7b-Classification-of-languages

1、Chapter 7The classification of languageLING1200 Introduction to LinguisticsYadong Xu xuy34569myumanitoba.ca 540 Fletcher Argue University of ManitobaAugust 1st 2017RecapTypological vs. genetic classification of languageThe difference between absolute and statistical universalsMarkedness and its role

2、 in implicational universals- existence of more marked property on a hierarchy implies existence of all less marked properties on the hierarchyThe phonological typologyaccording to vowel systems (most common vowel system)according to suprasegmental system (tone language)The morphological typologyiso

3、lating, agglutinative, fusional, polysynthetic, and mixedThe 5 largest language families (by # of speakers)All happen to be in Eurasia/Africawell look at the languagefamilies of the Americas in Chapter 9 (Aboriginal languages).#3 Niger-Congo (6%)#4 Afro-Asiatic (5%)#5 Austronesian (5%)(all other sma

4、ller families: 24%)Sino-TibetanAfro-Asiatic#1 Indo-European(42% of world pop.)#2 Sino-Tibetan (18%)Major IE branchesGermanic: English, Dutch, German, Scandinavian languages (e.g.Swedish)Romance: Latin and its descendants (Italian, Spanish, French,Portuguese, .)Celtic: Irish Gaelic, Scots Gaelic, Wel

5、sh, Bretono Few speakers now: was pushed out by Germanic and RomanceSlavic: Russian, Polish, Czech, Bulgarian, .Greek 希腊语Iranian伊朗语: Persian, Pashto, KurdishIndic: Sanskrit and its descendants: Hindi-Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi#2 Sino-Tibertan (1,268,000,000)Two main branches:Sino-TibetanAfro-AsiaticChin

6、ese languages (including Mandarin and Cantonese)Tibeto-Burman languages (including Tibetan and Burmese)Proto-Sino-Tibetan was probably spoken around the same timeas Proto-Indo-European (6000 years ago)Chinese began to splitinto dialects 2000 years agoTodays Chinese languages have a diversity compara

7、ble to the Romance languages (e.g. French, Spanish, Italian)Sino-TibetanThe Sino-Tibetan family does NOT include:汉藏语系Vietnamese, Khmer (Cambodian): Austroasiatic familyThai, Lao/Laotian: Tai-Kadai family (borrowed many words from Chinese, but not genetically related) Japanese and Korean: each is an

8、isolate or very small languagefamily of its own, not related to any other known languagesJapanese borrowed writing and many words from ChineseProposed Altaic language family includes Japanese, Korean,Mongolian, and Turkish (!)but not widely acceptedTypological properties of Sino-Tibetan languagesMos

9、tly SOV, but Chinese has become SVOOriginally fusional, but many became isolatingOld Chinese may not have used tone (developed in Middle Ch.)#3 Niger-Congo (,437,000,000)Spoken across much of Sub-Saharan AfricaContains a large subgroup known as the Bantu languages (250+ languages), among which Swahi

10、li has the most speakers and is used asa common languageOther Bantu languages include Shona and ZuluProto-Bantu spokenat least 3000 years agoOther (non-Bantu) Niger-Congo languages include Yoruba and IgboSino-TibetanAfro-AsiaticNiger-CongoThe Niger-Congo family does NOT include the Khoisan languages

11、, spoken in southern Africa; these are the famous “click” languages (with click as a manner of articulation in addition to stop, fricative, affricate, etc.)- (some neighboring Bantu languages have borrowed clicks)Typological properties of Niger-Congo languagesSVO word orderAgglutinative morphology i

12、ncluding many prefixesA large number of noun classesEach noun belongs to a particular grammatical class, like masc/fem/neut gender in Indo-European, but more numerousSwahili has 16 distinct noun classes, including classes for persons, trees, groups, animals, and abstractions#4 Afro-Asiatic (380,000,

13、000)亚非Spoken across much of North Africa and the Middle EastContains a large subgroup known as the Semitic languages,which include Arabic, Amharic (Ethiopia), and HebrewOther (non-Semitic) Afro-Asiatic languages include Hausa, Oromo, and Somali, as well asCoptic Egyptian (extinct)Proto-Afro-Asiatic

14、spoken at least 10,000 years agoSino-TibetanAfro-AsiaticAfro-AsiaticVSO word order (also SVO)Grammatical gender (masculine/feminine)“Emphatic” consonants (uvular/pharyngeal/ejective)Morphology involving vowel changes within the rootForms of Arabic root /k-t-b/ write:kitb book, kutub books, ktib writ

15、er,kuttb writers, kataba he wrote, yaktubu he writes#5 Austronesian (323,000,000)Spoken across a huge geographical range, from Madacascar(off Africa) to Hawaii and Easter Island (middle of the Pacific)Includes (west to east):Malagasy (Madagascar)Malay (Malaysia and Indonesia), Javanese (Indonesia)Ph

16、ilippine languages (e.g. Tagalog)Indigenous languagesof Taiwan (endangered)Polynesian languages (e.g. Tahitian, Samoan, Hawaiian, Maori)Sino-TibetanAfro-AsiaticSpoken almost completely on islandsProperties of AustronesianVerb-initial word order (VSO, VOS)Fairly small phonological inventoriesHawaiian

17、: 8 consonant phonemes, 5 vowel phonemesFairly restricted syllable structure (often just CV)Much use of infixese.g. Kapampangan: sulat write, sumulat wroteMuch use of reduplication 复制Balinese: buku book, buku-buku booksKalinga: boloy house, bo-boloy villageTamambo: mangisi be happy, mang-mangisi be

18、very happyErgative主动格Accusative宾语vs ErgativeEnglish is an accusative languageTransitive:She sees her.Intransitive: She sleeps.Subject Verb ObjectSubject VerbTransitive:She sees her.Intransitive: Her sleeps.Subject Verb Object Subject VerbAll subjects are treated the same, transitive or intransitive

19、(she);Objects are treated differently (her)What is the ergative language like:Transitive subjects have the special treatment (she);Intransitive subjects are treated the same as objects (her)IsolatesNot all languages can be placed in families.Languages with no known relatives are called isolates.Languages are widely considered to be isolates:Basque (Spain, also an ergative language)Ainu (Japan)Burushaski (Pakistan)Kutenai (British Columbia)Taraskan (California)Yukagir (Siberia)What we should know fro