Language Change) Lexical Change Flashcards
What’s lexical change
When new words enter our language or when old words aren’t used any more
Neologism
New words
Archaisms
When old words become extinct
Many simple words/phrases we use originate from …
Anglo Saxon
Who thought of functional theory
Halliday
Functional theory
Language changes to suit needs of language users
Borrowing
And eg
Borrowing words from other languages
Eg gateau
Compounding
And eg
Combining words together to form new words
Eg thumbprint, ice cream
Blending
Eg
Words are shortened and joined together to form a new word
Eg smog, brunch, brexit
Affiliation
Eg
Adding Greek prefixes or suffixes
Eg disinterest, selfless
Scientific progress
Eg
Advance in medicine, science and technology cause new words and phrases to be coined
Eg chemotherapy
Clipping
Eg
When shortened version of word becomes norm
Eg celeb, gym
Acronym
Eg
First letters taken from word to create new word - pronounced as single word
Eg NATO, AIDS
Initialism
Eg
First letters taken from words to create a new term - pronounced as single word
Eg BBC, FBI
Back formation
Eg
Verb created from an existing noun by removing a suffix
Eg sculpt from sculpture
Attitude towards language in early modern language
Growing price in language after return to English following many years of French rule
Inkhorn terms
Words borrowed from other languages
Some saw inkhorn terms as just temporarily ‘_’ and … the English language
Fashionable
Clogging, polluting or corrupting
Why did swift make a proposal
Thought English language was in chaos
Swift’s main concerns were….
3
Shortened words
Unnecessary contractions eg disturb’d
Words ‘invented by some pretty fellow’ eg banter, which he claimed were mere ‘fashion’ and likely fall out of use
Swifts proposals are an example of…
Change from above
Change from above
Attempts by those in power, positions of authority to impose a ‘correct’ form of language on its users
Change from below
Language changing due to normal/lower status people
David Crystal considers language change as ‘’ rather than ‘’
Development
Deterioration
