Linguistics Reconstruction: Case Of Polynesian

Linguistic Reconstruction:Case of PolynesianLinguistics 20310/8/2010

Polynesia

Polynesia

Polynesian Migration

Polynesian Languages Little contact with outside languages, so weexpect little blending No writing system before Westerners, thus nowritten documentation of earlier language(s) How can we reconstruct the proto language?

Polynesian Languages All have significant similarities not shared with otherlanguages. cognates – words descended from a common emakaukakokogloss‘bird’‘fish’‘to ‘bush’‘blood’(Table 13-1)

Sound Correspondences We look for sound correspondences to identifywhat sound was in the proto language

Sound Correspondences What correspondences can we find ‘bird’‘fish’‘to eat’‘forbidden’

Sound Correspondences What correspondences can we find bush’‘to cry’

Sound Correspondences Here are all the consonantal sound correspondencesfrom Tables 13-1 and 13-2 in the �Ø-ŋ-Hawaiianm-n-ʔk-pwh-ØØ-n-

Proto Polynesian Sound Inventory Which sound is the proto sound? General rule: it is the form requiring the least -Hawaiianm-nk-proto-sound*m*-n*t-

Proto Polynesian Sound Inventory We can represent this as follows: In Hawaiian, */t/ became /k/. This is shownwith the following rule: *t k

Proto Polynesian Sound Inventory What do we do in the following aorim-nt-ŋ-Hawaiianm-nk-n-proto-sound*m*-n*t-

Proto Polynesian Sound Inventory What do we do in the following aorim-nt-ŋ-Hawaiianm-nk-n- In Hawaiian, /n/ and /ŋ/ have merged.proto-sound*m*-n*t*-ŋ-

Proto Polynesian Sound Inventory What if we reconstructed rim-nt-ŋ-Hawaiianm-nk-n-proto-sound*m*-n*t*-n- We would have to explain the following: *-n- -n *-n- -ŋ(in the same languages)

Proto Polynesian Sound Inventory Caveats:– A sound may have changed the same way in alldaughter languages; if so, it came from aphonetically similar sound What might /m/ come from in such a case?– Borrowed words might have sounds not in nativewords, or not in the same position In Tongan, *s h; however, /s/ is found in the loanword/sikaleti/

Proto Polynesian Sound Inventory Caveats:– A language may have borrowed a word whilerelated dialects did not.– A language may have borrowed a word from arelated dialects.

Subgroups Some daughter languages are more closelyrelated than others. Why?Language A/sahag/Language P*h /saag/Language Q /saag/Language R*a o/soog/Language X*s h/hahag/Language Y*g k/hahak/Language Z /hahag/

Subgroups Tongan retains /h/, unlike the other languages. The other languages retain /l/ or /r/, unlike Tongan. Niuean shares these similarities with Tongan. Theybelong together in a subgroup of Proto Polynesian.

Subgroups

Reconstructing Words To find proto forms, we look for reflexes (i.e.cognates) in all subgroups. Most plausible form based on soundcorrespondences is considered the proto �w-proto-soundHawaiianwaʔaproto-form

Reconstructing Words Assume we had found the following -ʔv-Maori-kw-Hawaiian-ʔw-proto-sound*-k*v- What should we iwakaHawaiianwaʔaproto-form

Reconstructing Words Assume we had found the following -ʔv-Maori-kw-Hawaiian-ʔw-proto-sound*-k*v- What should we iwakaHawaiianwaʔaproto-form*vaka

Reconstructed VocabularyCultural Clues Words that can be reconstructed tell us aboutthe culture and origins of the ancestors ofcurrent language speakers.

Reconstructed VocabularyCultural Clues Many terms related to ocean people lived near water Topographic features found on large volcanic islands people probably didn’t live in atolls or raised coral islands

Reconstructed VocabularyCultural Clues Many terms related to sea animals Not as many related to land animals

Reconstructed VocabularyCultural Clues Bats and owls don’t exist in Tahiti, Easter Island orthe Marquesas; probably wasn’t original homeland

Reconstructed VocabularyCultural Clues Snakes only found east of Samoa; homelandprobably was not west of Samoa

Reconstructed VocabularyCultural Clues Pigs, though not native, existed on Polynesian islands, exceptfor Niue, Easter Island; also New Zealand (Maori)

Reconstructed VocabularyCultural Clues Proto-Polynesian word for ‘owl’ *lulu Hawaiian word for ‘owl’ pueo Marquesas have no owls. Ancient Polynesianslikely went to Marquesas, lost word for owlover time, then went to Hawaii and needed anew word for owl.

