Language change Flashcards
General
Provide a definiton (1) and an example (2)
Borrowing
Lexis
- Taking words from other languages
- Karaoke
Provide a definiton (1) and examples (2)
Affixation
Lexis
- Means “to fasten” - attaching either a preffix or suffix to a pre existing word
- Microbiology, eco-friendly
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Compounds
Lexis
- Words formed from joining together two other words in their entirety with or without a hyphen
- laptop, see-through
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Blending
Lexis
- When parts of words are chopped off and put together to form a new word
- smog = smoke + fog, blog = web + log
Provide a definiton (1) and examples (2)
Eponym/Proprietary Names
Lexis
- When a word is coined from a company name/ the name of the inventor of a product
- Hoover, Walkman
Provide a definiton (1) and examples (2)
Acronym
Lexis
- A word made up of the first letters of a phrase, which is pronounced as if it were a usual word
- RADAR (Radio Detection And Ranging), TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space), NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
Provide a definiton (1) and examples (2)
Initialism
Lexis
- A word made up of the first letters of a phrase, where the letters are individually pronounced
- CD, FBI, SAS
Provide a definiton
Coinage/neologism
Lexis
- The creation of completely new words
Provide a definiton (1) and an example (2)
Back-formation
Lexis
- The removal of part of a word
- Editor = edit
May change class or meaning
Provide a definiton (1) and an example (2)
Clipping
Lexis
- A more drastic form of back formation, creating new words by extracting an arbitrary portion of a longer word
Does not change word class or meaning
Provide a definiton (1) and an example (2)
Jargon
Lexis
- Lexis specific to a particular job or interest. Requires previous knowledge
- Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (fear of long words)
Yep that’s genuine
Provide a definiton (1) and an example (2)
Narrowing
Semantics
- When the meaning of a particular word becomes more specific
- meat (used to mean all food)
Provide a definiton (1) and an example (2)
Broadening
Semanitcs
- When a word takes on additional new meanings
- Bussiness (used to be someone who is busy)
Provide a definiton (1) and examples (2)
Amelioration
Semantics
- When the meaning of a word becomes more positive
- Pretty (used to mean sly or cunning), wicked (can now mean great)
Provide a definiton (1) and examples (2)
Pejoration
Semantics
- When the meaning becomes less favourable/more negative
- “Hussy” (used to be housewife)
Provide a definiton (1) and examples (2)
Metaphorical extension/idiomatic usage
Semantics
- When words acquire new meanings because they have been used metaphorically
- Over the moon, under the weather, in the doghouse
Einar Haugen’s stages of standardisation
Stage 1
Orthography
Selection of an existing language as the basis for the standard
Einar Haugen’s stages of standardisation
Stage 2
Orthography
Codification involving the reduction in variability and the establishment of ‘norms’
Einar Haugen’s stages of standardisation
Stage 3
Orthography
Elaboration which ensures the standard can be used for a range of functions
Einar Haugen’s stages of standardisation
Stage 4
Orthography
Implementation – more texts become available, pride in the standard and the discouragement of alternatives
Provide a definition for
Accent Levelling
Phonetics
People’s accents converge (become more similar to those around them). Upward convergence is where a person’s accent becomes more ‘upper class’, i.e. in a formal situation, whereas downward convergence is where a person’s accent becomes less received, perhaps as a method of decreasing social class differentiations
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Accent strengthening
Phonetics
People’s accents diverge (become less similar to those around them). This has often been considered to be a reflection upon the desire to emphasise differences in dialect and status.
Provide the time period of (1) definition for (2) and examples of (3)
Vowel shift
Phonetics
- 1300-1500
- A change in the pronunciation of all long vowel sounds that took place between the Middle English and Early Modern English period.
- “Nail” and “name” have different spellings – they were once pronounced differently, though they are not anymore
Provide a defintion for (1) and an example of (2)
Prescriptivism
Standardisation
- Prescribes how language should be in order to be better or pure; uses criteria of good/bad language, where standard forms are seen as good; draws its model of language from dictionaries, grammar books, etc
2.rejects non-standard forms (e.g. slang, dialect, etc), language change is seen as decay of a pure form of language to be resisted and challenged, based on the golden age of the past.
Provide a definition for/examples of
Descriptivism
Standardisation
- Describes the nature of language variations without judgement; uses criteria of standard/non-standard, or appropriateness in context; draws its model from how language is used by a variety of people in a variety of contexts; recognises importance of a standard form but accepts the many variations to it as legitimate and acceptable; language change is seen as part of the progress of language; believes language is worthy of study and recognition wherever it is used.
