Theorists For Language Change Flashcards
1
Q
Dr Samuel Johnson
A
- Published his Dictionary of the English Language, 1755
- This dictionary was larger and more thorough than earlier versions and helped to standardise spelling
- Initially strove to “fix” the English Language but found it impossible to achieve as it’s always changing
2
Q
Robert Lowth
A
- Published the first English grammar book, 1762
- Set out fundamental rules for “correct” usage
- Argued that some constructions such as multiple negation and split infinitives are grammatically wrong
- Advocated Latin-based rules
3
Q
Johnathan Swift
A
- 1712, sought to “ascertain” and “improve” the English language forever - wanted to appoint experts
- Thought the English language was in chaos
- Contractions are “inelegant” and corrupt the English language (caused them to go out of fashion)
- Criticises young sociolects which can be related to present day concerns e.g. youth dialects
4
Q
John Humphrys
A
- Dislikes text speak
- Dislikes tautology (unnecessary wording - “past history”)
- Dislikes incorrect pronoun usage
5
Q
Lynn Truss
A
- Eats, shoots & leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, 2003
- Bemoans the state of punctuation in the UK and US; says rules are being relaxed
- Concerned with the accurate use of apostrophes
- Blames 19th century custom of adding apostrophes before plural inflections of borrowed words e.g. banana’s
6
Q
Jean Aitchison
A
- A descriptivist
- Came up with a set of prescriptivist metaphors
- DAMP SPOON: some believe language change is caused by sloppiness or laziness
- CRUMBLING CASTLE: some see the English language as a beautiful old building which needs to be preserved. They consider the English language to have been carefully created until it reached the pinnacle of splendour and is now at risk. Aitchison argues there was never a “Golden Age” when language was used correctly by all.
- INFECTIOUS DISEASE: we “catch” change from those around us. Aitchison argues that people pick up change as they want to and choose appropriate language use for their context.
7
Q
David Crystal
A
- Internet has increased the rate of language change
- Against the idea that only the young use text-speech and that it’s ruining the English language
- Uses the metaphor of a tide to describe how language is always changing and disappearing
8
Q
Trudgill
A
- Language change is inevitable as society changes
- The misuse of a word/grammar doesn’t affect the user’s meaning or the listener’s understanding
9
Q
David Crystal (EMC)
A
- Electronically mediated communication
- Changed the way people use language and encourages language creativity
10
Q
Halliday
A
- Functional theory
- Language changes as society does
- New inventions and new social phenomena require new words to give them meaning e.g. The word selfie wasn’t around before 2002
11
Q
Charles F. Hockett
A
- Random fluctuation theory
- Language changes due to random error and events
- An example of a random error could be a predicted text error
- Events such as the COVID pandemic allowed for words such as social distancing to become common in everyday language use
- The misspelling of “owned” as “pwned” has become a common term in the gaming community
12
Q
Howard Giles
A
- Accommodation theory
- Convergence = adjusting speech to accommodate others e.g. when students talk to a teacher, they are likely to use less slang
- Divergence = exaggeration of their own accent to create distance e.g. to establish class
13
Q
Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf
A
- Sapir-Whorf theory
- Relectionism - language is based on the theory that a person’s language reflects their way of thinking
- Determinism - if people can be persuaded not to use such terms then it can determine a new way of thinking
- Grammatical genders and the subsequent connotations of words
14
Q
Bailey
A
- Wave model
- Geographical distance could have an effect on language change
- Similar to being close to the epicentre of an earthquake : person closest will be the more impacted, the person further away from a change in language is less likely to adapt to it.
- Example: A word adopted by multicultural youths in London is unlikely to affect white middle class speakers in Edinburgh
15
Q
Matthew Chen
A
- S curve model, 1972
- Users pick up language change at a gradual rate before it accelerates and spreads into wider usage before slowing down again and stabilising
- Aitchison calls this lexical diffusion
