Language Change Flashcards
1
Q
Bailey’s Wave Model
A
- A drop of water hitting the surface of a lake creates ripples
- The closer you are to a geographical location that language change happens means you are more likely to pick up the change
- E.g. MLE spread rapidly through London but took a while to spread to areas such as Manchester
- HOWEVER Trudgill challenges this model by stating that countryside places are not affected by this change no matter the proximity to the changed area
- For example, Yorkshire still uses archaic ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ instead of ‘you’
2
Q
Chen’s S-Curve Model
A
- Stage 1: change is made and there is some uptake (usually spreads through a social group)
- Stage 2: more people are using it, but this is still limited to a geographical region or group
- Stage 3: - many more people know it now
- Stage 4: the change has reached as many people as it can
- No change can ever reach 100% uptake because people resist change, particularly older people
3
Q
Chen’s S Curve Model example - ‘LOL’
A
- Stage 1: ‘lol’ used by teens texting (in the meaning of laugh out loud)
- Stage 2: more teens begin to use it nationally, internationally and globally
- Stage 3: received media publicity, large uptake from parents and older texters (has also become obsolete in ‘teen talk’ Stenstrom)
- Stage 4: we are currently in this now, where many, many people know the term, however older people are part who do not use it because they may still think it is ‘lots of love’ and are opposed to the change
3
Q
Aitchison’s Model of language change
A
- Potential: the need for a new word arises as a result of something new
- Implementation: a few people begin to use this word
- Diffusion: the innovation spreads to become more widely used
- Codification: the new word enters the dictionary and becomes a standard form of a language
4
Q
Aitchison’s model of language change - example
A
- Need to describe staying 6 feet away from one another
- Implementation of ‘social distancing’
- Used much more widely due to pandemic
- Entered the dictionary in 2021
5
Q
Aitchison’s Damp Spoon Theory
A
- ‘Damp Spoon Syndrome - people become lazy with their use of language and others feel disgusted with this
- Complaints by these prescriptivists are often about failure to communicate in a certain way
- Aitchison argues that young people are not lazy in their speech
- ‘The only true lazy speech is drunken speech… and English is not getting like drunken speech’
- We are consciously making choices to communicate in the way in which we communicate therefore it is not lazy language
6
Q
Aitchison’s Crumbling Castles Theory
A
- Belief that there was once a peak of perfection and that language has decayed and is crumbling
- Aitchison argues that language has never been perfect and must continue to change to cope with the changing social circumstances
- Language change does not equal language decay
7
Q
Aitchison’s Infectious Disease Theory
A
- We ‘catch’ or ‘pick up’ changes within our language like a disease and we ought to fight this change
- Change = virus = negative
- HOWEVER Aitchison argues that we use language to fit in with those around us and therefore since we have a natural desire to fit in, change should not be viewed as a disease
- Sociolect = important to our self-identity
8
Q
Crystal’s Tide Metaphor
A
- Language changing is like the tide - new things get washed up on the shore and the tide takes other things away
- Some things make it onto the beach permanently, others only momentarily
- In addition, there are never two tides exactly the same
- Some tides will only impact certain parts of the beach
- The metaphor explains that all language change is different, lasts for varying amounts of time and affects different groups of people/cultures
9
Q
Charles Hockett - Random Fluctuation
A
- When someone makes an error (‘random fluctuation’), these errors can be standardised and recognised as somewhat synonymous
- E.g. ‘fuck’ being autocorrected to ‘duck’
- This change brings about new norms, especially with social media being a catalyst in speeding this up and standardising new phrases worldwide
10
Q
Substratum Theory
A
- Changes can be made as a result of interactions with other languages and variations of English
- E.g. British English saw an increase in use of ‘like’ as an intensifier through seeing its use in American sitcom FRIENDS
- Most common explanations for substratum changes include the media, invasions, immigration and travel/exploration
11
Q
Sharon Goodman - Informalisation
A
- The process whereby language forms that were traditionally reserved for close personal relationships are now used in wider social contexts
- Fairclough: “Professional encounters are increasingly likely to contain informal forms of English”
- Strength: breaks down the barrier between ‘them’ and ‘us’ and poses greater societal questions such as class divide, workplace hierarchies etc.
- Strength: allows for English to move towards a global standard for English in which all its speakers are able to use the language the same and not be judged for it
12
Q
Halliday - Functional theory
A
- Language changes as a result of the needs and requirements of the users of language
- Lexical gaps - a gap in the lexicon for something that needs describing e.g. social distancing
- Functional shifts - where a word exists, but we need a different word class to facilitate our needs
- E.g. ‘Google’ can be used as a proper noun, adjective and verb
13
Q
Mackinnon - Attitudes towards language change
A
- Correct or incorrect
- Pleasant or ugly
- Socially acceptable or unacceptable
- Morally acceptable or unacceptable
- Appropriate in context or inappropriate in context
- Useful or useless
- Polarising categories; prescriptivist(?) and discredits the diversity of our lexicon
