Language Change) How Does Language Change Flashcards
Diachronic
Language through time
Synchronic
Language at a particular point in time
Difference between prescriptivist and descriptivism
Descriptivism describes how language is used whereas prescriptivism describes how language should be used
Frameworks for change . 5
Lexical change Semantic change Grammatical change Phonological change Orthographical change
Why does our language change . 10
Technology Streamlining and efficiency Colonisation, revolution and empire Political correctness and politeness Theories Loan words (borrowing) Changes in society and societal attitudes Functional theory Substratum theory Random fluctuation Lexical gaps
Who invented s curve model
Chen
S curve model
Users pick up language change at gradual rate before it accelerates and spreads into wider usage. It then slows down again and stabilises
Lexical diffusion
The gradual speed of a change
Example of s curve model
Shakespeare’s firms of question construction
“Thinkst thou?” changes to “dost thou think”
Who invented wave model
Bailey
Wave model
Geographical distance has impact on language change spread - change strengthens nearer the ‘epicentre’
Example of wave model
Words adopted by multicultural youths in London less likely to be taken up by mc speakers in Edinburgh
Lexical gaps
Eg
When words could exist but don’t
Eg no word for ‘to not look’ or no word for when parent loses child
Who invented random fluctuation
Hockett
Random fluctuation
Eg
Random mistakes and events cause language change
Eg ‘owned’ misspelled as ‘pwned’ now common in gaming community
