A brief history of plural word...s - John McWhorter

Summary

This script explores the peculiarities of the English language, highlighting its irregular plural forms and historical evolution. It explains that Old English had a more complex system with gendered inanimate objects and irregular plurals, which simplified due to the influence of the Vikings. The script humorously suggests that we should thank the Scandinavian ancestors for making English more straightforward, though it retains some oddities like 'children' and 'teeth'.

Takeaways

• 😅 English has irregular plurals that don't follow the standard 's' rule, like 'men' and 'geese'.
• 🔍 Old English was even more complex with numerous irregular plurals and gendered inanimate objects.
• 📚 English and German were the same language 2500 years ago but gradually diverged.
• 🧔 In early English, objects had genders, like 'gafol' (fork) being female and 'laefel' (spoon) being male.
• 👶 Children were better at language acquisition, which influenced the simplification of English by the Vikings.
• 🛡️ The Vikings simplified English by smoothing away complex plural forms, favoring the 's' ending.
• 💬 The influence of the Vikings on English led to the loss of many irregular plural forms and the adoption of more regular ones.
• 🏡 Old English had unique plural forms like 'house' remaining the same in singular and plural form.
• 🗣️ Some irregular plurals persisted, such as 'children' and 'teeth', due to frequent use and difficulty in changing habits.
• 🌐 The simplification of English by the Vikings made the language more accessible and easier to learn.
• 😉 The script humorously suggests imagining a week using the original complex plurals for a fun linguistic experiment.

Q & A

Why does the English language have irregular plural forms like 'men' and 'geese' instead of 'mans' and 'goose'?

The irregular plural forms in English are a remnant of Old English, where plurals were formed in various ways, not just by adding 's'. The simplification of plural forms to mostly 's' is largely due to the influence of the Vikings, who streamlined the language.

What was the linguistic relationship between English and German 2500 years ago?

English and German were the same language 2500 years ago, but they gradually drifted apart over time, developing into distinct languages with different grammatical structures and vocabularies.

How did the gender of inanimate objects in Old English affect the language?

In Old English, inanimate objects had genders such as masculine, feminine, and neuter. This required speakers to know not only the meaning of a word but also its gender, which influenced its form in various grammatical contexts.

What was the impact of the Viking invasions on the English language?

The Viking invasions in the 8th century had a significant impact on English, particularly in simplifying its grammar. The Vikings, who spoke Norse, smoothed away complex parts of English, including the irregular plural forms, leading to the more uniform 's' ending for plurals.

Why do we say 'books' instead of 'beek' for more than one book in modern English?

The word 'books' is used instead of 'beek' because of the influence of the Vikings, who preferred the 's' ending for plurals, making the language simpler and more consistent.

What did the Old English word 'gafol' represent and what was its gender?

The Old English word 'gafol' represented a 'fork' and was considered feminine in gender.

How did the Viking influence simplify the plural forms in English?

The Viking influence simplified the plural forms by reducing the variety of endings and promoting the use of the 's' ending for most plurals, making the language easier to learn and use.

What is an example of an Old English plural that was formed by adding a different sound to the end of the word?

An example of an Old English plural formed by adding a different sound is 'lambre' for 'lambs', as opposed to the modern English 'lambs'.

Why do we still have a few irregular plurals like 'children' and 'teeth' in modern English?

Irregular plurals like 'children' and 'teeth' have persisted in modern English because they are used so frequently that it was difficult to change the established usage habits, even after the Viking simplification of plurals.

What linguistic changes can be attributed to the intermarriage between Vikings and English women?

The intermarriage between Vikings and English women contributed to the widespread use of simplified English, as children growing up in England were exposed to both the original and the streamlined English, eventually leading to the loss of the original forms.

What is the humorous suggestion made in the script about changing our language usage for a week or two?

The script humorously suggests that it would be fun to change our language usage for a week or two by asking for 'a handful of pea-night' instead of 'peanuts', highlighting the oddities of English plurals.

