Historical Linguistics

The Modern South Arabian (MSA) languages constitute a significant outlier in Semitic, maintaining a phonological inventory which has all but disappeared elsewhere in the family. Although they have been thought to represent an archaic migration to the south of the Arabian Peninsula, their high level of lexical similarity argues that the current MSA languages dispersed quite recently. Despite being in neighbouring regions, they seem to have no special relationship with Epigraphic South Arabian (ESA), the cluster of inscriptional languages found in Southwest Arabia. However, they do have a distinctive relationship with Ethiosemitic. Ethiosemitic is highly internally diverse, suggesting that it must have been speakers of MSA languages who migrated across the Red Sea from Ethiopia relatively recently. Archaeological evidence points to the ancient settlement of the Arabian Peninsula by pastoralists, and thus MSA speakers must have replaced an earlier pastoral population.

If this is so, then something is wrong with our understanding of the genesis of Semitic and its relationship with the other branches of Afroasiatic. The paper proposes there was a ‘South Afroasiatic’ node consisting of Semitic, Cushitic and Chadic, co-ordinate with Egyptian, which developed after the split with Omotic. This node was characterised by a complex phonology which included both lateral fricatives and an ejective series. Although these features survive in peripheral branches of Chadic, Cushitic and Semitic, they have disappeared in Ethiopia proper, as a result of a levelling process which took place after the dispersal of MSA. The paper proposes that MSA languages  resulted from a seaborne migration of pastoralists from the Ethiopian mainland around 500 AD.

Since the time of William Dwight Whitney (1827-1894) most historical linguists have confined their research to closely related languages, and, with a few notable exceptions, have not ventured beyond the self-imposed limit of 10,000 years before the present. However, it is now clear that advances in comparative methods, and in the language data available, now allow us to probe deeper and with more certainty into the linguistic past of humankind. For example, our methods now permit us to distinguish archaic residue (genuine cognates) from borrowed words and chance resemblances. In the main text and appendix, evidence is presented for the existence of widespread ancient word roots, such as **kuni 'woman', **bako 'arm', and **saq 'leg'.

Proto-Indo-European (PIE) had two grammatical genders (common and neuter); the feminine was a shared innovation of the non-Anatolian part of the family. Using comparison with Modern Nepali, we argue that the puzzling feminine forms of the numerals '3' and '4' in Celtic and Indo-Iranian, and possibly also some similar constructions in Latin and Old Irish, are survivals of a system of numeral classifiers predating the full gender system. They contain the feminine element *-s(o)r-, grammaticalized as a numeral classifier in PIE. A similar situation is attested in Nepali, where grammatical gender occurs alongside numeral classifiers. Analogies between numeral phrases in PIE and Nepali help elucidate the historical development in question.

Natural Language Processing is a programmed approach to analyze text that is based on both a set of theories and a set of technologies. This forum aims to bring together researchers who have designed and build software that will analyze, understand, and generate languages that humans use naturally to address computers.

OCS  kolěno ‘knee; tribe, generation’ (cf. Polish pokolenie ‘generation’) and Lith  kẽlis ‘knee; joint in a plant; tribe; degree of kinship’ come from old adjectives with possessive suffixes (-ěn- in Slavic and -ija- in Baltic).  Their primary meaning was ‘a joint in the body’ (*‘a rotating part of the body’). Both were formed from nouns with the meaning ‘wheel’ (OCS  kolo, kolese ‘wheel’, Old Prussian kelan ‘wheel’, Latvian duceles ‘chaise’; IDE  *kwelh1- ‘to turn, to rotate’). The hypothesis proposed in this paper explains the semantic relationship between Slav.  kolěno ‘knee; tribe, generation’ and Proto-Slav.  *kel-nŭ- > *čelnŭ- > Slovenian člèn // Serbo-Croatian člȃn ‘joint; ankle, talus’. Assuming that the meaning ‘joint’ was the original one, OCS  kolěno ‘tribe, generation’ and Lith  kẽlis ‘degree in relationship; tribe’ can be interpreted as old terms of customary law in the field of succession. The counting of kinship by enumeration of body parts from the head to the middle fingernail has been preserved in Middle Low German customary law, so-called “Sachsenspiegel”. The hypothesis is supported by numerous parallels: Lith. sąnarys ‘a joint in the body; (OLith ) ‘generation’, Lith. stráipsnis ‘body part; (OLith.) generation’, OPr.  streipstan ‘body part; generation’, Middle High German Gelied ‘body part; generation’, and Middle Low German lede ‘a joint in the body; body part; degree of kinship’.

