language change Flashcards
prescriptivism
belief that one type of language is acceptable, traditionalist
descriptivism
belief that language is ever-evolving, we should be open minded to language change
borrowing
taking words from other languages (restaurant, burrito)
affixation
adding a prefix or suffix to word
compounding
two free morphemes put together (sunglasses, football)
blending
two free morphemes mixed together (smog + fog = smog)
functional shift
conversion from one word class to another
neosemic shift
gaining a specific new meaning
semantic shift
any change in meaning of word over time
euphemism
indirect, ‘nicer’, less offensive way of saying something unpleasant
clipping
part of a word becoming the new word (omnibus = bus)
pejoration
meaning becoming more negative over time (awful)
amelioration
meaning becoming more positive over time (sick)
samuel johnson
1755, created first english language dictionary
haugen
process of standardisation/4stage process
selection (haugen)
one dialect/variety is chosen (usually linked with most powerful social group)
caxton chose east midlands dialect when translating french, produced first printed book in english
codification (haugen)
establishing norms of grammar, syntax, spelling, meanings so everyone uses same forms, spoken forms also established (dictionaries/grammar books = best way to achieve this, johnson)
elaboration (haugen)
development + extension of resources of language to increase its functions (influx of latin/french/italian words into english = 16th century richness + flexibility)
implementation (haugen)
standardisation implemented when printed texts became available in standard forms (newspapers, bible translations), discourages variation + encourages loyalty to standard form (queen’s english society = preservation of standard)
aitchison
1996, language change metaphors - crumbling castle, infectious disease, damp spoon
aitchison’s pidc model
potential - need for word arises
implementation - word is coined
diffusion - word is used by more and more people
codification - word is accepted and placed in dictionary
jonathan swift
prescriptivist, language is imperfect and we need rules to follow
webster
british spelling system illogical and inconvenient, american english dictionary 1832
caxton printing press
1476, spelling should be accessible to everyone, printing books, no standardisation so caxton choices became the standard
chen, s curve model
language change can occur at a slow pace (initial curve of s), increases speed as it increases speed as it becomes more common + accepted, no change 100% effective, flattens out again
halliday
functional theory, language always changes + adapts to the needs of its users
linguistic reflectionism
language reflects needs/views/opinions of society
bailey, wave model
drop of water hitting surface creates ripples, shift in language creates ripples of change, closer to center = stronger the ripple/change
trudgill
change comes from big cities -> passed to big towns -> smaller towns, misses country
yorkshire example - thee + thou still used
challenges wave model
crystal, tide metaphor
2011, language = a tide (constantly changing), ebbs + flows (bringing new words + removing others naturally), changes are not good or bad , “just changes”
no tides are the same, each example of language change is unique
synchronic change
study of language change at particular moment in time
diachronic change
historical development of language
substratum theory
when speakers learn a new language with imperfections and pass these down onto future generations
old english
anglo-saxon, 450 to 1150AD
middle english
1066AD, Norman conquest
early modern english
1500-1650 (shakespeare)
late modern english
1800-present, significantly larger vocabulary
spelling reform
attempt by governments/academic institutions to change spelling to more accurately reflect current pronunciation
robert lowth
1762, grammar rulebook
standardisation of who/whom, difference between will and shall, prepositions before nouns
lingua franca
common language amongst non-native speakers (english)
orthography
conventional spelling system of a language
dysphemism
derogatory term used instead of pleasant/neutral term
semantic drift
words’ meanings to change over time, straying from original meaning (silly)
great vowel shift
1400-1600AD
huge phonological shift, change in pronunciation of long vowels (wife = weef, mouse = moos)
sapir-whorf hypothesis
1929, different languages create different ways of thinking (understanding of time in english vs other languages, etymologynerd thing)
murray
pronunciation is important, ‘h’ + ‘g’ dropping is improper
aitchison’s criticism of murray and louth
looking down on the working class, too prescriptivist, reinforcing aristocracy of language
kandiah
reason for spread of english is colonisation, as a result england gained importance for administration of country - serving an official purpose within law/education/government
crystal’s critique of kandiah
colonisation wasn’t the only reason for spread of english (too simplistic an explanation), was because of power
mcarthur
circle of world english
categorises varieties of english geographically, moves outwards from central ‘world standard english’, varieties split into 8 regions + have their own version of standard english + non-standard forms
mcarthur evaluation
positive = descriptivist, each variety is equal + no hierarchy
negative = too many varieties to categorise, no such thing as ‘world standard english’
