scholarly journals What Is Language History?

Slovene ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 394-455
Author(s):  
Irina A. Podtergera
Keyword(s):  
Historical Linguistics ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Literary Language ◽  
Pragmatic Approach ◽  
Language History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Western European ◽  
Historical Grammar ◽  
Russian Linguistic

This paper examines the notion of ‘language history,’ which has taken on a different meaning in the Russian linguistic tradition compared to its usage by Western European scholars. The article starts with an analysis of contemporary Western European theories according to which one should consider language history as a historical discipline, and draw a clear distinction between language history and historical grammar. According to the currently accepted socio-pragmatic approach, the subject of language history is, first of all, the history of communication. It is this approach that is presented in the first section of the paper. The history of this notion is then further analyzed. The dichotomy between ‘language history’ vs. ‘historical linguistics’ is not entirely new but goes back to the dichotomy between ‘external’ and ‘internal’ language history, which was widespread at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries and still remains important. In the second section, the author compares linguistic studies in the sphere of historical Slavic studies from the last third of the 19th to the first decades of the 20th centuries to the contemporary theories in Western European historical linguistics in the context of the model of external and internal language history. It is the interpretation of the notion ‘literary language’ that is of special interest. In the works of historians of language from the late 19th–early 20th centuries, it was used interchangeably with the term ‘written language,’ i.e., the language of writing in general. The phenomenon of ‘written language’ constituted an aspect of the ‘external history of a language.’ In the theory of functional linguistics developed by the Prague linguistic circle, the notion of the ‘literary language’ acquired a new meaning, i.e., ‘standard language.’ However, in Soviet linguistics the new concept was denoted by the old term with a different tradition behind it. This led to a confusion regarding the concepts and the subjects of research: the separate aspect split off to form a new discipline—the history of literary language—which inevitably resulted in a reduced field of research. This matter is examined in the third segment of the paper. The concluding section returns to the socio-pragmatic approach to the history of language described at the beginning of the paper, suggesting an alternative model for the study of Russian language history, which should be regarded as the history of language and its usage.

PIG, TONE SANDHI AND WUMIN

1989 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-182
Author(s):  
William L. Ballard
Keyword(s):  
Potential Role ◽  
Historical Linguistics ◽  
Tone Sandhi ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
The Past ◽  
Language History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Chinese Dialects ◽  
Historical Relationship

Several scholars have made various remarks about the language history of the Wu and Min areas. Some of these remarks concern non-Chinese languages that may have been spoken in the area(s) and that may have left some traces in the forms of Chinese spoken there now (substrata). Other remarks concern the possible prehistory of what appear now to be transitional or mixed forms, or features that may be present due to some ancient influence or borrowing. In considering such matters it is important to keep in mind the basic principles (and biases) of historical linguistics, and of the potential role of philological materials in the discussion. My fieldwork in China this spring, as well as my research in the past, point to some special historical relationship between southern Wu and northern Min. This appears to mean that the boundaries between the northern and southern types of each of the two dialect groups are stronger than they have been portrayed in the past, and that the traditional boundary between Wu and Min is considerably weaker than has been supposed. The total sum of dialect facts cannot be ignored in trying to ascertain the language history of this area; it would appear that various elements of the traditional view of the history of the southern dialects are in error in various ways. In particular, it is at least possible that Wu and Min, in some sense, share a common ancestor not common to any other Chinese dialects.

scholarly journals The Great Academic Dictionary of the Russian Language as a Reflection of Economic Change: Semantic Dynamics of Words with the Root Torg-

2020 ◽  
pp. 167-180
Author(s):  
Roman I. Vorontsov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
History Of ◽  
Semantic Differentiation ◽  
Historic Change ◽  
Text Illustrations ◽  
Russian Linguistic ◽  
The Russian Language

The article deals with the dynamics of a fragment of the Russian linguistic worldview projected onto the experience of academic lexicography. Based on the data extracted from the three editions of the Great Academic Dictionary of the Russian Language (also referred to as the Dictionary), which serves as a reflection of the 80-yearlong history of the Soviet and Russian society, the sociocultural dynamics of a conceptual view of economy and trade is uncovered through its lexical, semantic and lexicographic realization. The aim of the research is to analyze the semantic dynamics of the words with root torg- [trade] based on the Dictionary data. This includes the study of the lexicographic interpretation of these words as well as the justification of new lexicographic solutions. The key attention is paid to a number of polysemantic words: torg, torgovat’, torgovat’sya, torgovlya, torgovyy. In the course of the research, the method of componential semantic analysis is applied together with the comparison of the entries from different editions of the Dictionary and with the selection of text illustrations by means of linguistic corpora. Two aspects of the semantic dynamics of the words with root torg- are discussed: 1) reflection of lexicographic principles adopted by the authors of the Dictionary and 2) lexical and semantic objectivation of the Russian linguistic worldview. The first aspect is represented by the trend of semantic differentiation typical of the Dictionary and manifested in both enlargement and specification of the word semantic structure. Syncretic meanings that can be seen in the first edition are later splintered into separate meanings or even shades of meaning (torgash, torgashestvo, torgovat’). The sociocultural dynamics is presented by a number of linguistic trends. The first trend is generating new collocations, and the adjective torgovyy shows here the highest productivity. Adjacent to it stands the active formation of compound words beginning with torgovo-. The second (controversial) trend is obsolescence of words and meanings: notions of the Soviet economy are going out of use (torg as a ‘trade institution’). The third trend is actualization of obsolete words and meanings, which is often only illusive. In the Soviet period, many notions of economy were considered inadmissible or typical of the Czarist era, hence, these words were defined as obsolete ones. However, the historic change of the early 1990s showed that this part of vocabulary was always commonly used, even in the Soviet texts that could not serve as a source of illustrations due to censorship. Thus, the considered aspects of the semantic dynamics of the words with the root torg- demonstrate the general way of conceptualizing the economic sphere by the Russians. It is mainly reflected in the social revaluation of the market relations, trade, and entrepreneurship. The lexical and semantic objectivation of this revaluation requires shrewd lexicographic solutions.

scholarly journals The Concept of " Muzh" (Husband): Motivating Signs

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 516-524
Author(s):  
A. M. Kiseleva
Keyword(s):  
Russian Language ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
European Language ◽  
Ancient History ◽  
Male Specimen ◽  
Public Figure ◽  
History Of ◽  
Russian Linguistic ◽  
The Russian Language ◽  
Big Men

This article presents a historical and etymological analysis of the motivating signs of the concept of "muzh" (husband) in the Russian language. Primary signs of the concept make up the internal form of a word and serves as the basis for new cognitive signs. Actual motivating signs appear first as conceptual ones and later as functional, evaluative, symbolic, and figurative. The primary motivating sign is "man": it is the oldest one and goes back to the pre-Indo-European language. The analysis of etymological dictionaries revealed 42 motivating signs. The article provides examples of the representation of this concept in the literature, including the modern one. Etymological and historical-etymological dictionaries revealed the following motivating signs of the concept of "muzh" (husband): a man; a male spouse; an adult man; a man that understands; a scientist; an ancestor; an Amazon female warrior; an age; people; community member; a serious man; a citizen; a brave man; a strong man; a fighter, a warrior; an ordinary man; a hero; a male celebrity; a respected, venerable man; a public figure; a witness; a free man; a peasant, a farmer; a feudal-dependent peasant; a peasant (low status in legal relations); to man oneself; a person with unnaturally large manhood; a male specimen; an attendant of a tsar, king, or prince, a noble man; a servant of a prince, a warrior in the prince’s squad; a divine husband; a man of desire; a blood man, a murderer; big men (a privileged part of the free population in Ancient Russia); young men (a less privileged part of the free population in Ancient Russia); nobleman (a great man); a member of household; a servant; a hand (worker); a slave; someone who is ready. Such a long list of motivating signs confirms the ancient history of the concept and its socio-cultural significance in the Russian linguistic worldview.

scholarly journals Spirituality concept in Russian language worldview: profane and religious components (according to materials of explanatory dictionaries of contemporary Russian language)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 14-20
Author(s):  
O.N. Yemelyanova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Method ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Literary Language ◽  
Unified Approach ◽  
Language Research ◽  
Russian Literary ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Russian Language ◽  
Modern Russian

Statement of the problem. The article examines the content of the spirituality concept, formed by the explanatory dictionaries of the modern Russian literary language; the change in its (concept) functional-stylistic lexicographic qualifications as a reflection of the change in value orientations in society. The purpose of the article is to study the lexicographic history of the spirituality concept in a comparative analysis of different dictionaries. The research methodology is based on the comparative method, contextual and, above all, lexicographic analysis of the main explanatory dictionaries of the Russian language. Research results. The study showed that there is no strict unification in the interpretation and functional-stylistic qualifications of the concept under study in the explanatory dictionaries of the Russian language. Conclusions. In modern domestic explanatory lexicography, there is no unified approach both to understanding the content (interpretation) of the spirituality concept, and in its functional and stylistic qualifications. The author’s contribution consists in a large-format (all the main explanatory dictionaries of the modern Russian language) and a very detailed study, which has not been carried out earlier in relation to this very concept.

