Language Change Flashcards
historical (diachronic) linguistics
studying one language at 2 different points in time
comparative linguistics
comparing more than one language at one point in time
proto-language
a common ancestor for other languages, has no written evidence but is assumed to have been spoken at one time
dead languages
those that no longer have any living native speakers
generalization
increasing the scope of a word
specialization
decreasing the scope of a word
amelioration
elevating the connotation of a word
perjoration
lowering the connotation of a word
taboo
stigmatizing a word or phrase
metaphor
extending a word to contexts outside of its literal sense
association
change in meaning based on a word’s association with a secondary object
dilution
loss of semantic content from extensive use
OV (object-verb) pattern
Modifier-Head (Atlantic Ocean)
Postpositions (hereafter)
Verb-Auxiliary (seen had)
VO (verb-object) pattern
Head-Modifier (Lake Superior)
Prepositions (afternoon)
Auxiliary-Verb (had seen)
adjectival
a word that is used as a modifier but may not itself be an adjective
Grimm’s Law
a series of consonant sound changes
Grimm’s Law changes (1)
voiceless stops become fricatives
/p/ –> /f/
/t/ –> /th/
/k/ –> /h/
Grimm’s Law changes (2)
voiced stops become voiceless
/b/ –> /p/
/d/ –> /t/
/g/ –> /k/
functionalism
language changes in order to help speakers communicate more effectively
misapprehension
language changes when speakers make a mistake in processing it due to ambiguous structures
