language change terminology Flashcards
Diachronic Variation
language change overtime
Synchronic Variation
study of language at a particular point in time
Prescriptivism
prescriptivists believe that language should follow strict rules and guidelines.
Descriptivism
descriptivists believe the function of language should be considered when analysing it’s use
Lexical Change
how vocab/lexis changes over time
Neologisms
new words of expressions
Borrowing
a word taken from another language
External factor
factors outside of language itself that influences language changes
Internal factor
factors within language that influences it’s changes
Acronym
phrases abbreviated to the first letters - pronounced as a full word
Initialism
phrases/names abbreviated to the first letters - pronounced as the first letters
Blending
joining the beginning of one word and the end of another to make a new word with a new meaning
Compounding
2 words combined to create new one with new meaning
Infix
morpheme added to the middle of a word or phrase to adapt to the meaning
Prefix
morpheme added to the beginning of a word to change meaning (eg. preschool). sets of prefixes often have the same meaning to apply to a range of words
Suffix
morpheme added to the end of a word to change meaning (eg. heartless). sets of suffixes often have the same meaning to apply to a range of words
Libfix
half a compound word is used as a suffix to create new meaning (eg. -gate -> watergate)
Amelioration
development of a positive meaning
Pejoration
development of a negative meaning - depreciating
Coinage
newly invented terms earn the respect to become mainstream
Eponym
when something is named after another thing/person/place
Back-formation
prefixes or suffixes are removed from existing words
Semantic reclamation
oppressed group redefines a slur, using it in their own context to empower themselves
Semantic change
the meaning of a word changes over time
Broadening
the meaning of a word broadens to cover other things
Hegemonic
dominant in social or political contexts
Narrowing
meaning of a word is narrowing to suit specific things
Inflection
the change in the form of a word - usually the addition of endings to make factors like tense, person, number, gender, mood, voice, and case apparent
Object
he thing/person that the action is done to
Subject
the person or thing performing the action
Intonation
phonetic emphasis on morphemes to create tonal meaning
Inkhorn terms
a loanword, or a word coined from existing roots, which is deemed to be unnecessary or over-pretentious.
Neosemy
a word gains a new meaning
Orthography
the art of writing words with the proper letters according to standard usage
CMC - computer meditated communication
any human communication that occurs through the use of two or more electronic devices.
Language reform
a kind of language planning by widespread change to a language
Political correctness
new form and attitude to language that aims to clear offensive language from lexis.
Clause of condition
subordinate clauses that refer to a hypothetical situation (eg. if you do that again, …)
Standardisation
language becoming standardised to the collective
Sticklerism
inflexible adherence to rules.
Intertextuality
referencing other texts
Conversion/ functional shift
First language
primary language most commonly used by an individual
Second language
language that is used less often by an individual - often to accommodate to others, applying bilingualism to the individuals lexis
Pidgin
Acrolect
Basilect
Mesolect
Endonormative
Exonormative
Retroflex
Schwa
Stress-timed
Syllable-based
Dialect
Accent
Sociolect
an individuals dialect accomodated to social settings
Idiolect
Synonym
words that have the same meaning
Antonym
words with contrasting meaning
Affixation
Triglossia
