Language: more than a line on your CV?

1. Language: more than a line on your CV? Richard Hudson Mander Portman Woodward Nov 2013

2. 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

3. Language or languages? • Languages • studied one at a time • Language • all languages studied together • 'How do humans learn language?' • 'How do languages change?' • etc.

4. 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)

5. Etymology • glamour • derived from grammar • surprising • humanly interesting • grammar was associated with • learning • magic

6. The factual evidence

7. What's gramarye?

8. complex flashy appeal wizardry learning 'writing skill' gramarie means 'corruption' grammar glamour

9. 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

10. 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.

11. Different languages - different messages manner of 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). manner of movement direction of movement

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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

16. Manam Island, Papua New Guinea auta = North ilau = South 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. 4. 3. 2. Sulung DEAD END! THINK AGAIN! Sala 5.

17. What's up in Manam?

18. Where's North in Manam? Is the sun always in the North? • Until recently, there were • no maps • no compasses

19. 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.

20. 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. 6. Butokang Sulung 4. Tola 7. 1. 4. 3. Sulung 2. auta = up ilau = down Sala 5. ata = left awa = right

21. 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'

22. A puzzle for Indiana Jones uklo.org

23. Where is Cleopatra? uklo.org o l p Ptolemy t t e c l e o p r a a Cleopatra • Spot the pattern!

24. Ulwa (Nicaragua)

25. suffix 'infix' Zooming in on Ulwa -kana = "their" -ni = "our (inc)" -ma = "your (sing)" -mana = "your (plur)"

26. 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

27. 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 …

28. Meet the Beja 'Red' Sea

29. 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

30. 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.