LEL1A - Language Variation and Change

variation = differences between speech forms at any given time e.g yorkshire and london english

change = differences as seen over time

there is no necessary meaning between a meaning and the form we use in language to express it

exceptions incl onomatopoeia

form to meaning is arbitrary → freedom → create new words

change leads to variation when it meets different levels of acceptance

(i.e. only some change, people are exposed to more than one form when learning)

language change is constant and inevitable, if no change → dead lang

dead language = no speakers, child learners, or ‘native’ speakers