The History of English Podcast
Host: Kevin Stroud
Episode: 8
Title: Indo-European Grammar (Where have all the inflections gone?)
Release Date: August 16, 2012

Introduction to Indo-European Grammar

In Episode 8 of The History of English Podcast, host Kevin Stroud delves into the intricate world of Indo-European grammar, exploring the decline of inflections and their profound impact on the evolution of the English language. Building upon previous episodes that reconstructed Indo-European vocabulary, this installment shifts focus to the grammatical structures that shaped Old English and continued to influence modern languages.

“The original Indo European grammar is very important to our understanding of how Old English grammar worked because much of Old English grammar was inherited from this original language.” – Kevin Stroud [00:09]

The Gendered Nature of Indo-European Languages

Stroud begins by addressing the concept of grammatical gender, a feature prevalent in many Indo-European languages but largely absent in modern English. He explains how nouns in languages like French, Spanish, and German are classified as masculine, feminine, or neuter, a trait inherited directly from the original Indo-European language.

“This fact tends to drive English speakers crazy because English is somewhat unique among European languages in that it does not make those distinctions.” – Kevin Stroud [00:47]

He contrasts this with English, where nouns are typically preceded by articles like "a" or "the," which do not denote gender.

“In English, all nouns are either masculine or feminine, or in some languages, neutral. This is the idea that every noun is either a boy or a girl, or neither.” – Kevin Stroud [00:09]

The Role and Decline of Inflections

A central theme of the episode is the concept of inflections—modifications to words that convey grammatical information such as tense, case, number, and gender. Stroud emphasizes that the original Indo-European language was rich in inflections, a characteristic that has been retained to varying degrees in several modern languages but largely lost in English.

“An inflection is basically a modification of a word to indicate something specific about the word in a sentence.” – Kevin Stroud [12:15]

He illustrates this with examples from Latin and German, highlighting how these languages maintain complex inflection systems.

“Latin had them, Old English had them, and the ancient Indo European language had them. And many modern European languages like German, still have them.” – Kevin Stroud [11:34]

Verb Conjugation and Simplification in English

Stroud explores how English verbs have simplified over time by shedding many of their inflectional endings. He contrasts the inflection-heavy conjugations of Old English and Indo-European languages with the more streamlined system in modern English.

“Modern English has simplified verb conjugation because in the original Indo European language and many Modern European languages, each of the examples I just gave would have had a different ending.” – Kevin Stroud [16:20]

Using the verb "jump" as an example, he demonstrates how English retains only a few inflections (e.g., "jump," "jumps," "jumped") compared to the original language's extensive system.

“In Old English, and the original Indo European language, had them. But in modern English, we have to use a verb phrase, we have to add other words.” – Kevin Stroud [18:45]

Noun Inflections and Possession

The episode also tackles noun inflections, particularly focusing on how possession is indicated in English versus Indo-European languages. Stroud explains the dual methods in English: using an inflection (apostrophe + s) or a prepositional phrase ("of the").

“The way to show possession with an inflection is with an apostrophe S. For example, Jane's car. This inflection goes back to Old English.” – Kevin Stroud [25:30]

He contrasts this with French and Spanish, where possession is typically shown through prepositional phrases, a trait that became more prominent in English post-Norman Conquest.

“The increased use of of the and the decreased use of apostrophe s is yet another example of the tendency of English to get rid of inflections.” – Kevin Stroud [28:10]

Word Order vs. Inflection

Stroud highlights the shift from a flexible word order reliant on inflections in Indo-European and Old English to the fixed word order in modern English. He uses the word "horse" in various cases to demonstrate how inflections once conveyed grammatical roles that English now indicates through word placement.

“English has replaced these inflections with a specific word order. Subjects and objects are no longer distinguished by endings or inflections.” – Kevin Stroud [34:15]

He recounts the influence of Old Norse during the Danelaw period, which facilitated the simplification of English grammar by reducing reliance on inflections.

“In order to simplify and facilitate communication between these speakers, the inflections were gradually dropped altogether and a specific word order was adopted.” – Kevin Stroud [40:00]

The Persistence of Irregular Verbs

Despite the general trend towards simplification, some irregular verbs in English, such as "to be," retain complex inflectional forms inherited from Indo-European roots.

“In Modern English, the variations of be have no obvious correlation to each other. Unlike sing, sang, sung, or drink, drank, drunk, or even jump, jumps, jumped… they originated in the original Indo European language itself.” – Kevin Stroud [21:50]

Flexibility of Modern English

Stroud concludes by celebrating the flexibility of modern English, where words like "love" can function as a noun, verb, or adjective without changing form—an advantage of the language's reduced inflectional system.

“A single word can now be used in many different contexts. Take the word love. It can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adjective, and the form of the word stays the same in all three instances.” – Kevin Stroud [43:00]

Looking Ahead

In anticipation of future episodes, Stroud hints at exploring the identity and migration patterns of the original Indo-European peoples, promising a CSI-like investigation into solving the ancient linguistic mystery.

“The next step in our story is to determine who the original Indo Europeans were and to figure out how they migrated from their homeland… like an episode of CSI.” – Kevin Stroud [45:30]

Conclusion

Episode 8 offers a comprehensive exploration of Indo-European grammar and its legacy in modern English. By examining the rise and fall of inflections, Stroud provides listeners with a deeper understanding of why English differs from its linguistic cousins and how historical events have shaped its current form. This foundational knowledge sets the stage for upcoming discussions on the origins and migrations of Indo-European speakers, further unraveling the complex tapestry of the English language's history.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• “The original Indo European grammar is very important to our understanding of how Old English grammar worked because much of Old English grammar was inherited from this original language.” – Kevin Stroud [00:09]

• “This fact tends to drive English speakers crazy because English is somewhat unique among European languages in that it does not make those distinctions.” – Kevin Stroud [00:47]

• “An inflection is basically a modification of a word to indicate something specific about the word in a sentence.” – Kevin Stroud [12:15]

• “Modern English has simplified verb conjugation because in the original Indo European language and many Modern European languages, each of the examples I just gave would have had a different ending.” – Kevin Stroud [16:20]

• “The way to show possession with an inflection is with an apostrophe S. For example, Jane's car. This inflection goes back to Old English.” – Kevin Stroud [25:30]

• “In English has replaced these inflections with a specific word order. Subjects and objects are no longer distinguished by endings or inflections.” – Kevin Stroud [34:15]

• “In Modern English, the variations of be have no obvious correlation to each other… they originated in the original Indo European language itself.” – Kevin Stroud [21:50]

• “A single word can now be used in many different contexts. Take the word love… the form of the word stays the same in all three instances.” – Kevin Stroud [43:00]

• “The next step in our story is to determine who the original Indo Europeans were and to figure out how they migrated… like an episode of CSI.” – Kevin Stroud [45:30]

This episode serves as a pivotal point in understanding the grammatical transformations from ancient Indo-European languages to modern English, highlighting the significant loss of inflectional complexity and the resultant grammatical simplicity that defines today's English.