Language Change Flashcards
Haugen’s Standardisation Model
Selection -> = A variety of the language is selected as standard. EG our english -> Based on chancery standard (used by chancery scribes - based in Westminster). Since London was powerful, the Midlands dialect was chosen as the standard. Thomas Caxton brought over printing press, using chancery as the standard in 1476.
Codification -> = When dictionaries and grammar books come along giving us codes for language-> uniform spellings… rules… EG Samuel Johnson’s dictionary/Louth’s grammar book/Swift’s urge for an eng academy
Elaboration -> = When the selected dialect (norm) and the codified form are used at different domains like education, media, literature. This was needed to allow people to communicate means fully (hence lexical/semantic change).
Implementation-> = = When the standard is imposed, variations are removed and the standard becomes prestigious/norm.
• eg by teachers and establishments
neologisms
making up a new word
(include derivation, compounding, blending, acronyms, clippings., conversion, borrowing, orthographical change, coinage, propriety names and eponyms)
derivation/affixation (lexical change)
=adding affixes (suffixes/prefixes) to an existing word (derives from).
-usually french or latinate
eg pre-workout, disapporval, attention
(this is an example of a neologism)
compounding (lexical change)
= two existing words stuck together to make a new word
eg mouse mat, half-time, playground
(this is an example of a neologism)
blending (lexical change)
= two words molded together to form a new word, usually by sticking together the start of one word with the end of another.
eg motor + hotel -> motel
fruit + tube -> frube
(this is an example of a neologism)
acronyms (lexical change)
= initials said as a word (opposed to initialisms that are initials said as letters).
initialism -> FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
acronym -> NATO, AIDS (pronounced as a word).
(this is an example of a neologism)
clippings (lexical change)
= removing part of a word
eg brasserie -> bra
pantaloons -> pants
(this is an example of a neologism)
conversion (lexical change)
= changing a word class
eg from a nount to a verb “I GOOGLED it”
(this is an example of a neologism)
borrowing/ loanwords (lexical change)
= taking words from another language
eg bungalow -> India
restaurant -> French
(this is an example of a neologism)
orthographical change
= when spellings of words change overtime
eg trowsers -> trousers
(this is an example of a neologism)
coinage (lexical change)
= process of adding completely new words to the dictionary (very rare)
eg Shakespeare -> crocodile/ accommodation
(this is an example of a neologism)
propriety names (lexical change)
= brand names that are applied universally to that object
EG ‘Hoover’ (brand) used for referring to all hoovers
(this is an example of a neologism)
eponym (lexical change)
= naming a location, product or invention after its explorer/inventor.
eg wellies -> Wellington
(this is an example of a neologism)
amelioration (semantic change)
= words change to have a more positive meaning over time.
IE ‘nice’ used to mean…
- 1290 -> foolish
- 1300 -> timid
- 1380 -> fussy
- 1405 -> delicate
- 1500 -> careful
- 1769 -> delightful
- 1830 -> thoughtful
- Now -> friendly/ good
pejoration (semantic change)
= words that change to have a negative meaning
eg “stink” use to mean to leap but now means a bad and/or strong smell
broadening/extension (semantic change)
= where a meaning of a word becomes broader over time
eg ‘dog’ use to refer to one breed of dog, not it refers to the mammal
or
‘holiday’ use to refer to only religious fesitivals (hence holy day)
narrowing/specialisation (semantic change)
= where the meaning of a word becomes narrower over time
eg ‘lily’ use to describe all flowers
‘ girl’ use to refer to all small children
semantic shift (semantic change)
= the meaning of a word changes over time to reflect changing circumstances
weakening (semantic change)
= where a word loses its power
eg ‘awful’ use to mean terrifying
‘fantastic’ use to refer to fantasises
figurative/metaphorical use (semantic change)
= words take on new meanings due to their well-established metaphoric use
-> referred to as ‘dead metaphors’
eg the ‘branch’ of an organisation, not a literal tree.
euphemisms vs dysphemisms (metaphorical change)
euphemism-> polite term created for taboo topics (eg “he pats away”)
dysphemism-> an expression with offensive connotations (eg “i took a dump” “we shagged”)
When and who invented the ‘WWW’ on the internet?
Tim Berners-Lee in 1991
The 3 prescriptivists (in 18th cent)
1) Samuel Johnson
-> wrote the first proper modern dictionary that included examples in 1755 .
2) Arch Bishop Louth
-> wrote a grammar book in 1762.
3) Jonathan Swift
-> wrote a letter to the minister asking for an English academy where people will learn proper english i order to fix it/prevent it from changing in 1711.
=these are all forms of codification/standardisation
Jean Aitchison’s 3 prescriptivist views (not her views!!!)
1) Crumbling Castle -> english language was once a beautiful castle, but now as it changes, it is getting worse/deteriorating.
2) Damp Spoon -> the lazy action of using a damp spoon for sugar. (Eg lazy language due to technology like acronyms and initialisms)
3) Infectious Disease -> the idea that we catch language change socially, through interaction with those around us. (Eg MLE through Surrey)
Passive voice (grammar)
=the verb is done to the subject ( the turkey was eaten by the dog)
- passive voice (formed by the verb to be and past participle e.g was and won)
- the agent can be removed to avoid blame/responsibility
THE VERB MUST BE TRANSITIVE
= used more in OLDER texts (harder to read)
Active voice (grammar)
= the subject performs the verb ( the dog ate the turkey)
- agent is mentioned, cannot be removed, full blame/responsibility
= Used more in NEWER texts (easier to read)
Relative/embedded clauses (grammar)
(Type of DC)
=Tells you more about the subject or object.
