Grammatical Change Flashcards

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1
Q

When were the prescriptivist rules compiled? Why?

A

Prescriptive rules were compiled in the 18th century because the educated elite wanted to “correct” language use.

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2
Q

What did the P rules eventually created?

A

These invented rules, over time, promoted social attitudes about “correct” or “incorrect” English.

Some rules have so influenced pastgenerations that they are accepted as the norm.

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3
Q

When were rules drawn up and by who?

A

Rules”, drawn up by Bishop Robert Lowth in 1762, have acquired status.

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4
Q

What do the 1762 rules say?

A

Put a preposition at the end of a sentence:

Use double or multiple negatives

Split the infinitive

Use double comparatives/superlatives

Or use they as a gender-neutral pronoun.

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5
Q

Prepositions should not come at the end of a sentence

A

What did you do that for? Correct form Why did you do that? Who were you looking for? – For whom were you looking? Shut up – Be quiet/please be silent

The rule that the preposition should come before the verb has no rational reason. The emboldened example above may be more elegant, but rigid use of the “rule” can have the opposite effect, e.g. Winston Churchill’s: This is English, up with which I will not put.

Some prepositions: about; above; across; after; at; before; behind; below; beneath; beside; down; during; for; from; in; inside; into; like; past; round; save; through; to; toward; towards; under; underneath; with; within; without

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6
Q

Double negatives are really affirmatives

A

Example: I don’t know nothing about that.
This comes from Robert Lowth and is now deeply entrenched in prescriptive attitudes to language.
It came from the field of maths where a double negative signals a positive.

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7
Q

What does Aitchison say about double negatives?

A

Aitchison finds a multiple (fourfold) negative for emphatic negation in Chaucer’s General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales. Of the knight, we are told ‘he never yet no vileynye ne sayde In al his lyf unto no maner wight’1

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8
Q

The infinitive should not be split from to by a modifier

A

An infinitive is a basic form of a verb without inflections.
A modifier is aword, especially an adjective or noun used attributively, that restricts or adds to the sense of a head noun.

The Language students wanted to learn enthusiastically; NOT: The Language students wanted to enthusiastically learn.

There is no good reason for this rule. “Star Trek” in 1966 used the tag line: The mission was to boldly go where no man had ever gone before causing a lot of upset for prescriptivists.

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9
Q

Double comparatives are not grammatically correct

A

Double comparatives areadjectives with more than one comparative marker. For example, the comparative word more and the comparative suffix -er are both applied to the adjective loud in the phrase more louder in the sentence below. Like comparatives, superlatives (most, -est) may also be doubled.

Examples:
I can be more louder than you
You are the most bestest person ever
James is more taller than me

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10
Q

Obsolete Inflections

A

The main reason for inflections being standardised was that there were too many e.g.
1st Person: (I or we) think STAYED SAME
2nd person: (thou) thinkest CHANGED TO (you) think
3RD person: (s/he) thinketh CHANGED TO (s/he) thinks

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11
Q

Obsolete Inflections 1

A

1st Person: (I or we) think STAYED SAME

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12
Q

Obsolete Inflections 2

A

2nd person: (thou) thinkest CHANGED TO (you) think

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13
Q

Obsolete Inflections 3

A

3rd person: (s/he) thinketh CHANGED TO (s/he) thinks

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14
Q

What is an inflection?

A

An inflection isa change in the form of a word (typically the ending) to express a grammatical function or attribute such as tense, mood, person, number, case, and gender.

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15
Q

Obsolete Pronouns

A

Thou = you
Thee = you
Thine = yours
Thy = you
Ye = you
You = you
Standardised from 6 to 1 with inflection possessive ‘rs’ added to ‘yours’.

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16
Q

When was the most significant changes to grammar occurred?

A

Most significant changes to grammar occurred in the 1700s e.g. Loss of Old English inflections in middle ages.

17
Q

What inflections are still present in EMH?

A

Some inflections still present in Early Modern English texts e.g. ‘doth’ (third person)/‘dost’ (second person).

18
Q

Negatives (standard double negative use give an example.

A

In Chaucer ‘There nas no man nowher’) bowed to rules. Although use of negatives is still changing – not. Also seen in non-standard English usage in speech ‘I don’t know nothing’.

19
Q

What different ‘you’ forms were there?

A

e.g ‘thou’/‘thee’ now obsolete except for rare examples of dialectal use.

20
Q

Give more detail on general patters go change from 18th century. SENTENCE LENGTH
LATIN

WHAT HAPPENED?

A

Sentences were longer, with embedded clauses and phrases.
Latin influenced the use of more subordinate clauses, making discourse more sophisticated and elitist.
Simpler styles started to be adopted, rebelling against elaborate syntax early to mid 20thC, post WW1 (modernism).
Now simplicity embraced.

20
Q

Give more detail on general patters go change from 18th century. SENTENCE LENGTH
LATIN

WHAT HAPPENED?

A

Sentences were longer, with embedded clauses and phrases.
Latin influenced the use of more subordinate clauses, making discourse more sophisticated and elitist.
Simpler styles started to be adopted, rebelling against elaborate syntax early to mid 20thC, post WW1 (modernism).
Now simplicity embraced.

21
Q

Look at the education timeline!!

A

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22
Q

Education and its tole in prescriptivism.

A

By 19th century prescriptivist rules were embedded in schools, universities and the printing press. This means SE has been IMPLEMENTED (Haugen’s model of standardisation).​

Each one of you has been taught Standard English throughout your schooling. ​

Some linguists argue that SE is dying out. What do you think?