Modern language is the product of a long historical development, in which language undergoes diverse changes, due to various reasons. The changes affect all aspects (levels, lines, dimensions) of language structure, but they operate in different ways. The historical development of each level depends on the specific causes and conditions that encourage shifts in the lexical composition of the language in its phonetic (phonological) organization, in its grammatical structure.
Тhe processes of growth and decay are natural to development of language. So, the analytical form, a complex system of verb formation is developed in English, but the system of the declination and personal endings of the verb is decayed, the words from the vocabulary are dropped, the new ones are appeared by borrowing or tumors [2, 56]. While Ancient English was not so strongly inflected language like Sanskrit, Greek or Latin, it had a complex system of declension and conjugation. Because nouns persisted case endings, many relationships can be expressed without the help of prepositions, in contrast to the modern English language.
The process of withering away of the inflections accelerated in the inflective Ancient English, extends from north to south, explained by the proximity in the dictionary against the conquerors and the Anglo-Saxon language, which could contribute to linguistic confusion with its usual consequences in the field of morphology [1, 134].
The peculiarity of Greek word formation was to preserve certain types of word formation, the presence, in many cases synonymous suffixes and prefixes and suffixes ambiguity. Parts of speech in the ancient Greek differ in the way of word formation and activity of a word-formation process. So, derivative nouns have more verbal formations and adjectives – denominative; the names used suffixation, and the verbs in the main – prefixing.
Most Greek words are derivatives formed using archaic, productive or later productive ways of word formation. Archaic methods of derivation are prosodic derivation and flexion (morphological) derivation. The most productive way of derivation is an affixation, which has its own characteristics in the ancient Greek.
Turning to the inflection (morphological) derivation, we can say following: the crossing processes of word formation and morphogenesis were typical for the Indo-European language. The relics of this state are preserved in ancient Greek. So, the endings ο / ε and α of the basics of nouns, in many cases could not only be an indicator of various types of declinations (morphological variability), but also the act as word-formation suffix that left a trace in the form of a significant number of doublets: τρόπος – τροπή, βόλος – βολή.
Some of them have the same value (for example, τρόπος, τροπή «turn”), and part has a difference in meaning, either in use (maybe it’s later distinction): morphological variation, being excessive, became accompanied by a semantic difference. Comp .: ‘ρόος «tax file» -’ ροή «wearing, harvest». [3, 218]. Comp. in Russian: цеп и цепь.
If we consider affixed derivation, then it includes suffixation: verbal nouns (indicating the protagonist – σωτήρ «savior» from σώζω «save», an action or state – δεσμός «node» from δέω «associate», the result of – γνώμη «knowledge» by γιγνώσκω «know», with a value of instruments or means – λύτρον «buy» from λύω «buy back»), denominative (with a value of quality – φιλία «friendship» from φίλος «other», pet names – βιβλίον «book» from βίβλος «book» magnifying – χείλον «wrasse (fish)» from χε ~ ιλος « lip », denoting the offspring of ancestors, parents Δανα ~ ις« Dana “from Δαναός «Danaets» denoting the place of action – ο’ινός «Wine Warehouse» from ο ‘ίνος «Wine», a man name of the area – Σύριος «Syrian” from Συρία «Syria»); adjectives formed from nouns – λίθινος «stone» from λίθος «stone» verbs – φυγάς «runaway» from φέυγω «runaway», adverbs – χθές «yesterday» from χθεσινός «yesterday»; adverbs and suffixes – ‘άλλοθι «elsewhere» from’ άλλος «other».
Thus, the cause of the historical transformation of Morphosyntax was the loss (to varying degrees) case forms, substitute synthetic means and paradigmatic order [4, 268]. Of course, this process is not instantaneous. On the contrary, it lasted for many centuries and was the result of many factors, including the following: 1) the tendency to active expansion of prepositions; 2) preference for a system of analytical forms of expression that talker felt more simple, predictable and regular than literary inflected; 3) some weaknesses declinable classes, as well as the presence of a number of tokens indeclinable; 4) certain phonetic changes, which led to the destruction of the classical image of the overwhelming mass of words.
References
- Ilish B.A. History of the English Language. Moscow, 1958
- Makovsky M.M. English etymology. M., 1986
- Slavyatinskaya M.N. Textbook of Ancient Greek. M., 1996
- Khlebnikova I.B. Introduction to German philology and history of English language. Kalinin, 1972