Semantics of the Lexeme khram in Language and Text (Based on Russian Orthodox Sermons)

2020 ◽  
pp. 82-89
Author(s):  
Karina S. Khosrovyan ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Content ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Speech Community ◽  
Cultural Meanings ◽  
Long Time ◽  
History Of ◽  
Russian Linguistic ◽  
Descriptive Method ◽  
The Russian Language

This article scrutinizes the semantic structure of the lexeme khram (‘church’) in the Russian language. The paper is relevant due to the need to describe and analyse key lexemes in the Russian linguistic worldview. A special place among such units is occupied by religious words, including khram. Russian linguists’ turning to religious vocabulary elucidates the value of these words, which for a long time had been banned for well-known reasons. Currently, religious vocabulary is studied in different aspects: the history of individual words; the development of the semantics of specific lexemes and their functioning in various texts; the linguistic and cultural features of using religiously marked language units; religious concepts playing an important role in shaping the linguistic worldview, etc. In this paper, using the descriptive method and the comparative analysis of lexicographic sources and texts of sermons, the author characterized some peculiarities of the semantics of khram. The research showed that this word’s semantics is not confined to the meanings found in dictionary entries, which are clear and comprehensible to all members of a certain speech community. Noteworthy, linguoculturological information is not included in dictionary definitions. At the same time, a word belonging to the religious sphere is connected with a whole range of religious and cultural meanings. By studying the functioning of the lexeme khram in the texts we can trace the changes in its meanings and semantic content.

The relative clause marker in Scots English: Diffusion, complexity, and style as dimensions of syntactic change

1980 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Romaine
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clause ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Historical Linguistics ◽  
Qualitative Change ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Historical Study ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
History Of

ABSTRACTA historical study of variation in the relative clause marker in Scottish English indicates that sociolinguistic methodology has some important contributions to make to historical linguistics. The use of the frequency with which NPs in certain syntactic positions are relativized as a measure of syntactic complexity reveals that the WH relativization strategy appears to have entered the language in the most complex styles and least frequently relativized syntactic positions, until it eventually spread or diffused throughout the system. The addition of the WH relativization strategy seems to have resulted in a ‘squish’ of two strategies which are opposed in stylistic meaning rather than in actual qualitative change in the relative system. The process of diffusion can be seen as completed as far as the more formal styles of the modern written language are concerned, but it has not really affected the spoken language, where the native TH strategy prevails. (Sociolinguistic methodology, historical linguistics, language change, relativization, history of tle English language)

scholarly journals The History of the Manuscript’s Collections by Moldo Niyaz

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-598
Author(s):  
A. Akynbekova
Keyword(s):  
Written Language ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Writing System ◽  
Literary Language ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Status ◽  
Turkic Languages ◽  
History Of ◽  
Xix Century

The issue of the existence of Kyrgyz literature and literary language prior the Soviet period has not yet been resolved and still remains an open topic for discussion. There is no nation without a writing system, the history; the past and experience of folk are presented to the next generation through written system. This paper provides information about the formation stages of Kyrgyz literature and literary language, written works, documents and letters written in one of the Turkic languages — Kyrgyz in the pre-Soviet period, especially in the XVIII–XIX centuries. Also, in this paper there are an assessment of ideas, criticism and opinions of Kyrgyz culture researches about Kyrgyz written system such as: A. Kanymetov, S. S. Danyarov, philologists turkologists: I. A. Batmanov, K. K. Yudakhin, S. E. Malov, V. M. Ploskikh, E. Tenishev, A. Nallo, B. M. Yunusaliev, S. K. Kudaibergenov and Kh. K. Karasaev. In this study we attempted to determine the creation dates of some written works found today. The found documents and manuscripts, relating to the middle of the XIX century, create more opportunities for linguistics’ study, for ideas and suggestions on the status of the Kyrgyz language as being Turkic of almost sesquicentennial prescription. We tried to provide the most information on the topics of study and collection of works, characterized as the most significant documents of Moldo Niyaz — one of the first representatives of ‘zhazgych akyn’s’ (reading and chronicling improvising poets). The fact that the turkologists linguists did not carry out the necessary works and did not present documentary evidence of the Kyrgyz written language results to the opinion of non-existence of Kyrgyz written language, thus literary language. However, to the present day the activities of collection of the original manuscript’s copies of ‘zhazgych akyn’s’ important representatives among the public, a compilation of manuscripts, and their linguistic studies are still ignored. This kind of work will be a valuable and useful resource for large text research in the field of hermeneutics.

