Language Change

• Language Change - Conscious attempt by those in authority to impose a correct form of language on users
• Change from Below - when language users adapt language to suit a particular need with repeated usage, change enters language without comment
• Diachronic Variation - how language has changed over time eg. versions of the bible over time
• Synchronic Variation - How language varies at a particular point in time e.g. " Study of how British + American spelling varies demonstrates the synchronic variation in our language "
• Prescriptivism - language is fixed and any shift from these set rules is incorrect
• Descriptivism - no judgment or negative attitude towards language change, more an examination of language as it is and how it is used
• Selfie was tweeted by a Australian and it caught on becoming the 2013 word of the year. It is an example of affixation with the -ie suffix demonstrating how technology/ internet spreads language change
• English was originally Celtic
• Angles, Jutes, Saxons developed Old English (Anglo Saxon)
• Vikings Introduced Old Norse
• Romans Made Latin which was highly influential, often still used to this day in religious and legal texts/documents
• Norman invasion introduced French as Legal Language (Middle English)
• Early modern English occurred due to Caxton Printing Press
• Shakespeare Introduced over 1,700 words such as lonely, eye, swagger and encouraged use of thee , thy and thou
• In Modern English Grammarians developed patterns
• Technology has a huge influence in present day English
• Celtic - Anglo Saxon (Old English) - Vikings (Old Norse) - Romans (Latin) - Middle English (Norman) - (Caxton Printing Press) (Early Modern English - Shakespeare - King James (Authorised version of Bible) - Modern English (patterns developed) - Present day English (Spread by technology)
• Anglo Saxons had 4,500 words vs present 170,000. Such as Day, dark and evil.
• 30% of todays English words come from French introduced by Normans. The French were viewed as aristocratic in Norman days
• Sheep and Cows already existed but Norman aristocracy only saw these animals as food terms e.g. mouton and boeuf.
• Normans introduced legal language so both sides could understand such as Will and Testament which are synonyms but still sued today.
• Norse (Old English) introduced words like gift, thursday (originally thors day) and knifr (knife)
• Caxton introduced the printing press to England allowing books and research to be mass published.
• Caxton also helped contribute to standard form of English with the egg story to explain why it was necessary. He chose East Midlands as the standard English form.
• The Great Vowel Shift occurred from the 14th - 18th Century as English attempted to stray away from French style due to the ongoing war and speakers production of long vowels raised, positioning tongue closer to roof of mouth = wife vs weef
• Thomas Wilson - in 1560 claimed many men were speaking in such a variation of English even their mothers wouldn't understand them. Occurred due to men travelling and retuning with other cultures and vocabulary. Disapproved of those that "powder" their language with vocabulary from "oversea". Shows even then language change was controversial.
• Inkhorns terms opposed foreign borrowing to English like cargo or cafeteria from Spanish as thought it was pretentious and unnecessary however some argued it enabled creativity such as Shakespeare using these terms to introduce 1700 new words.
• John Swift, 1712 , wanted to establish an English academy mirroring Academie de Francaise to fix English Language. He is an example of failed change from above
• John Swift disliked vagueness, shortened forms like mob, unnecessary polysyllabic words, obscure meanings and modern words like bully.
• Johnson changed from a Prescriptivist to a Descriptivist
• Johnson published the first influential dictionary in 1755 which included 1300 words and definitions and became the pre-eminent work of reference for 150 years until Oxford English Dictionary. It included examples of how a word is used in sentence (literary citations)
• Johnson intended to fix language but found and accepted no dictionary would ever achieve this due to words developing and "falling away". He helped create standard spelling which avoided confusion like Shakespeare spelling his name in different ways
• Internal Factors effect language by linking to similarity of a specific attribute or abstract concept. For example and actual virus inspires term computer virus due to similar properties
• External Factors effect language change with the influence of cultural changes, technology/innovation and developing society and how they effect the way a word is used. All examples of Sociocultural Phenomenons
• Guy originally used to refer to Guy Fawkes but now replaced Fellow. Example of External Factor Culture on Language Change
• Virus, bug and crash are all due to internet invention showing example of External Factor Technology on Language Change
• External factor Society requires need for new terms like LGBTQ+ movement
• An Etymological Fallacy is the highly prescriptive idea the original meaning of a word is its only true definition/ function.
• Political Correctness is was language can be adapted to minimise social inequality and seeks to avoid language that insults or marginalizes or attempts to control people e.g. sexist, racist, ableist and ageist.
• Gendered terms use the tribulising suffix " -ess " to make the male term seem original and thus unmarked implying superiority e.g. Stewardess