Language: Its Nature, Development and Origin

Name: Language: Its Nature, Development and Origin
Author: Otto Jespersen

by Otto Jespersen

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LANGUAGE ITS NATURE DEVELOPMENT AND ORIGIN
PREFACE
CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS OF BOOK TITLES, ETC.
PHONETIC SYMBOLS
BOOK I HISTORY OF LINGUISTIC SCIENCE
CHAPTER I BEFORE 1800
I.—§ 1. Antiquity.
I.—§ 2. Middle Ages and Renaissance.
I.—§ 3. Eighteenth-century Speculation. Herder.
I.—§ 4. Jenisch.
CHAPTER II BEGINNING OF NINETEENTH CENTURY
II.—§ 1. Introduction. Sanskrit.
II.—§ 2. Friedrich von Schlegel.
II.—§ 3. Rasmus Rask.
II.—§ 4. Jacob Grimm.
II.—§ 5. The Sound Shift.
II.—§ 6. Franz Bopp.
II.—§ 7. Bopp continued.
II.—§ 8. Wilhelm von Humboldt.
II.—§ 9. Grimm Once More.
CHAPTER III MIDDLE OF NINETEENTH CENTURY
III.—§ 1. After Bopp and Grimm.
III.—§ 2. K. M. Rapp.
III.—§ 3. J. H. Bredsdorff.
III.—§ 4. August Schleicher.
III.—§ 5. Classification of Languages.
III.—§ 6. Reconstruction.
III.—§ 7. Curtius, Madvig, and Specialists.
III.—§ 8. Max Müller and Whitney.
CHAPTER IV END OF NINETEENTH CENTURY
IV.—§ 1. Achievements about 1870.
IV.—§ 2. New Discoveries.
IV.—§ 3. Phonetic Laws and Analogy.
IV.—§ 4. General Tendencies.
BOOK II THE CHILD
CHAPTER V SOUNDS
V.—§ 1. From Screaming to Talking.
V.—§ 2. First Sounds.
V.—§ 3. Sound-laws of the Next Stage.
V.—§ 4. Groups of Sounds.
V.—§ 5. Mutilations and Reduplications.
V.—§ 6. Correction.
V.—§ 7. Tone.
CHAPTER VI WORDS
VI.—§ 1. Introductory.
VI.—§ 2. First Period.
VI.—§ 3. Father and Mother.
VI.—§ 4. The Delimitation of Meaning.
VI.—§ 5. Numerals. Time.
VI.—§ 6. Various Difficulties.
VI.—§ 7. Shifters.
VI.—§ 8. Extent of Vocabulary.
VI.—§ 9. Summary.
CHAPTER VII GRAMMAR
VII.—§ 1. Introductory.
VII.—§ 2. Substantives and Adjectives.
VII.—§ 3. Verbs.
VII.—§ 4. Degrees of Consciousness.
VII.—§ 5. Word-formation.
VII.—§ 6. Word-division.
VII.—§ 7. Sentences.
VII.—§ 8. Negation and Question.
VII.—§ 9. Prepositions and Idioms.
CHAPTER VIII SOME FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS
VIII.—§ 1. Why is the Native Language learnt so well?
VIII.—§ 2. Natural Ability and Sex.
VIII.—§ 3. Mother-tongue and Other Tongue.
VIII.—§ 4. Playing at Language.
VIII.—§ 5. Secret Languages.
VIII.—§ 6. Onomatopœia.
VIII.—§ 7. Word-inventions.
VIII.—§ 8. ‘Mamma’ and ‘Papa.’
CHAPTER IX THE INFLUENCE OF THE CHILD ON LINGUISTIC DEVELOPMENT
IX.—§ 1. Conflicting Views.
IX.—§ 2. Meringer. Analogy.
IX.—§ 3. Herzog’s Theory of Sound Changes.
IX.—§ 4. Gradual Shiftings.
IX.—§ 5. Leaps.
