Language Change Flashcards
What is diachronic change
studying the historical development and evolution of language
What is synchronic change
studying language change at a particular moment in time
From what century did old english start
5th
Who were the kelts ruled by
romans, then anglo-saxons including angles, jutes, freisans and saxons
What language did the anglo saxons bring
a germanic language
When did the danes invade from the north
700
Where did the danes push the saxons
to the south
What language did the danes bring
old norse
Why did old norse and old english begin to mix
due to marriages and migration
Give 3 examples of old norse
freckle, skin, leg
Give 2 examples of old english
hearty, welcome
From what century did middle english begin
11th
Which language did the norman conquest bring
french
What social class used french
aristocracy
Which social class used old english
peasants
What language did the clergy bring
latin
Give 3 examples of latinate words
govern, marriage, council
Give 2 examples of french words
cordial, reception
From what century did early modern english begin
15th
Who invented 2000 words in early modern
Shakespeare
Which countries did we travel to and take words from in early modern
Native america and caribbean
Name two native american words
moose, squash
Name one caribbean word
barbeque
From what century did modern english begin
18th century
What did King James introduce that brought in more language
translated the bible which brought many metaphors
Which sector was fast growing and brought new language
science
What did the British empire do a lot of in modern english
travel and take words from colonial countries
What was first introduced in 1857
the new oxford dictionary
From what century did present day english begin
20th
Which type of words did Americans introduce to english in the early 20th century
economic and commuting words like break even, bottom line and freeway
What happened in 1991 that brought lots of new words
the internet - download, tool bar, abbreviations
When was the first Johnson Dictionary
1700
Who invented printing press
Caxton
What is included in standardisation
bibles, dictionaries
Why did people want standardisation
to get one standard english that everyone can understand and take hold of the language
What are the 5 factors that trigger language change
social factors historical factors geographical location different registers cultural transmission
Give two examples as to why different registers have caused language change
people use more french words to sound more sophisticated (cordial) dating back to norman conquest
abbreviations used in slang
Name 3 historical factors as to why language has changed
invasions from danes and normans
integration of religious language
economy
Name 4 social factors in language change
gender
class
age
changing social attitudes
Define functional theory
language changes to suite the needs of its users
What did David Crystal say about functional change
that all living languages change and only the dead ones dont change
Define random fluctuation theory
language changes randomly, or accidently, not because of a need
Give an example of synchronic and random fluctuation theory
War craft mistype of owned to pwned
What are the 4 levels, in order, of the lexical change flow chart
potential, implementation, diffusion, codification
What is potential
a need for change, practical or social
What is implementation
a word filling a gap for need, first appears
What diffusion
the spread of a word through a language
give 2 examples of diffusion
semantic shift, functional shift
What is codification
process of dictionary announcing/standardising a word
What happened to the word Spam
underwent a functional shift and change in word class
noun to verb
monty python sketch
pejoration
What is pejoration
giving a word a new negative association
What is expressiveness and who commented on it
Deutscher (2006) said that it is a way that speakers attempt to achieve greater effect for their utterances
no - not in a million years
What is language change through economy
clipping a word to remove unnecessary grammatical elements
What is language change through analogy
the tendency to regularise language use
adding ed - hammered
Why would the plain english campaign not be wanted 200 years ago
as people wanted more complicated language to diverge from the lower classes
What process has the word lockdown under gone
bleaching, as its meaning has been lessened as its not as scary as before
What is a new word for 2020 and its cultural meaning
hellacious
meaning awful experience
affixation
used to describe the climate emergency
What are borrowings
an external expansion where we take words from other languages
What is internal expansion
modifying existing words
What is coinage
the official making of a word
What is an eponym
names of a company are used to define particular objects eg hoover
Where did the word chav come from
romania borrowings “chavi” - chav 1860
then acronym council house and violent in 2011 by Manly
What is blending
merging 2 words together
What is political correctness
using non offensive terms that do not discriminate against certain groups
Give 3 examples of social groups that are described using PC
illegal immigrants to undocumented person to decriminalise the word
social class - poor to economically challenged
disability - blind and deaf to visually and hearing impaired to stop the word defining them
Where did PC come from
USA in the 1970’s
Why were greek and latin terms considered inkhorn terms
as they believed they were pretentious and artificial
What came from the ink horn controversy
first dispute about the english language
Who was the 16th century John Humpherys
John Cheke
What was Johnathon Swifts proposal
said that daily corruptions of english language outweighed the daily improvements
Explain the s curve model
Chen (1968)
change in speed of change
slow when first introduced
increases as it becomes more common and accepted
then slows down again when fully integrated
Explain the wave model
Bailey (1973)
geographical distance effects change
