Standardisation (language change)

Question 1

What did Suzanne Romaine (1998) class as Internal Change?

Answer 1

Factors within language, e.g. the influence of dictionaries or the omission of certain sounds.

Question 1

What did Suzanne Romaine (1998) class as External Change?

Answer 1

Changing social context, ideologies, technology or inventions.

Question 2

List the four stages in the process of Standardisation.

Answer 2

Selection, Codification, Elaboration and Implementation.

Question 3

What is Random Fluctuation?

Answer 3

The idea that language change is entirely random and can change either rapidly like fashion or slowly.

Question 4

Explain the process of Foreign Bodies (the Substratum theory).

Answer 4

Immigrants arrive in a new country and learn its language, but with imperfections. They then pass that down to future generations.

Question 5

Explain the concept of Substratum vs. Borrowing.

Answer 5

When we learn a new language, we impose the syntax, grammar and pronunciation on it.