Language Variation Over Time Flashcards by Katie Adeosun

How does language change?

Syntactically
Morphologically
Spelling and Orthography
Standardisation
Neologisms
Loan words
Semantically shifts
Register, pragmatics, discourse

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Why does language change?

Technology
Changes in social attitudes
Changes in attitudes to language
Prescriptivism
Descriptivism
To define new groups and express these identifies

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What effect did the British Empire have on English?

Took words from the Commonwealth

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What are the 3 periods of English and their approximate dates?

Early Modern, 1500-1800
Late Modern, 1800-1960
Contemporary (present day), 1960-2024

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What effect did the scientific Renaissance of the 18th century have on English?

Wrote things in English rather than Latin

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What are loan words, and where do they come from?

Words taken from other languages- they come from Anglo Saxons (germanic), the Vikings (old norse) and Norman French (latin)

Additionally from conquest and trade, the United States and English creoles

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What are the three main languages that influenced English?

Germanic
Old norse
Norman French/Latin

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Name the 7 ways that neologisms (new words) can be created:

Conversion
Compounding
Blending
Clipping
Affixation
Acronyms
Eponym

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What is a conversion? Give an example

When you take a noun and turn it into a verb

For example ‘ghost’ becomes ‘ghosting’

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What is a compound? Can you give an example?

Putting two existing words together

E.g Cryptocurrency

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Define a blend and provide an example.

Mashing two words together, such as ‘hangry’ (hungry and angry)

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What is clipping? Provide an example.

When you shorten a word e.g ‘inspo’ instead of inspiration.

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What is affixation? Give an example.

When you combine pieces of words together to express an idea

An example is ‘nomophobia’ (no mobile phobia)

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What is an acronym? Can you provide an example?

When you take the initials of words to create its own word and represent an idea.

For example, FOMO ( Fear Of Missing Out)

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What is an eponym? Give an example.

A proper noun that is turned into a common noun

E.g Laslo Biro invented a pen which is referred to as a Biro

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Name 6 processes of semantic change.

Amelioration
Pejoration
Semantic Broadening
Semantic Narrowing
Semantic Bleaching
Metaphor

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Define amelioration and give an example.

When words become more positive over time.

An example is ‘fond’, which originally meant ‘sticking’ but now means having an affection or liking for something.

What is pejoration? Give an example.

Making words more negative over time. E.g ‘villain’ meant any peasant, but now it has evil connotations.

What is semantic broadening? Can you give an example?

When words widen from having a more specific, to a more general meaning. E.g ‘dog’ used to refer to only one specific breed, whereas now it means all breeds of dog

Define semantic narrowing. Give an example.

When words narrow from having a more general meaning, to a more specific meaning.

For example, ‘girl’ originally referred to all children, whereas now, it is used to describe a female child.

Describe semantic bleaching and provide an example.

When words lose their original intensity. Such as ‘Starving’ or ‘fantastic’.

What is a metaphor? Give an example.

Whe words hop from one semantic field to another, because of a similarity e.g ‘the dinner was a lump of coal’.

What is another name for contemporary English?

Present Day English (P.D.E)

Define standardisation.

The process by which English acquired rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation.

What is the vernacular?

The language that is used everyday.

What was the Renaissance? Give the approximate date.

'Re-birth' - When arts, literature, architecture and culture changed. Between 1400-1700.

What was the biggest change that drove standardisation?

The printing press

What was a big change during standardisation? When was it?

The Great Vowel Shift- 1500

Who founded the printing press?

Johnny Gutenberg

What is Prescriptivism?

The belief that there are 'correct' and 'incorrect' forms of language and that people's language use needs regulating.

Who theorised that there is a Prescriptivist attitude towards language?

Jean Aitchison

What is Aitchison's 'crumbling castle' metaphor?

The language use of the past was perfect and since then language use has decayed i.e 'crumbled'.

What is Aitchison's 'damp spoon' metaphor?

People use language lazily and can't be bothered to do language properly.

What is Aitchison's 'infectious disease' metaphor?

Language change will spread through a population like a disease.

Who coined the theory of informalisation?

Goodman

What is Goodman's theory of informalisation?

1. Blurring of formal and informal boundaries e.g the use of colloquialisms, contractions and conversational tone used in formal settings. 2. Conversationalisation of written language e.g adopting features typical of spoken language like 'you' or 'we', rhetorical questions and informal expressions. 3. Rise of digital communication e.g the Internet, social media and texting have encouraged a relaxed, casual style of writing that often crosses over into other contexts like emojis and abbreviations. 4. Audience engagement and relatability e.g a shift in focus towards engaging and connecting with audiences on a more personal level. Particularly important for brands, politicians and organisations to build rapport and loyalty. 5. Erosion of language hierarchies e.g traditionally formal language was seen as 'proper' whilst informal language was viewed as less serious or professional, however informalisation challenges this hierarchy, demonstrating that informal language can be effective, professional and even persuasive in a variety of contexts. This shift also reflects broader social changes towards inclusivity, individuality and authenticity, where rigid formalities are seen as potentially alienating or outdated.

Who coined the theory of 'strong' and 'weak' ties?

Milroys

What are 'strong' and 'weak' ties?

'Strong' ties are the few, more intimate relationships you have with your closer friends and family. 'Weak' ties are the many less intimate relationships you share with other people in your life.

One theorist believes that language change is inevitable. Who are they? Amd what attitude do they adopt?

Crystal- adopts are more descriptivist attitude.

What are some of the effects of grammatical change, seen in more contemporary texts?

A move towards more conversational structures, through: - loss of inflections - loss of Standard English rules - loss of the complexity of sentences - differing pronoun use e.g more use of 'you' and 'we', typical of spoken language.

What is Descriptivism?

The interest in describing and explaining how language is really used- not interested in setting rules for people or regulating people's language use.