https://languages.codidact.com/categories/36/tags/3280.rssNew Posts Tagged 'historical-linguistics' - Languages & LinguisticsLanguages & Linguistics - Codidact2023-06-19T19:11:10Zhttps://languages.codidact.com/posts/288538How did "listen to" TV become "watch"?msh210https://languages.codidact.com/users/81062023-06-19T19:09:52Z2023-06-19T19:11:10Z<p>It seems that people used to say "listen to" and "hear" television, a holdover from radio, and that that gave way to "watch" and "see" over time. Has anyone any information on the timeline of th...https://languages.codidact.com/posts/286610Has there ever been a situation of perfect bilingualism, without falling in diglossia?fedorquihttps://languages.codidact.com/users/81032022-06-18T07:13:04Z2023-06-16T16:49:29Z<p>In many places around the world there are different languages that coexist: some people speak one, some the other, and many can speak both.</p>
<p>There are as many cases as situations: some of...https://languages.codidact.com/posts/286620Why "me too" and not "I too"?Moshihttps://languages.codidact.com/users/531962022-06-21T22:25:43Z2022-06-24T08:40:41Z<p>I've been studying German lately, and came across something that sparked my curiosity: The way to say "me too" in German is "ich auch" - that is, "I too". A shallow glance at other Germanic lang...https://languages.codidact.com/posts/286553Where, here, and there: What is the origin, and can it be generalized?Moshihttps://languages.codidact.com/users/531962022-06-03T22:44:15Z2022-06-03T22:44:15Z<p>I recently stumbled upon <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro-form">this wikipedia page</a> and it got me thinking. Take a look at the following table (terms are lifted from the Wikipedia ...https://languages.codidact.com/posts/282377Why didn't the same one (ancestor) language preponderate over China, Japan, Korea?TextKithttps://languages.codidact.com/users/536962021-06-26T03:01:47Z2021-06-26T17:49:01Z<p>Don't hesitate to revise my post, particularly if you want to add maps. I'm basically extending <a href="https://redd.it/jl3t76">this question on Reddit</a> to Chinese.</p>
<p>Unquestionably Ch...https://languages.codidact.com/posts/281765What sound did the letter ℵ encode in ancient Hebrew, and why did it morph into the greek vowel Α?celtschkhttps://languages.codidact.com/users/80562021-05-14T13:30:17Z2021-05-27T11:55:48Z<p>Here are two claims I've often heard or read:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p>The Hebrew language originally did not write down vowels.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The Greek (and subsequently the Latin) alphabet d...https://languages.codidact.com/posts/280972What is the origin of the missing "to be" in sentences like "the car needs washed"?Monica Celliohttps://languages.codidact.com/users/80462021-03-05T03:41:54Z2021-03-11T17:23:04Z<p>I grew up in western Pennsylvania (US), where constructs like "the car needs washed" are common. I was taught (yes, in schools in that region) that correct formal grammar requires &qu...https://languages.codidact.com/posts/279112What drives the complexity of a language?celtschkhttps://languages.codidact.com/users/80562020-11-13T07:36:20Z2020-11-14T19:32:28Z<p>Looking at English, its complexity seems to have been in constant decrease. For example, in the past, there were conjugations and a separate informal form of “you” (”thou”); all in all, the lang...https://languages.codidact.com/posts/278240Is Swedish more conservative than Danish and Norwegians?tommihttps://languages.codidact.com/users/534072020-09-28T09:12:36Z2020-11-02T15:00:56Z<p>I have read somewhere that Swedish is more conservative than the other continental North Germanic languages, Norwegian and Danish. Clearly Icelandic is more conservative then these all. But <str...https://languages.codidact.com/posts/277115Why is linguistics limited in how much it can look back in time?user53100https://languages.codidact.com/users/531002020-08-06T08:48:57Z2020-10-12T16:39:49Z<p>I've often seen that <a href="https://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/315#comment602_315">"we can only look back in time a short distance in linguistics"</a>. What prevents lin...https://languages.codidact.com/posts/277374Has Japanese always had the polite "masu" form?Moshihttps://languages.codidact.com/users/531962020-08-20T01:02:57Z2020-10-09T06:46:33Z<p>Japanese has what is known as the "polite form"/"masu form" and the "plain form". Notably, the two forms have completely different conjugations despite having the s...https://languages.codidact.com/posts/277339How do linguists determine historical pronunciation? Sigmahttps://languages.codidact.com/users/82632020-08-18T11:38:39Z2020-10-06T15:14:00Z<p>There were two recent questions (<a href="https://languages.codidact.com/questions/277283">here</a> and <a href="https://languages.codidact.com/questions/277285">here</a>) about historical pronu...https://languages.codidact.com/posts/277285How do I pronounce historical French correctly from times when the language was in transition?Monica Celliohttps://languages.codidact.com/users/80462020-08-16T18:05:39Z2020-08-26T16:15:19Z<p>I sing in a choir that performs medieval and renaissance music in several languages I don't otherwise speak. When we are unclear about pronunciation, we look for recordings from reputable perfo...https://languages.codidact.com/posts/277283How were ת & ט pronounced historically?Monica Celliohttps://languages.codidact.com/users/80462020-08-16T17:21:00Z2020-08-19T16:18:29Z<p>In Sephardi or Israeli Hebrew today, ט and ת are pronounced the same, at least to my non-native ear, something like /t/. In Ashkenazi Hebrew, on the other hand, sometimes ת is pronounced like ...