Language change theories Flashcards
Functional Theory
Michael Halliday
Language changes in accordance with its users
Cultural Transmission Theory
The process of learning new information through socialisation and engagement
Random Fluctuation Theory
Charles Hockett
Random events/errors lead to language change
Substratum Theory
One variety of English is influenced by another through contact
Theory of Lexical Gaps
Derived from Halliday’s Functional Theory
Vocabulary emerges to fill gaps
Wave Model
Johannes Schmidt
Language features spread from the original source, geographically and socially
S-Curve Mode
Chen
Change starts in a limited way, accelerates, then levels off
Theory of Unfolding Language
Guy Deutscher
Language was never invented
Suzanne Romaine
Language change may occur in two ways: Internal changes and External changes
What are internal changes?
Suzanne Romaine
Factors within a language
Eg, the influence of dictionaries promoting new words and meanings. The omission of certain sounds due to the economic principle of language
What are external changes?
Changing social contexts, ideologies, technology and inventions
Eg, political correctness has come about due to ideological changes
Norman Fairclough
Advertisements and marketing texts are increasingly attempting to mimic speech
Sharon Goodman
We are living in a time of increased informalisation
Dwight Bollinger
Highlighted the increasing use of euphemisms in advertising
Damp spoon syndrome
Jean Aitchison
The view that language use has become lazy, like putting a damp spoon back into sugar
