Answer
the following questions using the book and other sources.
1.
Why does Milroy say that sound
change appears to have no “obvious function or rational motivation” (146)?
Because neither language nor speakers can extract a benefit or
progress from sound-changes.
2.
What is/are the main difference/s
between Milroy’s approach and that of the Neogrammarians (147-148)?
The NEOGRAMMARIANS state
that sound change is regular: it is fixed by sound ‘laws’ and this laws have no
exception: they are believed to apply to all the items with the same structure.
They also defend that the speakers of any language do not realize that there
has been a change: The process has been so slow they could not notice it. The change
has affected all structure-related words in the some way at the some time.
As they exclude spoken
language and, thus, speakers’ usage, to analyze their object, they fall into
what is called ‘blind necessity.’ We can characterize their statements in three
features: they are dichotomous, non-social and their main sources are written
(so they could not observe changes in progress and in localized varieties)
MILROY’S APPROACH: He is
against the Neogrammarians view: he believes that sound changes, and changes in
general are motivated not only by linguistic reasons but also by social ones so
that he talks about these variations as sociolinguistic changes. He explains we
have to consider spoken language and different varieties too and do not think
about language as the idealization of STANDARDIZATION.
3.
According to Milroy, what is
language change dependent on? (149?)
It depends both on
linguistics and in language usage, that is, in society. Against the
Neogrammarian approach, he also takes into account the importance of speakers’
usage of language: their varieties (which can be geographical, chronological…
motivated) and the way a new change has to spread (that is, through speakers,
by borrowing their expressions) to become a real change.
4.
Why does Milroy say that sound
change actually doesn’t exist (150)?
Because what he really
thinks is that sounds do not physically change: what happens is that in the
course of time, one sound is substituted for another: speakers gradually and
variably begin to use the new sound. It is not a sound change, but a diachronic
correspondence.
5.
Why does Milroy disagree with the
Neogrammarians when they say that sound change is “blind” (150)?
Because the
Neogrammarians uphold that changes are language-internal, independent of
speakers; they are ‘blind’ intentionally, as they ignore social features as
possible reasons and explanations.
6.
What is meant by “lexical diffusion”
(151)?
LEXICAL DIFFUSION: it is
a kind of sound change. Traditionally, as Labov clains, it was opposed to the
concept of phonetic (or sound) change. Both concepts are related in that they
are socially gradual, abrupt replacement patterns and both can be shown to be regular in some sense. But Milroy does not think they
must be regarded as opposing terms: Although they differ in that in phonetic
change the new form differs only slighty from the older one, but, on the other
hand, in lexical diffusion there is a huge difference between both words. They
must be considered as two types of a single feature.
7.
What does dialect displacement mean?
Give an example. (152)
DIALECT DISPLACEMENT:
It consists on the
displacement of one dialect by another which is, for some reason, socially
dominant at some particular time. This change from one dialect to another can
lead to different consequences, to different linguistic changes: a
simplification of the language, a mixture of both dialects as one of them has
left in the other one lots of residues…
8.
What are “community” or “vernacular”
norms? What term that we have used in class
is similar (152)?
COMMUNITY OR VERNACULAR
NORMS:
The standard variety of
a language has a series of rules (which can be enforced by social pressures or
norms institutions of society have legislated for) which can be easily
recognized by speakers. But the fact that people can also recognize other
dialects of the some language easily too shows that, in opposition to standardizing
norms, we can find community norms (also called vernacular norms): norms observed
by speakers and maintained by community. They often differ from the standard
one and represent and help to recognize certain dialect. Community norms of a
dialect are often known not only by its speakers, but by outsiders too.
9. What does Milroy mean when he says that h-dropping may not ever reach
“completion” (153)?
I think that what he
means is that although this sound change can exist and last during centuries,
it may not for grammatics, become fully acceptable as a proper feature of the language
society institutions based on language nor even speakers.
I have found more
information about this topic on the following website
10.
Explain what Milroy means by
“speaker innovation” and change in the system. How
are they connected (153)?
SPEAKER INNOVATION AND
CHANGE IN THE SYSTEM:
There is a difference
between the concepts of ‘innovation’ and ‘change’: the former depends on
speakers while a ‘change’ happens at the level of the language system.
Historically, this distinction was not properly made by linguists;
Nevertheless, Milroy states that an innovation most be unstructured and
irregular. It must be observable, but by this observation we cannot guarantee
if this will mean a change or not so that, by now it is only regarded as a
mistake on usage. However, we use the term ‘change’ when a variation has
already been accepted, recognized and legislated in the language system. But
both terms are related in some way: an innovation can be spread to the extent
of becoming a change in a near or even in a further future. Innovations can be
observed, but only after complete analysis and study of the feature we would
know what their consequences would be, although we would not know whether they
will lead to changes or not. For a speaker-innovation to become a change, it
must be adopted by some community by passing from one speaker to others.
11. Why isn’t borrowing from one language to another and the replacement of
one sound by another through speaker innovation with a language as radically
different as the Neogrammarians posited (154-6)?
The Neogrammarian statement that establishes every single
act of borrowing in a new speech community is as much an innovation as the
original event in the ‘original speech community’ makes Milroy states there
must be a true difference between sound change and sound borrowing.
12.
What is necessary for a sound to
spread (157)?
According to Milroy,
sound changes spread due to social reasons. They normally spread through the lexicon
of a given language and it can result from borrowing or from a sudden replacement
of one trill by another.
13.
Why does believing in the ideology
of standardization lead to believing in “blind
necessity” (158)?
Because if we accept the standard variety, ignoring or
rejecting any characteristic feature of the vernacular dialects we are acting,
in a certain way, ‘blindly’: We do not consider the plurality languages offer;
we ‘act the fool’ to dialect diversity.
14.
What does Milroy mean by “clean” and
“dirty” data (158)?
‘CLEAN’ DATA: By this
concept, Milroy means that the standardized languages, as they have been
already normalized, suppose ‘good’ language to the researcher, it means
examples upon which we can trust or rely.
‘DIRTY’ DATA: But,
actually, the language people use in everyday communication in different
dialects differs from the standard variety. And, so that, as it is not close to
this Clean data and it might seem intractable, irregular, out of law, chaotic…if
we compare them.
But, nevertheless, it is
by trying to understand, analyse and study this Dirty
data that we would foresee how linguistic change would develop and we would
have a wider knowledge about it.
We have still a lot of work to do as the standard concept and every other term that it
implies (unilinear, uniformity, normality…) have taken
root in traditional thinking and investigators will have to consider
irregularities of vernacular varieties too.