information on linguistic interactions, and can also reveal (pre-)historical population contacts. The contact history of a particular language family is an essential component of historical linguistics, but it is also illuminating for integrative studies of the human past. However, data availability and the time-consuming nature of etymology mean that comprehensive research on loanword layers exists for relatively few languages, forcing us to rely on limited material for others. This paper compares the loanword layers in the basic and total vocabulary of six well-studied Uralic languages, assessing how accurately the borrowing profile in basic vocabulary reflects the full profile of a language. We define “borrowing profile” as the known contact history of a language reflected by its loanword layers. We demonstrate that the loanword layers in basic vocabulary provide an adequate cross-section of the full borrowing profile, although basic vocabulary manifests prehistoric contacts more strongly than more recent contacts.

Cognitive mechanisms driving (contact-induced) language change: introduction to the special issue

Abstract This special issue focuses on the interaction of the disciplines of historical linguistics and psycholinguistics to obtain new insights into which cognitive factors are potentially relevant for language change. The contributions address questions related to the cognitive mechanisms at play, their evidence in historical data, who the agents of change may be, which experimental methods can be implemented to investigate language change, and how language change can be theoretically modeled in terms of cognitive mechanisms. In this introductory article, we first outline our aims by describing the call for papers and the workshop which laid the foundation for this special issue. We then provide a state of the art on the integration of research on cognitive mechanisms and language change before introducing the contributions and listing which of the central questions they address.

A Tapestry of Human-Induced and Climate-Driven Environmental Change in Western Uganda: The Ndali Crater Lakes Region

Abstract Recent archaeological and paleoenvironmental research in the Ndali Crater Lakes Region (NCLR) of western Uganda provide important new insights into anthropogenic impacts on moist forests to the East of the Rwenzori Mountains. This research significantly changes previous interpretations of paleoenvironmental records in western Uganda and helps to distinguish climate change from human impacts. By drawing on multiple sources such as historical linguistics, archaeological evidence, and environmental proxies for change, a new picture emerges for a region that was a cultural crossroads for early Bantu-speakers and Central Sudanic-speakers between 400 BCE and 1000 CE. Detailed archaeological data and well-dated sites provide fine-grained evidence that closely fits episodes of significant environmental change, including a later and separate phase of forest clearance, soil degradation, and lake pollution caused by the saturation of the landscape by Bigo-related populations between 1300 and 1650 CE. Fresque de changements environnementaux induits par l’homme et le climat dans l’ouest de l’Ouganda : la région des lacs du cratère de Ndali

Disentangling Ancestral State Reconstruction in historical linguistics

Abstract Ancestral State Reconstruction (ASR) is an essential part of historical linguistics (HL). Conventional ASR in HL relies on three core principles: fewest changes on the tree, plausibility of changes and plausibility of the resulting combinations of features in proto-languages. This approach has some problems, in particular the definition of what is plausible and the disregard for branch lengths. This study compares the classic approach of ASR to computational tools (Maximum Parsimony and Maximum Likelihood), conceptually and practically. Computational models have the advantage of being more transparent, consistent and replicable, and the disadvantage of lacking nuanced knowledge and context. Using data from the structural database Grambank, I compare reconstructions of the grammar of ancestral Oceanic languages from the HL literature to those achieved by computational means. The results show that there is a high degree of agreement between manual and computational approaches, with a tendency for classical HL to ignore branch lengths. Explicitly taking branch lengths into account is more conceptually sound; as such the field of HL should engage in improving methods in this direction. A combination of computational methods and qualitative knowledge is possible in the future and would be of great benefit.

