Context Flashcards
Explain the Pre-English Period (5th Century).
- Celtic languages spoken by Celts or Britons dominate.
- Latin was language of gov.
- Example: ‘avon’ + ‘ouse’: water. ‘Broc’: badger.
Explain the Early Old English Period (450 - C850).
- Range of Germanic dialects introduced by early settlers, Angles, Jutes + Saxons from Germany, Denmark, + Netherlands.
- Settle in England + Southern Scotland.
- Example: West Saxon words: ‘anyway’, ‘altogether’, ‘bride’, ‘elf’, ‘hiccup’, ‘hunger’, ‘iron’, + ‘nettle’.
Explain Later Old English (C850 - 1100).
- Viking invasions from Scandinavia influence dialects introduced north of England.
- King Alfred in south of England organises translation of Latin texts into Old English.
Examples: - Old Norse Loanwords: ‘egg’, ‘husband’, ‘skin’ + ‘sky’.
- Place names: by (village: Grimsby, thorpe (farmstead): Scunthorpe, toft (plot of land): Lowestoft.
- Old English: ‘cow’, ‘swine’, ‘calf’, ‘ox’, + ‘sheep’
Explain Middle English (C1100 - 1450).
- Norman Conquest of 1066 removed Old English as language of power + replaced it with Norman French.
- English reduced to language of the powerless.
- Latin was language of church.
- Most educated people were trilingual: spoke French, Latin, + English.
- Examples: French loanwords: ‘baron’, ‘count’, ‘duke’, ‘duchess’, ‘prince’, ‘chancellor’, ‘council’, ‘government’, ‘nation’, ‘parliament’, ‘veal’, ‘beef’, ‘pork’ + ‘mutton’.
Explain Early Modern English (C1450 - 1750).
- English Renaissance encompassing Elizabethan period.
- Britain becomes wealthy nation trading overseas + colonising many countries.
- English creoles emerge among African slave populations in Caribbean + American.
- Emergence of printing helps standardise English.
- London English viewed as most prestigious as city was centre of power.
- However, Latin continues to be the literary language as it’s seen as more ‘eloquent’ + ‘cultured’ than English.
- Writers such as Shakespeare, Jonson, + Marlowe contributed to a vastly expanding vocabulary.
- 1611: King James Bible published in English rather than Latin.
- Examples:
- Phrases from King James Bible: ‘law unto themselves’, ‘man after his own heart’, ‘stumbling block’, ‘thief in the night’, ‘horn in the flesh’, ‘all these things must come to pass’, ‘all things to all men’ ‘and the world was made flesh’, ‘at their wit’s end’, + ‘be fruitful + multiply’.
- Latin loanwords: ‘absurdity’, ‘adapt’, agile’, ‘alienate’, ‘anachronism’, ‘appropriate’, ‘assassinate’, ‘atmosphere’, ‘autograph’, ‘benefit’, ‘capsule’, ‘catastrophe’, ‘chaos’, ‘climax’, ‘conspicuous’, ‘contradictory’, ‘crisis’, ‘criterion’, ‘critic’, ‘disability’, ‘disrespect’, ‘emphasis’, + ‘encyclopaedia’.
Explain Modern English (C1750 - 1950).
- World’s first Industrial Revolution takes place in Britain.
- British Empire gains enormous global power, introducing English education.
- Codification of English through dictionaries + English grammars: Dr Johnson’s ‘A Dictionary of the English Language’ published in 1755.
- Examples: loanwords from native languages of British colonies: ‘pyjamas’, ‘trek’, ‘jungle’, + ‘pundit’
Explain Late Modern English (C1950 - Present Day).
- British Empire dismantled.
- New forms of Standard English emerge in previous colonies.
- English becomes global language of technological revolution.
- Examples: new words emerging from technological revolution: ‘website’, ‘Twitter’, ‘tweet’, ‘Facebook’, ‘blog’, + ‘vlog’).
Explain the standardisation of English.
• Many linguistics assert there’s an ideology of standards that believes in need for an unchanging, protected language that provides a benchmark against which all other language forms can be measured or valued.
