Language Reform Flashcards
What has led to language change? List 4 things
Globalisation, Social Changes, Colonisation, Technological advancements
What 2 forms can language change take?
Top-down Language Change Bottom-up Language Change
What is bottom-up language change?
When normal people change language use and it gradually gets higher
What is top-down Language Change?
When language is changed by the people at the top first and gradually goes down
What is an example of bottom-up language change?
Political Correctness
What is an example of top-down language change from 1000 years ago?
Norman’s conquered Britain and start using Latin-French
What is the Plain English Campaigns focus?
Making English simpler to understand
What is Language Reflectionsm?
The idea that language we use reflects the world we live in
When did Political Correctness start?
1970’s
Which linguist argued political correctness does more harm than good?
Stephen Pinker
What concept did Pinker create for giving bad labels ameliorated ones?
Euphemism Treadmill
What is the Euphemism Treadmill?
Bad labels for groups are replaced with better ones but then the better labels get bad
What is Semantic Reclamation?
When a group takes a word used against them and use it for their own benefit
What is an example of Semantic Reclamation in a modern group?
LGBTQ reclaimed the word “queer”
How has language reform occurred with the use of a full stop in CMC? How did it uses to be seen?
It as now seen as offensive when it used to just be the way you finished sentences