A new dictionary of Oriental words in Italian sources, and the chronology of Turkish izafets

A new dictionary of Oriental words in Italian sources, and the chronology of Turkish izafets

СИНКРЕТИЗМ ОБЩЕСТВЕННОГО МИФОЛОГИЧЕСКОГО СОЗНАНИЯ ДРЕВНЕЙШЕЙ ПОРЫ

This article examines the syncretism of the public mythological consciousness of the ancient era. The main features of this phenomenon include essential anthropomorphism, syncretism, syncretism. The texts of the Old Testament are analyzed, which show that the Old Testament syncrets are creative borrowings from the Sumerian written culture. The transition from the appropriating type of management to the producing type gives rise to reflection and criticality of human thinking. This contributes to the destruction of mythological consciousness and the emergence of initial scientific forms. Methods and techniques of diachronic linguistics and techniques of cognitive description of ancient and medieval texts make it possible to establish the semantics of linguistic units - syncrets that have turned into “frozen metaphors”. Syncrets are a consequence of anthropomorphism and syncretism of mythological consciousness; they were preserved in the vocabulary of modern languages after the annihilation of ancient mythological consciousness.

VoTec terminographic environment over the years: brief overview

VoTec (Vocabulário Técnico Online) is a web environment for terminographic management created by Fromm (2007) with the aim of training undergraduate and graduate students for terminographic and translation practices. Since 2007, it has been used in several research and projects aimed at researchers training and monolingual and bilingual reference works production. This paper aims to present an overview of the projects and research carried out through VoTec between 2007 and 2023, as well as of the updates made on its database and query page. To do so, we describe its initial version (Fromm, 2007), the Terminology in Fiction (Fromm, 2011a) and the Linguistics Vocabulary (Fromm & Yamamoto, 2013) projects, as well as the following terminographic works/proposals: Vocabulary of Historical Linguistics (Yamamoto, 2015), Vocabulary of Business and Events Tourism (Carvalho, 2015), Vocabulary of Theology (Cardoso, 2017), Bilingual Vocabulary of Linguistics (Yamamoto, 2020), Vocabulary of Digital Marketing (Mateus, 2022) and Vocabulary of Angiology and Vascular Surgery (Santos, 2023). This panorama highlights: (i) VoTec's productivity for research and projects in the scope of Terminology, Translation, monolingual, bilingual and multilingual Terminography and Pedagogical Terminography; (ii) its continuous updates allow VoTec to follow latest trends and technologies on online reference works, becoming increasingly robust and multimodal, as well as to approach the needs of current users of online reference works; (iii) due to the possibilities of customizing fields and functionalities, VoTec easily adapts to different types of research and is capable of generating terminographic products with different purposes and target audiences.

Grouping sounds into evolving units for the purpose of historical language comparison.

Computer-assisted approaches to historical language comparison have made great progress during the past two decades. Scholars can now routinely use computational tools to annotate cognate sets, align words, and search for regularly recurring sound correspondences. However, computational approaches still suffer from a very rigid sequence model of the form part of the linguistic sign, in which words and morphemes are segmented into fixed sound units which cannot be modified. In order to bring the representation of sound sequences in computational historical linguistics closer to the research practice of scholars who apply the traditional comparative method, we introduce improved sound sequence representations in which individual sound segments can be grouped into evolving sound units in order to capture language-specific sound laws more efficiently. We illustrate the usefulness of this enhanced representation of sound sequences in concrete examples and complement it by providing a small software library that allows scholars to convert their data from forms segmented into sound units to forms segmented into evolving sound units and vice versa.

Perceived Effects of Language and Culture Suppression in the Catalan Region of Spain

The Catalan language has had a complex history. The suppression of the Catalan language had a profound impact on the Catalan culture and identity. This study addresses the interaction between language and culture according to students in a Catalan university. The purpose was to evaluate their insights and report the perceived connection between language and culture. An experimental study was conducted to investigate the interrelationship between language and culture and whether it is perceived that language loss affects cultural loss, and both are intertwined. 67 undergraduate university students between the ages of 18 and 22 years participated in this study. They responded to a questionnaire that included general questions on history, language, and culture. The results suggest that the participants feel there is an interdependent connection between language loss and culture loss. This research puts into focus people’s identification with their own language, culture, traditions, and history, which reinforces the difficulty of separating one’s cultural and linguistic history.