• In public discourse, the media, education + gov, English has evidently undergone a process of standardisation, whereby uniform approaches to lexical, grammatical, semantic, + orthographic usage have been adopted.
• However, this authoritative form of English is still susceptible to change as social conditions change: change is driven by ideological + practical needs.
• Many linguistics such as Trudgill, Crystal + Fairclough claim Standard English is an assertion of social power +, as social hierarchies of power alter, the standard changes shape.
• Process of standardisation + emergence of Modern English are intertwined with changes in British society: as societies change, languages change.
• Standard English is granted overt prestige through codification in dictionaries + grammar which is employed in schools + universities: Standard English becomes language of the educated.
Explain the role of science + its impact on the English language.
17th Century Intellectual Enquiry:
* Role of science in elaborating Standard English is equally significant.
* Puritan government of 17th century established climate of independent intellectual enquiry that continued to support an empirical approach to science.
-Empirical Approach: gaining knowledge by direct + indirect observation or experience.
* Royal Society, established in 1660 to support scientific research, was a significant factor in developing standard language. Many members of Royal Society focused their attention on importance of standard form of English to convey complexity of scientific research.
Philosophical Transactions Published In English:
* 1665- new scientific journal: ‘Philosophical Transactions’ presented scientific writings in English rather than Latin, + by 1704 Isaac Newton chose to publish ‘Opticks’ in English.
* As English scientists made more discoveries in 17th century, neologisms had to be found + since Latin was still an international scientific language, it provided many lexical models.
* Examples: ‘biology’, ‘centigrade’ + ‘chloroform’.
Explain the role of science + its impact on grammar.
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Nominalisations: verb, adjective, or adverb is used as head of noun phrase- became evident in scientific discourse. 2 types found in English:
1) Derivational Suffix: used to create a noun (e.g. verb ‘concentrate’ becomes noun using suffix -action— ‘concentration’. Sentence ‘concentrate the solvent in water’ changes to ‘concentration of solvent in the water has resulted in a change’.)
2) Zero Derivation: some verbs + adjectives can be used without a derivational suffix. (e.g. noun ‘change’ is also a verb: ‘I have changed my bank notes to get change for the car park.’) - Switch in grammatical structure facilitated a more analytical, enquiring approach to scientific study.
- Halliday: suggests change in grammatical structures represented change in scientific views of the world from subjective to objective. Language is therefore instrumental in shaping + influencing scientific study.
- Adoption of passive voice in contrast to active voice in presenting written scientific enquiry is distinct change from 17th - 21st century. Passive voice used to create a more objective register as agent can be absent + bias + emotions aren’t always immediately event. Active voice in contract creates a more subjective register, facilitating bias + description rather than analysis of scientific concept (e.g. active voice: ‘I manipulated one or more variables to observe the effect’ passive voice: ‘one or more variables were manipulated to observe the effect’.
Explain the role of science + its impact on irregular / strong verbs.
- Harris (1993): having undergone change since Old English Period, irregular verb system was simplified further in both literary + vernacular English in 18th century.
- However, more recently, reversal of this regulation of verbs took place in Standard English, but not in non-Standard English.
- As a result, Standard English currently uses more irregular verbs than many dialects.
- Trudgill (2002): language change is influenced by low status dialects: such as simplification of irregular verbs + their influence on Standard English (e.g. past participle of verb ‘to do’ is used in place of past tense in spoken English: ‘I done that.’) Possible that this might emerge as standard form in future if majority of users adopt this form.
- Labov (1994): claims that language changes in two distinct ways. Recognises change that originates unconsciously from low social groups, but also identifies role of conscious change imposed by socially powerful groups.
- Cheshire + Milroy (1993): since non-standard forms of English weren’t codified / standardised into ‘norm’, they underwent diff processes of language changes that resulted in more regular forms (e.g. negative form ‘weren’t’ is regularised for all subjects in Outer Banks area of North Carolina, USA).
Some grammatical structures have changed since early modern period, while others are rarely used in Standard English.
* Subjunctive: described mood of verb + might imply element of uncertainty regarding action. During 18th century, use of subjunctive form as ‘speculative conditional’ was encouraged by grammarians following principles of Latin grammar. Infinitive ‘be’ was often used as in ‘If he be well, we shall sail tomorrow.’
