Language Change Flashcards
What is Old English?
Language of the Anglo-Saxons (Germanic tribes), Missionaries and viking invaders
When did the Germanic tribes invade Britain? (OE)
C. 449 AD
What were the Germanic tribes which invaded Britain?
Angles
Frisians
Saxons
Jutes
When did the missionaries arrive in Britain?
C. 597 AD
Give four examples of Present Day English words that are derived from Old English
Numbers, days of the week, place names, question words
What was used to write by Celts? (OE)
Runic alphabet
What is the writing style for Old English?
Roman alphabet
What event caused Old English to start to change to Middle English?
Battle of Hastings 1066 and invasion of William Duke of Normandy
What three languages were spoken in England in Middle English times?
French - (language of power and officialdom)
Latin - (language of education and church)
English
When did the Vikings arrive in Britain
Late 8th Century
How did French become a part of Middle English?
William appointed French speaking supporters to all key positions of power
Why wasn’t English standardised?
English used Latin traditionally and French for over 300 years as written languages, no need to agree on a common linguistic standard
Who brought the printing press to Britain?
William Caxton - 1476 (to Westminster)
1476
What influence did the printing press have on the production of books?
Books could be manufactured in large numbers, increasing affordability
Who wrote the Canterbury Tales? What was their significance?
Chaucer in 1380s/90s:
-Chose to write in English
-Made English a language fit for cultivated readers
-Imitated accents through text
How were new words invented in 1500-1650?
Addition of prefixes, suffixes and cobbling together compounds
What did the union of the English and Scottish crown lead to?
First English translation of the bible
1611
What were the opinions on the new words added to early modern English?
Controversy over new words- some think new Greek and Latin terms as enrichment, others think they are ‘inkhorn terms’
What was the first English dictionary called? When was it written and who by?
A Table Alphabeticall
1604
Cawdrey
What was established in 1712 and who established it? What was its main aim and two aims the creator had?
Language Academy Swift Regulate language usage Ban new absurd rules Hated fashion of not pronouncing -ed
Name three books, their authors and the year they were published which contributed to creating language rules?
Samuel Johnson, dictionary-1755
Lowth- guide to Grammar-1762
Murray- pronunciation guide-1794
What happened to dialects as the rules of English were established?
Standing of regional dialects and accents serious decline
What did Webster write? What did it include? What was the significance?
American Dictionary of the English Language 1828
Covered more scientific/technical terms as well as American culture terms
Defined identity of a new nation
Taught children how to write, speak and say things
changed spelling edition by edition
What was the most significant thing that contributed to language development in the 1800s? Why was it so significant?
Education Act of 1867
Significant rise in literacy levels
Interest in reading and writing
What two reasons did people have to want to speak properly?
Show off educated status
Reflect personal prestige
What became more popular during the 1800s and why? Who was credited with writing the first kind?
Novel reading
Cheaply avaible
Daniel Defoe
Describe the original aims of Samuel Johnson’s dictionary. How did these change?
Sought to regulate and control language but realised its ever-changing and his job was to document this
Describe the key features of Samuel Johnson’s dictionary
40000 words- many incomprehensible and some made up, some not good enough
Quotations reflected right-wing views, if he didn’t like it, he removed it
More extensive and complex than previous ones
Why was Samuel Johnson’s dictionary criticised?
Imposing his personality too much
What were Lowth’s aims when publishing his book a Guide to Grammar?
Set out to fix mistakes made by established writers
Mistakes were common idioms, colloquial expressions or vulgar language
How does David Crystal summarise the concept of politeness in the 1700s?
In 1700s, when by themselves, polite people didn’t speak or write properly so grammars dictionaries etc needed to instruct polite society in correct ways
No one was exempt even great writers, which shows the need for guidance as people not as good as Shakespeare are more likely to do the same
Give six examples of the differences in grammar to modern English in the late 1700s-early 1800s
Expressing negation
Use of auxiliary verb- ‘shall’
‘To be’- double usage and ellipsis
Verb phrases expressing tense and aspect
‘of’ rather than ‘have’
Noun phrases- definitive and indefinite article
Old English Grammar & Syntax
OE was inflected meaning that words changed according to their case, agreement, number and gender
Inflections means that word order was less important meaning syntax was flexible
OE writing systems and pronunciation
No silent letters or standardised spellings
Norse influence
-Introduced lexis in relation to war/violence
-Introduced ‘Thursday’ because of ‘Thor’s Day’
-Introduced ‘civilised’ lexis
-Lexis of animals
-Lexis of landscape
Loan-words
Words which have been taken from another language
Language change KEY CONCPET
Language contact = language change
Milroy on term ‘Old English’
Term ‘Old English’ is used by historians who want to create idea that the English Language has been around for longer than it has been
Influence of Dane-Law
Britain is split in two, Old English and Danes:
-people could only mix due to trade
-Made Britain a diglossia
What is a diglossia?
A country with two working languages
How did The Magna Carta (1215) influence English?
The setting up of Parliament for common people gave English more power
What influence did The Black Death (1348) have on English?
Due to 1/3 of the population dying, the English speaking population shrunk.
-Led to more prestige as majority of English speakers were farmers etc who were needed to replenish the population.
How did the Statute of Pleading (1362) influence English?
Changed the spoken language of the courts from Anglo-Norman to English making it more accessible to the normal person.
-Gives more prestige as English becomes working language of the courts
How did the Tudor Era (1485) give more prestige to English?
There were developments in English art and culture
More people were educated, specifically as translators for Greek, Latin, French and Spanish
When was Johnson’s dictionary first published?
1755?
Why was the printing press significant for the English Language?
It started the process of standardisation as all of the books printed by Caxton were printed in the same dialect
What impact did the dictionary and grammar books have on the English Language?
They standardised both the spelling and the grammar of the language
Milroy & Milroy (1999) on standardisation
-Standardisation is ‘an idea in the mind
rather than reality’
-Standard forms of English as susceptible to change as social conditions change
Haugen on standardisation
Stage One - Selection (A variety of language is chosen to be standard)
Stage Two - Elaboration (The standard is applied to a range of different functions. It becomes used more widely and grows)
Stage Three - Codification (Dictionaries and grammar refer to uniform lexical and grammatical features which inform a standard language)
Stage Four - Acceptance/Implementation (The standard is imposed and variations of the standard are removed or given lower prestige)
Goodman (1996) on informalisation
We have gone through a process of informalisation where language which used to be private is now used publicly
Romaine (1998) on influences
There are internal (dictionary and grammar books) and external (politics, society and education) influences on language
Mackinnon (1996) on political correctness
Language has changed over time meaning that we need to be politically correct
Aitchison’s Crumbling Castle
People view English change as a crumbling castle, modern English a ruin of older forms
Aitchison’s Damp Spoon
English has changed as a bi-product of people getting lazy
Aitchison’s Disease
Language change is seen as a disease which could spread if not cured
Aitchison (2012) on Language change
-Change is indicative of progress rather than decline
-If change = decline than the language would have long been rendered rude
(Paul) Postal, “Random Fluctuation Theory”
Language change is as unpredictable as fashion and therefore changes in language are totally random
(Charles) Hockett
Random ‘mistakes’ lead to language changing:
Eggcorn - “like a bowl in a china shop”
Michael Halliday
Language changes to suit needs/purpose
