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Linguistic > Language Variation & Change > Flashcards

Language Variation & Change Flashcards

1
Q

“Golden age myth”

A

Traditionally, language is considered immuable, changes = negative even from linguists pov. Everyone is resistant to it

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2
Q

Variants

A

Signifiers, the different names given for something/someone

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3
Q

Variable

A

The thing or the person who has multiple variants

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4
Q

Variation

A

The principle. Refers to differences in the ways that a particular language is used.

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5
Q

What are the different types of variation?

A
  • lexical variation (argent, fric, pognon..)
  • Grammatical variation (I need nothing, I don’t need anything)
  • Phonetic and phonological variation (either)
  • Stylistic variation (mum, mother)
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6
Q

diachrony

A

Study the way a language changed over time (from 1900 to 2014)

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7
Q

synchrony

A

Studying the language at a precise time (syntax of american english in 2014)

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8
Q

What happens to variants over time?

A

Variants can disappear or they can take over others that aren’t used anymore. This is language change.
ex: -ed in participles used to be prononced [id] and gradually became [t]

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9
Q

What characterise standard English?

A
  • a purely social dialect
  • presitigious
  • not linguistically superior though
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10
Q

What are the 2 standards accents?

A
  • Received Pronunciation (RP), BBC English, General British
  • General American (GA), network English
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11
Q

what is the difference between accent and dialect?

A

accent = pronunciation
dialect (or variety) = syntax, grammar and vocabulary

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12
Q

Isoglosses

A
  • dialectal borders, divides dialectal areas
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13
Q

Are dialects mutually intelligible?

A

Today, yes.

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14
Q

Why is there more dialect in East America than in West America

A

Because it takes time for variation to develop. In the East = dialects have had more time to diverge

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15
Q

Dialects continuum

A

Dialects differs only slightly between areas that are geographically close to each other.

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16
Q

What is considered geographical variation

A
  • dialects separated by isoglosses
    e.g. of isoglosses : Trap / Bath split
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17
Q

What was the famous study of Labov and what was he trying to explain

A

His study of post-vocalis /r/ in New York city to prove that linguistic variables are linked with societals one (class, age, gender, ethnicity)
He demonstrated that the variation wasn’t random = rhotic consonant in NYC is stratified

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18
Q

Stratification

A

the arrangement or classification of something into different groups.

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19
Q

What is a sociolinguistic variation?

A

a variation that has to do with social stratification, gender, age, ethnicity, identity…

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20
Q

Why does gender has an impact on linguistic variation?

A

women tend to produce more standard form (overt prestige)
men more non-standard form (covert prestige)

women tend to over-report = they say they use standard forms more than they do, they think they speak better than they actually do.
men tend to under-report = they say they use non-standard forms more than they do, they think they speak worse than they actually do.

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21
Q

covert prestige

A

non standard form
e.g. A standard dialect speaker of English who intentionally switches to use of social markers such as “ain’t” and “he don’t” is said to seek covert prestige.

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22
Q

overt prestige

A

the use of the standard form

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23
Q

What is palatalisation?

A

New manifestations of the palato-alveolar consonants /ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ/ in phonetic environments and lexical items in which they didn’t appear until recently.

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24
Q

Since when is palatalisation happening?

A

60’s, real boom in the 70’s in England

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25
Q

What is a change from below?

A

a change which is
- the nonstandard/non-prestige form/vernacular dialects
- below the level of consciousness (spread throughout the community without speakers’ conscious awareness)

  • People use non standard form on purpose, e.g. street cred
26
Q

What is a change from above?

A

This change usually begins with speakers in higher social classes and diffuses down into the lower classes : Upper classes try to differentiate themselves from the lower classes, while lower classes try to sound more educated and similar to the upper class.
However, the concepts of change from above and below refer to consciousness and not social class.

27
Q

Why is a multi-parameter analysis a
better reflection of people’s social identity?

A

We are complex, multi-faceted individuals who belong to
several networks at the same time.

28
Q

Why can we say that a linguistic variation is linked to identity?

A

One can use non standard pronunciations as markers of identity.

> North West Yorkshire use supra-local features, a Northern identity opposed to the Southern one. It is an act of identity.
In Martha’s Vineyard, fishermen don’t want to be associated with tourism so they use non-standard forms. They show their solidarity with the island, they use a pronunciation used in the past, a period with less tourism.

29
Q

What is more important than socio-economic background (class) in modern tendencies of speakers?

A

Social networks.
= a need to use a multi-parameter analysis.

30
Q

The first wave of variation study

A

initiated by William Labov > study the relation between linguistic variability and macro categories as class, age, sex, ethnicity
it developped the “big picture” of the social spread of change.

31
Q

Explain the second wave of variation study

A

Focused on smaller groups. Give local meaning to the more abstract demographic categories of the first wave.
The first two waves studies view the meanings of variants as identity markers related directly to the groups that most use them.

e.g. with the “Jocks” and the “Burnouts”. Ideological differences so they maintained a mutual distinction (“indexed” their personality) with fashion, territory activities, consumption patterns and language.

32
Q

The third wave of variation study!

