Language change Flashcards
Reasons for change
- Social change (political correctness)
- Technology
- Fashion
- Youth culture
- Influence of foreign countries/globalisation
- Media/politics/current affairs
Types of semantic change
- Amelioration
- Pejoration
- Semantic shifts
- Semantic broadening/narrowing
Theories of language change
Random fluxuation theory
Charles Hockett proposed that random mistakes and events lead to language chasnge
Theories of language change
Lexical gaps
When a word that could exist doesnt exist (but may be available in other languages.Lexical gaps are filled by borrowing or coining a new word. It is often linked to food or culture in some way (filled by loan words).
Theories of language change
Substratum theory
The english language changes through contact with other languages. In the past usually through trade and invasion but now through social networkinmg and imigration
Theories of language change
Functional theory
Encompasses lexical gaps but is also broader and contains grammar, phonology and orthography.
Suggests that language change reflects the sociocultural climate were living in