Outlines

00:00

😅 The Oddities of English Plurals

This paragraph delves into the peculiarities of English pluralization, highlighting the inconsistencies in the language. It begins with the standard 's' ending for plurals but then points out exceptions like 'men' and 'geese'. It also humorously questions why 'two feet' doesn't translate to 'two beek'. The script then takes a historical journey back to Old English, explaining how the language was even more complex with gendered nouns and irregular plurals. The paragraph concludes with the influence of the Vikings on simplifying English, attributing the more regular plural forms we use today to the Norsemen's impact on the language.

Keywords

💡English Language

The English language is the primary subject of the video, which discusses its irregularities and evolution. It is defined as a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain in the mid 5th to 7th centuries. The video's theme revolves around the peculiarities of English plurals and the historical linguistic changes that have simplified the language over time. Examples include the transition from irregular plurals like 'lambru' to the more regular 'lambs'.

💡Irregular Plurals

Irregular plurals are a key concept in the script, referring to words that do not form their plurals by simply adding an 's' or 'es'. These irregular forms are central to the video's exploration of English's complex grammar rules. The script provides several examples, such as 'men' instead of 'mans', 'geese' instead of 'gooses', and the historical 'lambru' for 'lambs'.

💡Old English

Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest form of the English language discussed in the video. It is defined as the language spoken in England and southern Scotland from the mid-5th century to the mid-12th century. The video uses Old English to illustrate the complexity of English grammar in the past, including its gendered nouns and irregular plurals, such as 'doora' instead of 'doors'.

💡German

German is a West Germanic language that, according to the script, was the same as English about 2,500 years ago. It is mentioned to highlight the historical linguistic connections and divergences between English and German. The script implies that both languages have evolved differently, with English simplifying its grammar over time.

💡Gendered Nouns

Gendered nouns are a feature of some languages, including Old English, where each noun is assigned a gender. The script uses this concept to show the complexity of Old English, where inanimate objects like 'gafol' (fork) were considered feminine and 'laefel' (spoon) masculine. This gender system contributed to the complexity of the language.

💡Vikings

The Vikings are credited in the script with simplifying the English language during their invasions of England in the 8th century. They spoke Norse and influenced English by smoothing out its complex grammar, including its irregular plurals. The script suggests that the Viking influence led to the regularization of plurals, making English easier to learn and speak.

💡Language Evolution

Language evolution refers to the changes that languages undergo over time, often due to social, cultural, or historical factors. The video script discusses how English has evolved from a complex language with gendered nouns and irregular plurals to a more simplified form, largely due to the influence of the Vikings.

💡Scandinavian

Scandinavian refers to the group of Northern European countries and their languages, including Norway and Denmark. In the script, Scandinavian is associated with the Vikings, whose language, Old Norse, influenced English. The video credits the simplification of English plurals to the linguistic habits of the Scandinavian people.

💡Regularization

Regularization in linguistics is the process by which irregular forms become more regular or standardized. The script discusses the regularization of English plurals, such as the shift from 'lambru' to 'lambs', as a result of Viking influence, making the language more consistent and easier to learn.

💡Historical Linguistics

Historical linguistics is the scientific study of language change over time. The script touches on this concept by examining the changes in English from Old English to Modern English, focusing on the simplification of grammar due to external influences like the Viking invasions.

💡Language Acquisition

Language acquisition refers to the process by which individuals learn a language. The script mentions that after the age of 15, it becomes difficult to learn a new language without an accent or errors, highlighting the challenges the Vikings faced when they encountered English and subsequently simplified it.

Highlights

English language has irregular plural forms like 'men' and 'geese', unlike the usual 's' ending.

Old English was even more complex with inanimate objects having genders and irregular plurals being common.

English and German were the same language 2500 years ago but gradually diverged.

In Old English, words like 'fork', 'spoon', and 'table' had genders - woman, man, and neuter respectively.

Old English plurals could end in sounds other than 's', like 'ru' in 'lambru' and 'eggru'.

Some Old English words had no change in plural form, similar to 'sheep' - 'one house, two house'.

Viking invasion in the 8th century simplified English, smoothing away complex plural forms.

