Language Change Flashcards
Language change
- is inevitable
- rarely systematic
-occurs all the time - words leaving, and entering
What does language change reflect
social change
Lexical change processes
- word loss
- word formation
Word loss
- obsolescence
- archaism
Obsolescence
gradual loss of lexical items from the lg
Obsolescence example
mouldwarp
Archaism
word that still has some current use but connotes old-fashioned lg
Archaism examples
hark
Word formation processes (lexical change)
- borrowings
- neologisms
- communisation
Borrowings
process of adopting linguistic features from other lgs
Does foreign words have more or less presitge than english words
more
Borrowings examples
cappuccino (italian)
Neologisms
creation of a newly coined word from scratch or from pre-existing words
Neologism examples
selfie
Commonisation
propor nouns (names) enter the lg as new words (common nouns)
Commonisation examples
- bandaid
what are semantic changes due to?
- social change and attitudes
- taboo and insults
- morphological misinterpretation
- prestige + status
- cultural importance
Taboo meaning
socially sensitive topics e.g. race, gender
denotation
literal meaning, codified
Connotation
associated meaning
Etymology
study of orign and history of words
Denotation processes
- broadening
- narrowing
- shifting
broadening
semantic boundaries of a word are widened
Broadening example
barn - just for barley to all crops and animals
narrowing
semantic boundaries of a word narrow
Narrowing examples
starve - die of anything vs. to die of hunger
Shifting
sematic boundaries of a word change completely
Shifting examples
sad from mature and trustworthy to unhappy
Connotation processes
- elevation
- deterioration
Elevation
connotations become more positive
Elevation example
wicked from evil to excellent
Deterioration
connotations become more negative
Deterioration example
villain - villager to evil character
Morphological change processes
- word formation processes
- word addition
Word formation processes (morphological change)
- abbreviations
- shortening
Abbreviations
- acronym
- initialism
Acronym def + eg
pronounceable as a word e.g. ANZAC
Initialism def + eg
pronounced as a series of letters eg. RSPCA
Shortening
dropping beginning/endings to create shorter form
Shortening examples
gym (gymnasium)
flu (influenza)
Word addition
- compounding
- affixation
- backformation
- blends
- contractions
- conversion
compounding
combination of 2+ free morphemes to form new word
Compounding examples
Bluetooth, timeframe
Affixation
add affixes to a base word to create new word
Affixation examples
submarine, proactive
Backformation
opposite of affixation, remove what people believe are bound morphemes
Backformation examples
addict (addiction)
edit (editor)
Blends
combination of two exisiting words where one+ are shortened in some way
Blends examples
smoke + fog = smog
skort
Contractions
shortening and combining two words
e.g. can’t, don’t
Conversion
word changes word class
Conversion examples
mail N -> V
gift, N -> V