Reconstructed VocabularyCultural Clues

Reconstructed VocabularyCultural Clues Many words for fishing, cultivating. Three words for hunting:*fana ‘to shoot with a bow’*welo ‘to spear’*seu ‘to snare with a net’

Summary Reconstruction looks for sound correspondencesin cognates of related languages to arrive at theproto sounds. Reconstruction of vocabulary relies on cognatesand sound correspondences. Not only does historical linguistics helpunderstand language change, origins andrelations, it also provides clues about pastcultures.

Reconstruction:The Comparative Method Requires a number of related languages Based on assumption that sound change isregular

Reconstruction:The Comparative Method1. Compile a set of cognates and eliminateborrowings2. Determine sound correspondences3. Reconstruct a sound for each position4. Once sounds correspondences are set up,you can reconstruct proto forms.

Reconstruction:Choosing Which Sound to Reconstruct1. Make a sound correspondence chart.2. Do all languages have the same sound in aparticular position?– if yes, reconstruct this sound; if not, continue tostep nm-n-proto-sound*m*-n-

Reconstruction:Choosing Which Sound to Reconstruct3. Are there any sets of sound correspondenceslike the following? (if not, go to ‘pitchfork’ Reconstruct *-i- in ‘pitchfork’, and *-e- in‘strawberry’

Reconstruction:Choosing Which Sound to Reconstruct4. Is one type of sound change more naturalthan another? (if not, go to 5)A-p-B-b-C-b-D-p-E-b-proto-sound*-p- -b- is slightly more frequent, but the changeVbV VpV is less natural than VpV VbV

Reconstruction:The Comparative Method Common sound changes: voiceless sounds become voiced between vowels and beforevoiced consonantsstops become fricatives between vowelsconsonants become palatalized before front vowelsdifficult consonant clusters are simplifieddifficult consonants are made easier (e.g. loss of aspiration instops)oral vowels become nasalized before nasalsfricatives other than [h] become [h][h] deletes between vowelsclusters of vowels are broken up by consonantsSource: Language Files 10: Materials for an Introduction to Language and Linguistics.Anouschka Bergmann, Kathleen Currie Hall and Sharon Miriam Ross (eds.). The OhioState University Press. Columbus, OH.

Reconstruction:Choosing Which Sound to Reconstruct5. Use Occam’s Razor: the simplest solution isthe most likely

Reconstruction: Practice Find the sound correspondence for the vowelsin the following n][hant]Swedish[man][hand]Gloss‘man’‘hand’

Reconstruction: Practice What sound correspondences exist in the databelow?

Reconstruction: Practice What sound correspondences exist in the databelow? ([tɕ] is a voiceless, palatal tmɔklamgiplanpagloss‘zither’‘spicy ’‘fear’

Reconstruction: k-ml-tm-kg-p-np-

Reconstruction: m-kg-p-np-proto-soundslm--np-

Reconstruction: m-kg-p-np-proto-sounds-mlm--np-

Reconstruction: m-kg-p-np-proto-sounds-ml-tm-k-p-np-

Reconstruction: m-kg-p-np-proto-soundsk-ml-tm-kg-p-np-

Reconstruction: Practice Reconstruct the proto-forms of the imlatmɔklamgiplanpa

Reconstruction: Practice Describe the sound m-kg-p-np-proto-formsk-ml-tm-kg-p-np- Hakka:– none Mandarin:– Bilabial -m becamealveolar -n– (voiceless) stops Ø– initial (velar) stops palatal affricates(velar stops palatal affricates infront of [i])

Case of Polynesian Linguistics 203 10/8/2010 . Polynesia . Polynesia . Polynesian Migration . Polynesian Languages Little contact with outside languages, so we . Not only does historical linguistics help understand language change, origins and relations, it also provides clues about past cultures. Reconstruction: