Language Change

• Old English

  • 5th century from early settlers from Germany
  • they were known as Saxons, Jutes and Angles
  • they spoke Germanic and this is where the foundations of our English language come from today
  • influenced by movement and unrest
  • Viking influence in 8th century saw a hybrid form of Germanic and Scandinavian as the Vikings began settling in England
  • the Vikings brought about words connected to animals and family
• Middle English (1100-1450 AD)

  • when the Normans invaded in 1066 French became the dominant language
  • middle English saw the French language overtaking English and it was the first time there was a language divide in the country due to different levels of society speaking differently (court, the church, the nobility)
• Features of Middle English

  Grammar

  • became simpler reflecting th way the two languages had to coexist
  • inflections disappeared (all plurals ended -en, -es, or -s)
• Feature of Middle English

  Pronunciation

  • no standardised system of spelling
  • pronunciation was changing with vowles becoming shorter E.g leef became life (great vowel shift)
• Features of Middle English

  French Lexis

  • legal + religious + administrative terms, justice, jury, govern, sovereign
• Features of Middle English

  Latin Words

  • thousands of Latin words found in French replaced old English terms
  • 85% of old English words fell out of use after the Vikings and Norman invasions
• Features of Early Modern English (1470-1700)

  European Renaissance

  • huge number of Latin, French + Greek words entered English language psychology
• Feature of Early Modern English

  World exploration

  • brought words from African, Asian and new world languages
• Feature of Early modern English

  Shakespeare

  • coined 1700 new words e.g. excitement, courtship and outbreak
• Late modern English (1700- modern day)

  • 1700 onwards English is more standardised similar to today
  • 1755 Samuel Johnson finished the first dictionary of English. Many writers had attempted but it was not comprehensive
  • 1762 Robert Lowth published the first English grammar book which laid out some correct usage of English
• Modern Developments

  • English = world language
  • electronic media = mobile phones +internet
  • more colloquial + casual style of language reflects major social changes
  • estuary English (a south-eastern dialect) has become widespread in uk
  • American English increasingly influences British English worldwide
• 19th century

  • rail travel, colonial expansion; spread of literacy to everyone in a standard form
  • english borrowed many words form all over the world
• language reform 


  movements have often claimed that:

  1. language may be viewed as offensive and discriminatory to different social groups and have sought to remove or challenge such language e.g. pc language

  2. Be open to (reclamation) and have consciously adopted negative words using them to challenge others perspectives (slut walk)
• political correctness movement 


  a term used to object to the idea of consciously changing language because it is considered unfair to different social groups
• language variation


  causes of variation is generated by the way in which social groups are formed by shared experience or community
• environmental 


  people working in the same environment or being affected by the same environmental changes in your area
• geographical


  people who live in your region

  • cultural interests
  • hobbies
  • morals
  • way of life
• education 


  people who are at the same level of education or studying the same course or specialist subject will share your language
• religion


  people who share your religion
• Early Modern English 1470-1700

  • 1476 -1700 William Caxton introduced printing press to Britain
  • texts could be mass produced = standardisation in spelling + punctuation
  • many Greek + Latin text were translated into English
• Technology + change

  The increase in technology in the past 30 years.

  • Internet , direct message = digital communication
  • orthographical - (style of spelling) huge change
  • abbreviations - cus, u, bcos, def,
  • numerical - phonetic substitution - wuu2, l8, r8
  • initalism - lmao, wtf,
  • acronym - lol
  • non standard punctuation - no way !!!!
  • emojis and emoticons - :)
• david crystal 


  text talk + language is just the next stage in Englishes evolution
• shortis 


  Text language shows creativity
• Lee


  The more intensive a texter the smaller their vocabulary
• Cingle +Sundar


  use of text language is linked to lacking an understanding of grammar
• McWhorter 


  text language allows users to write how they speak this is a miracle change in a more accurate allows for intonation, tone of voice and expression
• PEC (plain English campaign)

  commercial editing and training based in the united kingdom convince the UK and public to communicate in plain english
• coinage/neologism


  the deliberate creation of a new word e.g. hobbit
• Borrowing 


  borrowing of words/concepts from other languages e.g. bungalow, landscape, saga
• compounding


  words are combined together to form a new word
• clipping 


  words are shortened and the shortened form becomes the norm
• blending 


  a combination of clipping and compounding words e.g moped (motor +pedal )
• initialism 


  the first letters from a series if words form a new word but each letter is pronounced e.g. CD, OMG MP3
• acronym 


  first letter from each word is taken to form a word. But each letter stands for something creating a new term e.g. NATO, AIDS
• affixation


  when prefixes and suffixes are added to words e.g. disinterest
• semantic change 


  new words = new meanings

  old words = new meanings
• conscious change 


  change that is usually initiated by those in a dominant social position or occupying a position of power and authority
• unconscious change 


  driven by the users of a language developing or adapting language according to their own social need e.g. vernacular forms
• synchronic change 


  the study of language change at a particular moment
• when was the english bible writte?

  1382