Language change and PC Flashcards
What are the 6 driving forces of language change?
(1) Migration
(2) Technology
(3) War
(4) Politics
(5) Youth Culture
(6) Expressiveness
Deutscher’s 2 pointers (2006)
Economy- the tendency to shorten words to save effort, using clipping or portmanteaus.
Analogy- The tendency to create new nouns that will always follow a regular pattern like pluralisation.
Brandeis university?
Created a list of banned words and phrases that were coined offensive, some make sense to ban and others are stupid. Examples;
Person first language e.g. “person without housing”
violent language e.g. “take a shot at it” becomes “give it a go.”
who is John Stuart Mill
He was a classic liberal and believed strongly in freedom of speech.
What does Goldberg argue?
Argues that people attack political correctness because it threatens the main and current hierarchy of society, anxiety of the people in power think change may come from below.
Michael eric Dysons view on PC?
says PC came from the left, and is a way to categorise the radical left.
He also says some people are just trying to get on with their lives and are placed in this category by other people.
What is sticklerism?
the idea that change to language should be resisted but the belief is much weaker than declinism.
what is declinism?
The idea that the English language is in decline and will never recover.
what is the Random fluctuation model?
The idea that language can sometimes randomly change due to accidental or natural events, an example would be-
PWNED which was a typo of owned.
what is the spike model?
the idea that words become more frequently used because of an event or recent pop culture reference.
what’s the wave model?
the idea that language spreads like ripples in a pond, slowly increasing its geographical space as well as its social space.
what is functionalism?
The idea language functions as a tool for its users.
What is linguistic determinism?
the idea that language CONTROLS the way we think
What is linguistic reflectionism?
The idea language REFLECTS the way we think.