The 'farming/language dispersal hypothesis' was originally developed to explain the spread of the Neolithic economy and material culture into Europe. Recently, this hypothesis has been applied towards explaining the dispersal and divergence of East Asian languages. However, interpretations depend on what prehistoric cultivar is chosen by linguists as having been related with the spread of language. In understanding the appearance of the proto-Koreanic and proto-Japonic languages in Korea, millet and rice, which appeared in Korea around 3500 and 1300 BCE, respectively, have been emphasized by linguists. We assess these linguistic arguments. We first review how European archaeologists have understood the spread of farming into Europe, where the farming/language dispersal hypothesis was originally developed , and how archaeology has wrestled with the issues of diffusion and migration. Then we move on to evaluating linguistic hypotheses about the dispersal and split of proto-Koreanic and proto-Japonic. Our evaluation of the 'millet hypothesis' and the 'rice hypothesis' suggests that rice is a more plausible candidate for explaining the dispersal of proto-Koreanic to Korea. Meanwhile, viewing the introduction of slender daggers to Korea as another dispersal of language to Korea needs more scrutiny.

Across languages, demonstratives provide a frequent diachronic source for a wide range of grammatical markers including certain types of clause linkers such as English so, that, thus and therefore. Drawing on data from a sample of 100 languages, this chapter presents a cross-linguistic survey of (grammaticalised) demonstratives that are routinely used to combine clauses or propositions. The study shows that demonstrative clause linkers occur in a large variety of constructions including all major types of subordinate clauses and paratactic sentences. Concentrating on the most frequent types, the chapter considers (grammaticalised) demonstratives functioning as (i) relative pronouns, (ii) linking and nominalising articles, (iii) quotative markers, (iv) complementisers, (v) conjunctive adverbs, (vi) adverbial subordinate conjunctions, (vii) correlatives and (viii) topic markers. It is the purpose of the chapter to provide a comprehensive overview of demonstrative clause linkers from a cross-linguistic perspective and to consider the mechanisms of change that are involved in the grammaticalisation of demonstratives in clause linkage constructions. 2

In this article I propose a new derivation of Persian yak 'one' and other related words. Based on a series of analogical, phonetic and semantic changes, I will propose that yak does not go back to *aiua-ka-, as previously suggested but, ultimately, to *aiuaia-ka- .

This study explores palatalization and vowel coalescence in Jejueo, a language spoken
in Jeju Island. This study establishes a corpus based on Hyon (1962) and focuses on
dental and velar palatalization. The data reveal different patterns of variants in the two
types of palatalization. In Jejueo, there are three phonetic realizations of vowels in k-palatalization and two realizations in h-palatalization. According to the data, this study
also suggests a chronology: palatalization preceding vowel coalescence.

Balkanistics vs. Indology: The Etymologization of Slang Words
In the following essay, we trace the Romani origin and the Indo-Iranian etymology of some Balkan slang words (derived from the Romani roots čor- and mang-), focusing on the Romanian and the Bulgarian language.
After looking into the derivational productivity and the semantic content of the slang words, we try to compare the results with the word-history, semantic content, derivational productivity and word-formation processes of their cognate words in the modern Indo-Aryan language Hindī.
Keywords: Etymology, Balkan linguistics, Indology, Romani language, Slang words, Romanian language, Bulgarian language􏰮􏰧􏰩􏰱 􏰯􏰭􏰦􏰴􏰤􏰙 􏰌􏰭􏰳􏰧􏰩􏰰􏰧􏰩 􏰮􏰧􏰩􏰱􏰹􏰧􏰱􏰫􏰙 􏰈􏰹􏰮􏰱􏰧􏰦􏰰􏰧􏰩 􏰮􏰧􏰩􏰱􏰹􏰧􏰱􏰫

L’évolution des langues, leurs parentés, leurs origines. Voilà des questions qui ressurgissent où l’on ne les attendait plus guère, éventuellement armées d’argumentations nouvelles puisées auprès des spécialistes d’autres disciplines, généticiens des populations par exemple.
Les pidgins, les créoles, les mélanges de langues, que peut-on apprendre de ces variétés de langues qui se sont structurées et stabilisées de par le monde dans des contextes sociaux et historiques parfois très particuliers ?
Les discours bilingues entendus au hasard de la rue entre personnes qui vivent leur interculturalité et leur plurilinguisme dans des cadres communautaires stables ou précaires. Et que l’on n’entend pas autrement, sauf à partager légitimement avec eux cette pratique linguistique.
Voici trois thèmes différents mais, finalement, une seule problématique concernant la dynamique des langues et les conditionnements de leur évolution. Est-ce tout ? Non pas ! Ces thèmes sont aussi des objets de description et conduisent à des connaissances. Ce sera à la façon dont elles sont élaborées que l’on s’intéressera.