The rise of gemination in Celtic

This study investigates systematically the emergence and establishment of geminate consonants as a phonological class in the Celtic branch of Indo-European. The approach of this study is comparative historical linguistics, drawing on diachronic structuralism combined with aspects of language contact studies and functional approaches to language usage. This study traces the development of geminates from Proto-Indo-European (fourth millennium B.C.), which did not allow geminate consonants, to the Common Celtic period (first millennium B.C.), when almost every consonant could occur as a singleton or as a geminate, and on to the earliest attested stages of the Insular Celtic languages (first millennium A.D.). Although they were prominent in the phonology of Proto- and Ancient Celtic (Gaulish, Celtiberian), ultimately geminates were gotten rid of as a phonological class in the individual Insular Celtic languages. This is probably due to the fact that the contrast between lenited and unlenited sounds took on a central role in Insular Celtic phonology, making gemination a phonetically redundant category. Most instances of geminate consonants in Celtic can be explained by regular sound change operating on inherited clusters of consonants. Each sound change will be discussed in a separate section in a rough chronological order. Effectively, gemination is largely a strategy to reduce the number of allowed consonant combinations. To a limited degree, gemination also had a morphological function, especially in the formation of personal names and in the creation of adjectival neologisms. However, there is a residue of words, especially nouns, in the Insular Celtic languages that defy any attempt at etymologising. They are prime suspects of having been borrowed from prehistoric, substratal languages.

The maternal U1 haplogroup in the Koraga tribe as a correlate of their North Dravidian linguistic affinity.

Introduction: The Koraga tribe are an isolated endogamous tribal group found in the southwest coastal region of India. The Koraga language shares inherited grammatical features with North Dravidian languages. To seek a possible genetic basis for this exceptionality and understand the maternal lineage pattern, we have aimed to reconstruct the inter-population and intra-population relationships of the Koraga tribal population by using mtDNA markers for the hypervariable regions along with a partial coding region sequence analysis. Methods and Results: Amongst the 96 individuals studied, we observe 11 haplogroups, of which a few are shared and others are unique to the clans Soppu, Oṇṭi and Kuṇṭu. In addition to several deep rooted Indian-specific lineages of macrohaplogroups M and U, we observe a high frequency of the U1 lineage (∼38%), unique to the Koraga. A Bayesian analysis of the U1 clade shows that the Koraga tribe share their maternal lineage with ancestral populations of the Caucasus at the cusp of the Last Glacial Maximum. Discussion: Our study suggests that the U1 lineage found in the Indian subcontinent represents a remnant of a post-glacial dispersal. The presence of West Asian U1 when viewed along with historical linguistics leads us to hypothesise that Koraga represents a mother tongue retained by a vanquished population group that fled southward at the demise of the Indus civilisation as opposed to a father tongue, associated with a particular paternal lineage.

Comment on the Article Archaeology, Language, and the Question of Sámi Ethnogenesis

Abstract In this response to the article Archaeology, Language, and the Question of Sámi Ethnogenesis by Asgeir Svestad and Bjørnar Olsen (2023), we correct major misunderstandings made by Svestad and Olsen concerning the methodology of historical linguistics and its relation to archaeology. Our comment concerns the following topics: We explain that there cannot be one ethnogenesis that could be approached by different disciplines because different disciplines are independent and meet only momentarily. We also demonstrate that continuity does not disprove migration, nor vice versa, and explain some methods of linguistic substrate studies that the authors have misunderstood. In Svestad and Olsen’s article, there are also some clearly erroneous statements that we correct in our response. In spite of our critical comments, we genuinely encourage multidisciplinary discussion and cooperation because we share the same research interest: to deepen our understanding of the human past.

