Emergence and Development of Contact Idioms in the Frame of Philosophy of Global Evolutionism

Based on observations of the emergence of pidgins, their further extension and transformation into creole languages (all these forms of language are denoted by the term "contact idioms" in this article), the hypothesis is put forward in this part of the exploration that the origin and development of the human language seem to be similar in many dimensions to the emergence and development of contact idioms. In support of that hypothesis, both the general conceptions of some contemporary evolutionary linguists (in particular, D. Bickerton, W.T. Fitch, T. Nikolaeva, B. Bichakjian) are described and evolutionary strategies for some particular languages and language families are surveyed. The similarity of evolutionary vectors of pidgins and creole languages and several of the other language families is assumed. Based on the considered linguistic material, it is postulated that the law "ontogeny manifests a repetition of several phylogenetic stages" or the recapitulationist theory – with all its ambiguousness from the standpoint of present-day biology – seems to be true for linguistic evolution. Attention is focused on the importance of using a comprehensive communicative-discursive approach to the study of glottogenesis, as described in the works of domestic and international linguists who specialize in evolutionary linguistics and general linguistics and whose names are mentioned above. The relevance of the material of contact idioms and languages of other groups and families listed in this paper for such purposes is emphasized.

Into-causatives in World Englishes

The paper analyses the frequency and use of the relatively rare, yet highly productive into-causative construction in twenty varieties of English on the basis of the 1.9-billion word Corpus of Web-based Global English (GloWbE; Davies 2013)1 and Schneider’s (2007) Dynamic Model. It hypothesises differences in frequency, variation in the preference for particularly frequent fillers as well as productivity differences in line with Schneider’s stages of linguistic evolution. However, it shows that only frequency differences reflect the Dynamic Model; with regard to the preference for frequent realisations and productivity, postcolonial varieties turn out to be very similar to British English. These results come as a surprise against the background of similar studies of the way-construction, where all of these effects have been documented convincingly. It is argued that the properties of into-causatives themselves (e.g. their idiomatic and semantic simplicity) might contribute to their more native-like usage patterns in postcolonial varieties of English.

The Life of Language: Saussure and Evolution

<p>The stimulus for this thesis came from a quite unexpected source. Originally I embarked on a comparative study of the two philosophers primarily responsible for the divergence of the Continental and Anglo-American traditions of language based philosophy: Ferdinand de Saussure and Gottlob Frege. But when I began a careful reading of Saussure’s Course in General Linguistics (1974 – the Course) I was struck by the extent to which his synchronic theory of language appeared to reflect an awareness of linguistic evolution as analogous to biological evolution. That seemed to me to be particularly interesting for two reasons. First, I was aware of the empirical success that linguists and biologists have had in the late twentieth century in exploiting this analogy, particularly in tracing the geographical origins of ethnic groups (Cavalli-Sforza, 2000). Second, Saussure is usually identified with a view of language as something essentially arbitrary and conventional – something essentially human (Saussure, 1974, p. 16). By that account linguistic evolution would seem to have little in common with natural evolutionary processes. Yet far from rejecting the analogy, Saussure seemed to be taking a position within it, promoting a view of linguistic evolution that was akin to a contemporary Darwinian understanding, as opposed to a more archaic view, of biological evolution (Saussure, 1974, p. 4). The questions then arose: to what extent is Saussure’s theory of language a theory that could underpin and explain the linguistic-biological analogy? To what extent should it be such a theory? And what does the linguisticbiological analogy suggest about the philosophical appropriation of Saussure’s theory? These are the guiding questions of this thesis. The answers I advance make for what I hope is an interesting and even provocative re-reading of Saussure’s theory of language.</p>

The Life of Language: Saussure and Evolution

<p>The stimulus for this thesis came from a quite unexpected source. Originally I embarked on a comparative study of the two philosophers primarily responsible for the divergence of the Continental and Anglo-American traditions of language based philosophy: Ferdinand de Saussure and Gottlob Frege. But when I began a careful reading of Saussure’s Course in General Linguistics (1974 – the Course) I was struck by the extent to which his synchronic theory of language appeared to reflect an awareness of linguistic evolution as analogous to biological evolution. That seemed to me to be particularly interesting for two reasons. First, I was aware of the empirical success that linguists and biologists have had in the late twentieth century in exploiting this analogy, particularly in tracing the geographical origins of ethnic groups (Cavalli-Sforza, 2000). Second, Saussure is usually identified with a view of language as something essentially arbitrary and conventional – something essentially human (Saussure, 1974, p. 16). By that account linguistic evolution would seem to have little in common with natural evolutionary processes. Yet far from rejecting the analogy, Saussure seemed to be taking a position within it, promoting a view of linguistic evolution that was akin to a contemporary Darwinian understanding, as opposed to a more archaic view, of biological evolution (Saussure, 1974, p. 4). The questions then arose: to what extent is Saussure’s theory of language a theory that could underpin and explain the linguistic-biological analogy? To what extent should it be such a theory? And what does the linguisticbiological analogy suggest about the philosophical appropriation of Saussure’s theory? These are the guiding questions of this thesis. The answers I advance make for what I hope is an interesting and even provocative re-reading of Saussure’s theory of language.</p>