Une première réflexion portera sur les outils classificatoires et les processus de catégorisation utilisés pour proposer des représentations. Une deuxième concernera les modèles, arbre généalogique ou autres, et la façon dont ils déterminent l’objet qu’ils aident à construire. Enfin une troisième ouvrira sur l’élaboration de quelques principes utiles pour rendre compte de la dynamique des langues en général. Il s’agira alors, autour de quelques approches “ exemplaires ”, de redéfinir non pas le détail des pratiques descriptives mais plutôt les cadres explicatifs auxquels elles renvoient.

L’évolution des langues, leurs parentés, leurs origines. Voilà des questions qui ressurgissent où l’on ne les attendait plus guère, éventuellement armées d’argumentations nouvelles puisées auprès des spécialistes d’autres disciplines, généticiens des populations par exemple.
Les pidgins, les créoles, les mélanges de langues, que peut-on apprendre de ces variétés de langues qui se sont structurées et stabilisées de par le monde dans des contextes sociaux et historiques parfois très particuliers ?
Les discours bilingues entendus au hasard de la rue entre personnes qui vivent leur interculturalité et leur plurilinguisme dans des cadres communautaires stables ou précaires. Et que l’on n’entend pas autrement, sauf à partager légitimement avec eux cette pratique linguistique.
Voici trois thèmes différents mais, finalement, une seule problématique concernant la dynamique des langues et les conditionnements de leur évolution. Est-ce tout ? Non pas ! Ces thèmes sont aussi des objets de description et conduisent à des connaissances. Ce sera à la façon dont elles sont élaborées que l’on s’intéressera.

Une première réflexion portera sur les outils classificatoires et les processus de catégorisation utilisés pour proposer des représentations. Une deuxième concernera les modèles, arbre généalogique ou autres, et la façon dont ils déterminent l’objet qu’ils aident à construire. Enfin une troisième ouvrira sur l’élaboration de quelques principes utiles pour rendre compte de la dynamique des langues en général. Il s’agira alors, autour de quelques approches “ exemplaires ”, de redéfinir non pas le détail des pratiques descriptives mais plutôt les cadres explicatifs auxquels elles renvoient.

In the present paper we put forward some preliminary observations on glyphic references to architectural structures, especially houses and temples, in the writing system of ancient Teotihuacan. Based on comparisons to examples of similar textual references to architecture in Maya and Nawatl writing, we suggest that a temple (literally 'house') in Teotihuacan writing could be represented as an entire building, shown frontally or in profile, or graphically reduced to a simple and conventionalized almena. In addition we will present a provisional list of glyphic references to named structures in Teotihuacan writing, discussing some of them in greater detail. Finally, we will briefly discuss examples of titles that appear to have been derived from, or associated with, highly important structures. In order to situate these findings, we start by providing a short overview of our current understanding of Teotihuacan writing. Resumen En el presente estudio proponemos algunas observaciones preliminares respecto a las referencias jeroglíficas a las estructuras arquitectónicas, especialmente casas y templos, en el sistema de escritura teotihuacano. Con base en comparación a ejemplos de similares referencias textuales a la arquitectura, existentes en la escritura maya y nawatl, sugerimos que un templo (literalmente 'casa') en la escritura teotihuacana podía representarse como edificio entero, mostrado de frente o en perfil, o reducirse gráficamente a una almena básica y convencionalizada. Además, ofrecemos una lista provisional de referencias glíficas a las estructuras nombradas en la escritura teotihuacana, comentando algunas de ellas en mayor detalle. Por último, comentamos brevemente ejemplos de títulos que pueden haberse derivado o haberse asociado a estructuras de alta importancia. Para contextualizar estos resultados, comenzamos con una breve descripción de nuestra comprensión actual de la escritura teotihuacana. THE WRITING SYSTEM OF TEOTIHUACAN The nature of the notational system present at Teotihuacan has been the source of ongoing debate for several decades. Is it a type of incipient writing, a symbolic notational system resembling European heraldry as advocated by some? Alternatively, is it a writing system on par with other glyphic writing systems known for Mesoamerica? Is it because the writing system of Teotihuacan remains undeciphered that it is shrouded in so much ambiguity? The writing system of Teotihuacan has not received the attention it deserves, and despite the attempts of various researchers, a consensus has not been achieved as to its identity and function. Part of the problem rests with the fact that Teotihuacan is quickly drawn into the debate that involves all central Mexican writing systems as to whether these represent writing at all, incipient picture-writing or some other form of notational record (Berlo 1989;

