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☆:. Theories of Language Change .:☆ - Coggle Diagram
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Theories of Language Change
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There are two opposing philosophies in the history of linguistics which can be summed up as
Prescriptivism
and
Descriptivism
.
Prescriptivism
There are rules that define how language should be used and when those rules are broken, mistakes result.
Prescriptive linguistics describes this idea as normative, which means that the rules are based on normal usage, and they determine the way things (spelling, grammar, etc.) ought to be.
Descriptivism
Language is defined by what people do with it.
Descriptivists describe how language is used, recording and analyzing the endlessly changing ways people speak and write. They accept change and the fact that language change is inevitable.
Historic Attitudes
to Language Change
The Renaissance
(
16th
and
17th
centuries)
The "correct" spelling and pronunciation of English words became an important class distinction differentiating between those of refined upper class from the "vulgar” masses.
Joseph Priestly
(
1733-1804
)
descriptivist
An empirical scientist
Understood the importance of observation
Helped discover oxygen and founded Unitarianism in England and the United States
His book on grammar was not based on Latin principles but on "...a collection of observations on the structure of it..."
Had a strong attraction to the idea of simplicity and applied this to English grammar
"I think it not only unsuitable to the genius of a free nation but in itself ill-calculated to reform and fix a language".
Robert Lowth
(
1710-1787
)
a strong
prescriptivist
Wrote several books on English grammar in order to "teach what is right".
What he decided was "right" was based largely on his study of Latin.
Gave us the rule that sentences should not end with a preposition
Samuel Johnson
(
1709-1784
)
started as a prescriptivist and then converted to a descriptivist.
1755 "A Dictionary of the English Language"
Johnson describes his goal to bring rule and order to the English language.
Johnson was proposing to singlehandedly reform the entire English language with his dictionary.
Johnson's dictionary was published in 1755 - eight years after his proposal; his goals had shifted.
In the preface, he uses many different analogies to describe his work.
He recognized that language was subject to change and that the goal of the lexicographer was "to register the language" rather than to fix it.
Edward Saphir & Benjamin Whorf:
The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
'Language and its structures determine human knowledge and thought processes (categorization, memory, and perception)'
'people of different languages have different thoughts'
Supports the Prescriptivist approach - preserving language as it remains important as it impacts human knowledge and thought.
Both studied Native American languages, but linguistic determinism has been applied to many languages.
The main principle of this principle - language precedes thought and controls it.
'strong version':
human thought is only possible through language
we can only think things that we have language to articulate
can be criticised for being too rigid
it seems to make any language change impossible (you wouldn't be able to coin the new words and forms of language that are emerging all the time)
'weak version'
is more usable
suggests that language can only influence thought (it does not have complete control over it)
Other linguists have looked at the relationship between language and thought from a reflectionist perspective.
They see the connection being the other way around - language is shaped by our thoughts and is simply a reflection of how we are and think.
This reflectionist argument can be criticized for dismissing the value of trying to shape/change language.
For example, preventing the use of racist language would be deemed irrelevant on the basis that racism reflects the way people think and will re-emerge in different forms.
Jean Aitchinson
descriptivist
She categorized different prescriptivist attitudes toward language, however, the views were not her own.
Damp spoon
syndrome:
Language use has become lazy, like putting a damp spoon back into the sugar.
Criticism: language is arguably economical rather than lazy. Sometimes sounds that are considered lazy actually require lots of energy.
Crumbling castle
view:
Language is like a beautiful stately home that should be preserved - once perfect but it no longer is.
Criticism: language is in a constant state of flux so there has never been a period of perfect English usage.
Infectious disease
assumption:
Language use is 'contagious', bad habits spread to other users.
David Crystal
“Tide Metaphor"
to explain language change.
Language is like a tide - constantly changing. It brings in new words and takes out others in a natural, progressive way.
Changes are not for the worse, or for the better. "Just changes".
If we take language in its bare form (communication), as long as the change does not hinder communication, then
change is good
.
"
Greengrocer's apostrophe
"
If a greengrocer was to misuse an apostrophe on his sign in his shop, it would have no effect on the legibility/connotations of the sign. ("potatoes" or "potatoe's", the place of the apostrophe does not affect the message)
The message is still conveyed, the
text meets its purpose
.
Norman Fairclough
noticed that advertisements and marketing texts are
increasingly attempting to mimic speech
.
He calls this
conversationalisation
(a narrower term than informalisation).
At the same time,
synthetic personalization
is becoming more commonplace
(the attempt to use language to create a personal relationship between a text producer and receiver)
Charles Hockett
(
1958
)
"
Random Fluctuation Theory
"
centres on the belief that random events and errors lead to language change.
believes changes in language result from ever-changing contextual factors.
Suzanne Romaine
She believed language change may occur in two ways:
Internal changes
: The factors within the language.
For example: the influence of dictionaries promoting new words and meanings
External changes
: Changing social contexts, ideologies, technology & inventions.
For example: political correctness has come about due to ideological changes.
Michael Halliday
"
Functional Theory
"
language changes
according to the needs of its users
an overarching theory
many other theories take this general concept and apply it more specifically
can be used to explain archaisms because technology has moved on
can also explain the use of slang
words such as '
cassettes
' and '
LPs
' are becoming archaic because of the technology/concepts they refer to
also supports new words ('
MP3
', '
Blu-Ray
' and '
USB
', because there is a need to label this new technology)
Dwight Bollinger
Highlighted the increasing use of euphemisms in advertising:
'fun-size' - small
'man-made' - fake
'crafted' - manufactured
'casualties' - dead bodies
'tragedy' - crime
'public relations' - propaganda
Sharon Goodman
Notes that we are
living in a time of increased Informalisation
- the process where language forms that were traditionally reserved for close personal relationships are now used in wider social contexts.
"professional encounters are increasingly likely to contain informal forms of English”
some argue that increased 'Informalisation' in a range of contexts breaks down barriers between “them" and "us".
others argue that barriers remain but we're more likely to be manipulated if they appear not to be.
Notes that the letter X which appears infrequently in written words is a 'supercharged typographic icon'.
The signifier X is a grapheric symbol, used to create a range of meanings.
For example: X = a kiss; X = incorrect; X = an unnamed person;
Other graphic symbols include: P = parking, A-E = grades, F = female. These are all culturally specific.
Texts no longer rely on words alone; they are becoming increasingly multimodal.
“
They use devices from more than one semiotic mode of communication simultaneously
."
Notes that finding a term to describe visual elements of a text is problematic.
Use of lower case letters where traditionally upper case had been used was popularised in the 1960s and has now been revived.
Eg: "BP" has become "bp” (in order to influence the way in which they are perceived, wanting to appear more in line with advancing technology and business)
Donald Mackinnon
Categorises the attitudes people may have to language use:
As incorrect or correct
As pleasant or ugly
Socially acceptable or unacceptable
Morally acceptable or unacceptable
Appropriate or inappropriate in context
Useful or useless
Change generally takes place over time but Political Correctness involves a conscious process.
5th category - moral acceptability, is relevant here
but it is rarely clear-cut and context is everything.
whilst thought of as a positive thing, it is largely associated with the negative (no neutral way of seeing this term)
Justman
The
language of the Nazis
made it easier for the rest of the world to ignore events
'final solution' – extinction of German Jewry
'evacuation' – removal of enemies to camps
'special treatment' – gas / death
'protective custody' - imprisonment