The Rise and Fall of LanguagesThis book puts forward a new approach to language change, the punctuated equilibrium model. This is based on the premise that during most of the 100,000 or more years that humans have had language, states of equilibrum have existed during which linguistic features diffused across the languages in a given area so that they gradually converged on a common prototype. From time to time, the state of equilibrium would be punctuated, with the expansion and split of peoples and of languages. Most recently, as a result of European colonization and globalization of communication, many languages face imminent extinction. |
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An excellent introduction to historical linguistics, precisely because it is a partisan case for an alternative voice in the field (by a major contributor) and not just the same old Indo-European examples. Well-written, packed with smart thinking, it is a fast read and well worth the price.
Contents
| 73 | |
| 85 | |
| 97 | |
Recent history | 103 |
Todays priorities | 116 |
92 Some modern myths | 128 |
93 What every linguist should do | 135 |
Summary and prospects | 139 |
102 Concerning comparative linguistics | 140 |
103 Concerning descriptive linguistics | 143 |
104 Concerning languages | 145 |
where the comparative method discovery procedure fails | 149 |
References | 153 |
Index | 163 |
Common terms and phrases
adjective America applied appropriate attempt Australia become borrowing close communication comparative complex consider continuous course culture dependent describe developed dialects diffusion discussed distinct divergence Dixon English equilibrium established example expansion fact family tree follows forms further genetic relationship geographical given gradually grammatical grammatical forms guages Guinea happened head human idea Indo-European instance involved language family less lexemes linguistic area live major marking method move neighbours Note noun once original perhaps period period of equilibrium person political population possible present prestige language pronouns proto-Indo-European proto-language proved punctuation question reason recently reconstructed region relatively result separate shared similar single situation South speak speakers split spoken structure subgrouping suggest taken tend Theory things tion tribe verb vocabulary whole writing
Popular passages
Page 137 - The only useful generalizations about language are inductive generalizations. Features which we think ought to be universal may be absent from the very next language that becomes accessible.
Page 15 - India as one linguistic area for historical study. (This term "linguistic area" may be defined as meaning an area which includes languages belonging to more than one family but showing traits in common which are found not to belong to the other members of [at least] one of the families.
Page 23 - Significantly, in the interference of two grammatical patterns it is ordinarily the one which uses relatively free and invariant morphemes in its paradigm — one might say, the more explicit pattern — which serves as the model for...
Page 25 - Athabaskan dialect has borrowed at all freely 3 from a neighboring language. These languages have always found it easier to create new words by compounding afresh elements ready to hand. They have for this reason been highly resistant to receiving the linguistic impress of the external cultural experiences of their speakers.
Page 47 - What has always filled me with wonder is the assurance with which many historical linguists assign a date to their reconstructed proto-language ... it does seem to be a house of cards'.
Page 22 - We may infer one of several things from this: — That a really serious morphological influence is not, perhaps, impossible, but that its operation is so slow that it has hardly ever had the chance to incorporate itself in the relatively small portion of linguistic history that lies open to inspection ; or that there are certain favorable conditions that make for profound morphological disturbances from without, say a peculiar instability of linguistic type or an unusual degree of cultural contact,...
Page 49 - I have found this is a difficult matter to get specialists to even discuss. Yet it does seem to be a house of cards (reinforced at one time by the chimera of glottochronology).
Page 137 - The fact that some features are, at any rate, widespread is worthy of notice and calls for an explanation; when we have adequate data about many languages, we shall have to return to the problem of general grammar and...
Page 25 - The Athabaskan languages of America are spoken by peoples that have had astonishingly varied cultural contacts, yet nowhere do we find that an Athabaskan dialect has borrowed at all freely 3 from a neighboring language.
Page 135 - ... expressive power and profound understandings of the universe. The loss of the hundreds of languages that have already passed into history is an intellectual catastrophe in every way comparable in magnitude to the ecological catastrophe we face today as the earth's tropical forests are swept by fire. Each language still spoken is fundamental to the personal, social and - a key term in the discourse of indigenous peoples - spiritual identity of its speakers. They know that without these languages...
References to this book
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Rise and Fall of Languages The Rise and Fall of Languages, Robert M. W. Dixon |
| Authors | R. M. W. Dixon, Robert M. W. Dixon, Robert Malcolm Ward, Dixon |
| Editor | Cambridge University Press |
| Contributor | Cambridge University |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press, 1997 |
| ISBN | 0521626544, 9780521626545 |
| Length | 169 pages |
| Subjects | › › Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / General Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / Historical & Comparative |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |