Languages In the World (56 page)
Read Languages In the World Online
Authors: Julie Tetel Andresen,Phillip M. Carter
In Chapter 3, we introduced the work of nineteenth-century philologists who believed that language change could be studied only after the dust had settled, so to speak, when the results of any change could be captured by a rule of the type: PIE
*p
becomes
f
in Germanic. The study of language change was thus focused on dead languages, ones that had left their traces in recorded history and that served the purposes of reconstructing prehistory. Here at the end of Chapter 11, we look at the work of sociolinguist William Labov who, beginning in the 1960s, challenged the conventional philological wisdom by turning his attention to living language. Armed now with new ways to record and analyze language by means of tape recorders and voice imaging technology, Labov took the study of language change out of the library and into the world. He made it possible to study language change
in progress
.
Labov determined that the study of language change also needed to be undertaken in the social context. As we have shown in various places throughout this book, linguistic structure is always bound to social structure. Now, we add the piece that
two (or more) forms of the âsame word' or âsame construction' count as linguistic variables, and these variables can and do vary by social structure. Linguists who study the relationship between social and linguistic variables are known as variationists. In his landmark variationist study,
The Social Stratification of (r) in New York City Department Stores
(Labov 1966), Labov was interested in the r-variable, because the speech of New Yorkers has traditionally alternated between being r-full, where the [r] is pronounced, and r-less, where it sounds more like a vowel. He asked salespeople in three different stores â Saks, Macy's, and S. Klein â a question for which the response would necessarily be
fou
r
th floo
r
, thus eliciting the r-variable. He found that the presence or absence of [r] was stratified, based on the social position of the store in which the question was asked. Employees at the store with the highest-status clientele, namely Saks, exhibited the (more prestigious) r-full pronunciation in
fourth floor
most often, while employees at the store with the lowest status clientele, S. Klein, exhibited the (less prestigious) r-less pronunciations most often.
10
Labov showed that the presence or absence of [r] varied with the socioeconomic class of the speaking context.
Now, 50 years later, it can be shown that the r-less variant is fading. The question then becomes: Why? The shift toward r-fullness in the speech of more New Yorkers today may be due to influxes of people coming to the city speaking r-full varieties of English. Or it may be due to the fact that the New York City r-less variant has become further stigmatized through associations with working-class speech and identity. The point is: speakers â consciously, semiconsciously, or unconsciously â either play up or play down their use of particular variables for social effect and in certain cases that has an important role in language change in progress.
Labov â and many sociolinguists working with him â has spent many years studying a chain shift in progress involving the six vowels in
bat
,
bit
,
bet
,
but
,
bought
, and
bot
(as in ârobot') that has been called ``the Northern Cities Shift.'' The shifting vowels are concentrated around cities around the Great Lakes such as Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Green Bay. Evidence of the shift can be found as far east as Rhode Island and even, in the case of some vowels, as far south as Indianapolis and St. Louis. Examples of the shift can be heard in the way speakers in the northern cities pronounce the word
block
, which sounds like the way people in other parts of the country pronounce
black
. Furthermore, the word
buses
now sounds like
bosses
, while
desk
now sounds like
dusk
. When one vowel changes, it can trigger a
chain shift
, so that all other vowels must now also jockey for position and move into new spaces.
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The fact that a chain shift is afoot is not in doubt. How or why it is happening is not as clear. Labov speculates that the change may have started in the early nineteenth century when workers speaking different varieties of English were brought together to build the Erie Canal. Rapid linguistic change is an expected result of such a sudden mixing. Given that these six particular vowels in English have been stable for a thousand years, this relatively rapid vowel shift counts as one of the many ways that language is always catching up to conditions. So does the gradual loss of the r-less variant in New York City speech. Language change is at all times a contingent process, where historical events and speakers' interpretations of the linguistic results are ever at work.
Mongolian is spoken by about 2,800,000 people who live primarily within Mongolia, with a smaller portion of speakers inhabiting parts of northern China. In Mongolia, about half the population live in the capital city Ulaan Baatar (yлаан бааÑÐ°Ñ means âred hero'). The other half live in the geographically diverse countryside consisting of mountains, steppe, and the Gobi Desert, all of which span an area almost the size of Alaska; and now you know at least one word in Mongolian: гоби (
gobi
), which means âdesert.' The most widespread ethnicity is the xaлx (khalkha), which name also applies to the official language known as Khalkha Mongolian.
Several Monogolic languages are spoken on Russia's southern border with Mongolia. In Inner Mongolia, now an autonomous region in China, the Mongolic variety Daur is spoken. Within Mongolia, there are also other groups of Mongolic speakers. One can be found around Lake Khuvsgul in the north, namely the Buriat who speak a language of the same name. Around that lake can also be found the Dukha (also known as Tsaatan) who are reindeer herders who live in teepees and whose lives revolve around reindeer and their migration routes. Their language is Turkic. Mongolians are traditionally nomadic. They are known for living in portable yurts, which can be erected by a couple of people in a couple of hours, depending on the weather. Incidentally, the word âyurt' is Russian; the Mongolian word is Ð³Ð·Ñ (
ger
) âhouse.'
