Key Terms

Question 1

Prescriptivism

Answer 1

The notion that language should be fixed, prescribing to a set of standard of rules for language usage, with any shift away from these rules or standards being seen as incorrect.

Question 2

Descriptivism

Answer 2

Where no judgement or negative attitude is imposed on language change, but an examination of language as it is and how it is used.

Question 3

Timeline of historical and linguistic development

Answer 3

Old English - 5th Century
Middle English - 11th Century
Early Modern English - 15th Century
Modern English - 18th Century
Present Day English - 20th Century

Question 4

Conversion

Answer 4

A word shifts from one word class to another, usually from a noun to a verb e.g google, text, network

Question 5

Narrowing

Answer 5

A word becomes more specific e.g meat used to mean any food, wife used to mean any woman

Question 6

polysemy

Answer 6

words acquire many possible meanings e.g milking it, foot

Question 7

External factors?

Answer 7

Cultural changes, technological innovations may affect how a word is used - for example, the rise of technology has seen developments in words such as: virus, bug, crash, windows