Although the writing system of ancient Teotihuacan remains undeciphered and consensus has not yet been achieved as to its internal workings, significant progress has been made over the past seven decades. For example, glyphic constructions recording personal names and titles have been identified as have the first toponyms, or place names. Here we build on these foundations and present some of our most recent research on Teotihuacan toponyms, focusing specifically on place names that include mountain signs, concentrating on identifying the character and general meaning of these place names. In commenting on the role and importance of mountain toponyms attested in Teotihuacan writing, we also note the persistence of place names in central Mexico, which suggests that many are of great antiquity and figured prominently within the culturally-construed landscapes and ritual practices of Teotihuacan. Thus, the toponymic constructions recorded in the writing of the great metropolis are wholly comparable to later script traditions of Highland central Mexico, which leads us to suggest that the writing systems of the Epiclassic period and the Aztec do find, at least in part, their origins in Teotihuacan culture. Furthermore, the toponyms cited at Teotihuacan appear to record the names of localities that were either in the relative vicinity of the site or that show evidence of Teotihuacan presence and utilisation. As part of our investigations we have found that the mountain toponyms of Teotihuacan record both important mythological places as well as earthly locations that figured prominently as the setting of historical events, rituals and pilgrimages. Resumen Aunque el sistema de escritura de Teotihuacan permanece sin descifrar y todavía no existe consenso en cuanto a su funcionamiento interno, en las últimas siete décadas se han logrado avances significativos. Por ejemplo, se han identificado construcciones glíficas que registran nombres personales y títulos, así como los primeros topónimos o nombres de lugares. En el presente estudio nos basamos en estos avances y presentamos algunos de nuestros trabajos de investigación más recientes sobre los topónimos teotihuacanos, centrándonos en particular en los nombres de lugares que incluyen signos de montaña, prestando una atención especial a la identificación del carácter y el significado general de estos nombres de lugares. Al comentar el papel y la importancia de los topónimos de montañas atestiguados en la escritura teotihuacana, también hemos podido observar la persistencia de los nombres de lugares en el centro de México, lo cual sugiere que muchos de ellos son de gran antigüedad y ocupaban una posición privilegiada dentro de los paisajes culturales y las prácticas rituales de Teotihuacan. De este modo, las construcciones toponímicas registradas en la escritura de la gran metrópolis son totalmente comparables a las tradiciones escriturarias posteriores del altiplano central de México, lo que nos lleva a sugerir que los sistemas de escritura del periodo Epiclásico y de los mexica tenían, en efecto, al menos en parte-sus orígenes en la cultura teotihuacana. Por otro lado, los topónimos citados en Teotihuacan parecen registrar los nombres de localidades que estaban situadas en los entornos del sitio o que muestren indicios de la presencia y utilización teotihuacana. Como parte de nuestra investigación hemos descubierto que los topónimos de montaña de Teotihuacan se refieren tanto a importantes lugares mitológicos, como a lugares terrenales que destacaban por su importancia, por ser marco de acontecimientos históricos, rituales y peregrinaciones.

This paper has three main sections. The first is a theo-political discussion of Sanskrit’s imaginative power regarding faith-based development and how ‘Sanskrit-speaking’ villages signify an ambition toward cultural renaissance. Section two explicates Sanskrit’s national-level enumeration in the 2011 and 2011 censuses. The third section burrows down to the lowest administrative levels to show which districts and sub-districts (tehsil/taluk, or taluq) returned the highest number of L1-L3 Sanskrit tokens across four states, which are discussed in detail, namely, Maharasthra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.

As a result, we now have a much clearer picture of where the people were at the time of each census who identify as Sanskrit ‘speakers.’ While more men identify as Sanskrit speakers than women; 92 percent of people who speak Sanskrit as a second language (L2) have Hindi as their mother tongue (L1). And most people who claim to be L1-L3-Sanskrit speakers cluster around L1-L3 combinations of Hindi/English/Sanskrit. The majority also live in Urban, as opposed to Rural areas, particularly across parts of north India, which gives a 44:56 percent ratio in favor of urban centers (Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, 2020). This demonstrates that the reality of the ‘Sanskrit village’ is not supported by the census data. As well, key development indicators also expose a below average ability for Sanskrit to transform lives in the districts which reportedly have higher levels of people speaking Sanskrit.

Perhaps, most importantly, looking for L1-Sanskrit speakers does not necessarily tell us much beyond aspiration. It is worth focusing, perhaps, on the L2-L3-Sanskrit figures in more detail. Also, the media do not present a plausible scenario. While L1-Sanskrit figures have increased the L2 and L3 figures have plummeted. This does not suggest a prosperous future for Sanskrit. 

Key Words: ‘Sanskrit-speaking’ villages, Hindu nationalism, linguistic utopia, social imaginary, Indian Census 2011.