Rate of Change

[Stanley Friesen]

At 08:10 AM 6/27/01 +0000, Gabor Sandi wrote:

>Yet I can't help wondering about the circularity of the argument: when we
>see fast linguistic change, we look at society at the time of the change,
>and fix on some aspect of it that is undergoing change - after all,
>something is bound to be changing at any one period, given the fact that
>human beings get bored easily.

>Take periods of known "great change": the English vowel shift for example,

While I really agree with you, one can make an argument that this one at
least was associated with profound social upheaval, as it started during
the Wars of the Roses, which seriously disrupted the fabric of the nation
for many years.

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May the peace of God be with you.         sarima at friesen.net