Language Change

Timeline of Linguistic Development

• Old English (5th century)

• Middle English (11th century)

• Early Modern English (15th century)

• Modern English (18th century)

• Present Day English (20th century)

*early beginnings

What are the origins of English?

• In the 5th century, settlers from west Germany crossed over to Britain

• These tribes were called Saxons, Jutes and Angles. Then set up kingdoms called ‘East Anglia’ ‘West Saxon’ ‘East Saxon’ etc

• They spoke a dialect of the Germanic language and this slowly evolved into the English spoken today

What is Old English? (5th century)

• The language spoken by Germanic settlers developed in a different way to the forms that are now found in Germany, but English is still a Germanic language

• Viking invaders (8th century) brought with them parts of the North Germanic (Scandinavian) language which integrated into Old English

What is Middle English? (11th century)

• Norman invasions meant that French became the dominant language of the elite, whilst English remained the language of the masses

What are the features of Middle English? (11th century)

• Grammar became simpler, due to 2 languages having to co-exist

• French lexis became integrated, particularly legal and religious words such as justice, govern and sovereign

• Vowels became shorter eg leef became life and teem became time (the Great Vowel Shift)

• An estimated 85% of Old English words fell out of use

What is Early Modern English? (15th century)

• Caxton introduced the printing press to England in 1476

• Texts could now be mass produced which led to a process of standardisation that didn’t exist before. The South East dialect was used as a basis for this

• Shakespeare produced his work

• James I commissioned a translation of the Bible

What is Modern English? (18th century)

• English became increasingly standardised from 1700 onwards

• Johnson published the first ‘Dictionary of English’ in 1755, a task others had not been able to complete

• In 1762, Lowth published the first English grammar book, laying out ‘correct’ language usage

• Latin was upheld as the ideal language and was used as a model for English grammar, despite its separate structure

How had English continued to develop since the 20th century?

• Rail travel, colonial expansion, the spread of literacy and mass production of the printed word extended everyone’s access to a standard written form of English

• The Industrial Revolution changed the way people worked and lived their lives, so new words were needed

• English borrowed huge numbers of words from all over the world

• American English was becoming a language in its own right, with its own rules and spelling

What are the 4 drivers of language change?

• Travel and movement of people

• Invasion and colonisation

• Developments in technology

• Movements in class/politics

2024 Oxford English Dictionary: Word of the Year

• Our experts noticed that ‘brain rot’ gained new prominence this year as a term used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low quality online content

• The term increased in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024

• The first recorded use of ‘brain rot’ was found in 1854 in Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden, but has taken on new significance as an expression in the digital age

How are words of the year showing that English language is developing today?

• Heavily influenced by media and young people

• Platforms like Tiktok and Youtube spread new slang quickly and young people often create or popularise these terms

• Words like brain rot, demure, brat, dynamic pricing and lore have gained new meanings because of online trends, memes and youth culture

What is diachronic variation?

Linguistic change over time

What is diachronic study?

The study of language change over time

What is synchronic study?

The study of a language at a particular moment or time

Standardisation in the 18th century:

• Developments in technology and written word meant there was a need to standardise the English language

• In 1746 a group of London booksellers contacted Johnson to write a dictionary of the English language for 1500 guineas (around £310,000)

• Johnson made various editions throughout his life, but the next comprehensive dictionary was not published until the first Oxford English Dictionary in 1928

Johnson’s Dictionary:

• Cared about the language shared by the great writers in English, which he believed, was the best model for the entire community of English speakers

• He tried to cover as much of the actual English vocabulary as he could, while not neglecting those who needed help with the obscure words that appeared in literature

• Admitted that he was unable to cover the spoken language, especially the words that were limited to small communities “I could not visit caverns to learn the miner’s language, nor take a voyage to perfect my skill in the dialect of navigation”

• He had little interest in dialect or regional variation

What were the problems with Johnson’s dictionary?

