language change Flashcards
diachronic change
the historical development of languages
synchronic change
language change at a particular moment in time
phonological change
change in sound
grammatical change
change in the rules of language
lexical change
change in words
orthographical change
change in spelling
semantic change
change in meaning
standardisation
making everything the same
etymology
root of a word and where it comes from (history)
external factors
invasion/war
borrow words from other languages
internal factors
mixing tribes/displacement
teenagers/technology/social media
adapt existing words
neologism/coinage
new words
usually due to synchronic change
“widget”
borrowing/loan words
taken from other languages
“futon” (japanese)
compounding
making two words one
“handheld”
clipping
shortening by removing part of the word
“omnibus” -> “bus”
blending
merging two words
“motor” + “pedal” -> moped
acronym
taking the first letter of each word for a proper noun
“NATO”
initialism
taking the first letter of each word in a phrase
“MP3” “IWALY”
affixation
adding affixes onto an existing word
changes function/meaning
“healthy” “unhealthy”
conversion/functional shift
change meaning/function over time
“google”
1. search engine
2. verb for searching something up
eponym
named after the person who created it
“sandwich”
back formation
changes from a verb to a noun
forming backwards
“locate” “location”
