“The aim is to understand how languages change. When data on language from different periods is examined it becomes apparent that the language has changed, however, we do not know how it happened. Did the language change with new generations, or did the language of individuals gradually change?” Höskuldur Þráinsson, Professor at the Faculty of Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies, has worked on a continuing study on linguistic change in Icelandic.
“I, Kristján Árnason and associates talked to over 3000 people during the years 1980 to 1990 to examine their pronunciation. Over 540 of those people have been interviewed a second time from 2010. Over 200 of them took part in a parallel study with Björn Guðfinnsson around 1940. Thus we have data on the pronunciation of these individuals over a 70 year period and the others for a 25 – 30 year period. This is unique in the world,” says Þráinsson.
Participants in a study by Sigríður Sigurjónsdóttir and Joan Maling in 1999 are being re-tested in the syntax part of the study. “We are among other things looking at a new syntax that has been called the new passive voice or the new impersonal syntax; when people say e.g. “Það var lamið mig” (it was beat me). One of the questions is whether this is the language of adolescents as adults do not seem to adapt this syntax. Originally teenagers from all over the country were tested and now we have given the same exam to approximately 150 of them 12 years later,” explains Þráinsson.
“The main goal of all linguists is to understand the nature of languages. This research is an attempt at understanding how languages change. Kristján Árnason, Sigríður Sigurjónsdóttir, Þórhallur Eyþórsson, Matthew Whelpton and I. along with our associates are examining whether, or how, people change their language in time. By examining the language of the same individuals over a long period it is possible to see how this happens. If we have a better understanding of how languages change we gain insight into to the nature of the spoken language,” concludes Þráinsson.
