Historical Linguistics:
a history of sound changes from
Vulgar Latin to French and Spanish
Ling 203
10/6/2010
Indo-European Family
Indo-Iranian
Anatolian
Tocharian
Armenian
Indo-European
Albanian
Hellenic
Latin
Balto-Slavonic
Latino-Faliscan
Italic
Usco-Umbrian
Germanic
Aequian
Celtic
Vestinian
Faliscan
Latin family
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_language
Italic
The Romance languages descended from Latin
are the only Italic languages still spoken today
Languages in
Italy during 6th
century BCE.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iron_Age_Italy.svg
Indo-European languages
include:
1.
Italic languages
2.
Celtic
3.
Ancient Greek
Other
Lepontic
Ligurian (?)
Hellenic
4.
Latin
Umbrian
Oscan
S. Picene (?)
Venetic (close to Italic)
Liburnian
Illyrian
Messapic
Sicel (?)
Non-Indo-European
languages include:
1.
Tyrrhenian (?)
2.
Etruscan
Other
N. Picene
Raetic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iron_Age_Italy.svg
Latin*
Classical Latin
language of Romans between c. 100 BCE and 200 CE
literary, administrative language
spoken by upper classes
Late Latin
literary, administrative and liturgical language from c. 200900 CE
Vulgar Latin
refers to colloquial dialects of Latin until about 900 CE
spoken by common people, including soldiers, slaves, etc.
spread to conquered lands
not a literary language
*Information in the sections on history of French mainly from Walter (1994).
France
Inhabited largely by the Gauls before Roman
conquest
speak Gaulish, a Celtic language
Gaulish itself has multiple dialects
spoken alongside Latin until died out c. 6th century
speakers were likely bilingual (or trilingual)
Gaulish in French
about 70-200 words remain in French and close
dialects
deal with agriculture, fishing, hunting
a number of place-names
1.
2.
3.
4.
fortified places (suffixes -dunum, durum, rato)
market towns (suffix -magus)
holy places (nemeto)
other (lano plain, bona port)
Paris comes from Parisii tribe
various Gaulish accents influence Latin of the area
Romans in Gaul
Found Provincia Narbonesis in 120 BCE
Series of wars with
Gallic tribes from
58-51 BCE
Victory at Battle of
Alesia in 52 BCE
expands Roman
Empire over all of
Gaul
France c. 58 AD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Gallia_Tribes_Towns.png
Romans in Gaul
Even before conquest, some nobility in Gaul
sent children to Roman schools.
Merchants learned Latin early as well.
Esp. outside of cities, Gaul remained widely
spoken for hundreds of years.
Roman culture, infrastructure introduced
The Romanized Gauls are referred to as GalloRomans.
Roman empire at peak, circa 117
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Roman_Empire_Map.png
Franks in Gaul
Present in Gaul before invasions of 5th cent.
enrolled in Roman army as mercenaries
many landowners fled in 2nd cent. CE, and the Romans
let the Franks occupy the territory
Franks becomes sedentary farmers
nobility returns beginning 4th century
During this time period, at least 200 Germanic
words are borrowed into the regional Latin
Germanic Invasions
443, Burgundians flee the
Rhine after Hun invasion.
The settle in modern-day
Burgundy.
507, Franks conquer
Visigoths, extending their
rule.
Walter (1994)
Invasions of the Roman Empire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Invasions_of_the_Roman_Empire_1.png
Dialectal Division in France
Three major dialect regions
correspond largely to the
three residing Germanic
tribes.
Franks had considerable
influence on ol dialects
(=source of Modern French)
Visigoths had little influence
of oc dialects
Walter (1994)
Germanic Borrowings
About 400 words borrowed from Germanic
(1/2 before Germanic invasions)
Approximately 1/3 exist in Modern French
many from the following categories
war and chivalry
life in the fields
crafts
life of the seafarer
domestic life
Frankish influence on pronunciation
Latin [h] is lost in all Romance dialects
Frankish words had [h], thus sound was newly
introduced
cf. English words of Latin origin (hour, honest,
honor) and words of Anglo-Saxon origin (holly,
holy, hoof, horse)
Frankish influence on pronunciation
Over time, the [h] of Frankish words
disappears, but leaves an interesting
dichotomy.
