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Definition and Examples of Diachronic Linguistics

Definition and Examples of Diachronic Linguistics Diachronic linguistics is the study of a language through different periods in history. Diachronic linguistics is one of the two main temporal dimensions of language study identified by Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure in his Course in General Linguistics (1916). The other is synchronic linguistics. The terms diachrony  and synchrony  refer, respectively, to an evolutionary phase of language and to a language state.  In reality, says  Thà ©ophile Obenga, diachronic and synchronic linguistics interlock (Genetic Linguistic Connections of Ancient Egypt and the Rest of Africa, 1996). Observations Diachronic literally means across-time, and it describes any work which maps the shifts and fractures and mutations of languages over the centuries. In gross outline, it is similar to evolutionary biology, which maps the shifts and transformations of rocks. Synchronic literally means with-time, though etymology is misleading here, since Saussures term describes an atemporal linguistics, linguistics which proceeds without time, which abstracts away from the effects of the ages and studies language at a given, frozen moment.(Randy Allen Harris, The Linguistic Wars. Oxford University Press, 1993) Diachronic Studies of Language vs. Synchronic Studies - Diachronic linguistics is  the historical study of language, whereas synchronic linguistics is the geographic study of language. Diachronic linguistics refers to the study of how a language evolves over a period of time. Tracing the development of English from the Old English period  to the twentieth century is a diachronic study. A synchronic study of language is a comparison of languages or dialects- various spoken differences of the same language- used within some defined spatial region and during the same period of time. Determining the regions of the United States in which people currently say pop rather than soda and idea rather than idear are examples of the types of inquiries pertinent to a synchronic study.(Colleen Elaine Donnelly,  Linguistics for Writers. State University of New York Press, 1994)-  Most of Saussures successors accepted the synchronic-diachronic distinction, which still survives robustly in twenty-first-century linguistics. In practice, what this means is that it is accounted a violation of principle or linguistic method to include in the same synchronic analysis evidence related to diachronically different states. So, for example, citing Shakespearean forms would be regarded as inadmissible in support of, say, an analysis of the grammar of Dickens. Saussure is particularly severe in his strictures upon linguists who conflate synchronic and diachronic facts.(Roy Harris, Linguists After Saussure. The Routledge Companion to Semiotics and Linguistics, ed. by Paul Cobley. Routledge, 2001) Diachronic Linguistics and Historical Linguistics   Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Language change is one of the subjects of historical linguistics, the subfield of linguistics that studies language in its historical aspects. Sometimes the term  diachronic linguistics is  used instead of historical linguistics, as a way of referring to the study of language (or languages) at various points in time and at various historical stages. (Adrian Akmajian, Richard A. Demer, Ann K. Farmer, and Robert M. Harnish,  Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication, 5th ed. The MIT Press, 2001)     For many scholars who would describe their field as historical linguistics, one legitimate target of research involves a focus not on change(s) over time but on the synchronic grammatical systems of earlier language stages. This practice can be called (not unrevealingly) old-time synchrony, and it has made its mark in the form of numerous studies providing synchronic analyses of particular syntactic constructions, word-formation processes, (morpho)phonological alternations, and the like for individual earlier (pre-modern or at least early modern) stages of languages. . . . Gaining as much synchronic information as possible about an earlier stage of a language must surely be viewed as a necessary prerequisite for doing serious work on the diachronic development of a language . . .. Nonetheless, pursuing the synchrony of earlier language states solely for the sake of (synchronic) theory-building.., as worthy a goal as it may be, does not count as doing historical linguistics in the literally dia-chronic (through-time) sense that we wish to develop here. At least in a technical sense, then, diachronic linguistics and historical linguistics are not synonymous, because only the latter includes research on old-time synchrony for its own sake, without any focus on language change. (Richard D. Janda and Brian D. Joseph, On Language, Change, and Language Change. The Handbook of Historical Linguistics, ed. by B. D. Joseph and R. D. Janda. Blackwell, 2003)

Build strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Build strategy - Assignment Example Several strategies can be undertaken by this institution to solve this challenge of staff shortages. Importance of building a strategy Strategic planning is vital to any business in order to realize success. A strategic plan incorporates the mission, vision, and creative thinking. It mainly gives a description of the where the company is headed to by giving the details of achieving it. Strategic plans are the expressions of the visions and dreams of successful outcomes (Kaplan & Norton, 2008). It serves as the design of how a company can achieve its strategic objectives. Strategic planning can be focused on the whole organization or a department (Williams, 2006). For a hospital such as Milton Keynes, the strategy of solving the problem of understaffing will be focused on the entre institution. Objective The objective of this assignment is to build a strategy that can be implemented by Milton Keynes hospital in order to solve the issues related to understaffing. The strategy that will be developed will help the organization solve its immediate staffing problems and ensure that it is sustainable in the long-run. The strategy must put into consideration the implications of the implementation on the hospital. Such implications include: effect on patient care, increased costs and the ability of the institution to meet nursing needs in the future. Description of the problem The problem of understaffing in hospitals in the United Kingdom is rampant with the nation hospital services naming 26 healthcare institutions as operating below the safe staffing levels. This problem is further highlighted by the failure of sixteen percent of these institutions to come up to the required levels (Swayne et al, 2008). One of the main contributions of those staffing shortages especially in the nursing profession is due to the aging of the nursing population and the unwillingness of the younger generation to join the nursing profession. Despite in increase of foreign-born professiona ls in the medical profession, this group cannot meet the rising demand for medical care. The demand for higher pay, a weakening economy and increased medical demand is straining the thin available labor force (Mireille, 2007). Analysis of the problem Difficulties associated with understaffing are worsened by changes in medical care for example novel medical technologies and a reducing average stay in hospital that have contributed to increase in the level of care demanded by patients while they are in medical institutions. Novel medical technologies facilitate less seriously sick patients to receive medical care in out patient environments instead of inpatient environments. Furthermore, patients who would have spent the early days of recovery in hospitals are being released to nursing institutions or to their homes. The result of these changes in hospitals is that healthcare institutions are experiencing an influx of more patients who require more care. Staffing of healthcare instit utions is an issue of concern because of its effects on quality of care and patient safety (Greener, 2009). Sensitive outcomes, especially those attributable to nursing are one signs of quality of care. It can be defined as the changeable patient or caregiver situation, condition or