• Creating the dictionary was a lot of power for one person to have. Johnson was able to decide what words deserved entry into his dictionary, and whose definitions and spellings he agreed with

• Not everyone liked Johnson’s work. When it was exported to America, Webster said “Great Britain, whose children we are, and whose language we speak, should no longer be our standard; for the taste of her writers is already corrupted, and her language on the decline”

Académie Française

• The French academy is the authority for the French language (another attempt at standardisation)

• This institution is responsible for publishing the official French dictionary

• The first complete French dictionary was published in 1694

• The academy tries to influence the development of the French language (particularly when it comes to anglicisms)

Language reflects…

…whatever is happening in society at that time. This often means that we need lots of new words for every new thing that happens or is experienced

Aitchison: 4 stages of lexical development

1. Potential for change: a practical or social reason

2. Implementation of change: someone will coin a word to fill a practical or social need

3. Diffusion of usage: the change spreads or ‘ripples out’ through users. Most likely time to see semantic shifts

4. Codification of usage: the neologism enters the dictionary, citing dates and examples of usage as they have been observed

Bailey’s Wave Model:

• Language change happens in the same way that a drop of water creates waves

• Those closest to the change (the drop of water) will experience it most intensely, and those further away will experience it less

• Eg the spread of MLE which was felt intensely in London and took time to spread to other areas of the UK

Crystal’s 7 Processes of Lexical Development

• Neologism/coinage

• Loan words/borrowing

• Compounding

• Blending

• Affixation

• Conversion

• Back formation

Define ‘neologism/coinage’

The deliberate creation of a new word (not a common process of word formation). Eg hobbit, spoof, meme, selfie

Define ‘loan words/borrowing’

Borrowing of words/concepts from other languages. Usually done where the concept has not been encountered in the native language. Eg futon, tsunami, bungalow, chocolate

Define ‘compounding’

Words are combined to form new words. They can be open (eg long winded), hyphenated (eg user-friendly) or closed (eg handheld)

Define ‘blending’

A combination of clipping and compounding, words are abbreviated and joined together to form a new word. Eg moped, newscast, staycation, hangry

Define ‘affixation’

One or more free morphemes are combined with one or more bound morphemes. Eg regift, disinterest, selfless

Define ‘conversion’

A word shifts from one word class to another, usually a noun to a verb. Eg text, network, google

Define ‘back formation’

A verb is created from a noun by removing a suffix. Eg liaise from liaison, locate from location

What are the 3 ways of shortening words?

• Clipping

• Acronym

• Initialism

Define ‘clipping’

When the shortened form of a word becomes the norm. Eg celeb, phone, gym, flu, deli, pram

Define ‘acronym’

The first letters are taken from words to create a new term, pronounced as a single word. Eg NATO, NASA, RAM

Define ‘initalism’

The first letters are taken from words to create a new term, each letter is pronounced separately. Eg BBC, FBI, CD, MP3

Random Fluctuation Theory: Hockett

Language is inherently unstable and the change is random and unpredictable. Random events and errors lead to change. Eg ‘duck’ through predictive texting, ‘oops’ likely being spontaneous

The Young Cuckoo Process

New words slowly get used more than the old and eventually the new word will replace the old (kicking them out of the nest). This is what causes change. Eg who displacing whom, awesome displacing splendid

Swift’s (Prescriptivist) take on lexical development…

Published ‘A Proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue’ in 1712, 40 years before Johnson’s dictionary. His main issues were

• Vagueness (‘poverty of conversation’)

• Shortened words

• Unnecessary contractions (he blamed poets for this)

• Words ‘invented by some petty fellow’

What is an inkhorn and what did it symbolise?

• An inkhorn is where ink for a quill would have been stored

• It was a symbol of self importance. It indicated that you were wealthy, well off, educated and concerned with academia

The Inkhorn Controversy:

• After French rule, in the 16th and 17th century, people took great pride in the use of English as it transitioned from Middle English to Early Modern English

• But writers and some scholars still favoured Greek and Latin and were using loan words from these languages

• These words became known as ‘inkhorn terms’ and were harshly criticised. People believed English shouldn’t have to rely on other languages and instead new or obsolete English words should be used eg ‘gleeman’ and ‘musician’

• Few of the new words coined to replace existing loan words succeeded

What are 2 examples of semantic change?

