Language Change Flashcards
What is standardisation?
The idea that language is linguistically getting narrower.
What is functional theory?
David crystals theory that language changes according to its function
What does Crystal believe?
He believes that all living languages change because people are changing all the time
What does crystal say is intrinsically linked to language change?
Technological developments
What else does crystal believe?
Although technology produces neologisms, the amount is very small compared to overall.
Crystal on mode
Predicts mode will shift towards audio
Crystal On orthography
Punctuation minimalism describes the fact we use minimal punctuation online.
Punctuation maximalism is the opposite
Crystal on attitudes towards language change
Descriptivist thinks criticism is wrong. Missing letters doesn’t mean you can’t spell but is either for efficiency or to fit in.
Crystal on the future of language
The internet is going mobile and will be the dominant form of technological communication
Random fluctuation theory
There is no order to language change for example a simple language mistake may go mainstream. Happens increasingly digitally.
Substratum theory
Suggests that when people learn a new language they learn it imperfectly and pass down language mistakes
Stages of language development
Innovation- new word created, sometimes viewed as an error
Diffusion- when the language spreads to a wider audience
S curves
Aitchison believes language changes follow an s curve, it takes a new word a while to catch on then grows quickly then the usage flattens
Wave model
Idea new language is strongest around the creator but weaker as it spreads. This spread can be social or geographical
Plain English campaign
Encourage straightforward English less use of jargon
Political correctness
Avoiding language that may cause offence. Some people object to this
Linguistic reform
Eg using special needs for disabilities
Donald mackinnon
1996 how language is judged. Incorrect or correct, pleasant or ugly, socially acceptable or unacceptable, appropriate or inappropriate useful or useless
Declinism
Idea language is getting worse. Milroy labels it ‘complaint tradition’. Greene- argues that the idea language is getting worse is nonsense and argues literacy rates are increasing.
Sticklerism
Greene. Believes there are certain people who take pleasure in correcting and criticising others language
Language change from above
When language change is enforced eg by the government
Changes from below
Language changes comes from people.
Class survey 1
1/4 middle class, 3/4 working class. Even though people identified as middle class they used informal and standard English.
Class survey 2
Majority agreed middle class had posher accents, over half agreed swearing was more common in the working class. All believed that region is more important to language change. Only 1% believed slang never defined class
Class survey 3
Over 3/4 feel conscious of their language when speaking to upper class, 60% felt they converged when speaking to upper class.
Social networking theory
Milroy 1987, web of ties, density is how many connections you have with people. High density means lots of connections.
Where are dense networks most likely found
Small communities as there are a lot of connections
Where are loose connections found?
Larger communities as they have lots of different ties with lots of different people
What is a uniplex relationship?
Only know people in 1 way
What is a multiplex relationship?
Know each other in multiple ways eg play football with them, go to college with them etc
High density score equals
Accents are strong
Low density score equals
Less strong accents
Does milroy believe there is links between class and accents?
No as unemployed had weaker accents due to low density scores and those outside of communities had low density scores also
Informalisation
Idea that language is becoming more informal in society
Globalisation
The idea that the world is getting linguistically smaller
Reflectionism
Idea language reflects the needs views and usages of its users
Prescriptivism
Idea language should contain a set of rules
Descriptivism
Idea that language shouldn’t be confined to a set of rules.
What is labovs study called?
The social stratification of New York City
When was Labovs study?
1966
What did Labovs study find?
The pronunciation of the postvocalic r had a direct link between class and accent
When was Trudgille’s study?
1970s
Where was Trudgilles study?
Norwich
What did Trudgilles study find?
The use of the velonasal g had a direct link to between class and accent
What is the study called where they studied the number of words parents spoke to their children?
Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children
What did the meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children find?
By the age of 4; middle class 50m words addressed to it, working class 30m, welfare child 12m. Middle class- 700,000 encourages and 80,000 discouragement by the age of 3 with the welfare child only receiving 60,000 encouragements and double the discouragements in its life
What does the American kids study show?
The educated are better at communicating with their children than the uneducated and found that their measures at the age of 3 predicted their language skill at 10
What else does the American kids study show?
