Jespersen's Cycle
Encyclopedia
Jespersen's Cycle is a series of processes in historical linguistics
, which describe the historical development of the expression of negation in a variety of languages, from a simple pre-verbal marker of negation, through a discontinous marker (elements both before and after the verb) and in some cases through subsequent loss of the original pre-verbal marker. The term originated in the 1979 publication Typology of Sentence Negation by Swedish linguist Östen Dahl. Dahl coined it in recognition of the pioneering work of Otto Jespersen
in identifying this pattern of language change
.
began his book Negation in English and Other Languages with the words:
The process has since been described for many languages in many different families, and is particularly noticeable in languages which are currently at stage II (both the original and the additional word obligatory) such as French, Welsh, and some dialects of Arabic and Berber.
The fact that different languages can be seen to be in different stages of the process, and that sometimes, as Jespersen says, the whole process can begin again after renewal, prompted Dahl to name the process "Jespersen's cycle".
In Stage I, negation is expressed by a single pre-verbal element:
(Examples from different periods of French
, all from ):
jeo ne dis. (Old French)
I NEG say
'I do not say'
In Stage II both a preverbal and a postverbal element are obligatory:
je ne dis pas. (modern standard French)
I NEG say NEG
'I do not say'
In Stage III the original preverbal element becomes optional or is lost altogether:
je dis pas. (modern colloquial French)
I say NEG
'I do not say'
is well known to use a bipartite negative, eg "Je ne sais pas" = "I don't know", lit. "I not know not". Welsh
has a very similar pattern, "Nid wn i ddim, lit "Not know I nothing". In both languages, the colloquial register
is at a more advanced stage in the cycle, and the first part (ne or nid) is very frequently omitted. In very formal and literary Welsh registers, by contrast, nid tends to be used without ddim. This is not true of formal registers of modern French, but the use of ne on its own survives in certain set expressions (e.g. n'importe quoi: "no matter what/anything").
English too passed through Jespersen's cycle early in its history: for example "I didn't see" would be expressed in Old English as ic ne seah, then strengthened with the word nawiht "no thing" as Middle English
"I ne saugh nawiht", finally leading to Early Modern English
"I saw not". The same development occurred in the other Germanic languages such as German and Dutch, which produced their respective postposed negative particles nicht and niet, first duplicating and eventually ousting the original preposed negativer particle ne / ni.
Central Atlas Tamazight, a Berber
language spoken principally in Central Morocco
, uses a bipartate negative construction (e.g. /uriffiɣ ʃa/ 'he didn't go out' - again, the italic elements together convey the negative) which apparently was modeled after proximate Arabic
varieties.
The Chamic languages, spoken in parts of Cambodia
, Vietnam
, and Hainan
, may also be undergoing Jespersen's Cycle.
Historical linguistics
Historical linguistics is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:* to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages...
, which describe the historical development of the expression of negation in a variety of languages, from a simple pre-verbal marker of negation, through a discontinous marker (elements both before and after the verb) and in some cases through subsequent loss of the original pre-verbal marker. The term originated in the 1979 publication Typology of Sentence Negation by Swedish linguist Östen Dahl. Dahl coined it in recognition of the pioneering work of Otto Jespersen
Otto Jespersen
Jens Otto Harry Jespersen or Otto Jespersen was a Danish linguist who specialized in the grammar of the English language.He was born in Randers in northern Jutland and attended Copenhagen University, earning degrees in English, French, and Latin...
in identifying this pattern of language change
.
Introduction
The linguist Otto JespersenOtto Jespersen
Jens Otto Harry Jespersen or Otto Jespersen was a Danish linguist who specialized in the grammar of the English language.He was born in Randers in northern Jutland and attended Copenhagen University, earning degrees in English, French, and Latin...
began his book Negation in English and Other Languages with the words:
The process has since been described for many languages in many different families, and is particularly noticeable in languages which are currently at stage II (both the original and the additional word obligatory) such as French, Welsh, and some dialects of Arabic and Berber.
The fact that different languages can be seen to be in different stages of the process, and that sometimes, as Jespersen says, the whole process can begin again after renewal, prompted Dahl to name the process "Jespersen's cycle".
The process
There are three stages, labelled I, II and III:In Stage I, negation is expressed by a single pre-verbal element:
(Examples from different periods of French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, all from ):
jeo ne dis. (Old French)
I NEG say
'I do not say'
In Stage II both a preverbal and a postverbal element are obligatory:
je ne dis pas. (modern standard French)
I NEG say NEG
'I do not say'
In Stage III the original preverbal element becomes optional or is lost altogether:
je dis pas. (modern colloquial French)
I say NEG
'I do not say'
Examples
FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
is well known to use a bipartite negative, eg "Je ne sais pas" = "I don't know", lit. "I not know not". Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
has a very similar pattern, "Nid wn i ddim, lit "Not know I nothing". In both languages, the colloquial register
Register (linguistics)
In linguistics, a register is a variety of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. For example, when speaking in a formal setting an English speaker may be more likely to adhere more closely to prescribed grammar, pronounce words ending in -ing with a velar nasal...
is at a more advanced stage in the cycle, and the first part (ne or nid) is very frequently omitted. In very formal and literary Welsh registers, by contrast, nid tends to be used without ddim. This is not true of formal registers of modern French, but the use of ne on its own survives in certain set expressions (e.g. n'importe quoi: "no matter what/anything").
English too passed through Jespersen's cycle early in its history: for example "I didn't see" would be expressed in Old English as ic ne seah, then strengthened with the word nawiht "no thing" as Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
"I ne saugh nawiht", finally leading to Early Modern English
Early Modern English
Early Modern English is the stage of the English language used from about the end of the Middle English period to 1650. Thus, the first edition of the King James Bible and the works of William Shakespeare both belong to the late phase of Early Modern English...
"I saw not". The same development occurred in the other Germanic languages such as German and Dutch, which produced their respective postposed negative particles nicht and niet, first duplicating and eventually ousting the original preposed negativer particle ne / ni.
Central Atlas Tamazight, a Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
language spoken principally in Central Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, uses a bipartate negative construction (e.g. /uriffiɣ ʃa/ 'he didn't go out' - again, the italic elements together convey the negative) which apparently was modeled after proximate Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
varieties.
The Chamic languages, spoken in parts of Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, and Hainan
Hainan
Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...
, may also be undergoing Jespersen's Cycle.