Nice → Originally meant ‘foolish’ or ‘silly’

Awful → Originally meant ‘inspiring wonder’ (as in, ‘full of awe’)

What are the 6 processes of semantic change?

• Narrowing

• Weakening

• Amelioration

• Broadening

• Functional shift

• Pejoration

Define ‘semantic narrowing’

Meaning of a word narrows. ‘Meat’ used to mean food in general

Define ‘semantic weakening’

A word loses its impact. ‘Terrible’ used to mean causing terror

Define ‘semantic amelioration’

Meaning becomes more positive. ‘Pretty’ used to mean cunning

Define ‘semantic broadening’

Meaning of a word broadens. ‘Butcher’ used to mean slaughterer of goats

Define ‘functional shift’

Word class changes. ‘Text’ (noun) ‘To text’ (verb)

Define ‘semantic pejoration’

Meaning becomes more negative. ‘Notorious’ meant well known

Why does semantic change happen?

• Social need

• Political correctness

• Technological advancement

• Social attitudes, awareness and acceptance of others

• Cultural influences

• Internal influences such as similarities in word function (virus meaning infection makes it the right word for a computer virus)

“A few bad apples” → Semantic change

The phrase originally meant that one bad person can corrupt the whole group (like one rotten apple spoiling a barrel). Over time, its meaning flipped, now its often used to excuse bad behaviour. It changed because people no longer store applies in barrels, and without barrels the visual metaphor faded. A 1970s pop song reversed the meaning, suggesting one bad person doesn’t ruin the group. Politicians and media used it to protect institutions, helping the meaning stick

What are the benefits of standardisation?

• Easy to assess ability

• Allows a curriculum to be created based on a ‘standard’

• Clearer communication

• Learning becomes easier

• Creates consistency

• Set/signify societies norms and values

• Easier for non native speakers to learn

• Positive for global communication

What are the drawbacks of standardisation?

• Limits creativity

• Created and reinforced by the elite

• Standard English creates a hierarchy: m/c and u/c children will be taught the standard at home and in school, whereas w/c children will not experience this

What are 4 examples of standardisation attempts?

• Caxton’s printing press

• French Academie

• Johnson’s dictionary

• Plain english campaign

Milroy and Milroy: Standardisation

Standardisation is morally questionable - our standard is based on the speech habits of the wealthy elite and this does not reflect all of society equally

Robert Lowth (1762)

• Inspired by Swift

• Believed Latin was the ‘gold standard’ before it began to decay, wanted English to follow the same rules as Latin

• Wrote ‘A Short Introduction to English Grammar: with critical notes’

• Was so successful he reissued his book 45 times in 38 years

What are Lowth’s rules?

• ‘Who’ and ‘whom’ should be distinguished between

• ‘Will’ and ‘shall’ should be distinguished between

• Multiple negation and multiple comparison is illogical

• Prepositions should go before the noun and should never end sentences

• The infinitive verb should not be split eg ‘to go’ is correct, ‘to boldly go’ is not

• When ‘en’ follows a vowel, the ‘e’ should be dropped, like ‘drawn’ not ‘drawen’

US Simplified Spelling Board

• Group formed in 1906 in the US. Its goal was to simplify English spelling to make reading and writing easier

• They suggested changes like: tho instead of though; thru instead of through; catalog instead of catalogue

• Some of their suggestions caught on but many were rejected or ignored. The board eventually faded out by the 1920s

Grammatical changes…

• The establishment of a standard form of English (its lexicon and spelling organised in the dictionary) meant attention turned to grammar rules in the 18th and 18th centuries

• ‘Correct’ grammar began to be associated with social status and ‘bad’ grammar was seen as a sign of lower social status

