Mi primera revista MIRELLA 9 | Page 18

Chapter 17 Language history and change Description reflection This procedure is used to reconstruct what must have been the original or "proto" form in the common ancestral language. The reconstruction of proto-forms is an attempt to determine what a language must have been like before any written records. However, even when we have written records from an older period of a language such as English, they may not bear any resemblance to the written form of the language found today. Diachronic and synchronic variation The changes were gradual and probably difficult to discern while they were in progress. Although some changes can be linked to major social changes caused by wars, invasions and other upheavals, the most pervasive source of change in language seems to be in the continual process of cultural transmission. In this chapter we can see Family Connections To see how the different languages are related, we can see the records of an earlier generation, such as Latin and Sanskrit, from which modern languages evolved. Although some forms have fairly clear similarities, it is extremely improbable that exactly the same words are found across languages. The history of English Comparative reconstruction Cognates The process by which we establish a possible family connection between different languages.