Historical Linguistics 3130 A

 

Exam format and correction

Exact format of the exam

There are 5 multiple choice questions (4 you need to answer because one is a freebie) (15 points = 9.4%)

There are 35 matching questions where you are given a definition or example and you have to choose which term from a list matches that definition or example (35 points = 21.9%)
12 are sound changes, borrowing, analogical change, and semantic change
7 are terminology from reconstruction and classification chapters
16 are terminology from writing systems slides and lectures

There are 2 reconstruction problems (one comparative and one internal) (40 points each = 25% each)

There is one essay question (30 points = 18.8%)

There is an IPA chart provided on the test paper.

Most (though not all) of the descriptions you need to name processes in the reconstructions are listed somewhere on the test paper.

Correction to Grimm's Law sheet

There is a small mistake on the Grimm's Law review sheet. At the bottom of Page 1 where it says "[-voice] became [-voice]" it should be "[+voice] became [-voice]" – otherwise it doesn't make sense. This is not critical for the exam and it is correct on the next page.

 

Cahuilla solution

I have posted the solution to the Cahuilla problem we did for homework. Reading this will help you with one of the questions on the exam.

 

Hints on the essay question

Some students have told me that they don't understand the essay questions I posted and can't find out anything about them in the textbook, so I have prepared extensive notes on the 5 exam essay topics pointing you to some things that you might choose to discuss. Do not try to put all of these points into your essay or you'll be writing a book instead of an exam answer. Just pick the most interesting points you can fit into 2-4 hand-written pages. You should have no shortage of things to say. Remember to give evidence to support any claims you make.

I forgot to mention earlier that you can write the essay in either English or French, whichever you are most comfortable with. Note that the exam sheet will not have these 6 pages of notes, just the 5 questions themselves. You cannot use any notes once the exam begins.

I have reworded two of the questions slightly since I first posted them, changing "gradualism" to "gradual change" and "written records" to "written documents" (although I'm including wall carvings and all sorts of things in the word "documents").

 

Writing systems slides

Finally, I have uploaded the writing systems slides for your reference. There are two different versions, both in PDF format:

• The bigger file (4.5 megabytes) is best so you can zoom in to see details
• The smaller file (1.2 megabytes) should be more than good enough for printing but the really small details are a bit blurrier if you want to zoom in on screen

Because of the Chinese and Japanese fonts in these files it might be necessary to get the version of Acrobat Reader that can handle these if you don't already have it.

 

What you should know for the exam

Chapter 1: Introduction

• Nothing specific from Chapter 1.

Chapter 2: Kinds of sound change:

• You should be able to use these descriptions to label sound changes in your reconstructions.
• You should be able to match descriptions or examples to names of types of changes

Chapter 3: Borrowing

• It might be important to be able to recognize borrowed words in a list of possible cognates. Briefly review section 3.5 on how to identify loanwords and the direction of borrowing.

Chapter 4: Analogical change

• Not very important for the final exam, since it was covered in previous tests.

Chapter 5: Comparative method

• You should make sure you understand how to do reconstructions using the comparative method. This will be roughly half of the final exam.
• Review the steps in section 5.2
• Section 5.4 on Grimm's Law, Grassman's Law, and Verner's Law are important for the exam. The important points on these are provided on the review sheet posted here.

Chapter 6: Linguistic classification

• You should know about terminology (6.3) and how to do subgrouping (6.4 up to page 195).

Chapter 7: Models of change

• Not very important for the final exam except very general ideas.

Chapter 8: Internal reconstruction

• Be familiar with the steps on page 226.
• It might help to review the Cahuilla problem we did for homework.

Chapter 9: Semantic and lexical change

• This was largely covered in the mid-term, but there may be a few matching-type questions.

Chapter 10: Syntactic change

• Will not specifically be on the final.

Chapter 11: Explaining linguistic change

• Could be important for the essay question. Otherwise, don't worry about it.

Chapter 12: Areal linguistics

• Was covered on the previous test. Read section 12.5 on implications for reconstruction and subgrouping.

