Technology

Question 1

Printing press

Answer 1

William Caxton 1435
Big impact!
‘Debt’ and ‘doubt’ Latin link so wanted to preserve it

‘Might’ pronounced ‘meet’ before great vowel shift

Eyren language used in books before printing press

Question 2

Hockett’s random fluctuation and cultural transmission theory
(1958)

Answer 2

some examples of language change which are not logical and appear random. Users can make mistakes and gradually become established and moved on.

eg slang ‘pwned’ meaning ‘owned’ in game is derived from typo as ‘o’ and ‘p’ are close to each other on the QWERY keyboard

Question 3

Fairclough (1996) Informalisation

Answer 3

Mixed mode on social media coined - informalistaion - blurring traditional sharp distinction between genres speech and writing

Twitter - blending, abbreviating, altered spelling
Stigmatised forms - double negatives - covert prestige

Question 4

Prestige and stigmatised forms

Answer 4

Prestige - well established, associated with powerful social groups

Stigmatised- ‘innit’ not used in professional settings