Textual Trajectories : Analysing Linguistic Evolution in Indian English Novels

This study explores the evolution of linguistic and narrative styles in Indian English novels, reflecting the socio-cultural transformations of postcolonial India. Employing thematic analysis through Leximancer and linguistic pattern analysis via NVivo, the research analyzed novels from the 1950s to the present. The findings reveal a significant shift from the formal, British-influenced English of the early post-independence period to a more colloquial and Indianized form in contemporary times. This linguistic evolution includes the incorporation of local dialects, Indian idioms, and a narrative style resonant with India's oral storytelling traditions. The study also identifies a thematic progression from colonial struggles to issues of globalization, urbanization, and modern societal conflicts. Narratively, there has been a transition from linear, conventional storytelling to complex, non-linear narratives with multiple perspectives, mirroring the complexities of modern Indian life. These shifts in Indian English novels are not only stylistic but also reflect deeper socio-cultural and political dynamics. This research contributes to the broader understanding of postcolonial literature and its role in cultural and societal representation.

Theorizing ethnolinguistic diversity under globalization: beyond biocultural analogies

ABSTRACT This paper seeks to advance our theoretical understanding of diversifying and homogenizing processes in human societies by exploring the sources of and threats to ethnolinguistic or cultural diversity. Invoking concepts such as ethnogenesis, schismogenesis, and structural transformations, it discusses the parallels as well as the divergences between biological and cultural theory. Models in historical linguistics risk importing unwarranted assumptions about diversification from biological models of speciation. A more pertinent theorization of ethnolinguistic diversity might build on anthropological perspectives such as those of Fredrik Barth, Gregory Bateson, and Claude Lévi-Strauss, all of whom recognized that such diversity reflects interaction rather than isolation. The empirical test of these considerations is the ethnography and history of language use among Indigenous peoples in Amazonia and the Andes. The conclusion is that premodern expansions of language families, in tolerating local cultural autonomy, multilingualism, and diglossia, did not threaten ethnolinguistic identities as has modern globalization.

A comparative wordlist for investigating distant relations among languages in Lowland South America

The history of the language families in Lowland South America remains an understudied area of historical linguistics. Panoan and Tacanan, two language families from this area, have frequently been proposed to descend from the same ancestor. Despite ample evidence in favor of this hypothesis, not all scholars accept it as proven beyond doubt. We compiled a new lexical questionnaire with 501 basic concepts to investigate the genetic relation between Panoan and Tacanan languages. The dataset includes data from twelve Panoan, five Tacanan, and four other languages which have previously been suggested to be related to Pano-Tacanan. Through the transparent annotation of grammatical morphemes and partial cognates, our dataset provides the basis for testing language relationships both qualitatively and quantitatively. The data is not only relevant for the investigation of the ancestry of Panoan and Tacanan languages. Reflecting the state of the art in computer-assisted approaches for historical language comparison, it can serve as a role model for linguistic studies in other areas of the world.

Identifier et décrire l’hétérogénéité du français aux 17eet 18esiècles : le projet MACINTOSH (Missing hAlf the picture, ClassIcal NoT sO claSsical FrencH)

AbstractThis article presents a project focusing on French private letters written during the 17th and 18th centuries. As the first French initiative to ever investigate this collection, the project aims to show how the alternative data provided by these letters can broaden the scope by filling the gaps left by traditional historical linguistics, focusing on one of French’s greatest periods of expansion and shedding new light on the dynamics and mechanisms that led to the existing French and creole varieties in America and in the Indian Ocean.

