theorists

Question 1

dr Samuel johnson (1755)

Answer 1

published his dictionary of the English language
- it was larger and more thourough than earlier versions
- standardised spelling
initially strove to fix English language but it is impossible to do so as language is always changing

Question 2

Robert lowth 1762

Answer 2

published the first English grammar book
- set out fundamental rules for ‘correct’ usage
- argued that some constructions are grammatically wrong
- eg. double negation, split infinitives

Question 3

jonathon swift 1712

Answer 3

sought to ‘ascertain’ and ‘improve’ the English language permanently
thought the english language was in chaos
wanted to appoint experts
contractions are inelegant and corrupt the English language
criticises young sociolects –> can be related to present day concerns (eg. neologisms introduced by young people)

Question 4

John Humphrys 2007

Answer 4

‘I H8 Txt Msgs’
- dislikes text speak e.g brb
- dislikes tautology (unnecessary - wording eg. past history)
dislikes incorrect pronoun usage

Question 5

‘americanisms’ (david crystal 2003)

Answer 5

• worries are often presented using metaphors of invasion and plague
• discourses that present american english as a threatening and dangerous outside influence
• the word ‘movie’ first apppeared in us english and then crossed the atlantic to grow popularity in the uk.
• american english provides all sorts of vernaculars and kargons which we have not had the wit to invent
• —- for example language from the pyscharists chair orginates from the us, “paranoid, pyscho, stressed out”

Question 6

which english words are borrowed from other languages?

often the dominat culture (or the culture percieved to have more prestige) lends more words than it borrows –> the process of excahnge is assymetrical

Answer 6

• victim (latin)
• piano (italian)
• cruise, yacht (dutch)
• alchohol (arabic)

Question 7

Jean aitchison: crumbling castle, damp spoon, infectious disease

aitchison uses these metaphors to prescriptivist attidues to language. she does not hold these beliefs herself (she is a descriptivist)

Answer 7

damp spoon:
- leaving a damp spoon in a pot of sugar
- implies people are lazy and disrespectul of language
e.g. glottal stops, and ‘g’ dropping

infectious disease:
changes to language are like germs that spread and infect peoples vocabulary
e.g. ‘text speak’ is often said to be infeting young peoples language

crumbling castle:
englis was at some point a ‘golden age’ and is now in a state of disrepair

Question 8

hallidays functional theory

Answer 8

language changes according to the needs of its users
- refers to lexical changes that often involved new technology or discoverie +advances
- e.g. ‘laptop’

Question 9

chens ‘s curve model’ + quick evaluation of s curve model

Answer 9

Language change progresses through a series phases, starting slowly, accelerating, and then slowing down again, forming an S shape on a graph
chen notes that no change can ever reach 100% because people resist change, particularly older people
- can use the example of the word ‘lol’

evaluation of this:
- chens s curve model can demonstrate that all change needs time in order to be effective
- - change is shown to be effective as long as it can move out of a social group or geographical area
e.g. MLE has started to have an effective change on language due to it spreading from london to places as far as manchester
- but change wont always be effective because people will always refuse to adopt changes

this model can be used to explain HOW language change spreads

Question 10

Baileys Wave model

can be used as a contrast point to chens wave model

Answer 10

language change works on the same basis as a drop of water hitting hitting the surface of a lake- creating ripples
the closer you are to the drop of water the stronger the ripple