epicentre uses most
further away less likely to catch on as quick
Give an example of the wave model
MLE
Explain the random fluctation theory
Hockett (1958)
changes occur due to the unstable nature of the language
random errors
What is amelioration
a semantic change when a words original meaning improves or becomes positive over time
Give an example of amelioration
nice
foolish to good
What is the opposite of amelioration
Pejoration
What do gaps refer to in lexical gaps
the words that are not currently used but fit exisiting language patterns
Explain Halliday’s function theory
when language changes to fit its users
opposite of random fluctation
What is the substratum theory
how our language has changed due to influences from other languages
What is the word for the process where a new meaning develops for a word
neosemy
What is semantic reclamation
when a bad word is taken by the person being called it to lessen the bad connotations
eg bitch
What is narrowing and broadening
the meaning narrows or broadens
What is change from above
conscious attempts by those in positions of power to impose a correct form of language
Which 2020 words have undergone bleaching
lockdown (word of the year)
self isolate
quarantine
What is change from below
unconscious attempts from general public to make language that they need
Define orthology
the spelling and punctation system of a language
What is a lexicographer
someone who compiles dictionaries
What are the 2 significant events in standardisation
Caxtons printing press (1476) Johnsons dictionary (1755)
Why did Caxtons printing press give a London dialect a feeling of prestige
as it was used in printed texts
What did Johnson say about language
made dictionary to try and fix variations
realsied language is ever changing and he should describe and not prescribe it
Why did Milroy and Milroy (1985) say that standardisation is an ideological struggle
because one persons standardisation is anothers censorship
Which cities have decided to remove all apostrophes from road signs
Birmingham and Cambridge
What are reasons for abolishing the apostrophe
removes confusion as to when to use one
bsuinesses spend lots on proof readers
rarely make a semantic difference
dont aid communication
What are reasons for keeping the apostrophe
removing it is dumbing down
questions use of any punctuation
Does grammatical change occur faster or more slowly than semantic or lexical change
slower, and can often be a source of anger for more conservative speakers
Name 4 examples of grammatical change
double negations used to be common, now seen as non-standard
syntax simplified, sentences used to have more subordinate clauses
loss of thou/thee, changed to you
loss of superlatives, used to use cleverest now use more clever
When did attention turn to grammar rules
18th and 19th century
What did correct grammar begin to be associated with
higher social status
What did a desire for correct grammar lead to
the making of grammar guides
Describe someone who created a grammar guide
Lowth 1762
a short introduction to english grammar
prescriptivist
change from above
Name some rules in Lowths guide
thou should no longer be used
who and whom should be used correctly
multiple negotion is illogical
When did the great vowel shift occur
14th-18th century
Who coined the term the great vowel shift
Jesperson
What happened in the great vowel shift
long vowels changed to short
What is the root language
indo-european
How many english speakers world wide
2 billion
What are native english speakers (L1)
a minority
What is english mostly used as
L2 used as a second language
What did Beneke find
that 80% of interactions in english are between non native speakers
Why is english so popular
colonisation as we colonialised 25% of the world
scientific and technology power
economic power
Why is english now a lingua franca
a bridging language between speakers who do not share a common language
What are the 5 key characteristics of english as a lingua franca accroding to Jenkins (2006)
used by speakers of different languages its a functional form of communication can include elements of local varieties context dependant rather than 'all-purpose' users may have a high or low proficiency
Define diaspora
the spread of people and their language around the world
What are the 5 phases of Schneider’s dynamic model
phase 1 - foundation - english appears in a new territory
phase 2 - exonormative stabilisation - english begins to be used, modelled off of British standards
phase 3 - nativisation - old and new languages become more closely linked
phase 4 - endonormative stabilisation - english being spoken develops inside standards and norms
phase 5 - differentiation - new variance of english develops its own regional differences
Why is Singlish disencouraged in Singapore
as its seen as sub standard or broken English, they want RP
According to the Singapore government, why is speaking RP good
it is imperative to raise the standrd of living and stops poor communication
Why do the Singapore government do every year to promote good english
“Speak Good English Campaign”
What is a pidgin
a simplified language formed from the contact of exisiting languages
no one native language
What is a creole
mother tongue formed from the contact of european language with a local language
Name 4 orthological differences between American and British English
or endings
er endings
ize endings
loss of diagraph ae
Who believed english spelling rules were too complex and proposed reforms
lexicographer noah webster
What did Noah Websters changes make
it easier to learn american english than british english as there was a greater grapheme-phoneme correspondence
What does Matthew Engel say about americanisms
the “ugly and pointless new usages are invading Britain in battalions”
making the english language “wither”
What is an issue with americanisms/american phrases in the UK
Sussex police recorded a distrubing high number of children thinking they should dial 911 in an emergency
What are Aitchison’s 3 models
damp spoon syndrome, crumbling castle view, infectious diseases assumption
