The lecture focuses on language change, which refers to changes to pronunciation, grammar structure and vocabulary. The speaker outlines several factors that generate language change in three different periods of time. 

 

Initially in extremely distant past, the appearance of more advanced tools, such as hand axes, led to the use of language in approximately 1,750,000 years ago according to archaeology discoveries. The production of the axes was likely to demand structure plan, which needed communication and seemed to play a role in the brain’s language forming function.  

 

Lifestyles continuously effected the way of speaking in prehistorical times. One factor is diet, whose changes arguably made a difference in human’s speech sounds. With the evolution of agriculture, softer foods were eaten and the lower teeth moved marginally behind the upper teeth to adapt to the change, which resulted in new speech sounds. Another factor is climate. Language with complex tones tends to be more commonly found in humid areas, for dry air could make it challenging for the vocal cords to vibrate correctly to make accurate tones. 

 

One of the most modern factors is language contact, which performed an exponential growth as the increase of global population, the expansion of territories and the extension of people’s knowledge of the world outside their communities. Language contact, caused by migration of a group of language speakers or constant interactions between two groups, appears to be able to erase the boundaries between two language areas, alter one or both of the languages. Comparatively, usually far less changes have been experienced by language spoken in isolated communities due to lack of occasions to talk with other languages’ speakers. 

  

Time affect the change of language in many aspects such as pronunciation and grammar. It mentioned that some expert believed that human learned how to speak 5000 years ago .Others believed it should be 1.75 million years ago which is exactly the time when human learned how to make tools. They believed that the way of making a tool is similar to form a language in human brain. 

  

Another factor is life styles. While life styles decide what we eat, what we eat also decide how our teeth distribute which leads to the change of pronunciation. What we eat today is softer than the past so we can pronounce the sound which is impossible in the past. 

  

Where the human live is the third fact. Different places have different climate which leads to the difference between languages.Tones are more complicate in humid area While people from dry area find those tones difficult to pronounce. 

  

Language contact also played an important role in modern language changes.Language contact also will have effects on both sides of the language.It will make influence on pronunciation and border the vocabulary. Old English gained the word “knife” “husband” 

“dirt” from Old North. 

  

The final fact is modern technology and media. These two are one of the most important reasons why English spread so widely today. And is also the reason why the language is different between North Korea and South Korea. 

Language change can be defined as changing pronunciation, grammatical structures and vocabulary . It is indicated that language first come about when it was needed and when human brains’ functions were not well formed. 

The next factor is diets which means that What we eat can effect the way we prounance. When jaws and teeth’s position changed millions years ago, human developed new speaking sounds. 

The third factor is climate. It has been discovered that common tongues in humid areas and dry areas are not the same.  

The last factor is language contact. Tradition activities and modern activities made languages change between one and another. However, language spoken by people in isolated areas are less frequently changed.