A

focuses on the social meaning of variables. It views styles rather than variables = it shifts the focus from speaker categories to the construction of a persona. Variation is linked to the notion of performing (you are trying).
e.g. Gay doctor vs. Gay diva.

33
Q

What are the internal factors that causes language change?

A
  • economy
  • expressiveness
  • analogy
34
Q

Economy in language change

A

It’s the principle of least effort, we are “lazy” so we try to reduce articulatory efforts.

35
Q

Give 3 phenomenons that shows economy in language

A
  • Assimilation
  • Apocope
  • Lenition
36
Q

Lenition

A

palatalizing a consonant
e.g. b becoming v from latin to french

37
Q

Apocope

A

abbrevations
e.g. cinéma

38
Q

Assimilation

A

a sound change in which some phonemes change to become more similar to other nearby sounds
e.g English “handbag” /ˈhændbæɡ/ often pronounced /ˈhæmbæɡ/

39
Q

Expressiveness in language change.

A

We sometimes want to be more expressive
e.g. Au jour d’aujourd’hui, “ne” seul négation en ancien français

40
Q

Analogy in language change.

A

= reduces word forms perceived as irregular by remaking them in the shape of more common forms. The mind wants recurrent patterns, it’s easier.
e.g. irregular verb who becomes regular through analogy.

41
Q

Grammaticalisation

A

When a lexical item develops a new grammatical function.
Could be considered a form of analogy.

e.g. “Going to” can indicate both movement and futurity : i’m going to read. When it used to be only for movement.
e.g. front / back (n) → front / back (preposition)

42
Q

Misperception factor in language change

A

Difference between what was produced and perceived.
e.g. An orange / a norange
[p] in typical-indo-european became [f] in germanic

43
Q

External factors of language change

A
  • contact between varieties and between languages
  • the political, economic, cultural, and technological environment

ex: 1066, England was invaded by the French (the Normans), French became the official language of the higher classes, of Court, for more than 200 years. English borrowed words from French. pork vs. pig

44
Q

What are the two models of language change

A
  • Tree model = like a family tree but inherent limitations of the tree model
  • Wave model = internal & external history and change
45
Q

Do all variants become the change?

A

No, some innovations are born but never get past the stage of variation

46
Q

Why certain variants become the change?

A

When an innovation becomes the preferred variants.
→ Prestige of a group, overt/covert prestige, acts of identity

The innovation will spread only if it’s imitated. → only if it’s felt to be admirable and worthy of imitation. Variation is linguistic and social.
Therefore, language change is usually linked with social change.

47
Q

What is accomodation?

A

The speaker alters their speech in order to make it closer to that of the interlocutor & vice versa. = convergence between the linguistic features of A & B.
Linked to belonging to multiple social networks

48
Q

Dense communication network

A
  • small, stable communities
  • few external contacts, few social changes
  • few linguistic innovations
  • high degree of social cohesion
49
Q

Loose communication network

A
  • larger, unstable communities
  • many external contacts, considerable social change
  • wide range of linguistic variants / many linguistic innovations.
  • Less internal accomodation, lack of social cohesion
50
Q

Who are the agents of change?

A

-Middle-class women (& working-class men)
-Someone belonging to multiple social network

51
Q

Why does a change occur at a particular time?

A

Major historical, social or ideological events
e.g :
- introduction of free education = possibility to be educated as a non RP speaker.
- email → mail (we don’t write letters anymore)
- A raise of the oral speeches culture in America = sound like the average Man
- 70’s = rejection of the RP because a more liberal ideology (from the political context post war)

52
Q

Explain glocalization

A

For the first time in history, there are more people speaking English whose native language is not English than native speakers. L2 > L1.

It never happened for any language before. This is bound to have an influence.

53
Q

Explain globish

A

If a Japanese and an Italian meet in czech Republic, they would speak English

54
Q

What is the levelling of accents in Britain?

A

Instead of small village accents, there is an urbanisation of accents.
> Usually the innovations are born in urban centres.

55
Q

Process of dialect levelling

A

an overall reduction in the variation or diversity of features between two or more dialects

56
Q

Why can we say that there is a dialect levelling in Britain?

A

small dialectal areas such as those shown on the SED map (Survey of English Dialects) are disappearing.

57
Q

Does the dialect levelling in Britain means there is less and less different dialects?

A

No! New supra-local dialects are emerging (centred around major urban centres) : those dialects are becoming less and less like one another.

58
Q

Vernacular

A

the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country/region.

59
Q

Code-switching

A

In linguistics, code-switching occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties

60
Q

The transition between Old & Middle English

A

Middle English was simplified because of the inflence Vikings.
→ The Vikings learned Old English as a pidgin
Children born from these marriages re-complexified the language
which became a creole.

61
Q

Pidgin (or pidgin language)

A

is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common

62
Q

What is the study in apparent time (apparent-time hypothesis)

A

Comparing the speech of individuals of different ages. = surveys different generations of a population at one point in time.

≠ Real-time study: tracks linguistic variables over time by collecting data from a speech community at multiple points in a given period. As a result, it provides empirical evidence for either stability or linguistic change.

Linguistic (7 decks)

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