Language: a Living Organism | Spyridoula Varlokosta | TEDxNTUA

The Ever-Changing Nature of Language

• Heraclitus, an ancient Greek philosopher, stated that everything is in a state of flux and nothing remains the same, which is a characteristic of both the world and human language. No language remains unchanged. (29s)
• Currently, there are 7,100 living languages on the planet, but this number is not stable. Over the past 70 years, linguists have studied languages more thoroughly and discovered new ones, especially in remote areas like the Amazon. (57s)
• Languages are living organisms that exist and are used within human communities, and they change over time as these communities and the world change. (1m39s)
• Some languages simply disappear or die out. Out of the 7,100 living languages, approximately 3,045, or about 40%, are currently endangered. These languages are primarily spoken in regions such as Australia, India, Africa, and the Americas. (2m7s)
• It is predicted that by the end of the century, about 50% of the world's living languages will have disappeared. A language becomes endangered when its speakers begin to teach and speak a more dominant language to the next generation. (2m36s)

Endangered Languages

• There are languages that are smaller, minority languages, which are experiencing linguistic shrinkage, extinction, or death, such as the languages of the indigenous people in America, which have already become extinct, with some disappearing very recently after 2000, or are threatened with extinction, for example, the Mandan language in North Dakota, which became extinct in 2016 (3m36s).
• In Greece, there are also linguistic varieties that are at risk of extinction, such as the Tsakonian dialect and the Cappadocian dialect, which still have a few thousand speakers (3m51s).
• A language is considered extinct when the last living speaker dies, such as the case of the Ayta language in Western Oklahoma, which had only two living speakers in 2023 (4m13s).
• The story of a linguist who studied an endangered language in Cameroon, Africa, in the 1990s, having only one living speaker, is an example of how quickly a language can become extinct, as the speaker died just 10 days before the linguist's next visit (4m47s).

Language Evolution in Greek

• The ephemeral nature of language is also evident in the way it changes over time, as seen in the example of the ancient Greek verb "γράφω" (grapho), which had the additional meaning of "χαράζω" (charazo), "σκαλίζω" (skalizo), which has been lost in modern Greek (5m36s).
• In ancient Greek, personal pronouns followed the verb, but in modern Greek, they are placed before the verb. This change is not considered a deterioration of the language but rather a natural evolution over time. (5m51s)
• Language changes occur as each generation adopts and modifies linguistic structures. If a generation begins using a structure in a new way, this usage can gradually spread and become established, potentially leading to changes or even the disappearance of certain structures over centuries. (6m27s)
• During the early medieval Greek period, personal pronouns continued to follow the verb, similar to ancient Greek. However, in the later medieval period, a shift occurred where personal pronouns preceded the verb in sentences starting with "να" (to), marking a transition to the structure seen in modern Greek. (7m14s)
• Language evolves through various mechanisms, including interactions between speakers of different linguistic systems, especially when they coexist in the same geographical area. (8m15s)
• The Greek language spoken by Greeks in Constantinople has evolved over time due to the interaction between different peoples and languages in the same geographical area. (8m32s)
• In Greek, the typical word order in a phrase is article, adjective, and then noun, whereas in Turkish, the order is adjective, article, and then noun. This change in word order in the Greek spoken by Greeks in Constantinople is a result of language contact. (8m59s)

Language Change in Bilingual Contexts

• Language change is also observed in bilingual individuals, and modern societies are increasingly bilingual or multilingual. Many people, especially younger generations, are bilingual or multilingual. (9m37s)
• An example of bilingualism is seen in immigrants who speak their heritage language, which is the language of their country of origin, while also adopting the dominant language of the country they have moved to. (9m54s)
• Heritage languages often incorporate structural elements from the dominant language of the host country, which is the language in which the second and subsequent generations are educated. (10m15s)
• A nine-year-old child of second-generation immigrants in Canada places the preposition at the end of a sentence, following English grammar rules. (10m34s)
• A twelve-year-old child uses the word "κανένας" (kanenas) in Greek similarly to how "no" is used in English, demonstrating influence from the dominant language. (10m49s)

Mechanisms of Language Change

• Language is constantly evolving, with changes occurring in vocabulary and grammar. One way languages change is by borrowing words from other languages for social, scientific, or technological reasons. These borrowed words may be kept as they are or adapted to fit the grammar of the borrowing language. (11m11s)
• New words are continuously created, with the younger generation, especially teenagers, playing a significant role in this process. They invent new words, known as neologisms, such as "φλεξάρω" (to show off) and "τρολάρω" (to mock). (11m51s)
• There is a concern about whether language borrowing and the language of the youth lead to language decay. However, linguists view borrowing as a form of renewal and enrichment, not decay. (12m32s)
• The idea that language borrowing leads to decay is not supported by scientific evidence. Phrases that might be considered incorrect today could be precursors to future linguistic changes. (13m10s)

Language Change Across the Lifespan

• Language changes over time, and it is normal for people to speak differently at various life stages, such as youth, adulthood, and old age. (13m45s)
• The expression "the file was processed by the student" might become completely natural and correct for future generations, indicating a potential language change. (14m6s)
• Aging is inevitable for all living organisms, including humans, and it can sometimes bring changes to the human brain that affect language. (14m25s)
• In some cases, aging can lead to conditions like Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia that impacts both memory and language, causing difficulties in finding the right words and leading to pauses in speech. (15m1s)
• Language can also change suddenly due to unexpected factors, such as a stroke, which can disrupt blood flow or cause bleeding in brain areas related to language, leading to a condition known as aphasia. (15m56s)
• A disorder affecting a person's ability to communicate can result in difficulties with speaking, understanding, reading, or writing, and in some cases, a combination of these challenges (16m22s).

Language and Brain Injury

• A person without brain damage can narrate a story, such as the well-known myth of the hare and the tortoise, in a coherent manner (16m49s).
• In contrast, a person who has suffered a brain injury affecting areas important for language may struggle to recount the same story, exhibiting characteristics such as slow and laborious speech, simple sentence structure, and difficulty finding the right words (17m29s).
• The language of a person who has suffered a brain injury may be telegraphic, with a simple syntax and struggle to convey their intended message (18m27s).

Language as a Biological and Social Phenomenon

• Language is a complex phenomenon that is part of our biological heritage, having evolved over time and continuing to change throughout our lives, from infancy to old age (18m44s).
• In addition to being a biological phenomenon, language is also a social phenomenon, shaped by our interactions and experiences (19m18s).
• Language evolves over time as societies change, and it cannot remain fixed in one form. (19m23s)
• Older forms of a language are not superior to newer ones, and there is no basis for claiming the superiority of ancient Greek over modern Greek. (19m48s)
• Borrowing words from other languages, creating neologisms, hybrid words, or using abbreviations like "OMG" are not signs of language decay; these are myths without scientific basis. (20m0s)
• Linguists worldwide affirm that each language has its own unique characteristics and system. (20m26s)
• Language is a living organism that changes, transforms, and evolves just like humans and the universe. (20m42s)