Observing linguistic evolution in an Irish archipelago

This article describes the results of a research project carried out over a period of 25 years on the spoken Irish Gaelic of the Aran Islands, Co. Galway, Ireland. It combines microdialectology with sociolinguistics and investigates a wide range of phonological, grammatical, and lexical variables. In addition to revealing complex patterns of geolinguistic variation involving small local areas on the main island and on neighboring islands, it also shows the clear influence of age, gender, and individual creativity on the patterns of variation.

VOCABULARY OF FOREIGN ORIGIN: PROBLEMS OF NORM IN THE CONTEXT OF THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF UKRAINIAN LITERARY LANGUAGE

The article presents a multifaceted analysis of the dynamics of spelling and pronunciation of words of foreign origin in the Ukrainian literary language. The research expanded the range of knowledge about the phases of formation of the Ukrainian orthography, in particular, the part devoted to the orthography of foreign tokens and made it possible to explain the changes in the rules of spelling and pronunciation in diachrony. Linguistic and extralinguistic factors that influenced linguistic evolution are identified and the processes of normalization of borrowed vocabulary taking into account the historical context are highlighted. The views of Ukrainian linguists on the norms of spelling and pronunciation of words of foreign origin are generalized. It was stated that although there are few foreign words (approximately 10 percent), compared to other Ukrainian lexical collections, foreign words have provoked and are causing many discussions among linguists about their mastery of the Ukrainian literary language. After all, the legalization of the language norm, its written reflection and its organization in Ukraine is very difficult, which causes heterogeneity of spelling and pronunciation of words of foreign origin. Transformations in borrowed tokens over a long historical period are traced. A chronological description of all editions of the Ukrainian orthography is made and the most typical changes and establishments in the spelling and pronunciation of foreign words are systematized. It is proved that the lack of clearly formulated and formed rules for spelling borrowed words has led to variable spelling and pronunciation. After all, the phonetic system of the Ukrainian language can not fully reflect the peculiarities of the sound system of a foreign language, which indicates a complex process of stabilization of pronunciation and spelling norms of words of foreign origin in the Ukrainian literary language.

Orangutan information broadcast via consonant-like and vowel-like calls breaches mathematical models of linguistic evolution

The origin of language is one of the most significant evolutionary milestones of life on Earth, but one of the most persevering scientific unknowns. Two decades ago, game theorists and mathematicians predicted that the first words and grammar emerged as a response to transmission errors and information loss in language's precursor system, however, empirical proof is lacking. Here, we assessed information loss in proto-consonants and proto-vowels in human pre-linguistic ancestors as proxied by orangutan consonant-like and vowel-like calls that compose syllable-like combinations. We played back and re-recorded calls at increasing distances across a structurally complex habitat (i.e. adverse to sound transmission). Consonant-like and vowel-like calls degraded acoustically over distance, but no information loss was detected regarding three distinct classes of information ( viz. individual ID, context and population ID). Our results refute prevailing mathematical predictions and herald a turning point in language evolution theory and heuristics. Namely, explaining how the vocal–verbal continuum was crossed in the hominid family will benefit from future mathematical and computational models that, in order to enjoy empirical validity and superior explanatory power, will be informed by great ape behaviour and repertoire.

Medieval Translation in the Light of the Polysystem and Rewriting Theories

This paper examines through the lens of translation studies (TS) the pattern of sociocultural and linguistic evolution to which medieval vernaculars of the Christian East adhered. It aims to contribute to discussions in medieval studies and TS with regard to vernacular translations. The medieval Georgian tradition of translation is examined from the perspective of descriptivist translation theories, namely, in the light of Even-Zohar’s polysystem and Lefevere’s rewriting theories. The Georgian literary polysystem is viewed as part of a larger mega-polysystem of the Christian East, with Greek being at its centre. This explains parallels in the emancipation of vernacular languages. From the viewpoint of the rewriting theory, emphasis is given to the roles of professional circles, patronage and dominant poetics. The evolution of the Georgian translation tradition from free rendering to a higher concern for precision reflects the impact of different sociocultural factors, evidencing the validity of the mentioned descriptivist models.