Vikings preferred the 's' ending for plurals, making the language simpler and more uniform.

The Viking influence led to the loss of many Old English irregular plural forms.

A few irregular plurals like 'children' and 'teeth' remained due to frequent use and habit.

The simplification of English by Vikings made the language more accessible and easier to learn.

If not for the Viking influence, English might still have complex plurals like 'pea-night' for peanuts.

The evolution of English shows how language can be shaped by social and cultural factors.

Old English had a more complex system of plurals, with many irregular forms and no standard ending.

The Viking simplification of English plurals made the language more consistent and easier to use.

The English language has evolved significantly over time, with its complexity reduced by external influences.

Transcripts

There are a lot of ways

this marvelous language of ours,

English, doesn't make sense.

For example, most of the time

when we talk about more than one of something,

we put an S on the end.

One cat, two cats.

But then, there's that handful of words

where things work differently.

Alone you have a man;

if he has company, then you've got men,

or probably better for him, women too.

Although if there were only one of them,

it would be a woman.

Or if there's more than one goose,

they're geese,

but why not lots of mooses, meese?

Or if you have two feet,

then why don't you read two beek

instead of books.

The fact is that if you were speaking English

before about a thousand years ago,

beek is exactly what you would have said

for more than one book.

If Modern English is strange,

Old English needed therapy.

Believe it or not,

English used to be an even harder language

to learn than it is today.

Twenty-five hundred years ago,

English and German were the same language.

They drifted apart slowly,

little by little becoming more and more different.

That meant that in early English,

just like in German,

inanimate objects had gender.

A fork, gafol, was a woman;

a spoon, laefel, was a man;

and the table they were on, bord,

was neither, also called neuter.

Go figure!

Being able to use words

meant not just knowing their meaning

but what gender they were, too.

And while today there are only about a dozen plurals

that don't make sense,

like men

and geese,

in Old English, it was perfectly normal

for countless plurals to be like that.

You think it's odd that more than one goose is geese?

Well, imagine if more than one goat

was a bunch of gat,

or if more than one oak tree

was a field of ack.

To be able to talk about any of these,

you just had to know the exact word for their plural

rather than just adding the handy S on the end.

And it wasn't always an S at the end either.

In merry Old English,

they could add other sounds to the end.

Just like more than one child is children,

more than one lamb was lambru,

you fried up your eggru,

and people talked not about breads,

but breadru.

Sometimes it was like sheep is today -

where, to make a plural, you don't do anything.

One sheep,

two sheep.

In Old English, one house,

two house.

And just like today, we have oxen instead of oxes.

Old English people had toungen instead of tongues,

namen instead of names,

and if things stayed the way they were,

today we would have eyen instead of eyes.

So, why didn't things stay the way they were?

In a word, Vikings.

In the 8th century, Scandinavian marauders

started taking over much of England.

They didn't speak English,

they spoke Norse.

Plus, they were grown-ups,

and grown-ups aren't as good

at learning languages as children.

After the age of roughly 15,

it's almost impossible to learn a new language

without an accent

and without slipping up here and there

as we all know from what language classes are like.

The Vikings were no different,

so they had a way of smoothing away

the harder parts of how English worked.

Part of that was those crazy plurals.

Imagine running up against a language

with eggru

and gat

on the one hand,

and then with other words,

all you have to do is add 's'

and get days

and stones.

Wouldn't it make things easier

to just use the 's' for everything?

That's how the Vikings felt too.

And there were so many of them,

and they married so many of the English women,

that pretty soon, if you grew up in England,

you heard streamlined English as much as the real kind.

After a while nobody remembered the real kind any more.

Nobody remembered that once you said doora

instead of doors

and handa instead of hands.

Plurals made a lot more sense now,

except for a few hold-outs like children

and teeth

that get used so much

that it was hard to break the habit.

The lesson is

that English makes a lot more sense than you think.

Thank the ancestors of people

in Copenhagen and Oslo for the fact

that today we don't ask for a handful of pea-night

instead of peanuts.

Although, wouldn't it be fun,

if for just a week or two,

we could?