scholarly journals Morphological Dialectisms in the Work Sanat Digarasttar by Moldo Niyaz

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 334-340
Author(s):  
A. Akynbekova
Keyword(s):  
Written Language ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Literary Language ◽  
Aesthetic Value ◽  
Language History ◽  
Literature History ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Xix Century ◽  
Theoretical Foundations ◽  
Language Literature

Moldo Niyaz is a person who has a unique place in the Kyrgyz language, literature, history and culture. He is the ancestor of the development of the form of written literary language in the nineteenth century. His work Sanat Digarasttar is of great importance as one of the priceless documents that makes it possible to reflect on the state of the language, almost in the previous century and a half and on the written monuments of the Kyrgyz language for linguistic science in the middle of the XIX century. Artistic and aesthetic value, dignity, all the beauty of Sanat songs left by the author are reflected in the language features. Therefore, in order to learn the written technologies of the ancient Kyrgyz peoples, it is necessary to study the language features of the works of Moldo Niyaz from different sides. Based on this direction, the article makes a comparative analysis of the grammatical local language features of the language in the work of akyn with the modern Kyrgyz literary language. Scientific works of researchers in this direction,devoted to dialects, such turkologists as K. K. Yudakhin, B. M. Yunusaliev, I. A. Batmanov, T. K. Akhmatov, Zh. Mukambaev, G. Bakinova, E. Abduldaev, K. Beknazarov, Sh. Zhaparov, K. Kyrbashev, A. Biyaliev, Zh. Zhumaliev, T. Sydykov were the scientific and theoretical foundations of our work. Thus, the study and definition of such issues as the emergence of the Kyrgyz literary language, history, development of the language-this is today also one of the main problems. When solving these problems, the issue of research of the works of pischuschih akyns before the October revolution can become the main linguistic base. From this point of view, it is necessary to study from different sides the works of akynovkak Moldo Niyaz, the written language of regional use, especially the XIX–XX centuries before the formation of the Kyrgyz people as a nationality.

scholarly journals Old Slavonic language as a didactic resource for developing a strong language student personality

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (29) ◽  
pp. 327-335
Author(s):  
Galina S. Samoilova ◽  
Anna D. Komyshkova ◽  
Olga A. Patsyukova ◽  
Elena I. Budaragina
Keyword(s):  
Russian Language ◽  
Slavic Language ◽  
Methodological Basis ◽  
The People ◽  
Slavonic Language ◽  
Russian Literary ◽  
History Of ◽  
Didactic Material ◽  
Historical Grammar ◽  
The Russian Language

The article considers the axiological potential of the Old Slavic language in connection with the problem of formation of the linguistic personality of the philologist. Special attention is paid to the axiological guidelines of modern pedagogical education: the development of a value attitude towards language as part of national history, culture, spirituality. Some aspects of the formation of a strong language personality are presented on the example of the language personality of the future verbal teacher. The aim of the study is to describe didactic possibilities of the language-preservative in the process of training the teacher-verbal are described: formation of attitude to the native language and historical path of its development as wealth and value, which contribute to unification and consolidation of the people speaking this language. The Old Slavonic (Church Slavonic) language appears to be a preservative language for the Russian language at all periods of its existence and, in this regard, becomes a methodological basis, an integrative base for the study of the history of the Russian language. This provision concerns the historical grammar of the Russian language, the history of the Russian literary language as the main educational disciplines of historical and linguistic training of a specialist-philologist. The methodological basis is a conception of linguistic rhetorical education of strong linguistic personality. For ancient languages we propose to implement the conception by linguistic methods of lexico-stylistic analysis, axiological approach to language study, method of modeling of integrative text didactic material. The results of the study show the mastering of the vocabulary of the Old Slavic language contributes to the expansion and deepening of linguistic competences and linguistic ethics of the philologist. As a result of successful practice of using case texts there is presented a version of integrative didactic material based on hagiography literature of Ancient Russia.

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