change from above/below

Question 1

What is change from above?

Answer 1

• a linguistic change that speakers are generally aware of.
• it is conscious, directed change.

Question 2

What is an example of change from above?

Answer 2

• The Plain English Campaign
• they are a group that urge government organisations to avoid what they call ‘gobbledygook’ or jargon and award Crystal Marks to public texts that meet their standards.

Question 3

What is another example of change from above?

Answer 3

• Language reform initiatives
• There are laws to punish people who use abusive or racist terms – it is imperative to use politically correct language at work. In some cases, employees have had contracts terminated for misgendering another colleague.

Question 4

What is change from below?

Answer 4

• a linguistic change that is unconscious/occurs from below the level of consciousness - speakers are generally unaware of the linguistic change – it’s not a ‘choice’ as such. T
• these linguistic changes enter language primarily through the vernacular and spreads throughout the community without conscious awareness.

Question 5

What is an example of change from below?

Answer 5

• a process that involves the ‘reclaiming’ or ‘reappropriation’ of a word or phrase that previously has been used to insult or discriminate against a particular group.
• this is a process that is often initiated by the marginalised group themselves.

Question 6

What is one notable example of semantic reclamation that links to sexist language?

Answer 6

• the insult ‘slut’.
• if we look at the etymology of the word ‘slut’ we find that its original meaning referred to domestic issues such as dressing and cleaning, with the insult slut being used to insult a woman who was untidy/messy.

Question 7

What has the insult ‘slut’ been semantically degraded to?

Answer 7

• it has semantically degraded to have negative sexual connotations and the Slut Walks Movement has campaigned to have the word used in a more neutral manner.

Question 8

What does reclaiming the word ‘slut’ do?

Answer 8

• by reclaiming a word, a social group can be said to be removing its power to hurt. T
• the word can then be reappropriated and used in a different way.
  of course, slut remains a problematic world in our society, but feminists still feel that attempt to reclaim it is worthwhile.