language change Flashcards
(16 cards)
Evolution of the english language
Mid 5th century - germanic tribes brought links with germanic dialects
5th-11th century - old english largely incomprehensible to us today - man, house
11th century onwards - middle english - castle, vessel
1337-1453 - england and france meant more anglicised form of language used in written form
Middle English - Chaucer - gave way to modern English in the 18th century.
Phonological language change
Change related to sound is nothing new. Between the 14th and the 17th centuries, the great vowel shift took place. Coined by otto jesperson in 1909, the GVS reflected shift in pronunciation of vowel sounds
Long vowel sounds which were produced lower in the mounts during middle english were later pronounced higher up.
One problem is that while the sounds themselves changed, the spelling of words did not necessarily change to match pronounciation.
One of the earliest examples of standardisation is when William Caxton set up the printing press in 1476 where his use of English was used in addition to Latin.
Neologisms
Newly coined words or expressions
Martin Janssen - discuses idea of lexical gaps where words should exist but do not
Substratum - refers to how different languages interact and change one another. For example, British English began to see an increase in the filler ‘like’ due to the broadcast of American TV shows. Substratum changes can also occur as a result of travel and conflict when countries invaded each other.
Random fluctuation theory
Charless Hockett argued that language change can occur due to random errors and events. For example ‘pwned’ originated as a result of a mistype of ‘owned’ but now means to have destroyed or controlled someone.
Semantic change
Amelioration - a word gains a more positive meaning over time
Pejoration - a word takes on a more negative meaning over time
Broadening - a word acquires other meanings in addition to the original meaning
Narrowing - a word becomes more specific in its meaning
Weakening - a word becomes less specific in its meaning
Orthographic change
Standardisation of spelling in the English language began in the 16th and 17th centuries before influential works such as Johnson’s dictionary appeared in the 1700s.
New letters which did not previously exist were introduced in the 15th century such as u or j
Commas, colons and semicolons used more frequently, apostrophes extended to include possession and to represent missing letters.
David crystal
A sea of language change
Trying to stop language change is impossible - it would be easier to stop the tide coming in
Spoken change is accelerating due to increasing numbers of people adopting the language
We should encourage and embrace this change
Distinguishes between two types of change:
Diachronic change - language change over time
Synchronic change - considered language change happening at a particular moment in time.
Text speak is an evolution of language and involves use of language.
Jean Aitchison
Extensive use of glottal stops in Estuary English and she argued that there has been an increase in omission and assimilation in a range of languages. She does not argue that this signals laziness but instead that it makes language more efficient.
Discussed neologisms - language needs to meet the needs of its users. For example, ‘coronavirus’ and ‘remote learning’ were useful in 2020 during the pandemic.
Language change metaphors (a web of worries)
Damp spoon - queasy distaste for the vulgarity of current usages. Relates to what some people term a laziness about language usage similar to putting a damp spoon into the sugar bowl
Crumbling castle - language is eroding and there is no preservation of older forms
Infectious disease - we can catch careless or bad language usage from those around us.
Peter Trudgill
Language change is inevitable and cannot be resisted
For example, nice was derived from the latin verb nescire meaning to be ignorant of. The word has been ameliorated again from the middle English to mean foolish.
He argues that languages are self regulating systems that can take care of themselves.
Guy Duestscher
Most of our language is rooted in metaphor and it is through erosion that these metaphors become words for abstract concepts. Thus, the reef of dead metaphors is created.
Concluded that language is changing but not for the worst.
Forces of destruction - where destruction and creation are intertwined.
James and lesley milroy - complaint tradition
When Caxton selected the south east midland area of Britain as the standard amongst so many variations causing this area to be associated with political and academic prominence, this led other commentators to critique what they determined as improper language use which is different to their own norms.
The complaint tradition reflects the fact that there have always been people who have complained about language use and change and there always will be.
Robert lane greene
Declinism - those who complain about language change and argue that language is deteriorating contribute to a notion of negative alteration
Slickerlism - those who insist on imposing linguistic rules on others and feel the need to correct other’s language.
Green cites truss as being guilty of both of the above.
Prescriptivist
Reflects on the idea of there being linguistic rules and correct usage of language, often focusing on maintaining perceived standards.
Jonathan swift - set out the need for a language academy in English
John Humphrys
Written extensively about his distaste for what he perceives to be bad english
He states that even when he breaks the rules of grammar, he maintains that there are some rules which should be followed, such as splitting infinitives or tautology - the unnecessary addition of synonyms.
Lynne truss - eats, shoots and leaves
Bemoans the inclusion of apostrophes in plural words as a result of the 19th century custom of adding an apostrophe before a plural inflection of a borrowed word
Discusses rules for commas, dashes and other punctuation.
Urges that there are rules to language which must be followed, encourages grammar fascists.
Brandreth
Concerned by language on TV affecting the way that their children talk ‘not the way the system works