- adds extra information about the nouns in the main clause , without starting another sentence
Usually involves -> who, which, that, where, when, whose (Ie That’s the woman who bought my house, or The mother whose child was missing was very sad)
- sometimes seen in brackets as added info
Noun clauses (grammar)
(Type of DC)
= a clause that plays the role of a noun or pronoun and can become the subject or object.
Eg i knew that (she believed me) = (nc)
Adverbial clauses (grammar)
(Type of DC)
= Tells you when, where, how and why the verb takes place.
Eg ‘ when the sun shines’
If/conditional clauses
(Type of DC)
= suggests a possible situation
Eg. ‘ if….’
archaic clauses/words
clauses/words we no longer use as much
LEFT/RIGHT branching
L-> a clause at the beginning of a sentence (older texts as harder to read)
R-> a clause at the end of a sentence (newer texts as easier to read)
overt prestige
Adopting standard English because you think it has ‘prestige’ (value) in a social context.
Eg using low frequency lexis
Importance of the printing press
Thomas Caxton
1476
- Brought over printing press, using chancery (east midlands) as the standard in 1476. (selection of haugen’s model)
contractions
- were used to signal that a syllable is not pronounced (eg uniform’d) -> shows e is not voiced.
Modal verbs
The modal verb ‘shall’ becomes more archaic and is replaced by ‘must’ or ‘will’
archaic syntax
not the standard syntax as modern English (eg not SVO)
vernacular
the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region
Fairclough’s informalisation/ colloquialisation
20th C phenomenon in which written texts in public sphere (e.g. media, adverts, speeches) are becoming more like informal speech
Modes (discourse structure)
multi-> a text that uses more than one mode; often used for texts and images (young children usually begin using multimodal when writing) (e.g comics)
mixed-> features of speech and writing in the same text (e.g a political speech will be written but delivered as speech)
spoken mode -> transcript/story-like/conversational
Linguistic reflection vs linguistic determinism (theory)
Reflection : Language is shaped by our thoughts and are simply a reflection of the way we think. ( so Language changes due to our beliefs)
Determinism : Language changes how we think/believe
Lexical gaps (theory)
Process used to fill gaps in language, where words don’t currently exist.
Eg loan words like tsunami
Random fluctuation (theory)
Language changes due to its instability
E g. American English regularising language dove for dived
Can apply to random capitalisation in older texts, usual,y due to no standard imposed
Wave theory
Language change moves across particular geographical areas from source of influence e.g. MLE from London to Surrey
S-curve model (theory)
Rate of change starts slowly, increases rapidly before slowing
Old
Middle
Early modern
Late modern
Present day english
Old English = 700-1066
Germanic influences due to angles and Saxons old Norse entering the language
Middle English = 1066-1500
Battle of Hastings, William brought over Norman French from northern France.
TEXTS NO EARLIER THAN EM:
Early Modern = 1500-1700
Renaissance Shakespeare Latinate
Late Modern = 1700-1900
Present day English = NOW!!
Jargon
Specialised lexis understood by a certain group of people
Eg medical terms only understood by doctors
what do auxiliary verbs do
tell you the tense
“She HAD eaten”
“she IS eating”
Noah Webster
- American Johnson : he made the first American dictionary of the English language in 1828
- attempted to counter the influence of British English too assert a cultural difference by suiting spelling to pronunciation
= form of codification
American English
Vocabulary differences : cultural institutional items ‘dual carriageway’ -> ‘freeway’
Orthographical differences :
- simplification ‘waggon -> wagon’ etc
- reflection of pronunciation ‘through’ -> ‘thru’
Grammatical differences
- reduced forms of semi modals: ‘gotta’ ‘gonna’ ‘wanna’
- past tense: ‘dove’>’dived’
- Germanic past participle : ‘gotten’
- regular past participle : -ed>-t eg ‘learned’> ‘learnt’ (dominance of -ed endings)
Negative verb phrases (grammatical change features)
Older texts : I know not
Now: negative participle attached to auxiliary verb eg I don’t know
pronouns (grammatical change features)
before 1600s : thou
now: you
-> gender liberation movements have added pronouns
-> changes to masculine generic he
subjunctive (grammatical change features)
gradually being removed from the language (fewer young ppl aware -> archaic)
prepositions (grammatical change features)
old: upon
now: on
How has the emergence of political correctness changed language?
1970s -> language interventions introduced to protect minorities
- eg censorship of language, gender-neutral language
Plain English Campaign + implication on language change
- since 1979
= Attempting to control written discourse (specifically in gov legal documents) to prevent misinformation , increasing clear and concise language. (promoting plainer English)
EG
-> use active more than passive (but passive okay when avoiding blame etc)
-> avoid jargon, use words appropriate to reader
-> keep sentence length down (15 to 20 words)
IMPLICATION
- modern day prescriptivism (disguised as political correctness)
- ‘P.E.C’ itself is unclear and confusing (eg don’t use this…but you can here.)
- Suggesting other forms on english (more complex) is wrong -> reducing people’s expression using their own language
