How are languages related?

This is episode 15 in the new introduction to English linguistics. This video discusses how languages are related, and it presents the comparative method, which is an instrument that uses sound correspondences to figure out relations between languages. I also discuss Grimm's Law, which represents an important sound change that affected the Germanic language family. The Polynesian dataset: http://grammar.ucsd.edu/courses/lign1... 0:00 Introduction: Language change is natural 0:42 Historical complaints 3:17 Guy Deutscher's "The Unfolding of Language" – recommended reading 4:08 Recap: information packaging 5:22 Part 1: Languages form families – common ancestors 6:01 William Jones 6:57 Indo-European family tree – English & German in Germanic branch 7:57 Part 2: The Comparative Method 9:05 Key principles 11:56 Polynesian example: Tongan, Samoan, Rarotongan, Hawaiian 29:55 Part 3: Grimm's Law 31:58 Shift 1: voiceless stops → fricatives (p→f, t→θ, k→h) 34:34 Shift 2: voiced stops → voiceless stops (b→p, d→t, g→k) 35:46 Shift 3: aspirated voiced stops → voiced stops (bʱ→b, dʱ→d, gʱ→g) 37:26 Visual diagram of Grimm's Law (exam tip: draw it from memory) 38:38 Summary 39:54 Preview: next episode on Old English & Middle English