1. Worlds within
Words
By K. David Harrison
(Oxford University
Press 2007)
Discussant
Mr. Kurt S. Candilas
MAE – Eng. 1
January 19, 2013

2. Studying the form of a linguistics expression
without studying the meaning is like a sipping
a fine wine, swishing it around in your mouth,
and spitting it out – it can be fun, but not
intoxicating.
-Randall Eggert, Linguist

3. I. Language Change just Happens
• Nobody directs this intricate process of language
change, on its individual or group levels.
• There is no decision-maker or authority, but
orderly change happens nonetheless.
• No schoolteacher, committee, lexicographer has
authority to decide whether a particular word
counts as a word in a language.

4. • The innovations of words only become part of the
language by a mysterious process of social
learning and consensus.
• Purists may denounce a word as “bad English”
for example, but the adoption and usage of words
become acceptable if changes are bound to
endure.
• Thus, lexicographers and grammar teachers then
catch up and acknowledge such innovations
processes.

5. II. Are All Languages Equally Complex?
• The sentiment behind this argument is noble: we
should not regard any other people or culture as
primitive or any more or less intelligent than
ourselves.
• Most of the world’s languages remain
undescribed or underdescribed.
• We have no way to measure complexity within a
single language or across multiple languages.

6. The complexity of the language arises from
many unlike factors, notably on:
• innate ability of the human
• the size of the speech community
• the level of contact among speakers
• the range of uses of a language
• the modality (spoken or signed)
• the intricate historical processes of language
change.

7. III. Complexity Run Amok
• Grammars that seem to have run amok,
stretching the very limits of complexity. In
particular, small languages whose grammars
seem average often contain an astonishing
complexity.
• Since grammars are shaped by culture and
environment, as well as by human brains.

8. The following is a Chomskyan
structure found in small, obscure
and endangered languages
claimed by Harrison (2007)

9. Smelly Talk
• A unique morpheme of the language of Siberian
(Tofa), consisting of such morpheme that
speakers can add to any noun.
Example:
The word “ivi” of Tofa language means reindeer,
if we add the olfactory suffix –sig, we get a new
word “ivisig” that means smelling like a reindeer.
Key points: Derivation and Inflection of Words

10. Sound Talk
• An onomatopoetic words of nomadic yak herders
(Tuvan) that equip its speaker with an unusually
complex, combinatory system for expressing and
representing sounds.
Example:
Kongur – sound of a big bell ringing
Kingir – clanging keys
Kangyr – a giant empty metal barrel rolling along
Key points: Onomatopoeia (words associated with sounds)

11. Willy-nilly Talk
• A doubled word which linguists dub as
“reduplication” that pops up predictably and in
subtly different forms in languages.
Examples:(Rotokas language)
tapa – to hit > tapatapa – to hit repeatedly
kopi – a dot > kopikopi – spotted
Examples:(Filipino language: Cebuano)
ayo – to buy > ayoayo – take care
balik – to come > balikbalik – to come repeatedly

12. Touchy-feely Talk
• A classifier language through assigning every
noun to one of several abstract categories.
Example:
Common Quality
Examples of Objects
Come in pairs
eyes, hands, ears, etc.
Small & roundish
nuts, bullets, berries
Thin & flat
leaves, papers,
blankets

13. Man-talk, Woman-talk
• A speaker of either of the sexes talks differently
depending on its interlocutor.
Examples:
The word “mehinen” of Arapesh in New Guinea
refers to different entity. If you are a man, I am
referring to your sister’s son, but if you are a
woman I’m referring to your brother’s daughter.

14. Handy-Talk, Talking Hands
• World’s signed languages – spoken natively by
deaf people
• A small system of gestures with a limited range of
uses.

15. - THE END THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!
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