Theories On Language Change Flashcards
What is prescriptivism?
The notion that language should be fixed, prescribing yo a set standard of rules for language usage, with any shift from these or standards being seen incorrect
What is descriptivism?
Where no judgement or negative attitude is imposed on language change, but an examination of language as it is and how it is used
What is coinage/neologisms?
The deliberate creation of a new word (e.g. widget, hobbit and spoof)
What are borrowed/loan words?
Borrowing of words/concepts from other languages. Words are either anglicised (so that we no longer recognise them as loan words) or they may retain their original spelling or phonology (e.g. bungalow from Hindi)
What is compounding?
Words are combined together to form new words (e.g. user-friendly, long winded and handheld)
What is clipping?
Words are shortened and the shortened form becomes the norm (e.g. pram, bus, phone, gym, deli and flu)
What is blending?
A combination of clipping and compounding: words are abbreviated and joined together to form a new word (e.g. moped- moter + pedal, newscast- news + broadcast)
What is an acronym?
First letters are taken from a series of words to create a new term (e.g. NATO, AIDS)
What is initialism?
The first letter from a series of words form a new term, but each letter is pronounced (e.g. CD, MP3 and OMG)
What is affixation?
One or more free morphemes are combined with one or more bound morphemes (e.g. disinterest, marketeer and regift)
What is a Functional Shaft?
A word shifts from one word class to another, usually from a noun to a verb (e.g. text, google and network)
What is eponym?
Names of a person or company are used to define particular objects. Often they are the inventors ir distributors of the object (e.g. pasteurise, galvanise, botcott and silhouette)
What do new words need?
For new words to become a part of the language, there must be a need for them, or they must refer to something new
What is Neosemy?
The process whereby a new meaning develops from an existing word
What is Broadening?
The meaning of a word broadens so that it retains its old meaning but takes on added meaning(s): holiday- originally from ‘holy day’; in the past people were often only permitted a day off during days of religous importance
What is Narrowing?
The opposite of broadening- a word becomes more specific in meaning: meat- the Old English ‘mete’ used to mean food in general but now refers to a specific type of food
What is Amelioration?
Over time a word acquires a more pleasant or more positive meaning: pretty- used to mean sly or cunning
What is Pejoration?
The opposite of Amelioration- over time a word becomes less favourable: villain- uses to mean ‘farm worker’
What is Bleaching?
The loss of the force of a meaning of a word: thing- in Old English this referred to a meeting or assembly but now can refer to an unspecified object or anything
What is a Metaphor? In language change
Words acquire additional meanings as physcial ideas are extended to abstract ideas with similar qualities, allowing abstract ideas to be more clearly understood: grasp- to physcially grasp something, or to grasp an idea
What is a Euphimism?
The creation of a polite expression for things that may be considered unpleasant
What is Polysemy?
Words acquire many possible meanings, which coexist with the orignal: foot: when he got to the foot of the hill, he twisted his foot
What is the Academie Francaise? When was it founded?
Institution set up to make French a pure language in 1635
Key facts about the Academie Francaise?
- Was halted in the French Revolution then restored in 1803 by Napoleon
- First dictionary was released in 1687 compared to England’s one in 1775
- Run by immortals, self elected officials
What is Cockney Rhyming slang?
A cryptolect originating from canting, now using noun phrases such as ‘apples and pears’ to form words
What is dialect levelling?
In linguistics, dialect levelling is the reduction of differences between dialects over time. Tends to happen when speakers of different dialects come together into contact
What is a Matched Guise Test?
Uses recorded voices speaking first in one dialect then another, listeners do not know its the same person but judge the two guises of the same speaker as two speakers
When was the King James Bible released? What were some key facts about it
-Released in 1661
-With 47 scholars taking 7 years to make
Considered the best bible for 400 years, the greatest piece of literature
What were some popular idioms that came from the bible?
- ‘Blind leading the blind’ 15:14
- ‘Old as the hills’ Job 15:7
What were the steps in Milroys creation for a language standard 1985?
- Selection- language is selected
- Codification- establishment of some norms of Lexis and grammar
- Elaboration- expansion of linguistic features and developed for a variety of purposes
- Implementation- language is given currency by making texts available to the public
Who was Samuel Johnson? What were some key facts about him
- English critic, biographer and poet
- 1755 published a dictionary, most up to date and had notes on the word usage
- Not the first, as Thomas Elliot came before in 1538 under Henry 8th and Richard Mulcasters list
When was the OED released?
1888
What is the crumbling castle fallacy?
Language is precious, shouldn’t be changed and needs to be looked after
What is the damp spoon fallacy?
Carelessness, laziness, people corrupting the purity of language
What is the infectious disease fallacy?
Misuse is a disease, people catch ‘wrong’ language and spread it. Though change is involuntary it’s voluntary