12
Mongolians are also known for the art of throat singing, xɵɵмий (
khɵɵmii
).
The most famous Mongolian is Genghis Khan [1162?â1227; ÑÐ¸Ð½Ð³Ð¸Ñ (
chingghis
) âgreat' and xaaн (
khaan
) âking']. His unification of various nomadic tribes and the subsequent spread of the Mongol Empire in all directions led Mongolian to become a Eurasian steppe spread zone language for several centuries. Genghis Khan also adopted the Uyghur alphabet for Mongolian from a Turkic language spoken in what is now western China. In recent years, this old script, known as монгол биÑиг (
mongol bichik
) âMongolian script,' has become a symbol of national unity and pride. It is seen today on buildings, on the currency, and in newspapers, and it is taught to children throughout their school years.
Mongolia was a socialist state from 1921 to 1990. In 1942, the Mongolian language was transliterated into Cyrillic. Two new letters were added that made it different from the Cyrillic used to write Russian, namely ɵ [Å] and Ê [u]. These two vowels are necessary, because they are phonemic in Mongolian and essential to the process of vowel harmony.
On the first day of Mongolian language class, your teacher will likely give you the following commands:
| ÑÐ½Ñ Ð°Ð°Ñай ( onsh aarai ) | âread please' |
| Ñ
Ñл ÑÑÑÑй ( khel eerei ) | âsay please' |
| ÑÐ¾Ð½Ñ Ð¾Ð¾Ñой ( sons ooroi ) | âlisten please' |
| ɵг ɵɵÑɵй ( ɵg ɵɵrɵi ) | âgive please.' |
Note that the bold endings, which make the polite form of the commands, have four different vocalic possibilities. The vowel of the ending is determined by the vowel in the root word. The basic division is between what, in Mongolian, are called female vowels, namely и [i], ɵ [Å], Ñ [e], Ê [u], and male vowels, namely Ñ [o], о [É], а [a], and Ñ [ya]. In phonetic terms, this distinction amounts to one, more or less, between front vowels and back vowels. Any root with a male (back) vowel will trigger the ending -ааÑай, as in
Ñ
нÑ
аa
Ñ
а
й, г
а
Ñ
аа
Ñ
а
й (
garaarai
) âgo out please.' Any root with a female (front) vowel will trigger the ending â ÑÑÑÑй, as in Ñ
Ñ
л
ÑÑ
Ñ
Ñ
й, б
и
Ñ
ÑÑ
Ñ
Ñ
й (
bicheerei
) âwrite please.' Note further that back round midvowel o [É] and front round midvowel ɵ [Å] trigger full identity of the vowels: Ñ
о
нÑ
оо
Ñ
о
й versus
ɵ
г
ɵɵ
Ñ
ɵ
й. We saw an example of full identity in the opening story of Chapter 11: м
о
Ñил
оо
Ñ
о
й (m
o
ril
oo
r
o
i) âcome by horse please' = âwelcome.'
When vowels are being matched for frontness or backness and/or roundedness, this phenomenon is called
vowel harmony
. In other words, front vowels harmonize with front vowels, back vowels with back, while the âbirds' of the rounded midvowel âfeather' harmonize together. This phonetic feature gives Mongolian a soothing sound, especially in such phrases as ÑайÑ
ан амÑааÑай (
saikhan amrarai
) âpleasant rest please,' which is said at the end of the day or workweek, or ÑÑÑлааÑай (
oochlaarai
) âexcuse please,' which often comes up.
Many languages, such as Finnish and Hungarian, exhibit vowel harmony, as well as languages from the Turkic and Tungusic families. In Mongolian, vowel harmony is completely consistent. If the answer to the question âWhere are you from?' is France, the answer is: ФÑ
а
нÑ
ааÑ
(Fr
a
nts
aa
s). If it is Mongolia, the answer is: Ð
о
нг
о
л
оо
Ñ (M
o
ng
o
l
oo
s). If a morphological ending to make something into a noun is formed from a verb with a female vowel such as ÑÑÑгÑÑ
(
setgekh
) âto find something new,' we have the word ÑÑÑ
гÊÊл
(set
guul
) âmagazine.' If a male vowel is involved, such as the verb ÑÑÑаÑ
(
sorakh
) âto study,' the noun comes out as ÑÑÑ
гÑÑлÑ
(
sor
gool
) âschool.' Note that the -Vx ending to make the infinitive follows the principles of vowel harmony: Ñ
Ñ
Ñг
Ñ
Ñ
(
s
e
tg
e
kh
)
versus Ñ
Ñ
Ñ
а
Ñ
(
s
o
r
a
kh
)
.
