Language Change

1. What are the main reasons for language change?

- media and technology
- archaic language
- globalisation
- economy
- travel
- war

2. What are the ways in which language changes?

- spelling
- lexis
- grammar
- structure
- pragmatics
- abbreviations
- euphemisms

3. What are they key influential factors on the development of English as accessible to all?

- language of the internet
- media
- films
- music
- language on the dollar bill

4. What is the difference between a perspective and descriptive attitude to language use? 

Prescriptive attitude: 'Attitudes toward language based on what is held to be “correct” way to speak by socially prestigious elements and by teachers'

Descriptive attitude: 'Observe principles that describe the way the language is actually spoken'

5. What did Johnson think were the problems with his dictionary? Are these problems still evident in dictionaries today?

Johnson's dictionary contained may variations of spellings and meaning as this was what he thought. For example;

''while retaining the Latin p in receipt he left it out of deceit; he spelled deign one way and disdain another; he spelleduphill but downhil, muckhill but dunghil, instill but distil, inthrall but disenthral".

These spellings are still used today in modern dictionaries.

6. What is 'lingua franca' and to what extent was/is English one?

- Also called 'bridge language'

- There to help two people from different nationalities who speak different languages to allow them to communicate

- mainly used to communicate between scientists and other scholars

- English is one as many non-natives now speak English as either a first or second language

7. What are the prestigious forms of English now (overt and covert)?

- An overt prestige dialect is generally one that is widely recognized as being used by a culturally dominant group. In England, this is Received Pronunciation.

- A covert Prestige dialect is showed as being inferior but which compels its speakers to use it to show membership in an exclusive community. In this way, covert prestige can be likened to 'street cred'.

8. How has politically correct language and the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis influenced modern English Language usages?

- Sapir-Whorf is the idea that people who speak different languages also have different thoughts and opinions influenced by the language they speak.

9. Find 3 examples of obsolete English grammar that you can make reference to in the exam.

- Never start a sentence with 'and' or 'but'
- never end a sentence with a preposition
- data is plural, so you would have to use plural prepositions

10. Find three features of modern punctuation that take advantage of a lessening of prescriptivism.

- "In da House"
- "Kill 'Em 'n Grill 'Em"
- "It's fo' Realz"

11. Find three neologisms from the pas 5 years.

- Brangelina: used to refer to supercouple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
- Metrosexual: A man who dedicates a great deal of time and money to his appearance.
- Muffin top: This refers to the (often unsightly) roll of fat that appears on top of trousers that feature a low waist.
- BFF: Stands for best friends forever. Used to state how close you are to another individual.
- Chilax: To calm down or relax, it is a slang term used when someone is starting to get uptight about something that is happening.

12. Do an internet search to find an article that interests you on language uses. Find a key quote to memorise. How does that writer communicate their ideas?

-  David Crystal: 'In fact only 10% of the words in an average text are not written in full, he added.'
This shows that the modern language has not 'deteriorated' as we are using language in full more now than ever before.

13. Read at least one chapter from a book from a library about language change; identify how the attitudes expressed in it are a product of when it was written. 

- before technology was the norm for everyday communications, people had to communicate through letters. Therefore, it was important for the language and grammar used in the letters to be correct in order for the reader to understand. This may be the reason why many people had a prescriptivist attitude as they felt as if the 'correct language' as it is the one understood by everyone who communicated through letters.

14. What does gender theory reveal about English use through the ages?

- During the Tudor period and many years after this, there was strict beliefs about the type of language in which women could use. For example, they were not allowed to swear or use colloquial and offensive language, especially towards males. However, in modern times language change has showed that more females tend to use the same language as men.