attitudes to language change Flashcards
What are the main aims of prescriptivism?
- define standardised language forms either generally e.g. Standard English, or for specific reasons
- to formulate these in such a way that makes them easily taught and learnt
What are the two categories of prescriptivism?
- sticklers
- declinists
What are sticklers concerned with?
the incorrect use of grammar
What are declinists concerned with?
the general condition of the English Language, which they feel is crumbling like a castle
What are the main aims of descriptivism?
to describe, systematically recording and analysing the endlessly changing ways people speak and write
- they accept that language change is a natural process that is inevitable and cannot be stopped
Who is David Crystal?
- a notorious descriptivist who suggests that ‘there is a practical, everyday reason for studying language change’
- he’s a progressive thinker who challenges some of the criticisms of the influence of new technology on language
Who is Jean Aitchison?
- a descriptivist who argues that ‘language like everything else gradually transforms over the centuries’
- she used metaphors to describe people’s anxieties about language use
What is meant by the damp spoon metaphor?
- language change is caused by laziness or sloppiness, the kind of sloppiness you get with a damp spoon being left in the sugar bowl
What is Aitchison’s view on the damp spoon metaphor?
- it can be difficult to find evidence for this view
- the glottal stop can be seen as lazy when it actually represents variety
What is meant by the crumbling castle metaphor?
- sees the English Language as a beautiful old building which needs to be preserved; the English Language has been gradually and carefully created until it has reached the pinnacle of splendour
What is Aitchison’s view of the crumbling castle view?
- there is no indication of when this golden age of language was reached
- the view presupposes that a rigid system is better than a flexible system, but a flexible system is neccessary to cope with the changing social circumstances
What is meant by the infectious disease metaphor?
- suggest that we ‘catch’ change from those around us
What is Aitchison”s view on the infectious disease view?
- social contact is indeed a key driving force for language change, but people pick up change because they want to, so it shouldn’t be seen as a force which we are powerless to resist
What is John Humphrys view on language change?
- ## “it’s not a case that language should never change, because of course it always dies, but grammar matters”
What is Lynne Truss’ perspective on langauge change?
- a stickler
- “it’s tough being a stickler for punctuation these days”
What are some strengths of prescriptivism?
- helps to maintain a standard
- having a standard language can increase intelligibility of the language, particularly for those learning English as a second or additional language
- clarity in language can only aid communication
What are some strengths of descriptivism?
- offers an up-to-date perspective on language change as it happens, which has more relevance in a modern society
- this approach avoids interference with variety
- presents variety without preference and does not discriminate
What are the two arguments about the relationship between thought and language?
- linguistic determinism
- linguistic reflectionism
What is linguistic determinism?
- our language determines the thoughts and attitudes we have and the way we see the world
What is linguistic reflectionism?
- our language is a reflection of our thoughts and attitudes
Who defined the theory of linguistic determinsm?
Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf
What is the ‘Sapir-Whorf hypothesis’?
- the central idea of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is that language functions, not simply as a device for reporting experience, but also, and more significantly, as a way of defining experiences for its speakers
- this means that our view of the world, our knowledge and attitudes are all shaped by the language we learn and develop
- therefore if we don’t have the words to describe time/colou/shape, we cannot understand these concepts
What are the two studies that Sapir and Whorf conducted to support their ideas?
- The Eskimo study
- The South American study
What is the Eskimo study?
- they studied Innuit tribes to ascertain whether their extensive vocab for snow somehow changed and shaped the way they saw the world
- they found that indeed, they had a more complex and comprehensive understanding of snow and weather conditions