* Pronouns: object pronoun ‘whom’ has declined in usage, potentially due to overly formal connotations + confusion regarding ‘correct’ rule.
* Modal Verbs (e.g. ‘shall’): declined in usage due to replacement of ‘shall’ with ‘will’ + semantic shift regarding formal connotations of ‘shall’.
* Tagliamonte et al (2004): changing use of ‘must’. ‘Must’ as term of obligation: ‘You must clean your room’ is declining in use while other meanings such as drawing conclusions are frequently used: ‘you must be exhausted’. ‘Must’ now replaced by ‘got to’.
Explain the codification of traditional English.
- Dictionaries + grammar main means by which English is codified.
- William Lily’s A Shorte Introduction of Grammar (1523)- used in schools for several centuries, + although written in English- grammar of Latin.
- Grammatical understanding of English was closely based on Latin- this influence of Latin grammar has continued until present day.
- During 18th century, lang given value that reflected changes in cultural + social status- power was subtly transferred from traditional feudal lords to an upper-middle class- reflected in desire of upper-middle class to impose control over English.
* Jonathan Swift + others in 18th century worried English would disintegrate into an unintelligent form- in their view political + social order were inextricably entwined in lang. - Swift recommended creation of an academy (to prescribe correct form of English. to regulate English in 1712- not adopted.
- Dr Samuel Johnson: focused on importance of codifying lang by creating dictionary of English. Takes a prescriptivist approach to language. Describes English language as ‘copious without order’ + ‘confusion to be regulated’- classical approach to restore order to the way that people should use language. Adopts the position of ‘protector’ of English, making sure rules modelled on grammar of Latin are used in English- similar to past grammarians. Asserts overt prestige of a specific code of English in contrast to that used at bottom of 18th century social hierarchy, ‘fugitive cant’.
Explain the contemporary codification of meaning.
- OED continued codification of English since 19th century.
- Importance attributed to academic study of English literature in 19th century culminating in creation of Early English Text Society, among others, supported OED’s compilation of words + meanings.
- Focus on etymology + semantic shifts over centuries continues to inform OED’s codification.
-Etymology: history of a word, including language it came from (if appropriate) + when it began to be regularly used.
-Semantic Shift: change in meaning of word. - Semantic change is an important linguistic area that lexicographers attempt to classify, but often currency of words changes faster than they can be ordered + categorised.
- Semantics of words reflect the society in which they’re used + shifts occur in response to social change (e.g. greater equality between men + women, technological advances, e.t.c.).
Following Terms Used To Define Semantic Shifts:
-Amelioration: word that adopts positive meanings + gains status (e.g. Old English word ‘cniht’ meant boy but increased in prestige to the current ‘knight’ with connotations of high social status).
-Pejoration: word adopts more negative connotations (e.g. word ‘villian’ used to mean a farm labourer before gaining the meaning of a criminal.)
-Weakening: word loses strength of its original meaning (e.g. word ‘absolutely’ used to define finality, but is currently used in place of ‘yes’.)
-Narrowing: word becomes more specific in meaning (e.g. Old English word ‘deer’ referred to generic animal, whereas current usage refers to specific animal).
-Broadening (or Generalisation): word retains its original meaning but gains others (e.g. ‘dog’ currently refers to all types of dogs, whereas it used to refer to only large dogs).
Explain the impact of technology on language change.
- Herring (2007): users shape digital meaning according to the factors they both afford + constraint. (e.g. users can manipulate mobile phone tech to send text messages, but are constrained by small screen + potential cost of texts).
- Many critics condemn ways in which digital texts affect development of English, asserting that standards are in decline much like 18th century lexicographers + grammarians.
- Urban dictionary is an interesting web-based dictionary of English slang- compiles entries submitted by users. Traditional authority of lexicographer to order + document lang has been severely challenged, as became democratised + placed in hands of all users. Dictionary accepts multiple definitions for same word, alongside neologisms invented purely for Urban Dictionary.
-Diachronic Change: study of historical language occurring over a period.
