Language Change

neosemy

the process whereby a new meaning develops for an existing word

broadening

meaning broadens so it retains old meaning but takes on an added one e.g. surfing - the sport and surfing the web

narrowing

word becomes more specific in meaning e.g. in old english “mete” referred to food but now it refers specifically to meat

amelioration

word acquires a more pleasant meaning e.g. pretty used to mean sly but now is used as a compliment

pejoration

over time a word becomes less favourable e.g. villain used to mean farm worker/peasant now means a person with ill intentions

weakening

the loss/reduction of the force of meaning of a word e.g. thing in old English referred to a meeting or assembly, now means unspecified objects

metaphor

physical ideas can be extended to abstract ones with similar qualities e.g. grasp - to physically grasp something or to grasp an idea

euphemism

the creation of polite but roundabout expressions for things that may be considered unpleasant e.g. downsizing used to refer to making redundancies

neologism

the process of creating new words

borrowing

borrowing a word from another language e.g. deja vu from french

compounding

combining two words that remain fully formed e.g. toothpaste

clipping

removing parts of a word to shorten it e.g. gymnasium to gym

blending

taking two words and blending them together; you loose part of the word. e.g. hungry and angry makes hangry

affixation

adding prefixes and suffixes to words e.g. regift

conversion

a word that shifts from one word class to another, usually a noun to a verb e.g. text, google

scientific progress

a new invention or advancement needs a new name e.g. chemotherapy

Old English

5th century - phonetic language with very little consistency in written language. combination of old norse and old english

Middle English

11th century - norman’s invaded and french became language of the rich. latin also used due to religion. parliament government and marriage still used today. no standardised spelling system. great vowel shift

Early modern english

15th century - printing press led to standardisation, shakespeare, james I bible and scientist communicated in English which increased usage. word order was different and interrogatives didn’t always include auxiliary verbs

Modern English

18th century - british empire collapsed and an increase in travel as well as industrial revolution. contractions commonly used and grammarians standardised the language

Present day english

20th century - influence of media, tech, and travel has helped establish English as a global language

Sapir-Whorf

language we use affects not just the messages we communicate, but the fundamental ways that we think or act. Therefore if we use racist or sexist language then we will hold sexist/racist views

euphemism treadmill

steven pinker - each new word chosen to replace one which has gained negative connotations will in turn need to be replaced

mackinnon

1996 language can be seen as either correct or incorrect, pleasant or ugly, socially/morally accceptable or not, appropriate or inappropriate, useful to us or useless. These ideas change very rapidly

reappropriation

reclaiming a word or phrase that has come to mean something insulting and using it as if it is normal or even complimentary. This denies others the ability to learn it

benefits of standardisation

greater comprehension, makes it easier to learn, easier to determine what is a word/error, makes it easier to communicate across different groups, acts as a norm/standard in broadcasting and wide spread speech, slows the pace of change

drawbacks of standardisation

hard to control, english standard spellings are not phonetic or consistent, lack of flexibility, any deviation from the standard may leave the speaker/writer open to judgement

printing press

caxton - 1476 identical copies could be produced so any mistakes made in printing were becoming standardised, reducing characters made it cheaper and errors in printing became standardised such as h in ghost

johnson’s dictionary

1755 - helped standardise spellings and meanings - provided a standard reference point. initially hoped to fix variation in English spelling but realised language is ever changing and he should describe it not prescribe it

Robert Lowth

1762 - leading prescriptivist figure. pronoun thou should no longer be used, will and shall should be distinguished between, prepositions should never end sentences

Kings English Society

1972 - provide what they deem to be useful guide to english on their website. they treat english as though it is an object to be defended and owned. double negative are illogical and personal pronouns should be in the correct form and order.

Random Fluctuation

Hockett 1958 - errors occurred in language and we tend to pass these errors on to other users. language change occurs due to the unstable nature of language itself and that fashions in language are as unpredictable as fashions in clothes. may account for a tiny minority of language change but it isn’t quite that unpredictable

functional theory

language alters as the needs of its users alter. words which aren’t needed become archaic then obsolete and new words are coined - politically correct terms etc. accounts for lexical and semantic change.

substratum theory

the language of a subculture or muted group has an effect on the standard or most commonly used variety l. This used to occur through invasion and trade but now immigration or social networking

Aitchisons model

1. potential for a new word to be accepted either due to a new invention needing a name or need for a new slang word etc

2. implementation of new word is in use but only by small community (bailey wave)

3. diffusion as usage spreads further (chen s curve model)

4. codification when it is recorded in dictionary