Language Change - Key Terminology 2 Flashcards
Diachronic variation
Variation through time.
Synchronic variation
Variation across society at a single point in time.
Synchronic change
The study of language change at a particular moment in time.
Conscious changes
- Change that is initiated by those dominant social position or occupying a position of power and authority; usually in line with standard or correct forms of usage and linked to prestige forms of language.
Unconscious changes
Usually driven by the users of language, developing or adapting language, appearing in vernacular forms that may be introduced in any social class.
Determinism
The idea that language determines the way we think and behave.
Linguistic relativity
The idea that language shapes our thinking but does not completely control it.
Reflectionism
The idea that language reflects the society that produces it.
Semantic reclamation
Taking language that has had negative connotations and trying to overturn them by using the language in new ways.
Language reform/Political correctness
A term used, usually by liberal commentators, to support the idea of consciously changing language because it is considered unfair to different groups.
Stative verb
A verb which describes the state of being (e.g. to seem or to believe) rather than a physical action; stative verbs don’t usually show ongoing action so tend not to be used in the progressive form.
Prescriptivism
The notion that language should be fixed, prescribing to a set standard of rules for language usage, with any shift away from these rules or standards being seen as incorrect.
Descriptivism
Where no judgement or negative attitude is imposed on language change, but an examination of language as it is and how it is used.
