Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Language Flashcards > Language Change > Flashcards

Language Change Flashcards

1
Q

Who proposed Functional Theory?

A

Halliday

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What are some examples of obsolete lexis?

A

The concrete noun “Ballista” or the initialism “MP3”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What are some examples of neologisms?

A

The concrete noun “Large Hadron Collider”, or the concrete noun “cronut”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What are some examples of semantic change that have happened as a result of technological advancement?

A

The semantic broadening of the nouns “crash”, “bug” and “virus”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What does Functional Theory suggest about language change?

A

That language changes to adapts to the needs of its users.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What are some examples of paralinguistic content?

A

Tone, pitch and volume.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

How does Functional Theory allow paralinguistic content to be communicated online?

A

Through developments in graphology like emojis.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

How can Functional Theory be criticised?

A

It only explains lexical and semantic change.
Sometimes new words replace existing words with no reason, like the preferential usage of the concrete noun “dog” over the concrete noun “hound”.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

How do social attitudes affect language?

A

Language changes to reflect changing worldviews.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

How has language changed as an effect of changing attitudes to marriage?

A

The semantic shift of the abstract noun “bastard”, meaning born out of wedlock, to now be a pejorative slur separated from attitudes towards marriage.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

How has language changed as an effect of changing attitudes to the LGBTQ+ community?

A

The pejorative adjective “transgendered” has been clipped to become the adjective “transgender” to suggest the identity is something they always were as opposed to something being imposed onto them.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is reclaiming? Give an example.

A

Reclaiming is when a community use a derogatory slur that has been used to discriminate them as a marker of group identity to remove pejorative connotations. An example of this is the amelioration of the reclaimed adjective “queer”, which used to mean abnormal, but is now now used by the gay community to mean someone who identifies as LGBTQ+.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Who proposed the theory of Reflectionism and Determinism?

A

Sapir-Whorf

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What does reflectionism argue?

A

Language reflects someone’s way of thinking, so someone who uses slurs has prejudiced ideals.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What does determinism argue?

A

Someone’s way of thinking can be altered by changing their use of language, so preventing the use of slurs would then prevent ideas of prejudice.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Who criticised Sapir-Whorf and what did he instead propose?

A

Pinker, who proposed the Euphemism Treadmill.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is suggested about language by Pinker’s Euphemism Treadmill?

A

That thoughts determine the words we use, and the abolishment of slurs will just lead to a different word being attributed the same pejorative meaning to express prejudiced ideas.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What did Mackinnon claim about language change?

A

That language is chosen depending on whether it is socially or morally acceptable or useful.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Which historical event increased geographical mobility?

A

WWII

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

How does geographical mobility cause language change?

A

More communication occurs between people from different regions and communities, which leads to increased lexical borrowing across different languages.

21
Q

What are some examples of lexical change as a result of increased geographical mobility?

A

The concrete noun “pad-thai” or the concrete noun “kimono” were borrowed, and the proper nouns “Ramadan” and “Sharia” are understood by English speakers outside of their source language.

22
Q

Which large movement prompted a great change in grammar and syntax?

A

The Norman Invasion in the 1600s.

23
Q

How did the Norman Invasion change syntax and grammar in the English language?

A

It led to the suggested implementation of SVOCA to structure sentences which replaced extra verb inflections and spelling differences to indicate a word’s function in a sentence.

24
Q

Which large movement prompted a great change in phonology?

A

The Great Vowel Shift between 1400-1600.

25
Q

How long did SVOCA take to be put into effect?

A

200 years

26
Q

What’s an example of how subjects and objects were differentiated before SVOCA?

A

The use of the different spellings of the concrete noun “queen”. As a subject, it would be spelled “cwen”, whereas if it was an object it would be spelled “cwene”.

27
Q

How did The Great Vowel Shift change language?

A

Mass migration caused by the Black Death led to the introduction of new phonology into Middle English as well as mass lexical borrowing in the Early Modern Period, wherein Shakespeare additionally coined 12000 new words.

28
Q

What are some examples of contemporary phonological change?

A

The use of the glottal stop or the velarised L in Estuary English.

29
Q

What does John Wells attribute the use of unusual features for the users of Estuary English to?

A

Increased social and geographical mobility in Britain.

30
Q

What are some features of MUE?

A

The shift of the vowel in “price” from /aI/ to /a:/ and the metathesis of the consonants in “ask” from /a:sk/ to /a:ks/

31
Q

What does Rob Drummond say MUE features are caused by?

A

The migration of speakers from different backgrounds to British cities.

32
Q

Who proposed Substratum Theory?

A

William Labov

33
Q

What does Substratum Theory suggest about language change?

A

That language changes through imperfections being passed down through generations of non-native speakers learning English.

34
Q

How did Jewish New Yorkers originally say “coffee cup”?

A

“cAffee cAp”

35
Q

Why did the children of Jewish New Yorkers change the way they pronounced “coffee cup”, and how do they now pronounce it?

A

They hypercorrected their language to distance themselves from their parents which resulted in the pronunciation of “cAWfee cup”, which is an imperfection that will be passed onto the next generation.

36
Q

How can Substratum Theory be criticised?

A

It can only explain a narrow range of changes that occur in places and times where there are a low number of non-English speakers learning the language.

37
Q

Who proposed the theory of Communities of Practice?

A

Lave and Wenger

38
Q

How do Communities of Practice change language?

A

They introduce new lexis as part of an in-group code to mark identity.

39
Q

What are some examples of lexis introduced by the gamer community? (oh the horror)

A

The initalism “GG” and the abstract noun “n00b”.

40
Q

How can Communities of Practice be criticised?

A

They only account for a small area of change, as the in-group lexis is restricted to members of the community.

41
Q

How can the criticism of Communities of Practice be refuted?

A

Social media now allows for the large-scale spread of in-group lexis to members outside of the community.

42
Q

Who proposed the idea of change from above?

A

Labov

43
Q

What does the theory of change from above suggest about language change?

A

That language changes due to decisions made by higher authority like the law or government who abolish outdated or discriminatory language.

44
Q

How is change from above enforced?

A

Users of discriminatory or outdated language can be refused employment or banned from online spaces, therefore language changes to avoid legal or social repercussions.

45
Q

Which theory did Hockett propose?

A

Random Fluctuation and Cultural Transmission

46
Q

Who said that “fashions in language are as unpredictable as fashions in clothes”?

A

Hockett

47
Q

What are some examples of random fluctuation in recent language change?

A

Donald Trump’s use of the non-standard adverb “bigly”.

48
Q

How can Hockett’s theory of random fluctuation and cultural transmission be criticised?

A

Language follows rules, which is evidenced by the abolishments of the archaic verb inflections “-eth” and “-est” to conform to the standardised rules of inflections, which new words obey.

49
Q

Who proposed Lexical Gap Theory?

A

Halliday

Language Flashcards (9 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions