C2: A - Language Change Over Time Flashcards
What are the dates for Old English?
400 - 1150
What are the dates for Middle English?
1150 - 1450
What are the dates for Early Modern English?
1450 - 1700
What are the dates for Modern English?
1700 - 1900
What are the dates for Late Modern English?
1900 - 2000
What are the dates for Present Day English?
2000 - now
What is an acronym?
A word formation process by which the first letters of a name are adopted as a new word
For example, FIFA - Federation Internationale de Football Association or AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
What is an archaism?
It is used to describe words which were once commonly used by are no longer used
What is a blend?
A word formation process involves the dovetailing of two existing words to form a new one.
For example, motor + hotel = motel
What is a borrowing?
Words that have been adopted from other languages.
For example, chlorine - Greek
hamster - German
What is broadening?
The process by which a word changes its meaning to take in a wider group of objects.
For example, ‘ships’
In Old English this used to refer to one type of vessel, however it can now refer to anything large that floats from warships to spaceships.
What is a clipping?
A process which involves the shortening of a word which then becomes the norm.
For example, flu - influenza
lab - laboratory
What is coinage?
The invention of a new word, phrase or new usage of an existing word
What are compounds?
Two existing words are introduces and create a new word.
For example, basketball - solid
half-time - hyphenated
blind date - open
What is an elison?
A phonological process in which a sound is squeezed out as the word is pronounced
