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
16
Q
Milroy and Milroy
A
- Language change is inevitable and should not be fought against
- They argued against the high status of standard English
- Standardisation is an ongoing process and an ideological struggle
- Selection - codification - elaboration - implementation
- Weak tie theory - language change is propagated by the people who are second order members of social networks
17
Q
James Milroy
A
- Children can’t read or write properly
- Tries to disprove the idea of a “Golden Age” of language
- He does not feel that spelling tests are the best way to grasp language
- Aitchison would support Milroy as she feels language is continually developing and not deteriorating because of generation change
18
Q
McWhorter
A
- Explored different options for gender neutral pronouns
- Promotes the use of “they”
- Considers gender neutral pronouns offered on the Gender Neutral pronoun Blog e.g. Xe/Xem
19
Q
McKinnon
A
Categorises the attitudes people may have to language use
Language use as correct or incorrect
Language use as pleasant or ugly
Language examples as socially acceptable or unacceptable
Language examples as morally acceptable or unacceptable
Language examples as appropriate or inappropriate in their context
20
Q
Vvyan Evans (2017 The Emoji Code)
A
- Offers the argument that emojis offer a real affordance in language and allow us to become better communicators
- They can work as helpful non-verbal cues allowing us to better express our emotions and attitudes in written language
- Multi-modal system of communication
- Help to avoid the ‘angry jerk’ phenomenon (misinterpreting the meaning of digital communication)
21
Q
Kachru (1992)
A
- Three circles of English
- Inner circle - varieties by which others are measured - norm-providing e.g. UK, USA
- Outer circle - countries’ own varieties became developed - norm-developing e.g. India
- Expanding circle - English used for practical purposes rather than cultural integration - norm-dependent e.g. China
22
Q
Criticisms of Kachru’s three circles of English
A
- Doesn’t address the diversity of Englishes within the circles
- ‘Inner’ and ‘outer’ suggests value judgements about better usage
- Preceded the role of the internet whose usage has blurred distinction between English users
23
Q
McArthur (1987)
A
- Circle of World English
- ‘World Standard English’ best represented by ‘Written International English’
- Second circle is made of regional standards or emerging standards
- Outer layer consists of localised varieties which may have similarities with the regional or emerging standards
24
Q
Criticisms of McArthur’s circle of World English
A
- ENL, ESL and EFL are conflated in the second circle
- Multitude of Englishes in Europe are missing in the second layer
- Outside layer includes pidgins, creoles and L2 Englishes but most scholars would argue that they do not belong to one family
25
Q
Schneider
A
- Dynamic model of post colonial Englishes
- Phase 1 - Foundation
- Phase 2 - Exonormative stabilisation
- Phase 3 - Nativisation
- Phase 4 - Endonormative stabilisation
- Phase 5 - Differentiation
26
Q
Jennifer Jenkins
A
English as a lingua Franca:
- Allows communication with people who speak different languages
- An alternative to EFL
- Likely to include standard English
- Accommodation and code-switching
- Language proficiency in speakers may be low or high
