Newest Questions
11,713 questions
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Looking for historical comparative linguists and texts of Sumerian language?
I have a question(s) I hope someone can answer here. Many may be familiar with the ancient Sumerian language and the argument that it is a language isolate (i.e., a language with no demonstrable ...
1
vote
0
answers
79
views
Are there conditions where syllabic consonants are physiologically impossible?
Some syllabic consonant conditions seem to be possible without a schwa preceding the syllabic consonant:
[pl̩] seems physiologically possible since the p can be released simultaneously with the tongue ...
- 29
0
votes
0
answers
56
views
Locality constraint on movement: evidence from English?
What is the simplest evidence from English that movement is regulated by a locality constraint, i.e. that a constituent moves to the next-highest phrase immediately containing it and that moving ...
10
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2
answers
2k
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If the English word "tear" (of the eye) is cognate to Latin "lacrima" and Greek "δᾰ́κρῠ", why is there no trace of 'k'? Why is it not spelt *teighr?
I know that Latin 'c' and Greek 'k' in the middle of a word correspond to English 'gh'. For instance, in the number "eight" (compare Latin "octo" and Greek "ὀκτώ"). ...
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2
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0
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69
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Is Chinese steamed dumpling/shumai is originated in Mongolian ᠱᠤᠤᠮᠠᠢ / суумай?
There are multiple articles in Chinese stating that Shumai is from ᠱᠤᠤᠮᠠᠢ / суумай, which means "not yet cooling down" in Mongolian. This word implies you'd better eat this dish when it is ...
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3
votes
1
answer
111
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What can cause a pronunciation to form in a population with (seemingly) no shared characteristics between speakers
According to Wiktionary, the general American pronunciation of "museum" is /mjuˈziəm/. Included in "(US, dialectal)" is /mjuˈzæm/. I pronounce it the latter way. I have been called ...
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2
votes
1
answer
149
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Confusion between the terms "performance" and "competence"
General context before the questions: Lets start by saying that I'm not majoring in Linguistics.I'm an accounting graduate. I decided to study linguistics on my free time because I want to be improve ...
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0
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1
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101
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Transcription of "acquiesce" [closed]
In Cambridge Online English Dictionary, the word "acquiesce" is transcribed as /ˌæk.wiˈes/. The same transcription can be found in Wells' Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Following in this ...
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8
votes
1
answer
660
views
How were labial consonants substituted in loanwords into Iroquoian?
Iroquoian languages tend to lack labial consonants such as /p b m f/; what were they substituted with in loanwords? (Specifically those languages that lack /kʷ/ since this would be an obvious ...
- 1,356
3
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0
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164
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Why 4-digit number grouping in East Asia vs 3-digit in Europe?
East Asian languages (Chinese/Japanese/Korean) segment large numbers by 10⁴ units (万, 亿, 兆), while European languages (English/French/German etc.) use 10³ units (thousand, million, billion).
What ...
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5
votes
1
answer
774
views
Why is the [ɨ] symbol much more common than the [ɘ] symbol?
According to Becker-Kristal (2010), most languages which are claimed to have the vowel inventory [a e i o u ɨ] actually have the vowel inventory [a e i o u ɘ], and the discrepancy cannot be explained ...
- 1,356
1
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0
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49
views
Was Leonard Bloomfield a behaviorist?
One author states that Bloomfield being labeled a behaviorist is at best controversial, or otherwise vacuous:
Consequently, claims that Bloomfield and other American linguists were behaviorists are ...
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1
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0
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47
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Is there a complete list of which Trans-Himalayan/Sino-Tibetan languages lack tone?
I'm aware of certain examples of Trans-Himalayan languages that lack tone, but I was wondering whether there is a complete list (or as complete as possible taking into consideration that many ...
- 1,356
2
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2
answers
170
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In Classical Arabic, how should the structure ‘ittaḵaḏa X Y’ be interpreted?
I’m asking this as a purely linguistic question, with no theological or religious intent. Please interpret it solely from the perspective of Classical Arabic grammar and syntax.
In Qur’an 25:43, we ...
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2
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81
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Is there a linguistic terminology or word for term / definiendum explicitly paired with context? Example: bark(noise) and bark(noun) vs bark
I believe I've identified a concept that warrants having a dedicated terminology to describe, and I wonder if linguistics being the study of language has a linquistic terminology for it.
I think this ...
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4
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1
answer
215
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Is human language really modular?
Recently I read a book called Pulsion (French for Drive, but there's no official English translation yet) by Frédéric Lordon and Sandra Lucbert. It's a book about philosophy and psychoanalysis, not ...
