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language change Flashcards

(51 cards)

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1
Q

prescriptivism

A

belief that one type of language is acceptable, traditionalist

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2
Q

descriptivism

A

belief that language is ever-evolving, we should be open minded to language change

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3
Q

borrowing

A

taking words from other languages (restaurant, burrito)

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4
Q

affixation

A

adding a prefix or suffix to word

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5
Q

compounding

A

two free morphemes put together (sunglasses, football)

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6
Q

blending

A

two free morphemes mixed together (smog + fog = smog)

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7
Q

functional shift

A

conversion from one word class to another

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8
Q

neosemic shift

A

gaining a specific new meaning

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9
Q

semantic shift

A

any change in meaning of word over time

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10
Q

euphemism

A

indirect, ‘nicer’, less offensive way of saying something unpleasant

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11
Q

clipping

A

part of a word becoming the new word (omnibus = bus)

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12
Q

pejoration

A

meaning becoming more negative over time (awful)

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13
Q

amelioration

A

meaning becoming more positive over time (sick)

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14
Q

samuel johnson

A

1755, created first english language dictionary

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15
Q

haugen

A

process of standardisation/4stage process

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16
Q

selection (haugen)

A

one dialect/variety is chosen (usually linked with most powerful social group)
caxton chose east midlands dialect when translating french, produced first printed book in english

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17
Q

codification (haugen)

A

establishing norms of grammar, syntax, spelling, meanings so everyone uses same forms, spoken forms also established (dictionaries/grammar books = best way to achieve this, johnson)

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18
Q

elaboration (haugen)

A

development + extension of resources of language to increase its functions (influx of latin/french/italian words into english = 16th century richness + flexibility)

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19
Q

implementation (haugen)

A

standardisation implemented when printed texts became available in standard forms (newspapers, bible translations), discourages variation + encourages loyalty to standard form (queen’s english society = preservation of standard)

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20
Q

aitchison

A

1996, language change metaphors - crumbling castle, infectious disease, damp spoon

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21
Q

aitchison’s pidc model

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A

potential - need for word arises
implementation - word is coined
diffusion - word is used by more and more people
codification - word is accepted and placed in dictionary

22
Q

jonathan swift

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A

prescriptivist, language is imperfect and we need rules to follow

23
Q

webster

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A

british spelling system illogical and inconvenient, american english dictionary 1832

24
Q

caxton printing press

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A

1476, spelling should be accessible to everyone, printing books, no standardisation so caxton choices became the standard

25
chen, s curve model
language change can occur at a slow pace (initial curve of s), increases speed as it increases speed as it becomes more common + accepted, no change 100% effective, flattens out again
26
halliday
functional theory, language always changes + adapts to the needs of its users
27
linguistic reflectionism
language reflects needs/views/opinions of society
28
bailey, wave model
drop of water hitting surface creates ripples, shift in language creates ripples of change, closer to center = stronger the ripple/change
29
trudgill
change comes from big cities -> passed to big towns -> smaller towns, misses country yorkshire example - thee + thou still used challenges wave model
30
crystal, tide metaphor
2011, language = a tide (constantly changing), ebbs + flows (bringing new words + removing others naturally), changes are not good or bad , “just changes” no tides are the same, each example of language change is unique
31
synchronic change
study of language change at particular moment in time
32
diachronic change
historical development of language
33
substratum theory
when speakers learn a new language with imperfections and pass these down onto future generations
34
old english
anglo-saxon, 450 to 1150AD
35
middle english
1066AD, Norman conquest
36
early modern english
1500-1650 (shakespeare)
37
late modern english
1800-present, significantly larger vocabulary
38
spelling reform
attempt by governments/academic institutions to change spelling to more accurately reflect current pronunciation
39
robert lowth
1762, grammar rulebook standardisation of who/whom, difference between will and shall, prepositions before nouns
40
lingua franca
common language amongst non-native speakers (english)
41
orthography
conventional spelling system of a language
42
dysphemism
derogatory term used instead of pleasant/neutral term
43
semantic drift
words’ meanings to change over time, straying from original meaning (silly)
44
great vowel shift
1400-1600AD huge phonological shift, change in pronunciation of long vowels (wife = weef, mouse = moos)
45
sapir-whorf hypothesis
1929, different languages create different ways of thinking (understanding of time in english vs other languages, etymologynerd thing)
46
murray
pronunciation is important, ‘h’ + ‘g’ dropping is improper
47
aitchison’s criticism of murray and louth
looking down on the working class, too prescriptivist, reinforcing aristocracy of language
48
kandiah
reason for spread of english is colonisation, as a result england gained importance for administration of country - serving an official purpose within law/education/government
49
crystal’s critique of kandiah
colonisation wasn’t the only reason for spread of english (too simplistic an explanation), was because of power
50
mcarthur
circle of world english categorises varieties of english geographically, moves outwards from central ‘world standard english’, varieties split into 8 regions + have their own version of standard english + non-standard forms
51
mcarthur evaluation
positive = descriptivist, each variety is equal + no hierarchy negative = too many varieties to categorise, no such thing as ‘world standard english’

language 2 (2 decks)

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