language change theories <3 Flashcards
(12 cards)
PIDC MODEL- Jean Atchison
-POTENTIAL: need for a word
-IMPLIMENTATION: starts to be used
-DIFFUSION: usage increases and spreads
-CODIFICATION: word is documented
S-CURVE MODEL- Chen
suggests that change gradually speeds up before slowing again with the steepest part of the graph showing the most rapid change
change, being the use of a new word, phrase, or grammatical structure
WAVE MODEL- C J Bailey
change decreases as you get further from the social group or geographical region in which it originated
LEXICAL GAPS
language changes to fill the gaps
(basically Halliday’s functional theory)
SUBSTRATUM THEORY
language changes through contact with other languages
FUNCTIONAL THEORY- M J Halliday
language is a tool that changes to fit the need of the user
3 METAPHORS FOR PRESCRIPTIVISM- Aitchison
-DAMP SPOON: non-standard language is caused by laziness
-CRUMBLING CASTLE: idea that language is disintegrating from a once perfect state
-INFECTIOUS DISEASE: we ‘catch’ non standard language from others
RANDOM FLUCTUATION THEORY- Hockett
some language change happens due to random errors and events within the language system in response to social and cultural change
MARTHA’S VINEYARD STUDY- Labov
an island where students often leave for higher education but when they returned their accent was stronger than it was before
THE UNFOLDING OF LANGUAGE- Guy Deustcher
ECONOMY: the human tendency to save effort in speech and writing
EXPRESSIVENESS: speakers attempt to achieve greater effect through hyperbole, however can weaken the original meaning over time
ANALOGY: the minds craving for order
INFORMALISATION- Sharon Goodman
a trend towards informal language in once formal public settings
COLOQUIALISATION- Geoffrey Leech
close to INFORMALISATION increasing acceptability of non standard language in written and spoken mode
