MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE RUSSIAN

FEDERATION

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE KYRGYZ

KYRGYZ–RUSSIAN SLAVIC UNIVERSITY

HUMANITIES FACULTY

THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND

The history of the language

Self-study work on the topic of

“Theory of language change”

Written by Sagyndykova Elena

Student of HLAE 1-21

Checked by: Zhunushalieva A.Sh.

Bishkek 2024
 Historical perspective
Research on language change has deep roots in historical linguistics, which originated in the 19th
century. One of the first linguists to seriously address this issue was August Schleicher, who
proposed the idea of a language tree. He suggested that languages evolve like biological species,
change and diverge from a common ancestor, forming language families. One of the main
achievements of historical linguistics was the discovery of the Indo-European language family
and the reconstruction of the proto-language (proto-Indo-European), on the basis of which such
languages as Sanskrit, Latin, Greek, German and Russian developed.
Theories of language change
There are various theoretical approaches to explaining the processes of language change:
The neogrammatic hypothesis. It originated at the end of the XIX century in the works of
Jan Baudouin de Courtenay and representatives of the Leipzig school. According to this theory,
phonetic changes occur naturally and uniformly, affecting all words equally, and are not
susceptible to exceptions. This explains the regularity of changes, for example, in the
consonantism of the Germanic languages.
The theory of waves. This theory, proposed by Johannes Schmidt, states that language
changes propagate like waves across the surface of water. The closer the speaker is to the
"epicenter" of the change, the more he is exposed to it. This explains why old and new forms can
coexist in different parts of the same linguistic community.
Functional theory of change. According to this approach, changes occur under the influence
of the communicative needs and functional load of the language. If some part of grammar or
phonetics becomes less important for conveying meaning, it may disappear or change. For
example, Latin cases disappeared in Romance languages, as the word order took over the
function of distinguishing subjects and objects.
The theory of marginality. This approach assumes that language changes often begin at the
periphery of the language, in areas where contact with other languages occurs. Borderline
dialects or groups can become a source of changes that then spread to the entire language.
The theory of language change is an important area of linguistics that studies how and why
languages change over time. Language changes can occur at various levels – phonetic,
grammatical, lexical and semantic. These processes affect the structure of language and its
functions in society.
Causes of language changes
Social factors. Changes in society, such as migration, wars, cultural contacts and technology,
lead to a linguistic shift. For example, colonization and globalization have led to the borrowing
of words from one language to another.
 Economic and political factors. Influential countries and economic centers often have an
impact on languages. For example, English has significantly changed other languages as a result
of its role in the global economy and politics.
Psychological and cognitive reasons. People tend to simplify language structures for ease of
communication. This can manifest itself in changing pronunciation, shortening word forms, and
simplifying syntax.
Language contact. When speakers of different languages interact, there is often a mutual
influence of languages. This leads to borrowings, the emergence of Pidgins and Creole
languages.
Types of language changes
Language changes can be classified into several types:
1. Phonetic changes. These are changes in the pronunciation of sounds. An example is the Great
Vowel Shift in the English language, which occurred between the XV and XVII centuries.
Assimilation. One sound in a word becomes similar to the neighboring one to simplify
articulation. For example, in Russian, assimilation often occurs in consonant combinations: the
word "съезжать" is pronounced as [сьйезжать].
Dissimilation. On the contrary, two identical sounds change to be more distinguishable.
Example: the Latin word "peregrinus" ("чужестранец") in Italian became "pellegrino"
(паломник), where there was a dissimilation of the sounds "r" and "l".
Reduction. Sounds, especially vowels, can become weaker and disappear. For example, in
English, there has been a reduction in the endings of Old English words. The word “nama" has
become the modern “name”.
Metathesis. This is a change in the order of sounds in a word. Example: The Old English
“brid“ has become the modern "bird".
2. Grammatical changes
They can relate to both morphology and syntax:
Syntactic changes. Changing the structure of sentences. For example, in English there has been
a transition from a looser word order to a more fixed one.
Morphological changes. Changes in the structure of words. For example, the disappearance of
case endings in Old English.
As well as common types of grammatical changes are:
Analysis. The transition from synthetic languages, where grammatical relations are expressed
using suffixes and endings, to analytical ones, where these relations are expressed through
individual words and prepositions. For example, Latin was synthetic, but modern Romance
languages such as French or Spanish have become more analytical.
 Grammaticalization. The process by which lexical words turn into grammatical markers. For
example, the English verb "will", which originally meant "желать", has become a marker of the
future tense.
4. Lexical changes. These are changes in the vocabulary of the language, such as borrowings, the
appearance of new words and the archaization of old ones. Lexical changes are the most obvious
and rapidly occurring form of language change. These include:
Borrowings. Languages borrow words from each other. For example, Russian has a huge
number of borrowings from French (ballet, chauffeur), English (computer, marketing) and other
languages.
Neologisms. New words are created to denote new phenomena. Modern technologies have
contributed to the emergence of many neologisms, such as “smartphone“ or ”Internet".
Archaization. Some words fall out of use and become archaisms. For example, in Russian the
word “очи” was replaced by the word “глаза”.
5. Semantic changes. Changes in the meanings of words over time. Words can expand or narrow
their meanings, acquire new connotations. For example, the word "друг" in Old Russian meant
"тот, кто дорог", but the modern meaning is "приятель, товарищ".

Conclusion

The theory of language change demonstrates that language is a dynamic system that is
constantly changing under the influence of many factors. From internal factors, such as phonetic
shifts and grammaticalization, to external influences like social interaction and cultural
exchange, each theory provides valuable insights into the dynamic nature of language. These
changes reflect the cultural, social and psychological processes taking place in society. The
interplay between stability and change highlights the adaptive quality of languages in response to
shifting social contexts and communicative needs. Theories help to understand how languages
evolve and adapt to changes in society. Language changes are inevitable and natural, and they
are a key aspect of a living language. Various factors and mechanisms of change make each
language unique, but also allow us to see patterns and similarities between different languages of
the world. Future research will continue to uncover new dimensions of language change,
emphasizing the importance of an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates sociolinguistic,
historical, and cognitive perspectives
 Biblography
 Arutyunova, N. D. Historical linguistics and the theory of linguistic changes. Moscow:
Nauka, 1995.
 Howard, John. Linguistic changes in the socio-cultural perspective. St. Petersburg:
Akademiya, 2003.
 Isachenko, A.V. Historical morphology of the Russian language. Prague: Czech
Academy of Sciences, 1970.