2 The Indo-European Family of Languages (p. 16-37)

2 The Indo-European Family of Languages (p. 16-37)

13. Language Constantly Changing.

Speech is the product of certain muscular movements. The sounds of language are produced by the passage of a current of air through cavities of the throat and face controlled by the muscles of these regions. Thus each individual is constantly and quite unconsciously introducing slight changes in his or her speech. There is no such thing as uniformity in language.

The language of any district or even country is only the sum total of the individual speech habits of those composing it and is subject to such changes as occur in the speech of its members, so far as the changes become general or at least common to a large part of it.

14. Dialectal Differentiation.

As previously remarked, where constant communication takes place among the people speaking a language, individual differences become merged in the general speech of the community, and a  certain conformity prevails. But if any separation of one community from another takes place and lasts for a considerable length of time, differences grow up between them.

15. The Discovery of Sanskrit.

The most important discovery leading to this hypothesis was the recognition that Sanskrit, a language of ancient India, was one of the languages of the group When we add that Hindu grammarians had already gone far in the analysis of the language, had recognized the roots, classified the formative elements, and worked out the rules according to which certain sound-changes occurred, we shall appreciate the extent to which the discovery of Sanskrit contributed to the recognition and determination of the relation that exists among the languages to which it was allied.

16. Grimm’s Law

According to Grimm, a p in Indo-European, preserved as such in Latin and Greek, was changed to an f in the Germanic languages.

17. The Indo-European Family.

The term now most widely employed is Indo- European, suggesting more clearly the geographical extent of the family. The parent tongue from which the Indo-European languages have sprung had already become divided and scattered before the dawn of history.

The surviving languages show various degrees of similarity to one another, the similarity bearing a more or less direct relationship to their geographical distribution. They accordingly fall into eleven principal groups: Indian, Iranian, Armenian, Hellenic, Albanian, Italic, Balto-Slavic, Germanic, Celtic, Hittite, and Tocharian. These are the branches of the Indo-European family tree, and we shall look briefly at each.4

15. The Discovery of Sanskrit.

The most important discovery leading to this hypothesis was the recognition that Sanskrit, a language of ancient India, was one of the languages of the group When we add that Hindu grammarians had already gone far in the analysis of the language, had recognized the roots, classified the formative elements, and worked out the rules according to which certain sound-changes occurred, we shall appreciate the extent to which the discovery of Sanskrit contributed to the recognition and determination of the relation that exists among the languages to which it was allied.

16. Grimm’s Law

According to Grimm, a p in Indo-European, preserved as such in Latin and Greek, was changed to an f in the Germanic languages.

17. The Indo-European Family.

The term now most widely employed is Indo- European, suggesting more clearly the geographical extent of the family. The parent tongue from which the Indo-European languages have sprung had already become divided and scattered before the dawn of history.

The surviving languages show various degrees of similarity to one another, the similarity bearing a more or less direct relationship to their geographical distribution. They accordingly fall into eleven principal groups: Indian, Iranian, Armenian, Hellenic, Albanian, Italic, Balto-Slavic, Germanic, Celtic, Hittite, and Tocharian. These are the branches of the Indo-European family tree, and we shall look briefly at each.4

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. Which languages are called as indo-European family of languages?  

2. Describe the way of how modern English is originated as a language

Alejandra L.