Interaction is important for language development
Goddard
Jafaican, more English forms than Jamaican, to simplistic to say everyone is faking it
Code mixing
Include words from another language and their own language
Rampton 2010
MLE is perceived as cool, assertive, opposing authority
Ethnolect
Language used dependant on ethnicity
Pidgin and creole
Forms of language usually for trade, seen as non standard
Resistance identity
Against mainstream, use pidgin and creole and MLE
Super standard forms
Distance from creoles, overt prestige
MLE
Multicultural london english
Examples of MLE
Non standard diphthongs eg fes for fake, plural eg dem, use man as a pronoun, tag questions innit
Nationality
Where you’re from
Ethnicity
Heritage
Ethnicity/ethnic
Replace race due to stereotypes, become a marked term ethnic=Non white
Theories for MLE
Language reflects its users, sensitive, political correctness, self identity, connect with other ethnicity, immigration happened forever, settle in big cities, Jamaican recruited for work
Continium
Creole that becomes a language
Acrolect
Modify standard form of language
Basolect
Uses more of the second language
Mesolect
Mix of both languages
Rhotic accents
Pronounce ‘r’ seen as non standard in English but standard in American
Non rhotic accents
Don’t pronounce ‘r’, Estuary English, mix of RP and south east accent, overtook RP in media, glottal stops, L vocalisation and tag questions eg didn’t I
Code switching
Switch between 2 different languages or dialects
Bradford 2014
Punjabi mixed with English to create identity or taboo
Kerswill
Social mobility, geographical and social class break up, education, mixing, online, dialect levelling, standardisation, some regional forms still surviving, multiple negation, use of ‘s’ at the end of present tense verbs
Giles
RP= converge up, regional accent= converge down, movement from rural to sub urbs, reality shows
Freeborn
Varieties of English book, outlines prescriptivists views, incorrectness, ugliness, impreciseness- some accents are lazy, Aitchison says not lazy as slang is harder to say
Heteronormativity
Set of norms for straight people
Sweden’s pronoun
‘hen’ for non binary
Marsch
We should use they
Marked terms
Policeman now police officer
Patronym
Take husbands name
Trudgill
Norwich study, use of velonasal G determines class
Labov
New York study use of postvocalic r is relative to class
Lakoff
Language and a woman’s place, defecit model, hedging= avoid directness, tag questions = indecisive
Zimmerman and west
Dominance approach, 96% interruptions by men, most however by one man, old 1975, interruptions aren’t dominance may be feedback
Holmes
Tag questions are sign of politeness
Tannen
Status vs support, conflict vs compromise
O’Barr and Atkins
Powerless language occurs anywhere there is inequality, research done in court
Swales
Discourse communities
Trudgill on RP
viewed as less friendly
Accommodation theory
Giles, convergence/divergence
Trudgill Norwich
Velar nasal g relates to class upper class don’t pronounce g
Milroy social mobility
Web of ties, 1987, high density= stronger accent, multiplex and uniplex relationships, accent not related to class
Eckert
Jocks and burnouts, burnouts= exaggerated accent, urban accent, jocks= overt prestige, american
Bernstein
Middle class use elaborate code, working class children commented on upon what was there, middle class spoke like the researcher wasn’t there
Discourses
Eg positive discourse of expansion
Crystal quotes
Language acquisition cannot be separated from culture acquisition, countries that adopt English gradually make it there own this has happened forever, it only takes weeks for a new English to grow
S curve
Aitchison, language is slow to evolve then rapid usage increase then plateaus
Prescriptivists
Plain English campaign, political correctness
Mackinon
Ways language is judged eg ugly or pleasant, incorrect or correct
Declinism
Language is in decline, milroy labels this complaint tradition, greene argues it isn’t as literary rates are increasing
Wilson 1553
Borrowing words from other countries is pretentious, prescriptivist has existed for 500 years
Sticklerism
Greene, people take pleasure in criticising others
Change from above
Eg plain English campaign, change from below
Doctors register
Latinate, ECG, opaque to outsiders
Hierarchies
Miss, sir in school/ work
Phatic tokens
Self orientated tokens eg my feet are killing me, other orientated eg do you work here?, neutral tokens eg cold isn’t it?, all relate to status