• The desire for correct grammar led to the explosion of grammar guides

The King’s English Society

A UK based organisation founded in 1972. Aims to preserve the proper use of standard English and fight what it sees as the decline of language standards, especially in grammar, punctuation and spelling

• It promotes standard English as the ‘correct’ form

• Opposes slang, text speak and modern informal usage

• It once tried to open an Academy of English to regulate the language (like France’s Academie Francaise) but it was mocked and later shut down

Jacob Reese-Mogg: Language rules

Banning words such as ‘hopefully’ ‘got’ ‘equal’ and using old fashioned titles like Esq. show that he prefers tradition, formality and strict order. He dislikes modern or casual language even when its widely used. This suggests he has a very conservative personality that values hierarchy. Critics say his rules are outdated and ignore how language naturally changes over time

What is ‘th-fronting’?

When speakers replace the ‘th’ sound with ‘f’ - saying ‘fink’ rather than ‘think’. This is a feature of Estuary English

What is uptalk?

Since the 1990s, uptalk has increased. Uptalk is when someone ends a sentence with rising intonation, making it sound like a question even if it’s not

What is omission?

When sounds are missed out. Not in a lazy or sloppy way, but in a way that makes language more fluent and flow more clearly. ‘Innit’ instead of ‘isn’t it’

What are -ing endings?

Before the 19th century -ing was pronounced -in (like in many regional accents today), even by mid/upper classes

What are 4 examples of contemporary phonological change?

• Th-fronting

• Uptalk

• Omission

• -ing endings

The Great Vowel Shift:

• Most significant shift in pronunciation (mid 14th to 18th centuries)

• First studied by Jesperson who coined the term

• Long vowels of Middle English changed significantly from long to short eg ‘leef’ to life

The Great Vowel Shift as a natural change…

• No one is sure why the Great Vowel Shift, but it was gradual

• It may be linked to French loanwords, or the presence of French generally, it could be the plague - which meant that many people migrated to fill the labour shortage

• Thousands of words were impacted including toe -> to, weef -> wife, moos → mouse, bayn → been, heer → her

Halliday - Functional Theory

• Language changes and adapts according to the needs of its users

• Words disappear over time (becoming archaic) and neologisms are created due to need

• Suggests that there’s a certain logic to language changes - changes reflect the sociocultural and technical climate we’re living in

Making a conscious choice to change how they sound…

• Case study: Mike Jagger sounds like the prime minister, obliged to maintain the language he was taught as a southern middle class Londoner → now is trying to sound like he is working class

• Case study: David Beckham peaking ‘posher’ now, consonants at the end of words, opening his mouth more. He is doing this to change the impression he makes

• Case study: Baroness Thatcher took voice coaching to sound like a man, made her voice more posh as the political party she was in (conservative) doesn’t care about the working class

• Case study: Tony Blair had a very privileged upbringing (privately educated) but then took on a Cockney accent to appeal to a working class audience, which his political party was aimed at

Double check ppt 28

What are the advantages of texting?

• Relative synchrony and turn taking

• Allows people to multi task, unlike phone conversations, users can text while engaged in other activities

• Users can draft and modify their text messages to ensure that the message they send is as ‘appropriate’ to the context as they wish

• Avoids the difficulty or embarrassment of face to face interaction

• Text messaging allows users to blend language with images, enhancing meaning

• Emojis can be used to supplement meaning

What are the disadvantages of texting?

• Accessibility: the effective use of SMS is dependent on the user’s ability to access it primarily through fine motor skills

• Privacy: conversations no longer exist purely between two people but become tangible

• Misinterpretation: intonation can be hard to replicate through text

• Cost: less of an issue today but in the past you had to pay per letter

Shortis’s Disinhibition Theory

Texting is so popular as it..

• Closely replicates and simulates dialogue

• Allows people to limit the threat to face when having challenging conversations eg asking someone on a date

How does social media drive language change?