Chapter 13: Distant genetic relationships

• Don't worry too much about the details of this, just the general idea.

Chapter 14: The role of written records.

• Could be important if you do essay question number 3.
• Important points about history of writing systems to be posted shortly.

Chapter 15: Linguistic prehistory

• We didn't have time to do this in class, so it isn't on the exam.

Not in the book:

• You should know which sounds are more likely to occur and which sounds imply other ones as listed in the Crystal reading on phonological typology. We also went over this in class.
• You should know which direction of sound change are more likely. This is generally mentioned in Chapter 2, and is important for decisions you make in reconstructions.
• Writing systems -- more on this shortly.

 

Typology and universals

If you are thinking about answering the exam essay question about typology and universals, you would probably find it useful to read David Crystal's 2-page chapter on typology and universals for more clarification on what these are.

 

Essay questions for the final exam

On the final exam, you will be asked to write an essay of a couple of pages on ONE of the following topics. You can choose to argue either for or against any of the following statements. You can prepare ahead of time, but you cannot bring notes with you to the exam.

1. "Phonological reconstruction is never an automatic mechanical process. Linguists can only be guided by general principles to carry out their reconstructions." Discuss with reference to both comparative and internal reconstruction.
2. "Gradual change and Neogrammarianism are incompatible." Discuss.
3. "Using written documents to date a linguistic change is not as simple as it first appears." Discuss.
4. Research in typology and universals has increasingly replaced absolute universals with implicational universals and tendencies. Discuss whether this makes the study of typology and universals more or less relevant for historical linguistics.
5. "If a present-day expert in Proto-Indo-European or some other reconstructed language could travel back in time and speak it to the proto-language's native speakers, he or she would not be understood." Discuss.

 

Phonological typology

Crystal's chapter on Comparative Phonology is the basis for the class we did on phonological typology. Those who missed that class will find it especially useful to read this over. The important thing is not the numbers, but knowing which sounds are more common than others in a phonological system and also which sounds imply the existence of other sounds. Knowledge of this kind of information is helpful in reconstructing sound systems.

 

Germanic regular sound changes

Grimm's Law, Grassman's Law, Verner's Law and also the Germanic spirant law that was mentioned (though not by name) during Monday's review are summarized on the Germanic sound shift review sheet now available here. Sorry it's so big (633 K), but the fonts take up a lot of space.

 

Just for fun: All about hurricane names

When an Atlantic tropical cyclone reaches winds of 39 miles per hour, it changes from a "tropical depression" to a "tropical storm" and gets a name. When it reaches 74 mph, it is called a hurricane. Even though the calendar says the hurricane season ends November 30, Tropical Storm Epsilon was upgraded at 11 a.m. today to Hurricane Epsilon with winds currently at 120 km/h. Luckily it's nowhere near land and is currently heading towards the mid-Atlantic.

For information on hurricane names (which is the linguistic connection), check out the Frequently Asked Questions on tropical cyclone names at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Labroratory site.

There is also a more extensive history of naming Atlantic hurricanes on the main U.S. National Hurricane Center site.

You might also be interested in what's causing the current very active hurricane cycle. It has nothing to do with historical linguistics, but it's interesting, I think.

 

Bilingual Sound Change Glossary

Sometime about half-way into the course I came to the conclusion (which should have been obvious) that many students in the class have not studied phonetics or phonology in English before. To help with associating English terminology with French terminology you may already know, I have prepared a small bilingual glossary of common sound changes we have covered in the course and some related words as well.

This will be useful for you to relate the new things you have learned with those you already know, as well as helping you in reading or writing about these topics in French now or in the future. You do not have to learn any French terminology for this course. This document is made available merely for your information. If you find any typing mistakes or other errors, let me know.

 

Cahuilla internal reconstruction problem

There is an extra problem on internal reconstruction of Cahuilla in addition to the problems I already mentioned. There will be a problem on the exam very similar to this one, so I highly recommend you work on this one before Monday's review class.