LANGUAGE CHANGE :D

how do words enter our lexicon

• loan words

• pre-existing words are adapted using morphology

• brand new words are created

what is an example of an Anglicised loan word

• Damsel, from the French damoisele

• Alligator from the Spanish al lagarto

what is an example of a non-anglicised loan word

• Bonsai from Japanese

• Vodka from Russian

what factors influence language change

• cultural changes in the media

• political and ideological change

• language of science and technology

• wars or invasions

• migration, travel, the globalisation of the British Empire

give examples of loan words

• cannibal- Caribbean

• pyjamas- India

• anonymous- Greek

what is a free morpheme

a morpheme that occurs in isolation, standing alone as a full word

free morpheme example

dog

what is a bound morpheme

a morpheme that cannot occur in isolation and has to be joined to a free morpheme

example of a bound morpheme

most prefixes and suffixes eg ‘ish’

what is a grapheme

individual letters making up a morph

what is a portmanteau / blend word

when two words are each shortened and combined to give a new word

what is a compound word

when two words are put together in their entirety to create a new word

examples of clipped / shortened words

• gymnasium → gym

• public house → pub

• omnibus → bus

what’s the difference between an initialism and an acronym

• with an initialism, each individual letter is pronounced in isolation

• with an acronym, the letters of the abbreviation are pronounced by a word

what is back-formation

a more complex form of clipping wherein a word may undergo a change in class- part of one word is tagged onto others to give the same semantic meaning

what is an example of back-formation

-aholic or -thon being added to nouns

what is conversion

when a word undergoes a change in class, most commonly from a noun to a verb

what is it called when a new word is formed from the name of a person, usually the inventor or discoverer

an eponym

what is it called when an eponym becomes synonymous with the particular product that it labels

a propietary name

what is an example of a propietary name

hoover, google

what are the 5 semantic processes that can cause a word to change in meaning

• amelioration

• pejoration

• weakening

• narrowing

• broadening

what is amelioration

when a semantic meaning changes to have more positive connotation, and usually gains status

an example of amelioration

pretty once meaning sly, now means attractive

what is pejoration

when the semantic meaning of a word changes to have more negative connotations and loses status

an example of pejoration

cunning once meaning learned, now meaning deceitful

what is weakening

when a word loses its semantic weight

an example of weakening

soon and presently once meaning immediately, but now meaning in a short while

what is narrowing

when a word’s meaning becomes more specific

an example of narrowing

meat once referring to any food, but now referring to the flesh of an animal

what is broadening

when words acquire additional meanings

an example of broadening

place, once meaning a broad street, now meaning a general area

what are 3 other semantic processes that change a words meaning on a non-literal level

• metaphors

• euphemisms

• idioms

what is Halliday’s Functional Theory

that language suits the needs of its users, and as new words are created, older, archaic words decline and drop out of use

what is complaint tradition

the idea that there has always been critiques of the standards of language use, a prescriptivist view

in this way, despite the process of informalisation, language is not necessarily becoming more diluted

what is linguistic reflectionism

that language reflects the society that produces it, thereby our language choices are determined by our thought processes

what is linguistic determinism- what hypothesis does this link to

that language determines the way in which we think and behave

it links to the (strong) Sapir-Whorf hypothesis- that language controls our thought processes

what is the weaker theory of linguistic determinism

Linguistic Relativity- that language shapes our thinking but does not completely control it

what theory is the opposite to Halliday’s Functional Theory- what is it and who follows it

• Random Fluctuation Theory was proposed by Paul Postal and Charles Hockett

• it says that language change is not a logical or ordered process

what examples support random fluctuation theory

• the word ‘owned’ becoming ‘pwned’ in online discourse, due to the closeness of the ‘o’ and ‘p’ keys on the keyboard- this change was random and not logical

what are the 2 stages of language change

• the innovation stage- when a word is created

• the diffusion stage- when a word spreads to the wider population

how does the S-curve model demonstrate language change

• There is an initial slow take off of a word’s usage when it is first introduced

• the rate of usage increases rapidly, aligning with the diffusion stage

• usage plateaus but remains high as the word becomes stabilised in the lexicon

how does the wave model demonstrate language change

• a new language form starts at the centre of a group of people, this group may be brought together by geography, age, gender, social class, subculture etc

• the usage gradually spreads to the wider population

what ‘artificial rule’ marked an attempt to make English behave more like Latin

the use of the words ‘different to’ instead of ‘different from’

how does English compare to other languages in terms if negation, and who began this divergence- what does it stem from

