Language Change: Change Theorists Flashcards
Describe and name the theorist behind ‘Functional Theory’
M.A.L Haliday said that change occurs according to need. We add words in which overturn means words fall out.
Name the 3 needs and their examples that can explain Functional Theory?
- New discoveries such as ‘Dyson’. An eponym whereby the creator of Dyson (James Dyson) created his own form of hoover, soon enough, the product got famous and everyone started to call their hoovers ‘Dyson’ or if they had a ‘Dyson’ If they had one.
- Technological words that arise due the height of advancement and security. ‘Virus’, ‘Cloud’, ‘Like’ & ‘Selfie’
- Slang arising that can arise from different cultures such as ‘Blud’ and ‘Fam’ in youth cultures.
What can we evaluate from Functional Theory?
This can only explain lexical change. And doesn’t account for other causes of language change. It can’t be controlled but rather directed by catalysts.
Describe and the name the theorists for the ‘Random Fluctuation Theory’?
Paul Postal proposed this theory and describes it as unpredictable as fashion. Whereas Charlotte Hockett argues that language change is often due to random mistakes such as the etymology of ‘candy car’
Can you give an example of ‘Random Fluctuation Theory’?
An example is eponym ‘Candy Car’ which is denotes of sexual act, and is named after a sweet machine of the same name.
Furthermore what is to be said about this Random Fluctuation Thoery?*
Language change is often due to random mistakes such as Candy Car. *The etymology of the word arrived because they were stood next to the Candy Car sweet machine while discussing the subject matter.
What can we evaluate from Random Fluctuation Theory?
We can safely say that this doesn’t account for all language change, only a small number and if it did it would lead to linguistic chaos.
Getting back to Jean Aitchison, can you describe ‘Substratum theory?’
The theory explains language change occurs through language contact.
Can you think of this might have occurred in the past?
Substratum theory
Trade and Invasion.
Norman Invasion of England in 1066 had a major impact on the English Language. Lexically had influenced certain British words such as ‘beef’ (boeuf) or royal (roial)
Phonologically and orthographically we adopted some changes too, examples being from Old English spellings cw, sc, and ch became qu as in queen, sh as in ch as in scolde.
Grammatically, English also borrowed a few French structures such as putting in adjectives after nouns in some expressions such as ‘attorney general’, ‘Alcholics Anoymous’& ‘Henry the Eighth’
Can you think of this might have occur now?
Substratum theory
Social networking and Immigration.
You are able to find in certain parts of the world. Pidgin, which is a blend of a vocabulary from one major language with another (usually non-grammatical) which were essential bits of communication are mixed with their own language. Second generation transforms pidgin to creole as they add the non-essential parts.
You can also say MLE which is a it’s a blend of many different languages into one. It’s a fusion of many different cultures. For example, Jamaican that have brung over quantifiers like ‘bare’, abstract nouns like ‘blood’ & concrete countable nouns like ‘mandem’,
What can we evaluate from Substratum Theory?
We can say that is one of the major causes of how language change can occur but however there are other causes for how it may occur. (such as the ones above)
-This change presents with errors such as anglicised pronunciations that are present in English that are wrong in other languages.
Name some examples from the evaluation of the Substratum theory?
These errors can be found most in borrowed words such as ‘restaurant’ borrowed from French and ‘chilli con carne’ from Spanish,
