change theorists Flashcards
outline social decadence 18th century theory
(prescriptivist) the English Language has lost all complexities as people are now becoming increasingly lazy with their speech
outline Mackinnons 1996 theory
(prescriptivist) categorizes language into correct & incorrect, pleasant & ugly … change takes time but moral acceptability isn’t clear cut, context is everything
outline the Queens English society theory
(prescriptivist) aims to defend the precision and richness of the English Language against debasement. they accept the natural changes to language but is against changes that are a result of ignorance.
outline Jean Aitchinson 1996 theory
(descriptivist) Damp Spoon Syndrome: believes that prescriptive view proposes one type of language is inferior to another.
Crumbling Castle View: language has never been at its peak and is a rigid system but inst that better than a changing one.
Infectious Disease Assumption: people pick up language change because they want to fit in with social groups
outline Natural Changes theory
(descriptivist) changes are automatic so cant be observed or controlled. this change is a slow shift, changing a bit at a time. With reinforcement it might cancel change, children learn this incorrect usage from their parents meaning imperfect forms become dominant.
outline the simplification of sound theory
(descriptivist) certain sounds and sound combinations e.g. butter are easier to pronounce than others. speakers modify the phoneme ‘t’ sounds to easier ones e.g bu’er.
outline Labov - Martha’s vineyard theory
(descriptivist) small parts of a population pronounce certain words that have the same vowel differently. this occurs naturally since not everyone can pronounce the same sounds. this difference becomes a signal of social and cultural identity. people who want to be identified with this group exaggerate it and constantly make this change.
outline Suzanne Romaine’s 1998 theory
(descriptivist) internal approaches - formation of new words and influence of dictionaries etc. external factors - changing social contexts language as an ongoing process. language is one of many social aspects defining identity.
outline Sharon Goodman’s 1996 theory
(descriptivist) we are living in a time of increased informational traditional language forms used in close personal relationships are now used in wider society.
outline Hoppers theory
(descriptivist) changes in telephone conversations: in conversational phone calls which are not co-present, greetings are not the first exchange in face to face. Now there is caller ID so we don’t need to greet like in the olden days. the change is due to mobile phone usage and multi modal forms of communication are new.
outline David Crystal’s 2001 theory
(descriptivist) Dialogical Quality of E-communication: emails are part of an exchange in a way that letters are not. They create a sense of immediacy of reply. term asynchronous describes groups places in live chatroom’s and synchronous is o describe people who chat in real time.
