Language: more than a line on
your CV?
Richard Hudson
Mander Portman Woodward
Nov 2013
What language?
• Your own language
– e.g. English
• Familiar school languages
– e.g. French, Russian
• Unfamiliar languages
– Big: e.g. Japanese
– Little: e.g. Manam
Language or languages?
• Languages
– studied one at a time
• Language
–
–
–
–
all languages studied together
'How do humans learn language?'
'How do languages change?'
etc.
My message
• Language is interesting in its own right.
• Full of links which are
–
–
–
–
surprising (like astronomy)
humanly interesting (like literature)
matters of fact (like chemistry)
complex (like physics)
Etymology
• glamour
– derived from grammar
• surprising
• humanly interesting
– grammar was associated with
• learning
• magic
The factual evidence
What's gramarye?
complex
flashy appeal
wizardry
learning
means
'writing skill'
grammar
gramarie
'corruption'
glamour
So what?
• Language is full of surprises.
• Language has its experts and facts.
• Language is all about connections.
– words connected to each other
– words connected to meanings and forms
– languages connected to each other.
• And that's why linguistics is fun
– including etymology
Word meaning
• Our words reflect our culture
– e.g. glamour, cricket, party, fun,cool
• So language is connected to culture.
• Sometimes this connection is very weak
• but at other times it's very strong.
Different languages - different
manner of
messages
movement
direction of
movement
Translate into French (or Spanish):
He walked into the room
• Not: Il a marché dans la chambre.
• But:
Il est entré dans la chambre (en marchant).
direction of
movement
manner of
movement
What about German?
Er ist in die Kammer hinein/herein gelaufen.
He is
into the room
hither/thither in run/walked.
• manner in verb
– but basic contrast = with/without vehicle
• direction in obligatory particle hin/her
– but basic contrast = from/to here
Languages are different
• English puts manner into the verb
– direction is optional
• French puts direction into the verb
– manner is optional
• German forces a choice: 'hither' or 'thither'?
– direction and manner are obligatory
So what?
• The language doesn't just code the message
– Different languages allow different messages.
– So perfect translation is impossible.
• So do French, German and English speakers
think differently?
– certainly when they're speaking
– they have to make different choices
– but probably not otherwise.
How to discover language structure
• Grammars and dictionaries are reports
– on research into how the language works
– so someone has to do the research
– that's linguistics: the study of language
• But you can do the research yourself
– thanks to the Linguistics Olympiad!
– e.g. Manam
Manam Island, Papua New
auta = North ilau = South
Guinea
ata = West
awa = East
uklo.org
The sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu,
Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang
live. Can you work out who lives where?
Tola
1.
3.
2.
5.
4.
Sulung
Sala
DEAD END!
THINK AGAIN!
What's up in Manam?
Where's North in Manam?
Is the sun always
in the North?
Until recently, there
were
• no maps
• no compasses
What are they like in Manam?
They're like us.
They enjoy a day
at the seaside.
And they don't
know where
North is.
What's where in Manam Island?
uklo.org
New idea: When relating
two places, imagine
standing between them
facing uphill!
The sentences below tell us where Onkau, Kulu,
Mombwa, Tola, Sulung, Sala, Pita and Butokang
live. Can you work out who lives where?
Pita
8.
Butokang
6.
Sulung
4.
Tola
1.
7.
2.
5.
3.
4.
Sala
Sulung
auta = up
ilau = down
ata = left
awa = right
So what?
• A language expresses and teaches a culture
– including 'folk geography'
– relevant parameters for directions
• Is English 'normal' in contrast with Manam?
– Where is 'up' in English?
• Birmingham: up or down?
• Brighton?
• Bristol?
• Leicester Square?
• 'Downtown'
A puzzle for Indiana Jones
uklo.org
Where is Cleopatra?
p
t
c
l
o
l
Ptolemy
e
e o pa
Cleopatra
• Spot the pattern!
t
r a
uklo.org
Ulwa (Nicaragua)
'infix'
suffix
Zooming in on Ulwa
-ni = "our (inc)"
-ma = "your (sing)"
-kana = "their"
-mana = "your (plur)"
Clitics
• Clitic = word realized like an affix
–
–
–
–
–
you are => you're
*de le => du
*de el => del
*von dem => vom
*dar te lo => dartelo
• Clitics may change normal word order
– *je connais le => je le connais
Ulwa in context
• Ordinary clitics …
– *gaad ni => gaadni
– *bilam kana => bilamkana
• … but some behave like infixes
– *diimuih kana => diikanamuih
• Infixes?
– e.g. Beja, my PhD language …
Meet the Beja
'Red' Sea
clitic
… and their clitics and infixes
clitic
•
•
•
•
•
•
uu-kaam 'the camel'
kaam-uuk 'a camel of yours'
i-kaam-uuk 'your camel'
kitba 'write!'
iktib 'he wrote'
kantiib 'he writes'
infix
So what?
• Language is all about links
– within one language, e.g. grammar – glamour
– between languages, e.g.
• verbs of movement: surprisingly different
• clitics: surprisingly similar
• Education is all about links
• So language is much more than a line on
your CV.