Patterns in the diffusion of nomenclature systems
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Harold Koch
Abstract
This paper explores some of the principles that affect diachronic change in ‘nomenclature systems’; i.e. closed sets of terms within a particular semantic domain, whose members are defined predominantly by their mutual relations within the set. Of special interest are changes that such sets undergo as they are borrowed from one language to another. The first part of the paper summarises the (largely known) history of the spread of the names for days of the week through Europe from classical times to the present and categorises the kinds of changes that are found – such as partial translation, renaming, updating, and system-internal internal analogies – and the (etymological and geographical) patterns that result from these changes. Then attention turns to the systems of social nomenclature, especially eight-term ‘subsection systems’, found in many Australian Aboriginal languages. Lessons learned from the days of the week discussion are applied to reconstructing the (undocumented) history of the spread of these terminologies. This study can be seen as a contribution to diachronic typology as well as an exercise in applying its results to linguistic reconstruction among languages without a written history.
Abstract
This paper explores some of the principles that affect diachronic change in ‘nomenclature systems’; i.e. closed sets of terms within a particular semantic domain, whose members are defined predominantly by their mutual relations within the set. Of special interest are changes that such sets undergo as they are borrowed from one language to another. The first part of the paper summarises the (largely known) history of the spread of the names for days of the week through Europe from classical times to the present and categorises the kinds of changes that are found – such as partial translation, renaming, updating, and system-internal internal analogies – and the (etymological and geographical) patterns that result from these changes. Then attention turns to the systems of social nomenclature, especially eight-term ‘subsection systems’, found in many Australian Aboriginal languages. Lessons learned from the days of the week discussion are applied to reconstructing the (undocumented) history of the spread of these terminologies. This study can be seen as a contribution to diachronic typology as well as an exercise in applying its results to linguistic reconstruction among languages without a written history.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
-
Phonology
- A Phonological motivation behind the diatonic stress shift in Modern English 3
- Vowel reduction in verbs in King Alfred’s Pastoral Care 19
- The development of early Middle English ō 41
- The diachronic development of stød and tonal accent in North Germanic 53
- The evolution of the (alveolo)palatal lateral consonant in Spanish and Portuguese 69
-
Diachronic typology
- Evaluating prehistoric and early historic linguistic contacts 89
- Patterns in the diffusion of nomenclature systems 109
-
Morphology
- Morphological evidence for the paradigmatic status of infinitives in French and Occitan 135
- Constructional change at the interface of cognition, culture, and language use 155
-
Morphosyntax
- Stages in deflexion and the Norwegian dative 179
- Differential Object Marking in Old Japanese 195
- The grammaticalization of progressive constructions with a focus on the English progressive 213
- Hate and anger, love and desire 233
- The argument indexing of early Austronesian verbs 257
- The syntax of mood constructions in Old Japanese 281
- Medieval Sardinian 303
- Index 325
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
-
Phonology
- A Phonological motivation behind the diatonic stress shift in Modern English 3
- Vowel reduction in verbs in King Alfred’s Pastoral Care 19
- The development of early Middle English ō 41
- The diachronic development of stød and tonal accent in North Germanic 53
- The evolution of the (alveolo)palatal lateral consonant in Spanish and Portuguese 69
-
Diachronic typology
- Evaluating prehistoric and early historic linguistic contacts 89
- Patterns in the diffusion of nomenclature systems 109
-
Morphology
- Morphological evidence for the paradigmatic status of infinitives in French and Occitan 135
- Constructional change at the interface of cognition, culture, and language use 155
-
Morphosyntax
- Stages in deflexion and the Norwegian dative 179
- Differential Object Marking in Old Japanese 195
- The grammaticalization of progressive constructions with a focus on the English progressive 213
- Hate and anger, love and desire 233
- The argument indexing of early Austronesian verbs 257
- The syntax of mood constructions in Old Japanese 281
- Medieval Sardinian 303
- Index 325
