Language Classification Methodology Used by Comparative and Historical Linguists - Essay Example

Language Classification Methodology Used by Comparative and Historical Linguists Dionysus Thrax,, Antoine Meillet, Sir John Morris Jones, Ferdinand de Saussure, Edward Sapir, Noam Chomsky - each contributed to the development of the study of language as a system, otherwise known as linguistics. They master their study also by speaking various languages as well. According to Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, language is “a systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures or marks having understood meaning; the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a community (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?language).” Personal, rational, and moral in nature are characteristics which distinguish humankind from beast. The utilization of language also contributes to this infinite chasm. Language and the methods used by those who study language has become a vital component to learning about the various cultures throughout the world. The linguists category is indeed comprehensive – structural, applied, theoretical, anthropological, historical, comparative, to name a few. Historical and comparative linguistics, however, appear to be the common factor throughout them all and interrelated as well. Historical linguists focus on the point of origin of languages and their progenitors. They believe that they are interconnected through a common parent language. Language is not inert but continually evolving and changing over a period of time. Contact with different cultures can contribute to this process as well. Historical linguistics receive considerable recognition in the 19th century and early part of the 20th Language Classification Methodology Used by Comparative and Historical Linguists – Page Two (2) century. In addition to Saussure, other prominent linguists included Eduard Sievers, Holger Pederson, and Andre Martinet. Although its relevance diminished significantly during the latter part of the 20th century, historical linguistics served and continues to serve as the corner stone to understanding linguistics in general. As previously stated historical and comparative linguistics are interrelated for comparative linguistics is a subdivision of historical linguistics. Comparative grammar/comparative philology is the interchangeable term associated with comparative linguistics. They examine two or more languages to determine their common ancestral from which they originate. The fundamental principle of comparative linguistics is that languages are related genetically and originate from one single proto/ancestor language. Sir William Jones, Karl Brugmann, Louis Hjelmslev, and Francis Andrew March to name a few were instrumental in the development of comparative linguistics. An estimated 7,000 plus living languages are currently in existence. Languages are grouped into language families. A recognizable common attribute within a language, just as with biological families, is what links them together or makes them a phylogenetic unit. The fundamental theory governing language families is that new languages are formed via divergence into dialects over a gradual period of time. Although there is a considerable amount of languages in the world that do not belong to families, the vast majority do. Language Classification Methodology Used by Comparative and Historical Linguists – Page Two (2) Historical and comparative linguists apply methods to classify these languages into families and reconstruct earlier forms of ancestral language? Cognates, word borrowing, and communicative isolation are just some of the methods historical linguists utilize.. Historical linguist look for preliminary clues to assist with the classification/reconstruction methodology process. One such clue is determining if languages share a commonality via vocabulary words that are similar in sound and meaning. These vocabulary words are known as cognates. Recognizing and utilizing cognates greatly assist the process. French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese – otherwise known as the “Romance Languages”, contain a number of shared cognates of Latin origin. These languages also reflect the process of what is known as word borrowing. They share a common ancestral root but what makes them distinct is dialect. Communicative isolation takes place through dialectology which focuses on language variety within a specified group. Factors which may cause they language various include geography, religion, and other social elements. Dialects are what cause languages to separate and develop into multiple languages. Additional sub-categories of historical linguistics play a major role in the classification/reconstruction - etymology (historical development and origin of words), phonology (sound systems created by language or group of languages), morphology (formal means of expression in a language) and syntax (sentence structure). Although historical relatedness among languages is vital, comparative linguists also believe that “languages maybe related by convergence through borrowing and Language Classification Methodology Used by Comparative and Historical Linguists – Page Three (3) genetic descent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_method).” A genetic relationship adds another dimension from a scientific standpoint. A proto-language or common origin/ancestral language constitute the genetic descent. The comparative method is primary corner stone of comparative linguists’ methodology. This method utilizes the systematic techniques applied in the aforementioned studies in addition to lexicology which deals with word significance and application. Comparative linguists reconstruct the ancestral language via cognate data taken from two or more languages. Focus is on grammar, vocabulary, and sound. The cognate data reveals the sound correspondence between languages and consistent sequence changes. Hence they are able to reconstruct the proto-language from the ancestral language. As previously stated the ancestral language of French and Spanish is Latin. Greek and Latin, considered ancient Indo-European languages, contain remnants of Sanskrit grammatical structure. Sanskrit was an ancient Hindu language of India. The study of Indo-European Languages in the 19h century led to the develop-ment of the comparative method. Concerning the Sanskrit, English philologist/orientalist made the following statement in 1782: “The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which perhaps, no longer exists (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Comparative_method).” Further analysis concerning the relationship between Sansrkit, Greek, and Latin was conducted in 1816 by Franz Bopp, a German linguist. Not so much from the perspective of reconstruction, but emphasis placed a shared linkage through a common lexicon and structure. Other early examples of the comparative method include Hungarian linguist, Janos Sajnovics, who in 1770 established a relationship the Sami and Hungarian language via grammar and lexicon similarities. Language Classification Methodology Used by Comparative and Historical Linguists - Page Six (6) The Neogrammarian principle is another important component of the comparative method. The concept is rooted in the “laws governing sound change are regular and have no exception that cannot be accounted for by some other regular phenomenon of language have no exception that cannot be accounted for by some other regular phenomenon of language (http://www. britannica.com/eb/article-9025012/comparative-linguistics). Therefore, two languages that are related contain regular correspondence between sounds. German linguists Jacob Grimm, Karl Brugmann,and Hermann Osthoff were instrumental in the development of this principle. The multitude of languages, its systematic divisions, and methodologies makes language intricate. Could this possibly explain the complex nature of mankind and the chasm that exists between the cultures of the world? One can only imagine the state of the planet if the earth’s inhabitants only spoke one universal language. A universal language reflects a universal thought process/culture. American anthropologist/linguist Edward Sapir believed that there was strong correlation between language and culture for he states: “Human beings do not live in the objective world alone..... but are very much at the mercy of particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society...The fact of the matter is that the ‘real world’ is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group...We see and hear and otherwise experience very largely as we do because the language habits of our community predispose certain choices of interpretation phenomenon of language (http://www. britannica.com/ eb /article-9025012/comparative-linguistics).” Language Classification Methodology Used by Comparative and Historical Linguists - Page Seven (7) One can only imagine the state of the planet if the earth’s inhabitants only spoke one universal language. A universal language reflects a universal thought process/ culture. Until such time, the help of linguistic and its methodology is vital. Read More