• unlike English, in other languages multiple negation provides strength to an idea

• The English grammar rule is based in the logic of maths and began with Robert Lowth

what was the effect of the rise in speech etiquette in the 19th century

people became more conscious and insecure in their speech

what 3 metaphors did Jean Aitchison liken a prescriptivist view to the English language to

• a damp spoon

• a crumbling castle

• an infectious disease

explain the damp spoon metaphor

• this viewpoint states than laziness and sloppiness leads to language change, as it lacks forceful articulation, leading to variation and omission

• however it can be argued that omission speeds up speech and no meaning is lost through this

explain the crumbling castle metaphor

• people with this viewpoint see the English language as something historic that is for public use, but needs restoration

• it implies the structure was created with perfection, but this isn’t logical as there was no year where language was ever pristine

• it poses the question of are rigid systems better than flexible ones? can language not cope with changing social circumstances?

explain the infectious disease metaphor

• stems from the idea that we ‘catch’ changes from those around us and ought to fight this in order to preserve the longevity of our language

• the Belfast study and the Jocks vs the Burnouts align with this idea, just in that we adapt and pick up the language patterns of those around us, though we are able to diverge from them too

• however, it can be argued that a language can only change if the language itself is predisposed to change (wave model) and social change only triggers language change if a change is already likely to happen

what could be suggested as the hypothetical peak of language

the Augustan era

why is the glorification of Dickens as an example of an excellent standard of language use hypocritical

Dickens was the first author recognised as utilising eye-dialect in his writing

what is declinism

a prescriptivist attitude that states language is in an irreversible state of decline from a once-great peak

what were the 3 stages of stndardisation for Samuel Johnson in his creation of the dictionary

• 1 SELECTION- he chose the East Midland dialect as his base circa 15th century

• 2 ELABORATION- the chosen prestige is used in function and key roles, such as governmental places

• 3 CODIFICATION- the rules of spelling and grammar are implemented

how did Jonathan Swift express his prescriptivist views and which of Aitchison’s metaphors does this link to

he referred to non-standard usage as ‘daily corruptions’ which demonstrates the ‘crumbling castle’ metahphor

what did Samuel Johnson say in the preface to his dictionary that demonstrates a more descriptivist viewpoint of the 18th century

• “no dictionary of a living tongue can ever be perfect”

• here he is acknowledging and appears to be accepting the concept of language evolution

• he also acknowledges that his created prestige is not perfect and will inherently arise errors

what did Robert Lowth have to say about standardisation and what does this reveal about his stance on the subject

• “continually polished and refined”

• “made no advances in grammar”

• here he has acknowledged that improvement has been made in terms of the standardisation in lexis, however he seems to be implying that the attempt to standardise grammar is futile- which may be considered prescriptivist or just pessimistic

John Ash wrote a book on navigating Robert Lowth’s ideas on grammar- what alternative prescriptivist viewpoint did he take

• Ash acknowledges the prestige form that standard English carries, and therefore places more value on this variation due to the connotations of its representation of social standards

• rather than emphasisng the importance of standardisation to aid the function of communication, he is highlighting the social implications of its use

what did Lindley Murray have to say about grammar that was very hyperbolic

“two negatives in English destroy one another”

why is David Crystal a more balanced viewpoint on the subject of standardisation- additionally what does he blame for people’s current lack of interest in sticking to a standard

• Crystal weighs up both sides of the argument and poses that everyone should be allowed to reach their own conclusion on the importance of the process

• he posed the reasoning that the rigorous teaching of grammar rules probably bored many to be beyond caring

what is literacy and how do literacy standards compare from the 19th to 21st century

• literacy is the ability to sign one’s own name

• 19th century = 60%

• 21st century= 99%

what is the idea of sticklerism

a prescriptivist viewpoint wherein the holder acknowledges that they are acting anally, but upholds their opinion that non-standard variations are wrong and messy

what are malaphores / eggcorns

• a blend of malapropisms and metaphors

• they refer to common sayings which are misused but the same general meaning is conveyed- therefore both literal and connotative meaning is preserved

what are janus words- another term for them?

words with two opposing meanings

another term would be contronyms

why is literally interesting as a contronym

• its original meaning quite literally means exactly in that sense- it is true

• it however took on a secondary figurative meaning which is used for emphasis whilst not being literally true