Another audible feature of Mongolian is its wide array of consonant clusters. For instance, the cluster -mtl- is found in the word амÑÐ»Ð°Ð³Ñ (
amtlagch
pronounced amtlakhch) âspice' and -vts- found in word Ñ
ÑвÑÐ°Ñ (khovtsas) âclothing.' The female name Eternal Flower ÐɵнÑ
ÑÑÑÑг (
mɵnkh
âeternal'
tsetsek
âflower') has the medial consonant cluster -n-kh-ts-. The clusters start piling up when verbs are conjugated and nouns declined.
Mongolian is a regular SOV language with agglutinative morphology that is suffixing. It has no noun classes, and adjectives precede nouns. There is a singular/plural distinction: for instance, зоÑин (
zochin
) âguest' and зоÑид (
zochid
) âguests' and Ñ
ÊÊ (
khÊÊ
) âson' and Ñ
ÊÊдÊÊд (
khÊÊdÊÊd
) âchildren.' The singular/plural distinction, however, is not relevant when one counts: нÑг ном (
nik nom
) âone book,' Ñ
оÑÑ Ð½Ð¾Ð¼ (
khoer nom
) âtwo books,' etc., where ном (
nom
) âbook' does not change. The definite/indefinite distinction appears only when a noun is made particular.
There are eight cases. First, the nominative in Mongolian is the same as in Indo-European languages and indicates the subject of a sentence. At all times, the case
endings preserve vowel harmony. Of interest in the case system are the following points.
Second, the genitive shows possession, just as does English
-'s
, as in
Jane's coat
, in Mongolian: ÐаÑгал
Ñн
палÑÑо (
Jargal
iin
palto
âJarwal's coat'). If English did not have so many borrowed words, a place where you would go to get books and to get medicine could very well be called
books' place
and
medicine's place
, respectively. This is exactly the case in Mongolian: ном
Ñн
Ñан (
nom
iin
san
âbook-gen. place') âlibrary' and Ñм
ийн
Ñан (
em
iin
san
âmedicine-gen. place') âpharmacy.'
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Third, the dative, generally case ending -
д
/-
Ñ
(-d/-t), is used inflectionally to indicate the indirect object or âplace where.' The phrase
to go home
is: гÑÑ
Ñ
ÑÑ Ñ
аÑиÑ
(
ger
t
ee kharikh
), where the -Ñ- on
ger
âhouse' is the dative. ХаÑиÑ
(
kharikh
) means âto go,' and the -ÑÑ# (
-ee
) is reflexive: âone is going to one's own house.' The -t# on the Russian word âyurt' may be the Mongolian dative ending, since the phrase âto go home' is a commonly heard one.
Fourth, the accusative marks the direct object, but only when the object is specific. In the phrase
I am reading the/a book
, the direct object ном (
nom
) âbook' has no ending. However, if the phrase is
I am reading this book
, ном takes the accusative ending -
ийг
(-
iik
): ÑÑÑ Ð½Ð¾Ð¼
Ñг
(
ter nom
iik
) âthis book.' When put into the accusative case, the consonant cluster in the girl's name Eternal Flower Ðɵ
нÑ
Ñ
Ñ
Ñ
Ñ
г
ийг (
M
ɵ
nkhtstsgiik
) extends to -n-kh-ts-ts-g- because the two Ñ [i] vowels are elided to put the phonetic stress on the ending -ийг (-
iik
). The name is still spelled with the two Ñ [i] vowels. Note: when the voiced velar stop г [g] comes at the end of the word, it is pronounced as a voiceless velar stop [k]. This phonetic phenomenon is called
final
devoicing, sometimes known by the German term
Auslautsverhärtung
, since it is characteristic of German phonology.
Fifth, the commitative ending -
Ñай
(-
tai
) has the function of the English preposition âwith.' If I am going
with Jargal
, it is ÐаÑгал
Ñай
(
Jargal
tai
). If I'm going
with Dorj
, it is ÐоÑж
Ñой
(
Dorj
toi
)
.
Sixth, the ablative ending -
ааÑ
(-
aas
) can mean movement away from a place, such as coming from the capital, Ulaan Baatar: Улаан ÐааÑÑ
ааÑ
(
Olaan Baatr
aas
). Or it can govern the case of certain verbs. âTo ask' аÑÑÑÑ
(
asookh
) your Ð±Ð°Ð³Ñ (
bagk
pronounced
bakhsh
) âteacher' a question is: багÑ
ааÑ
аа аÑÑÑÑ
(
bakhsh
aas
aa asookh
) âto ask (from) (your) teacher (a question).'