Explain the changes in orthography.
- Process of codification tries to regularise spelling to ensure a standard is recognised within writing.
- Caxton’s Printing Press in 15th century facilitated a great deal of standardisation in spelling.
- However, factors that influenced spelling decisions weren’t always informed by prior usage (e.g. inclusion of ‘s’ in ‘island’ is a mistake by Dutch printers who were unfamiliar with Old English etymology + mistakenly thought it was derived from Latin, resulting in current spelling + mismatched pronunciation.)
- English spelling has many irregularities resulting in inconsistent grapheme-phoneme relationships, partly due to changes in pronunciation + import of words from other langs.
-Grapheme-Phoneme Relationship: correspondence between written shape of letter + sound. - Phonological changes have impacted development of spelling- occur faster than orthographic changes.
- Noah Webster: ‘American Dictionary of the English Language (1828)’ didn’t consider differences in American + English pronunciation. Dictionary was an attempt to define an American linguistic + nationalist identity + yet different spellings he created were purely visual + didn’t mirror differences in speech.
- Modern silent ‘e’ rule originated from Old English inflectional endings where were pronounced- however, codification of spelling didn’t necessarily affect pronunciation.
- In Middle English, ‘e’ is common feature at end of words- may’ve reflected Middle English pronunciation, but is now redundant.
- Many other sounds became silent despite remaining in written forms (e.g. ‘b’ in ‘mb’ clusters in ‘thumb’ + ‘l’ in ‘lk’ clusters in ‘walk’ but not others such as ‘hulk.’).
- Many irregularities such as silent ‘h’ in ‘hour’ + pronounced ‘h’ in ‘hotel’.
- In many accents, however, sounds of certain spellings can still be heard despite their disappearance from Received Pronunciation.
-Received Pronunciation (RP): prestige form of English pronunciation (e.g. ‘r’ sound in ‘cart’ is pronounced in many regional accents. - Technology has influenced development of English since first writing implement in caves- long ‘s’ in 18th century writing was remnant of Old English + continued until was relapsed by short ‘s’ in 1800- since no phonological role, didn’t require an additional grapheme.
- During Early Modern Period (1450 - 1750), spelling continued to be highly irregular dependent on needs of individual printers + writers- often printers simply omitted letters to ensure uniformity on paper, whereas at other times, they added them as they were sometimes paid by letter.
- Tech revolution (late 20th - early 21st centuries) continues to affect spelling, demonstrating that lang is never a fixed entity- texting, email, + social media are areas of rich orthographic change.
Explain the changes in punctuation + capitalisation.
18th + 19th Century Texts:
* Comma, Colon, + semicolon: used liberally to link extended clauses within long, complex sentences. Full stops often used in their place in contemporary writing.
* Apostrophe: used to show possession + contraction. Omission of a vowel often signified by apostrophe (e.g. ‘work’d’ + ‘play’d’)
* Speech Marks: used to denote speech. Digital texts on 21st century often used speech without speech marks.
* Contraction: used in various ways. Proclitic contractions (e.g. ‘tis’ + ‘twas’) gradually changed to enclitic contractions by end of 18th century. However, continue in many dialect forms of writing + speech.
* Ampersand (&): used extensively during 18th + 19th centuries + is viewed as too informal in 20th century. Ampersand has, however, increased in usage through medium of digital texts, although continues to convey an informal register.
* Capitalisation: by Late Modern English, use of capital letters has begun to be standardised. In many 18th + 19th century texts, however, many writers randomly apply capital letters to any noun they feel is important.
Explain the implementation of Standard English.
- Final stage in creation of standard (according to Hagen) sees lang used in range of written texts, particularly educational, media + governmental to create elite status for Standard English.
- Caxton’s Printing Press being introduced in 15th century was a powerful motor behind spread of south-east dialect. Since written form is main form is standardised English, volume of printed literary tracts gradually invested this dialect with highest social prestige.
- Rise of newspapers in 18th century continued role of print in implementing linguistic forms.
- King James Bible 1611: continued implementation of phrases + words that are still used today.