Modern French
Latin
le + homme
origin
/l + m/
Frankish le + htre
origin
/l + ht/
lhomme
/lm/
le htre
/l.t/
les hommes les hommes man
/lez + m/
*lezm+
les htres
beech
les htres
/lez + ht/
/le.t/
tree
Frankish influence on pronunciation
In Germanic languages, a syllable with strong
stress tends to weaken neighboring syllables
cf. English tom vs. atmic; mrginal vs. marginlity
These weak sounds often got deleted
cf. English interest [ntst]
Latin
tla
Italian
tela
Provenal Francoprovenal Spanish French
toile
telo
tala
tela
[twal]
gloss
cloth
Speakers in southern France frequently
continue to pronounce this dropped vowel
8-9th Century
By 9th century, Latin no longer understood
Latin used in liturgical formulae and prayers
Preaching frequently done in local languages
Charlemagne Renaissance promotes
scholarship, leading to rebirth of Latin
Re-Latinization
Words newly borrowed from Latin exist
alongside forms which has undergone changes
over time.
Latin
hospitalis
fraternalis
fragilis
French (derived)
> htel
> frre
> frle
French (borrowed)
hpital
fraternel
fragile
Vikings
Scandinavians begin attacking in 9th century
In 911, Duchy of Normandy given to Normans
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Duchy_of_Normandy.png
Vikings
Normans marry native women.
Children learn mothers language.
William, Duke of Normany, attacks England in
1066.
French becomes languages of upper class, law
courts and church.
English borrows many French words.
Not until the 14th cent. is there another nativeEnglish-speaking king in England.
Viking influence on French
Little
some place-names
some words related to sea
Middle Ages
System of feudalism continues
Little contact between fiefdoms
Gave rise to more dialects and dialectal
variation
Parisians gain ground
Paris was geographically well-situated by three
major waterways
Close to agriculturally-fertile region
Literary movement begins
Literature from south (oc dialects) influenced northern
literature, and led to borrowings.
Heightened prestige of dialect around Paris
initiates spread as common language
(beginning around the 12th century)
Goodbye, Latin
1530 - Franois I founds Collge des Trois
Language
some lectures done in French rather than Latin
1539 - French is only language in
administrative documents
prior, dialects had often been used in place of
Latin
Scholars begin using French in publishing
First French grammars are written
Goodbye, dialects
In 19th century, 80% of people still spoke
dialects for more purposes
In late 18th -19th centuries, push for French to
be taught in all regions of country
Compulsory schooling increases knowledge of
French
Aristocrats, bourgeoisie speak French
Many people become bilingual
World War I and French
French taught in schools, but children still
spoke dialects outside of class until WWI
WWI begins
regional regiments suffer casualties
new regiments formations mixes people from different
regions
French was used as common language
Post-WWI
returning men continue to speak French at home
children hear less of regional dialects as a result
From Latin to French and Spanish
Notes:
over a vowel indicates it is long (as does : after a
vowel)
over a vowel indicates it is short (as does lack of
any diacritic)
over a vowel indicates that it is accented
Sound changes from
Latin to French and Spanish
Sound change in language is regular, not
random
two identical sounds in an identical environment will
change in the same manner
a group of sounds undergoing the same change in the
same environment belong to a natural class
[p, t, k] = natural class of voiceless stops
*f, k, , l+ natural class (except for the class *consonant+)
In the following slides, some rules have been
simplified; however, all examples are genuine.
Latin - Accent
Proto-Italic: accent was on the initial syllable
Latin: (c. 250 BCE), accent on penultimate
syllable
If penultimate vowel was short and in an open
syllable, accent was on antepenult
Retained in many Romance dialects, lost in French.
fc make! fcis you make
fcit he made
fct made (abl.)
fcils easy (nom.pl.)
fcstic you made (pl.)
factru about to make (abl.)
Latin - Phonemic Inventory
labiodental
labial
plosive
fricative
nasal
liquids
glides
p b
dental
t d
f
m
k g
labiovelar
kw (gw)
u
o
all vowels contrast for length
Dipthongs:
leuis light luis smooth
ai
au
oi
(eu)
(ui)
rosa (nom.) ros (abl.) rose
glottal
h
Vowel Inventory:
velar
n
l, r
i
e
alveolar
Latin - Phonetic Vowels
The [length] contrast was accompanied by
[tenseness] contrast.
Short vowels (crosslinguistically) tend to be
more lax than long vowels.
i:
u:
e:
o:
a/a:
Vulgar Latin - Vowels
10 accented vowels reduced to 7
Latin
Proto-Western-Romance
Latin
Proto-Western-Romance
i:
|
i
e:
\ /
e
a/a:
|
|
|
a
o:
\ /
o
u:
|
u
|
i
\ /
e
/
|
|
|
a
\ /
o
|
u
Many unaccented vowels changed or were
deleted as well.
Some diphthongs become monophthongs.
Latin > Spanish
(data from Campbell 1999)
Intervocalically, Latin had 3 series of plosives.