Seventh, the instrumental -
ааÑ
(-
aar
) is âby means of.' Simply put, one eats ÑÑÑÑÑг
ÑÑÑ
(
sereeg
eer
) âby means of a fork' or ÑавÑ
ааÑ
(
savkh
aar
) âby means of chopsticks.'
Eighth, the independent directive morpheme
ÑÑÑ
(
roo
) is the opposite of the ablative and means movement toward a place. I can go
toward Jargal
: ÐаÑгал
ÑÑÑ
(
Jargal
roo
) or
toward Beijing
: ÐÑÑжин
ÑÊÊ
(
Beijing
ruu
).
When an English-speaker hears a piece of new information or receives information contrary to expectation, he might say, “Oh.” This seemingly throwaway syllable does useful communicative work. It gives the utterer a moment to register whatever the news is. It lets his/her speaking partner know that the information he/she has imparted is, in fact, news. Different languages have
different ways of orienting their users toward their own states of information and those of their interlocutors.
In Mongolian, if a person has already asked a question and received an answer, and now needs to be reminded of that answer, the person asks the question again using the sentence ender билÑÑ (
bilee
). In English, one might ask: “What's your name, again?” or “
What's
your name?” to emphasize that one realizes one has already asked. However, English does not have a necessary grammatical marker for such a situation.
The different ways the verb байÑ
(
baikh
) âto be' is used show how speakers orient themselves and others to the conditions of a particular situation. Let's say I need John for some reason, but he is not in my visual field. To ask someone where he is, I say:
| Ðон | Ñ
аана | байна вÑ? |
| John | khaan | wen |
| John | where | is |
| Where is John? |
If John is not in my visual field, and I want to know about his location with no specific need of him, I ask:
| Ðон | Ñ
аана | байгаа вÑ? |
| John | khaan | baigaa |
| John | where | is |
| Where is John? |
If I want to ask about John's location, say, where he is living, I ask:
| Ðон | Ñ
аана | байдаг вÑ? |
| John | khaan | baidgoo |
| John | where | is |
| Where is John (on a nonmoving basis)? |
In addition, there is a tense called the
unknown past
. It has the endings
жÑÑ
(
jee
) and
ÑÑÑ
(
chee
), and indicates that the person using the form is just learning of an event. This past tense is often used in the media, because reporters and broadcasters are often just learning about the events they are reporting on. The tense can also be used for actions that happened other than planned. But mostly it expresses an action that happened in the past but the speaker is just now learning of it.
If you go to bed at night and it snows, when you wake up and look out the window, you are likely to say:
| ÑÐ°Ñ | Ð¾Ñ Ð¶ÑÑ |
| tsas | or jee |
| now | opened |
| It snowed (and I just found out). |
You could also say: ÑÐ°Ñ Ð¾ÑÑон байна (
tsas orcon ben
) âit snowed (and I just found out).'
To extend what was said in the opening to this chapter and the importance of horses in the Mongolian language and culture, it is only natural that horses are woven into common phrases. There is the expected:
| бÑлгийн | моÑÐ¸Ð½Ñ | ÑÊдийг | ÊздÑггÊй |
| belgiin | morini | shudiik | uzdeg-gui |
| gen | gen | acc | |
| gift | horse's | teeth | look-not |
| Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. |
There is also:
| ÑÑÑ | Ñ
Êнийг | Ñовооно, | ÑÑл | моÑийг | Ñовооно |
| oor | khuniik | zovoono , | ool | moriik | zovoono |
| acc | acc | ||||
| steam/anger | person | pains, | mountain | horse | pains |
| Anger pains the person, like a mountain pains a horse = Don't get angry |
as well as:
| Ñ
Êн | болоÑ
| багааÑаа, | Ñ
ÊлÑг | болоÑ
| ÑнаганааÑаа |
| khun | bolokh | bagaasaa , | khulek | bolokh | ohaganaasaa |
| abl | abl | ||||
| person | becomes | childhood-from, | steed | becomes | foal-from |
| A person becomes from childhood, as a (good) horse comes from a foal = | |||||
| Well begun is half-done. |
In addition, the orientations established during the time when nomadic culture was the norm have remained. The door of a
ger
always faces south. So, when one gets up in the morning and steps outside, the Sun in the east is to one's left. Therefore, the word зÊÊн (
zuun
) means both âeast' and âleft.' Similarly, the word баÑÑÑн (
baroon
) means both âwest' and âright.' Even in the city, Mongolians give directions based on a southward-facing orientation. Furthermore, there is a modern word for âdoor,' namely Ñ
аалга (
khaalga
pronounced
khaalak
). However, if you arrange to meet someone outside the door of, say, a restaurant, you use the expression with the word for the door to a
ge
r, ÊÊд (
uud
): ÊÊдÑнд ÑÑлзÑÑ (
uudend oolzii
) âdoor-at let's meet.' The -Ñнд (-end) is the dative case.