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2
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0
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106
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What are some text examples of a language's phonemic contrasts? Ex: English's is The North Wind and The Sun Story
I am learning how to learn a new language and came across this passage used in phonetic demonstrations The North Wind and The Sun Wikipedia Article.
The fable [The North Wind and The Sun] is made ...
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0
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89
views
How to differentiate glosses from quotations in a journal that uses single quotes by default?
It is common in linguistics to use italics for terms in the object language and single quotes for their glosses.
When publishing in a journal that uses single quotes by default (i.e., all quoted ...
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2
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0
answers
76
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Does T-voicing realize in "lead to" and "need to"
I know that T-voicing occurs if /t/ is sandwiched between two vowels. But what about the case where it's followed by a vowel and is immediately preceded by /d/ sound, as in "lead to" or &...
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1
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79
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Did the names Ioann and Iovian merge to form Giovanni?
how common was merger or biblical and Roman names? For instance, Mariam+Marius->Maria, Ioannes+Iovianus->Giovanni?
What about other barbaric names, Hermann+Germanicus, Kuzma+Cosmas?
What percent ...
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2
votes
1
answer
114
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Phonological forms and phonological shapes
Do phonological forms and phonological shapes mean the same thing?
Context: "One of the most common
complications is that morphemes may have different phonological shapes
under different ...
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1
answer
219
views
How to deny the Dravidian theory for grouping the Tamil base languages?
I’m a native Tamil speaker with a strong understanding of linguistic theories, particularly the concept of proto-languages. I’ve studied Tamil extensively, including its root word system and etymology,...
user42482
2
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0
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97
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Is it possible that Swabian German retains the ‘ao’ diphthong from Proto-Germanic?
Swabian
Standard German
Proto-Germanic
Braod
Brot
braudą
frao
froh
frawaz
haoch
hoch
hauhaz
Glaošdr
Kloster
Latin clavstrum
Laob
Laub
laubą
Did Swabian keep the diphthong from Proto-Germanic?
Or did ...
2
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0
answers
145
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How complex are Slavic languages?
I'm of course aware that there's a certain degree of subjectivity when it comes to "complexity" of a language, which has different meanings for different people. However, in her paper ...
- 1,356
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1
answer
154
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Could the ethnonym "Arab" come from the root meaning "West"?
In Hebrew both the word for Arab and for the West are represented by one root ערב. But I wonder if these words are etymologically related. Especially in the light of this map from 9th cantury BC, ...
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5
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0
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107
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Does any language distinguish the agent of a monotransitive clause from the agent of a ditransitive clause?
I'm going down a bit of a rabbit hole at the moment trying to understand how morphosyntactic alignment works when accounting for ditransitive clauses too, not just monotransitives and intransitives - ...
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3
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1
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82
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Papiamento ñ Pronunciation
Most descriptions of Papiamento describe ñ as being the same as in Spanish; however, I don't think that's the case. It appears to be pronounced as [j] while nasalizing the preceding vowel, so 'paña' ...
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6
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1
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282
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Does a relationship between Korean and Tungusic appear plausible?
The book The History of the Korean Language by Lee and Ramsey seems to be rather positive about the possibility of a Koreo-Tungusic language family, but this book contained some other errors and ...
- 1,356
3
votes
1
answer
106
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Correctness criteria in linguistics
How can we determine whether a particular proposition, that is, a statement made by linguists about a language, is correct? This question applies across all levels of linguistic analysis, but my ...
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1
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107
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Why did J. P. Allen remove the "house" hieroglyph as a biliteral in the 3rd edition of Middle Egyptian?
I am currently trying to learn Middle Egyptian, the language and script of ancient egypt, from the book
J. P. Allen: Middle Egpytian. An Introduction to the Language and
Culture of Hieroglyph, ...
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5
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3
answers
649
views
What is the official name for the bʱ and v distinction?
In the Bengali alphabet, the letters ভ and ফ appear. Based on [Wikipedia], they are pronounced bʱ (an aspirated version of b) and pʰ (an aspirated version of f) respectively. It appears to me (as a ...
1
vote
1
answer
62
views
What is the equivalent of S- and D-structure in the minimalist program?
In Ernst's The Syntax of Adjuncts (2002), the author says in a note that he "will continue to use GB terms like D-Structure, S-Structure, and base-generation with the understanding that they may ...
5
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1
answer
204
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Disagreement over the grammatical function of problem – what’s your take?