IX.—§ 6. Assimilations, etc.
IX.—§ 7. Stump-words.
CHAPTER X THE INFLUENCE OF THE CHILD—continued
X.—§ 1. Confusion of Words.
X.—§ 2. Metanalysis.
X.—§ 3. Shiftings of Meanings.
X.—§ 4. Differentiations.
X.—§ 5. Summary.
X.—§ 6. Indirect Influence.
X.—§ 7. New Languages.
BOOK III THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE WORLD
CHAPTER XI THE FOREIGNER
XI.—§ 1. The Substratum Theory.
XI.—§ 2. French u and Spanish h.
XI.—§ 3. Gothonic and Keltic.
XI.—§ 4. Etruscan and Indian Consonants.
XI.—§ 5. Gothonic Sound-shift.
XI.—§ 6. Natural and Specific Changes.
XI.—§ 7. Power of Substratum.
XI.—§ 8. Types of Race-mixture.
XI.—§ 9. Summary.
XI.—§ 10. General Theory of Loan-words.
XI.—§ 11. Classes of Loan-words.
XI.—§ 12. Influence on Grammar.
XI.—§ 13. Translation-loans.
CHAPTER XII PIDGIN AND CONGENERS
XII.—§ 1. Beach-la-Mar.
XII.—§ 2. Grammar.
XII.—§ 3. Sounds.
XII.—§ 4. Pidgin.
XII.—§ 5. Grammar, etc.
XII.—§ 6. General Theory.
XII.—§ 7. Mauritius Creole.
XII.—§ 8. Chinook Jargon.
XII.—§ 9. Chinook continued.
XII.—§ 10. Makeshift Languages.
XII.—§ 11. Romanic Languages.
CHAPTER XIII THE WOMAN
XIII.—§ 1. Women’s Languages.
XIII.—§ 2. Tabu.
XIII.—§ 3. Competing Languages.
XIII.—§ 4. Sanskrit Drama.
XIII.—§ 5. Conservatism.
XIII.—§ 6. Phonetics and Grammar.
XIII.—§ 7. Choice of Words.
XIII.—§ 8. Vocabulary.
XIII.—§ 9. Adverbs.
XIII.—§ 10. Periods.
XIII.—§ 11. General Characteristics.
CHAPTER XIV CAUSES OF CHANGE
XIV.—§ 1. Anatomy.
XIV.—§ 2. Geography.
XIV.—§ 3. National Psychology.
XIV.—§ 4. Speed of Utterance.
XIV.—§ 5. Periods of Rapid Change.
XIV.—§ 6. The Ease Theory.
XIV.—§ 7. Sounds in Connected Speech.
XIV.—§ 8. Extreme Weakenings.
XIV.—§ 9. The Principle of Value.
XIV.—§ 10. Application to Case System, etc.
XIV.—§ 11. Stress Phenomena.
XIV.—§ 12. Non-phonetic Changes.
CHAPTER XV CAUSES OF CHANGE—continued
XV.—§ 1. Emotional Exaggerations.
XV.—§ 2. Euphony.
XV.—§ 3. Organic Influences.
XV.—§ 4. Lapses and Blendings.
XV.—§ 5. Latitude of Correctness.
XV.—§ 6. Equidistant and Convergent Changes.
XV.—§ 7. Homophones.
XV.—§ 8. Significative Sounds preserved.
XV.—§ 9. Divergent Changes and Analogy.
XV.—§ 10. Extension of Sound Laws.
XV.—§ 11. Spreading of Sound Change.
XV.—§ 12. Reaction.
XV.—§ 13. Sound Laws and Etymological Science.
XV.—§ 14. Conclusion.
BOOK IV THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE
CHAPTER XVI ETYMOLOGY
XVI.—§ 1. Achievements.
XVI.—§ 2. Doubtful Cases.
XVI.—§ 3. Facts, not Fancies.