- Crystal (2010): identified 257 commonly used expressions in King James Bible, but insists they’re used in multitude of different, often non-religious contexts.
Explain how colonialism + national identity have aided the implementation of Standard English.
- Power of British Empire along with Industrial Revolution made many feel great pride in British identity.
- Many state institutions + museums were formed- helped to collate symbols of British identity, such as Philological Society- began OED.
- Education became vital source for consolidating + implementing Standard English. Introduction of compulsory state education in 1870 heralded teaching of Standard English in place of local dialects.
Explain how language has changed in spoken English - accent.
- 18th century dictionaries + grammar tended to focus on ‘correctness’ of written English.
- Dr Johnson extended prescriptive approach to writing + not speech.
- However, Thomas Sheridan focused on spoken English in pronunciation. In 1762, wrote ‘A Course of Lectures on Elocution’- argued pronunciation of court is of higher value than pronunciation used in other accents. Views of an elite London accent were very popular.
- Peter Trudgill (1983): defines Standard English as ‘dialect of education’. Although Standard English could be spoken with any accent, 19th century witnesses emergence of prescribed ‘educated accent.’
- Accent as a symbol of social standing shaped attitudes of many in education, media, church, + government.
- Alexander Ellis (1869): defined RP as ‘a standard of pronunciation which should be acknowledged + followed throughout the countries where English is spoken’.
- RP became accepted pronunciation of education + establishments of power (e.g. BBC + Parliament)- accent of social elite.
- Giles + Powesland (1975): conducted research into how different accents were perceived. RP consistently given highest value judgment- associated with intelligence, leadership + self-confidence. Educated Scottish second in prestige, followed closely by varieties of Welsh + Irish. Urban working-class accents of Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow, + London were ascribed least social prestige.
- Attitudes towards accent as social symbol have altered since mid 20th century.
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Anne Fabricius (2002): glottal stop no longer a socially pejorative form + was most marked by students from London- suggesting capital was a source of linguistic innovation + change.
-Glottal Stop: form of stop consonant made at back of throat to replace ‘t’ sound (e.g. ‘wha?’ instead of ‘what?’) - Trudgill (2002): asserts there’s a continuance of discrimination towards what are considered socially less prestigious accents- reflective of continuation of British class divisions.
- Cameron (2002): employers + examiners commented on ‘poor communication skills’ of people ‘because they used non-standard grammar’ or had ‘broad accents’.
Explain dialect levelling as a form of contemporary language change.
-Dialect Levelling: merging of different dialects to form one uniform dialect, reducing range of dialects.
* In this process, common non-standard features from different dialects converge + features specific to each dialect are lost.
* Mass urbanisation, resulting in loss of previously isolated rural communities, is a key factor behind process of dialect levelling.
Coupland (1988): identifies features that have moved into common use as a result of this process:
* Multiple Negation: ‘I didn’t go nowhere with no one’.
* ‘Never’ as negative in past tense: ‘I never saw him’.
* ‘Them’ as demonstrative determiner: ‘I don’t like them cars’.
* Plurals not signified: ‘I’ll have two box of apples’.
* Use of ‘good’ as adverb in addition to its use as adjective (e.g. ‘the good girl’ - ‘the girl done good.’)
* Omission of prepositions: ‘I’m going up town’.
* Modification of reflux pronouns: ‘he did it hisself’.
-Estuary English: dialect of English that’s perceived to have spread outwards from London along South East of England- has features of RP + London English.
Explain contemporary language change + the impact of technology on spoken English.
- Technological revolution resulted in overlap between written + spoken English.
- Many grammatical changes are taking place as written mode takes on may features of speech.
- Text messaging ,emails, + social media sites are receptacles of rapid linguistic change.
Global Influences: - Future of English bound up with its role as an international language- over 300 million people speak English as their native language + many more speak as second language.
- As digital tech + international travel afford closer communication across countries, lang we used will be influenced + continue to change.
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David Crystal: believes in the future people will adopt bidialectalism + that speakers will switch between 2 dialects of English: one will be their regional dialect + other will be a more international variety used to communicate with English speakers globally.
-Bidialectalism: speaker’s ability to use two dialects of same language.