A Historical-Cognitive Linguistics Study of Caesar’s Characterization in Shakespearean Plays

By using “polysemy model” of semantic change theories in historical linguistics, “mapping” and “conceptual integration” of metaphor, and “classical taxonomic structure” of categorization theories in cognitive linguistics, and literary conventions of structuralist poetics in literary studies, this article studies Caesar’s characterization in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and other plays. After analyzing the semantic change of “Caesar” and different characters’ cognition on Caesar in the fictional world created by dialogues and character interactions, this article discovers that the negotiation and exchange between the totalculture in 1599 and Shakespeare’s personal artistic pursuit propel Shakespeare to create an ambiguous but great and unique Caesar in Julius Caesar, within the two kinds of intertexts consisting of different characters’ discourses scattered in other Shakespearean plays, Caesar’s ambiguity is eliminated, and his greatness and uniqueness are strengthened, and it is in his skillful maneuver of different literary conventions in characterizing Caesar that Shakespeare’s great literary competence is manifested.

Some Notes on Indonesian Word Formation: A Study Based on the Derivational Morphology Approach

This study aimed to provide an in-depth analysis of the complex process of word formation in the Indonesian language using the principles of derivational morphology. The study examined the intricate mechanisms of creating new words and highlighted the various processes and patterns that contributed to forming new lexemes. By extensively categorizing and analyzing the different types of derivational affixes and their roles in generating words, this investigation aimed to contribute to a deeper understanding of the Indonesian language and its linguistic evolution. The findings showed (1) the intricate details regarding the changes in the use of affixes such as in prefix {di-} and colloquial suffix {al-}, the semantic transformation of words such as the words that were marked by prefix {per-}, and how societal attitudes and perceptions had influenced language evolution such as in colloquial suffix {-ken} despite the standard suffix {-kan}; and (2) the functions and communicative effectiveness of derived lexemes in the Indonesian language had revealed that they played a crucial role in communication by contributing to discourse cohesion such as in the form of {seru} and {menarik}. The results of this study were expected to shed new light on the underlying mechanisms of word formation in the Indonesian language and provide a valuable reference for linguists and language researchers to explore the nuances of this language further.

Grammaticalization of Nazal Affixes in the Archaic Lexicon of Balinese Language: A Diachronic Study

Balinese has a communication system called Anggah-Ungguhing Basa (language levels). This language level coexists with the social stratification of society. Thus, the language activities of Balinese speakers are influenced by the social stratification of Balinese society. Social stratification and the Anggah-Ungguhing Basa system cause Balinese speakers to have various levels of language taste and variations in its use. In general, Anggah-Ungguhing Basa shows politeness in language. From linguistic studies, of course, such language signs need to be studied, especially regarding the grammatical processes of inherited elements in Balinese. The grammatical process that is the focus is the form and function of nasal affixes in the Balinese language. In this regard, it is very important to study the various grammaticalizations of the Balinese language further, so that these lexicons are appropriate to the language level in Bali. This research aims to thoroughly describe the inherited grammatical units in Modern Balinese. Normatively, these operational concepts are contained in the theory of comparative historical linguistics. Diachronically, the form of nasal affixes in Balinese can be traced. The affixes an-, am-, ang-, any- in Old Javanese are partly reflected in Old Balinese. The changes in each form are the basic morpheme to which it is attached. The basic morpheme begins with the phoneme bilabial, so the appropriate nasal affix is nasal bilabial. This process is called homorganization. In formal texts and traditional Balinese literary works, the affixes an-, am-, ang-, any- are still used. However, in Balinese Lumrah it changes to n-, m-, ny-, ng-.

Historična perspektiva preučevanja jezikoslovnih ved. Nekateri vidiki antičnega razumevanja jezika

When studying the history of linguistics, two options seem to be obvious: on the one hand, a better insight is gained into the sciences which have contributed to the development of modern linguistics, while, on the other hand, we can almost rediscover those studies, which are not part of the linguistic tradition in the West. This article is a schematic portrayal of some linguistic sciences of the Antiquity. Part of these can easily be placed within the Western epistemological context, since, in many aspects, they represent the very origins of this tradition. Such historical perspective, however, proves to be much more problematic with some other sciences or their studies, such as semiotics and so-called metaphysical etymology, for instance. Questions arising in such cases are: How to study these sciences? How to define them? Is it at all reasonable to study them?