Shifted from Latin to Spanish (push chain)
Latin
Spanish
Latin
1.
geminate
>
simple
voiceless
pp
tt
kk
2.
simple
voiceless
>
simple
voiced
3.
simple
voiced
(nothing)
>
Spanish
Latin
Spanish
p
> t
k
cuppa
gutta
bucca
>
copa cup
gota drop
boca mouth
p
t
k
b ()
> d ()
g ()
sapere
wta
amka
>
saber to know
vida life
amiga friend(f.)
b
d
g
b ()
>
caballu
crdere
rgna
>
caballo horse
creer to believe
reina queen
*This change only applies to plosives when intervocalic; e.g., in word-initial position the
change does not occur (cf. Latin taurum > Spanish toro bull)
Latin
French
Spanish
closed syllable
[a]
[a]
open syllable
*e+/*+
[a]
Latin
French
Spanish
gloss
cm.po
ps.su
grn.de
flm.ma
champ
pas
grand
flamme
[]
[pa]
[g]
[flam]
campo
paso
grande
llama
[kampo]
[paso]
[gande]
[ama]
camp; champion
step
grand, big
flame
m.re
prv.tu
pr.tu
p.tre
mer
priv
pr
pre
[m]
[pive]
[pe]
[p]
mar
privado
prado
padre
[mar]
[piao+
[pao]
[pade]
sea
private
meadow
father
(data from Boyd-Bowman 1954)
[aw]
Latin
aw
Latin
auru
thesauru
autumnu
tauru /
taurellu
French
or
trsor
automne
taureau
French
o
*o+
[tezo]
*otm+
[too]
Spanish
o
Spanish
oro
tesoro
otoo
toro
*oo+
*tesoo+
*otoo+
[too]
(data from Boyd-Bowman 1954)
gloss
gold
treasure
autumn
bull
[k] / _a
Latin
k / _a
Latin
capra
piscre
caballu
vacca
French
chvre
pcher
cheval
vache
*v+
*pe+
*val+
[va]
French
Spanish
k
Spanish
cabra
pescar
caballo
vaca
*kaba+
*peska+
*kaao+
[baka]
gloss
goat
to fish
horse
cow
(data from Boyd-Bowman 1954)
[k] / _o, u
Latin
k / #_o, u
k / C_o, u
k / V_o, u
Latin
cra
corpu(s)
curtu
scto
accso
saccu
amicu
scru
French
cure
corps
court
cu
(j)accuse
sac
ami
sr
(> O.F ser)
French
k
Spanish
k
*ky+
*ko+
*ku+
[eky]
[akyz]
[sak]
[ami]
*sy+
Spanish
cura
cuerpo
corto
escudo
acuso
saco
amigo
seguro
*kua+
*kwepo+
*koto+
[eskuo]
[akuso]
[sako]
*amio+
*seuo+
(data from Boyd-Bowman 1954)
gloss
cure
body
short
shield
(I) accuse
sack
friend
secure,
sure
[ts] / _i, e
Latin
ts / C_i, e
ts / #_i, e
ts / V_i, e
Latin
centu
caelu
cra
dulce
placre
cocna
vcnu
racmu
French
cent
ciel
cire
douce
plaisir
cuisine
voisin
raisin
French
s
Spanish
/s
/s
[s]
*sjl+
*si+
[dus]
*plezi+
*kizin+
[vwaz]
[ez]
Spanish
ciento
cielo
cera
dulce
placer
cocina
vecino
racimo
*jento+
*jelo+
*ea+
*dule+
*plae+
*coina+
*beino+
[raimo]
gloss
hundred
sky
wax
soft
pleasure
kitchen
neighbor
grape
*Vulgar Latin [ts] < Earlier Latin [k]. The progression was [k] > [kj] > [tj] > [t] > [ts]
(data from Boyd-Bowman 1954)
Word-final [m]
Latin
m / _#
Latin
septem
novem
crdam
cantbam
French
sept
neuf
croie
chantais
French
*st+
[nf]
*kwa+
*te+
Spanish
Spanish
siete
nueve
crea
cantaba
gloss
[sjete]
seven
*nwee+ nine
[krea]
believe
*kantaa+ was singing
(data from Boyd-Bowman 1954)
References
Boyd-Bowman, Peter. (1954). From Latin to Romance in Sound Charts.
Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
Campbell, Lyle. (1999). Historical Linguistics: an Introduction. Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press.
Walter, Henriette. (1994). French Inside Out: the World-wide Development
of the French Language in the Past, Present and the Future. Translated by
Peter Fawcett. New York, NY: Routledge.