• Social media algorithms (trending audios and hashtags)

• Language is spread like a virus, infecting people through online networks

• Influencers are accomplices to language change

• Social media algorithms want people to identify with labels eg you see a cottage core TikTok and then begin to label yourself as a ‘cottage core person’. These subcultures are the new demographics

What are the dangers of social media driving language change?

• The algorithm produces space for hate groups

• Words lose their etymology (the origin of words)

• Encourages the appropriation of words

Algospeak:

Refers to the use of coded or altered language to avoid algorithmic censorship (eg ‘unalive’ instead of ‘dead’). It reflects how users adapt their language to work around content moderation systems. Positive → it shows adaptability and linguistic creativity. Negative → it can limit clear communication and lead to fragmented understanding

Because Internet: Understanding New Rules of Language

Book that explores how the internet has shaped modern informal writing, especially in online conversations. It examines how digital communication has its own grammar, tone and social cues. The internet encourages more casual, expressive and creative language. Features like emojis, acronyms (eg LOL) and tone indicators (eg /s for sarcasm) has become more common. Positive → enriches conversation and shows how language evolves to suit new contexts, reflects real time innovation in how we express ourselves

Words of the Year and Modern Technology

Many WOTY selected by dictionaries like Oxford are influenced by digital culture and technology (eg selfie, emoji, vax). Technology introduces new vocabulary and changes how quickly words become widespread through online platforms. Some words gain new meanings based on digital use. Positive → shows how dynamic and responsive language is, language stays relevant to modern life

What is the history behind emojis and their spread?

• In 1998 the first set of emojis were created for a Japanese web company

• Emoji is a loan word from Japanese meaning picture character

• They began spreading globally in 2011 when Unicode incorporated them

• By 2015 they were used by over 90% of online users, with over 6 billion being sent each day

• They are a cultural ‘phenomenon’ and one of the latest examples of the ‘inventiveness’ of human communication

Saergant: Understanding emojis

• Emojis aren’t a language, Saergant describes them as a ‘visual based communication system’

• Links them to runes and hieroglyphics as previous forms of pictorial communication

• To understand emojis you need to share a cultural understanding and own a phone network

Saergant: How do emojis take on their own meaning?

• Like spoken language, emojis evolve to have meanings different from their intended meaning, though they are ‘more whimsical than logical’

• The peach emoji had a 2016 update which made it look more like the fruit, but there were complaints and media noise, so it was changed back

Saergant: Politicising emojis

Emojis are ‘beginning to evolve as a critical language and are being used to express and contest political meaning

• “Young campaigners want more diverse hairstyle emojis”

• “Spoons are becoming a symbol of feds’ resistance to Trump and Musk”

• “Apple introduces non binary emojis with a new set of inclusive faces”

What does Saergant conclude from the emoji revolution?

• Software companies have begun prescribing meanings of emoji through predictive text pre-empts (which changes creative expression)

• They are problematic for legal contexts as they are an unreliable and changeable system

• They are the ‘close cousins of memes’

• In the Unicode Consortium, they add 60 to 100 new emojis each year. But the new symbols can’t be logos or brands, a specific person or God (too culturally transient)

What is the Sapir Whorf hypothesis?

• Strong version (linguistic determinism): language determines how we think. If you don’t have a word for something, you can’t think about it

• Weak version (linguistic relativity): language influences how we think, but doesn’t completely control it

What is linguistic determinism?

Suggests that language determines the way we talk

**Linguistic determinism was quickly discredited due to a lack of evidence

What is linguistic relativity?

Suggests language only influences thought

What evidence is there for linguistic relativity?

• Grammatical gender can influence the way people describe objects in languages such as German or Spanish

• Teaching people new colour words has been shown to change their ability to identify colours

• English speakers unconsciously sway their bodies forward when thinking about the future and back when thinking about the past. But in Aymara, a language spoken in the Andes, the past is said to be in front and the future behind and the gestures people use follow this pattern

What is political correctness?

