Language change Flashcards
Who came up with the idea of the euphemism treadmill and when? What is this strange treadmill?
Stephen Pinker 2003. The euphemism treadmill basically is the idea that words are introduced as an alternative to offensive words, yet these words eventually become offensive themselves (e.g. the ‘r’ slur)
What are inkhorn terms? When was the main action regarding this?
Inkhorn words is the term for foreign borrowings in the English language that seem unnecessary or overly pretentious. In approximately 1553, Thomas Wilson coined this term, using it as a symbol of authorial self-importance
Who wrote a book campaigning for stopping lexical development and when? What did they specifically want to be rid of?
Jonathan Swift- 1712
He wanted to be rid of shortened words, unnecessary contractions, words which had unknown etymologies
Who tried to stabilise the English language by creating a dictionary and when?
Samuel Johnson published his dictionary in 1755 in an attempt to stabilise the language. However, in its preface he did acknowledge that no language can ever be truly stabilised
What is neosemy?
It is when a new meaning develops for a word e.g. ‘text’ shifting from a noun to a verb. It’s a very broad word though
What is broadening/generalisation?
Where a word expands to mean more than it previously did e.g. ‘holy-day’ becoming ‘holiday’
What is specialisation/narrowing?
Where a word narrows to mean less than it previously did e.g. ‘meat’ used to mean food in general, now it’s specifically animal flesh
What are examples of pejoration and amelioration?
Amelioration: ‘terribly’ (used to mean dreadfully, now is used as an intensifier), ‘pretty’ (used to mean sly or cunning)
Pejoration: ‘notorious’ (used to mean well known rather than known for a bad reason), ‘villain’ (used to mean farm worker)
What are some examples of external factors that can cause language change?
Technological innovation, cultural changes, changing social ideas (e.g. LGBTQ+)
What is Sharon Goodman’s theory and when did she introduce it?
Sharon Goodman (1996) informalisation theory. This basically suggests that words that used to only be used in very personal settings are now used more widely (like taboo language and stuff)
What are Jean Aitchinson’s three theories of prescriptivism?
Damp Spoon Syndrome
Crumbling Castle
Infectious Disease
What was Donald Mackinnon’s theory and when did he create it?
1996- He suggested that language can be seen as correct or incorrect, pleasant or ugly, socially acceptable or unacceptable, morally acceptable or unacceptable, useful to us or useless
It highlights attitudes to language
What is Aitchinson’s ‘S’ curve?
It shows how change occurs. It can initially be slow, but once it’s in there is a dramatic increase in usage until it eventually stabilises
Who conducted the research into taboo language?
Harvey and Shalom
What is the Substratum theory?
This theory suggests that when speakers learn a new language they will learn it imperfectly and then pass these imperfections on to future generations
