Jean Aitchison

Question 1

Damp Spoon Syndrome

Answer 1

language change is due to laziness

Question 2

Crumbling Castle View

Answer 2

language is crumbling and needs to be preserved

implies that the language of English was gradually and lovingly assembled until it reached a point of maximum splendour at some unspecified time in the past. Yet no yeat can be found when language achieved some peak of perfection

Question 3

Infectious Disease Assumption

Answer 3

People pick up language change as if it were a disease

Chnages are not random and they take hold only if the language is predisposed to move in a particular direction. social contact can trigger a change only if it was already likely to happen