Refers to the language intended to cause the least offence or hurt (often ridiculed for being too ‘woke’)

What is the history behind political correctness?

• Gone through a lot of semantic shifts

• Originally used to describe following the ‘party line’ in an authoritarian state (referencing the Soviet Union)

• Used by US conservatives to ridicule left wing policies and ideas in education. Has since been used by all parts of the political spectrum to criticise the other

Oxfam Inclusive Language Guide

Encourages using language that respects all people regardless of gender, race or background. It advises avoiding biased or harmful terms and using words that promote equality and inclusivity - like using ‘people’ instead of ‘mankind’ and gender neutral job titles like ‘firefighter’ instead of ‘fireman’

Positive → sparked important conversations about equality in language and encouraged organisations to reflect on word choices. Negative → some people and media outlets accused it of being overly politically correct or limiting free speech

Crystal: Technology is making language become ‘expressively richer’

• New forms of writing (like texting, memes, emojis) add creativity and emotion

• People now have more ways to play with language, experimenting with spelling, tone and structure

• Far from ‘ruining’ language, online communication expands how we express ourselves

What is linguistic reflectionism?

• The idea that language reflects the wider views, opinions and beliefs of society

• Close to the idea of linguistic functionalism → language serves specific functions for the user, these could be social, instructional or very literal

The Euphemism Treadmill

• Euphemisms are often created for concepts that are taboo in nature. Eg latrine → water closet → toilet → bathroom → restroom

• Over time these words become pejorative and a new word is created to replace them

• This is often the case in terms of race, ethnicity, disability and sexuality

Pinker (1994)

“The euphemism treadmill shows us that concepts, not words, are in charge: give a concept a new name, and the name becomes coloured by the concept: the concept does not become freshened by the name. We will know we have achieved equality and mutual respect when names for minorities stay put”

Deborah Cameron → Verbal hygiene

Efforts to control language - such as prescriptive grammar rules, political correctness, gender neutral language and professional communication guidelines - reflect broader anxieties about social order, identity and power. While some forms of verbal hygiene can be beneficial (eg efforts to make language more inclusive), others may reinforce inequalities or suppress linguistic diversity

Verbal hygiene → Gender

Cameron argues that policing women’s speech helps reinforce traditional gender roles and is a form of verbal hygiene. She explains that language reforms can also be considered verbal hygiene, though their effectiveness varies. However she warns that simply changing language without addressing deeper social attitudes is superficial = both must evolve together

Verbal hygiene → Political correctness

• PC is a form of verbal hygiene that attempts to regulate speech to align with particular moral or ideological goals (often challenges traditional hierarchies)

• Cameron believes that PC has been misrepresented in public discourse, meaning people have problems with it being ‘restrictive’

• She supports the intention behind PC language, but focusing too much on words can lead to superficial change rather than addressing systemic inequalities

What does Cameron conclude about verbal hygiene?

Cameron argues that all societies engage in linguistic regulation to some degree. Whether its enforcing grammatical correctness in schools or promoting respectful language in professional settings, verbal hygiene is a constant process shaped by cultural values and power relations. Political correctness is not new in this sense

Tebbitt (1985)

“If you allow standards to slip to the stage where good English is no better than bad English, where people turn up filthy… at school… all those things tend to cause people to have no standards at all, and once you lose standards then there’s no imperative to stay out of crime”

Aitchison (1997)

Three metaphors for language change from prescriptivist ideals

• The crumbling castle sees English as an ornate building to be preserved and protected, this implies there was a time when it was ‘complete’ or whole

• The infectious disease suggests that language change is something that spreads, and is caught, not through natural evolution

• The damp spoon implies that English speakers have become lazy, and any old nonsense will stick

Ebner (2017)

• Indirect method approach, 63 participants given a piece of test and asked to identify language issues

• The two social variables tested were age and gender

• Ebner found that older participants were much more likely to identify and correct issues than younger participants. Women were also more likely to demonstrate ‘linguistic intolerance’