Language change content Flashcards
1
Q
what is prescriptivism
A
- notion that lang. should be fixed, prescribing to a set standard of rules for lang. usage – w/ any shift away from these rules or standards seen as incorrect
2
Q
what is descriptivism
A
- where no judgement or negative attitude is imposed on language change, but an examination of language as it is and how it’s used
3
Q
what is synchronic change
A
- study of language change at a particular moment in time
4
Q
what is diachronic change
A
- the historical development of language
5
Q
what are ‘inkhorn terms’
A
- foreign borrowing into English considered unnecessary or overly pretentious
6
Q
what is a ‘change from above / conscious change’
A
- change that’s usually initiated by those in a dominant social position or occupying a position of power and authority – usually in line w/ standard or ‘correct’ forms of usage and linked to prestige forms of lang.
7
Q
what is a ‘change from below / unconscious change’
A
- usually driven by the users of a lang. developing or adapting language according to their own social need; often initially appearing in vernacular forms that may be introduced by a social class
8
Q
what is a neosemy
A
- the process where a new meaning develops for an existing word
9
Q
what are ‘external factors’
A
- external pressures that will effect how language is used –either social, cultural or technological
10
Q
what are ‘internal factors’
A
- aspects of the language itself that contribute to change
11
Q
what is a ‘stative verb’
A
- a verb which describes a state of being e.g. to seem, to believe rather than a physical action; stative verbs don’t usually show ongoing action so they tend not to be used in the progressive form
12
Q
list processes involved with neosemy
A
- generalisation / broadening
- specialising / narrowing
- amelioration
- pejoration
- weakening / bleaching
- metaphor
- euphemism
- polysemy
13
Q
what is ‘generalisation / broadening’
A
- the meaning of a word broadens so that it retains its old meaning, but also takes on added meaning(s)
e. g. ‘holiday’ – originally from ‘holy-day’ ; in the past people were often only permitted a day off during days of religious importance - ‘place’ – originally referred to a broad street but now refers to any area
14
Q
what is ‘specialisation / narrowing’
A
- opposite of broadening – a word becomes more specific in meaning:
e. g. ‘meat’ – the Old English ‘mete’ used to mean food in general, but now refers to one specific type of food - ‘wife’ – used to refer to all women
15
Q
what is ‘amelioration’
A
- over time a word acquires a more pleasant or more positive meaning:
e. g. ‘pretty’ – used to mean sly or cunning - ‘brave’ – used to mean wild / savage
- ‘terribly’ – used to mean dreadfully, but now is used an intensifier