XVI.—§ 4. Hope.
XVI.—§ 5. Requirements.
XVI.—§ 6. Blendings.
XVI.—§ 7. Echo-words.
XVI.—§ 8. Some Conjunctions.
XVI.—§ 9. Object of Etymology.
XVI.—§ 10. Reconstruction.
CHAPTER XVII PROGRESS OR DECAY?
XVII.—§ 1. Linguistic Estimation.
XVII.—§ 2. Degeneration?
XVII.—§ 3. Appreciation of Modern Tongues.
XVII.—§ 4. The Scientific Attitude.
XVII.—§ 5. Final Answer.
XVII.—§ 6. Sounds.
XVII.—§ 7. Shortenings.
XVII.—§ 8. Objections. Result.
XVII.—§ 9. Verbal Forms.
XVII.—§ 10. Synthesis and Analysis.
XVII.—§ 11. Verbal Concord.
CHAPTER XVIII PROGRESS
XVIII.—§ 1. Nominal Forms.
XVIII.—§ 3. Syntax.
XVIII.—§ 4. Objections.
XVIII.—§ 5. Word Order.
XVIII.—§ 6. Gender.
XVIII.—§ 7. Nominal Concord.
XVIII.—§ 8. The English Genitive.
XVIII.—§ 9. Bantu Concord.
XVIII.—§ 10. Word Order Again.
XVIII.—§ 11. Compromises.
XVIII.—§ 12. Order Beneficial?
XVIII.—§ 13. Word Order and Simplification.
XVIII.—§ 14. Summary.
CHAPTER XIX ORIGIN OF GRAMMATICAL ELEMENTS
XIX.—§ 1. The Old Theory.
XIX.—§ 2. Roots.
XIX.—§ 3. Structure of Chinese.
XIX.—§ 4. History of Chinese.
XIX.—§ 5. Recent Investigations.
XIX.—§ 6. Roots Again.
XIX.—§ 7. The Agglutination Theory.
XIX.—§ 8. Coalescence.
XIX.—§ 9. Flexional Endings.
XIX.—§ 10. Validity of the Theory.
XIX.—§ 12. Coalescence Theory dropped.
XIX.—§ 13. Secretion.
XIX.—§ 14. Extension of Suffixes.
XIX.—§ 15. Tainting of Suffixes.
XIX.—§ 16. The Classifying Instinct.
XIX.—§ 17. Character of Suffixes.
XIX.—§ 18. Brugmann’s Theory of Gender.
XIX.—§ 19. Final Considerations.
CHAPTER XX SOUND SYMBOLISM
XX.—§ 1. Sound and Sense.
XX.—§ 2. Instinctive Feeling.
XX.—§ 3. Direct Imitation.
XX.—§ 4. Originator of the Sound.
XX.—§ 5. Movement.
XX.—§ 6. Things and Appearances.
XX.—§ 7. States of Mind.
XX.—§ 8. Size and Distance.
XX.—§ 9. Length and Strength of Words and Sounds.
XX.—§ 10. General Considerations.
XX.—§ 11. Importance of Suggestiveness.
XX.—§ 12. Ancient and Modern Times.
CHAPTER XXI THE ORIGIN OF SPEECH
XXI.—§ 1. Introduction.
XXI.—§ 2. Former Theories.
XXI.—§ 3. Method.
XXI.—§ 4. Sounds.
XXI.—§ 5. Grammar.
XXI.—§ 6. Units.
XXI.—§ 7. Irregularities.
XXI.—§ 8. Savage Tribes.
XXI.—§ 9. Law of Development.
XXI.—§ 10. Vocabulary.
XXI.—§ 11. Poetry and Prose.
XXI.—§ 12. Emotional Songs.
XXI.—§ 13. Primitive Singing.
XXI.—§ 14. Approach to Language.
XXI.—§ 15. The Earliest Sentences.
XXI.—§ 16. Conclusion.
INDEX
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