Language Change Flashcards

Processes of standardization, attitudes to language change and mechanisms of how change happens and spreads.

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1
Q

Thou/Thee

A

By the 18th Century, the use of these words was mostly obsolete.
‘You’ became the preferred pronoun as it was considered unmarked.

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2
Q

To do

A

The Old English and Middle English verb, ‘to do’ was used with inflected endings: I doth, he dost
It was used alongside a man lexical verb, often by poets

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3
Q

NICE Properties

A

N - Negatives- she did not take it well
I - interrogatives- created by the inversion of the auxiliary and subject: Did she take it well
**C - code usage **- avoiding repetition of a lexical verb: she cried while watching the film, but her friend did not
E - emphasis- Se did not find it very moving

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4
Q

Stative verb

A

A verb which describes a state of being rather than a physical action; stative verbs don’t usually show ongoing action so tend not be used in the progressive form

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5
Q

Standardization

A

It is a gradual process and in the case of English, it began as early as the 14th century

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6
Q

Haugen 1966 and the Four stages of standardization

A

Identified a four-stage process to standardization

Selection - Language selected - variety selected is usually a prestigious one

Codification - Reduction of internal variability, establishment of norms of lexis, grammatical structures and spelling

Elaboration - The selected language is developed for a variety of purposes. This may involve expansion of linguistic resources

Implementation - The standard language must be given currency by making texts available in it, encouraging users to develop pride and loyalty

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7
Q

Jean Aitchison (2013) Damp Spoon syndrome

A

Suggests that language change is caused by sloppiness or laziness, the kind of sloppiness you get with a damp spoon being left in the sugar bowl

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8
Q

Crumbling Castle

A

Sees the English language as a beautiful old building which needs to be preserved

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9
Q

Infectious disease

A

Suggests that we ‘catch’ change from those around usd

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10
Q

Donald Mackinnon in 1966

A

Language can bee seen as
* Correct or incorrect
* Pleasant or ugly
* Socially acceptable or socially unacceptable
* Appropriate or inappropriate in their context
* Useful to us or useless

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11
Q

How is Mackinnon’s model useful

A

Explores attitudes towards language use over time.

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12
Q

Why does change happen

A

Change is not a random process, and sometimes we are not even aware that any changes are taking place.

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13
Q

How does change happen

A

External factors play a significant role in language change

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14
Q

Assimilation

A

Sounds that are adjacent to each other ‘become similar’ with one sound moving towards the other to make pronunciation simpler

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15
Q

Omission

A

When speaking at speed, some sounds within a group of sounds might be left out

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16
Q

Neatening or regularization

A

Internal aspects of language change often affect ‘weak’ points in the language. Language undergoes neatening so that anomalies and inconsistencies are smoothed out.

17
Q
A