Quiz #3 exam mardi Flashcards
The 3 “precepts” of “ascertainment:” 3 guiding principles for systematizing and codifying the English language in the early 1700s—inspired by centralized language reform in Italy, France, and Spain (circa 1583, 1635, and 1713)
Reduce language to rule and setup a correct standard of usage, refine it, to fix it permanently in the desired.
John Oldmixon’s contrary position to the third precept of “ascertainment” and the example/proof that he provided for refuting it
He says that fixing the language permanently in the desired form. Latin became French/Spanish/Italian
The rationale behind Samuel Johnson’s rejection of an English language academy and the restriction that he placed on his dictionary and all future dictionaries
He thought it ridicules to force people to speak a certain way. They have to evolve with time.
The “root” of the weaknesses of the desire (expressed by early 18th-century English intellectuals such as Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe) to regulate the English language in the same way as Italian, French, and Spanish… grasped by mid 18th-century English intellectuals such as Sheridan, Chesterfield, and Johnson
**The ignorance of the process of linguistic change. ** (English does have one root so you can’t follow one grammar.) Languages change overtime and they evolve.
The sociological phenomenon behind “the raising of vowels” in New York English, according to Joseph Labov
Children of different ethnic background didn’t want to sound like their parents.
The two competing hypotheses on the origins of African-American Vernacular English
Anglicist hypotheses: it comes from an old English spoken by slave possessors
Creolist hypotheses: it comes from African languages
The meaning behind “Hiberno-English” in reference to Newfoundland English
Irish English
The Hiberno-English “after perfect” and its equivalent in “standard English” grammar
Present perfect is the equivialence of “After perfect.”
The benefit to Indian politics and society of the gradual adoption of English as an official language
It continues to prevent them to kill each other.
The difference between “American Sweep-Aside” and “Indian Re-Education”
We imposed our language to native people as of Indian wanted to learn English, therefore adapted English so they chose so.
The historical reasons behind English being the favourable lingua-franca within the European Union today, despite the fact that Great Britain is no longer part of the European Union
English has no negative baggage, so it doesn’t fear any people. England never invaded European country.
Ostler’s reorientation of Latin being a living language comprising now separate Romance languages: the speaker population of all Latin-derived languages + its rank on the roster of the world’s top-twenty languages
Instead of doing Latin has a dead language, we should view Latin as living inside romance languages such as Spanish, Portuguese and French. 660 million Latiin speakers in the world as of 2010
“Organic language growth” versus language growth through “merger and acquisition:” historical examples of both
OLG= When a language grows through population increase in the area of origin and encroaches on neighboring areas. E.g Russian
MAA= When a language grows through seaborne invasion and settlement. E.g English, French
Ostler’s history-based prediction for English in the near future.
English will become a family of languages. (grammar,etc)
How English-language education has the edge over Mandarin-language education, despite the number of first-language Mandarin speakers being significantly higher than the number of first-language English speakers.
English is learned by mandarin speakers, but mandarin is not learned by English speakers.
