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Aitchinson (1996) - descriptivist
She addressed some of the concerns that people articulate about language change:
Damp spoon – “A queasy distaste for the vulgarity of current usages”. This relates to what some people term a laziness about language usage, similar to putting the damp spoon into the sugar bowl
Crumbling castle – That language is eroding and there is no preservation of older forms
Infectious disease – We can “catch” careless or bad language usage from those around us
Guy Deutscher (2006) - descriptivist
- Deutscher concludes that language is indeed changing, but certainly not for the worst, even If the word “erosion” might imply that
- “forces of destruction”, where destruction and creation are intertwined when it comes to language
James and Lesly Milroy (criticism of Lynne Truss)
- Examine the idea of the complaint tradition
- Reflects the fact that there are always those who have complained about language use and change, and will continue to do so
Robert Lane Greene (2011)
- Puts forward the idea of declinism which is that those who complain about language change and argue that language is deteriorating contribute to a notion of negative alteration
- He also discusses sticklerism. This idea relates to those who insist on imposing their linguistic rules on others, and feel a need to correct the language of other people, instead of letting people interpret language in their own ways.