I came across a grammar question and I’d love to hear your take on it. The sentence is:
I tried to solve the problem
Only the word problem is underlined, and the question is asking for its ...
1
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0
answers
89
views
Why is adjusting one's accent less prevalent in English?
Native English speakers usually use their natural accent, and almost never switch to a more common dialect. Most English speakers probably can do a good impression of say, standard American or ...
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0
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128
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Why is נפשך reconstructed as /nap.ši.ka/?
In this reconstruction of the pre-exilic pronunciation of Psalms 121, the last word of the penultimate verse—נפשך, “your soul”—is transcribed as /nap.ˈši.ka/.
According to the website’s author on ...
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1
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59
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Is the sentence "If a thing is a horse, then it is a mammal" a conditional according to linguists?
Would linguists generally agree that the following sentence is a conditional?
If a thing is a horse, then it is a mammal.
If there any doubt that it is?
Are there any sentences with the structure &...
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3
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0
answers
78
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Are puns more common in some languages than others?
I speak four languages fluently: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and English. I never understood why making clever or humorous puns are common in English, but seem rare in those other languages. I ...
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1
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0
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99
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Introductory books to Spanish morphology
Are there any good intro books about Spanish morphology?
There are so many good intro books for English morphology like Haspelmath & Sims, etc. However, for Spanish I'm having a really tough time ...
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3
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0
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176
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The complex nature of final L after stops in French
The renowned French phonetician Pierre Fouché writes on page XX of his book Traité de prononciation française (1959):
Deviennent également sourdes les consonnes [ʀ], [l], terminant un mot
suivi d'une ...
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3
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1
answer
265
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Why is the third radical in נִסְכֵּיהֶם a plosive?
In Biblical Hebrew, segolates were of the form CVCC, with a final consonant cluster. For example, Masoretic /ˈmeleḵ/ was pronounced /malk/; /ˈbeḡeḏ/ was /bigd/; /ˈḳoːḏeš/ was /ḳudš/, etc.
The ...
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1
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138
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Does Merge respect speaker intention?
I’m new to generative syntax, so this may be a naive question, and I apologize in advance. Under the Minimalist Program, if I want to say
This cute boy is my naughty son,
why don’t I instead say
...
user54502
2
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0
answers
72
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What resources (software, books, videos or courses) do you recommend for learning how to use the IPA if I am self-taught?
I would like to learn the IPA. I like languages. I'm self-taught. I have Mark Aronoff's "Handbook of Linguistics" and Peter Ladefoged's "A Course in Phonetics." Besides English, I'...
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2
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151
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Any difference betwwen /ɡɪə/ and /gjə/
Wikipedia suggests that for diphthongs the stress falls on the first vowel and for glides (or semivowels) the opposite happens.
However, it looks like there's no difference between the two English ...
- 268
2
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0
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97
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Origin of sigma aorist imperative in Greek
In ancient Greek, the imperatives for the sigma aorist is -σον, -σαι. This looks quite different from the present imperatives, so I was curious about the etymology. However, when looked at Wiktionary'...
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0
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93
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Did ancients (e.g. Mesrop Mashtots) know about centum-satem?
Did ancients (e.g. Mesrop Mashtots) know about centum-satem?
I mean the armenian alphabet uses Koppa կ for PIE g (*gʷḗn կին kin) and Koppa զ for PIE ǵ *PIE *ǵʰō- զ-)?
10
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3
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3k
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Why are proto-languages not written using IPA?
Reconstructed proto-language words seem to usually be written using the Latin alphabet. Why is IPA not used instead?
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1
answer
124
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Tocharian transcription
Can anyone tell me the significance of this markup (1st word, second line)? It’s from Calvert Wakins’ How to kill a dragon, where he’s quoting from the beginning of Puṇyavantajātaka in Tocharian A. I’...
- 300
3
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0
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124
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What is the current consensus on phonesthemes?
As I understand it linguistics find phonesthemes to be an interesting linguistic phenomenon because they violate the principle of arbitrariness. But I'm more interested in the historical implications ...
0
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0
answers
89
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Are there syllable tone languages in Europe?
I vaguely remember having read that there are certain dialects of Swedish in which each syllable is contrastively specified for tone (i.e. a genuine "tone language" as opposed to a "...
- 1,356
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1
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103
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Are Armenian ր, ո and Greek ρ, ο cognates?
Are Armenian ր, ո and Greek ρ, ο cognates? If so and they don't have "_" at the bottom of the letters could Armenian "h" (from PIE p) and "b" be cognates?