Language Change Key terms/phrases

Linguists that say how language SHOULD be

important perscriptivists we need to know are Johnson & Lowth

Linguists that say how language actually IS

They describe how language is used by people, not whether how they are using is right or wrong.

An example of a famous descriptivist is David Crystal, who you may remember from AS :)

**VERY IMPORTANT**

Dr Samuel Johnson created his dictionary in **1755** (but not the first ever dictionary, don't make that mistake.. the first ever dictionary was created in the mid 1600s)

Johnson STANDARDISED spelling.

Samuel Johnson made it so that everyone spelt everything the same way. The same spelling rules apply today.

**VERY IMPORTANT**

Bishop Robert Lowth was hugely influential and helped to STANDARDISE grammar.

He published the book 'an introduction to english grammar' in **1762**

The book contained some simple rules of what should be used and what should definitely not be used!

Three famous examples:

Never end a sentence with a preposition (the table it is under - sounds like yoda xD)

never ever ever (!) use a double negative (i aint got no hope of passing this exam)

never split an infinitive (famous star trek expression does this "to boldly go")

The British Empire was massive (really massive!)

new things were found and needed a name, so the people just stuck with what they were called in the country they had just invented

(this is called BORROWING - we took a word from somewhere else)

Food is particularly important when considering this.

Think of a curry, not many of those words have english origins do they? Yet we all use them.

Neologisms are to put it simply, new words that have come into the lexicon - main types: Borrowing

Eponyms

Latinate Compounds

Derivation

Self - explaining compounds (sometimes just called compounding)

Blending

Coingage

Conversion & Clipping (these are seperate, but didnt have enough room)

Neologisms are to put it simply, new words that have come into the lexicon - main types: Borrowing

Eponyms

Latinate Compounds

Derivation

Self - explaining compounds (sometimes just called compounding)

Blending

Coingage

Conversion & Clipping (these are seperate, but didnt have enough room)

The British Empire was massive (really massive!)

new things were found and needed a name, so the people just stuck with what they were called in the country they had just invented

(this is called BORROWING - we took a word from somewhere else)

Food is particularly important when considering this.

Think of a curry, not many of those words have english origins do they? Yet we all use them.

Neologisms are to put it simply, new words that have come into the lexicon - main types: Borrowing

Eponyms

Latinate Compounds

Derivation

Self - explaining compounds (sometimes just called compounding)

Blending

Coingage

Conversion & Clipping (these are seperate, but didnt have enough room)

Words created based on a name

e.g. Sandwich - from the Earl of Sandwich :)

The British Empire was massive (really massive!)

new things were found and needed a name, so the people just stuck with what they were called in the country they had just invented

(this is called BORROWING - we took a word from somewhere else)

Food is particularly important when considering this.

Think of a curry, not many of those words have english origins do they? Yet we all use them.

Words that made by adding an affix or a suffix

for example 'degenerate', 'discombobulated'

Acronyms that form words themselves.

Famous example: SCUBA; self -contained-underwater-breathing-apparatus (or something similar)

A whole new word is just created, usually because of phonological reasons

for example, "dork", "nerd"

Words that join together to make new words that, as the name suggests, are pretty much self explanatory

Examples: Handbag, Girlfriend etc

I put these together so that the cards were neater xD

Clipping: taking a part out of a word e.g. flu, bike (these then become commonly used words)

Words that join together but in a half & half kind of way

Examples: brunch (breakfast & lunch) Jeggings (jeans & leggings)

Words created based on a name

e.g. Sandwich - from the Earl of Sandwich :)

A whole new word is just created, usually because of phonological reasons

for example, "dork", "nerd"

A whole new word is just created, usually because of phonological reasons

for example, "dork", "nerd"

I put these together so that the cards were neater xD

Clipping: taking a part out of a word e.g. flu, bike (these then become commonly used words)

Words that made by adding an affix or a suffix

for example 'degenerate', 'discombobulated'

I put these together so that the cards were neater xD

Clipping: taking a part out of a word e.g. flu, bike (these then become commonly used words)

Acronyms that form words themselves.

Famous example: SCUBA; self -contained-underwater-breathing-apparatus (or something similar)

Words that join together to make new words that, as the name suggests, are pretty much self explanatory

Examples: Handbag, Girlfriend etc

Conversion: nouns changing to verbs, visa versa - e.g. a hammer, to hammer

"oh look a hoover"

"oh god i've gotta go hoover that up now"

You get the idea xD

Words that join together but in a half & half kind of way

Examples: brunch (breakfast & lunch) Jeggings (jeans & leggings)

Semantic change = changes in meaning

These could be:

Pejoration

Amerlioration

Broadening

Narrowing

Register drift

A word that was originally considered to be slang may gain acceptance

or, of course, the other way round

A word that had good connotations has become more negative over time

the example everyone uses is 'gay' - used to be joyful, now either means someone who is of homosexual orientation or used by many youngster to mean stupid or annoying.

Conversion: nouns changing to verbs, visa versa - e.g. a hammer, to hammer

"oh look a hoover"

"oh god i've gotta go hoover that up now"

You get the idea xD

The opposite to Pejoration

Words that were once bad go to something that is good

e.g. Nice used to mean stupid, now it means pleasant :)

Semantic change = changes in meaning

These could be:

Pejoration

Amerlioration

Broadening

Narrowing

Register drift

Words that once meant something specific, then went on to mean something much broader (hence the term, broadening)

for example - 'ship' at one time specifically meant a sailing vessel, now it can mean a space ship or many other vehicles

A word that was originally considered to be slang may gain acceptance

or, of course, the other way round

A word that had good connotations has become more negative over time

the example everyone uses is 'gay' - used to be joyful, now either means someone who is of homosexual orientation or used by many youngster to mean stupid or annoying.

No prizes for guessing what this one means xD

The opposite of broadening, words that meant something very broad, now means something specific

Meat, for example, meant any food stuff at all

now, it only means food taken from an animal (and quorn, some may argue)

The opposite to Pejoration

Words that were once bad go to something that is good

e.g. Nice used to mean stupid, now it means pleasant :)

The long S was used before the end of the 18th centuary

it looks like this! ſ <-- a bit like a fancy F

It was only used at the beginning and the middle of words, never at the end

It seemed to fade out due to printing issues

If you see an old text, this may be something to comment on (even if it isnt there!)

See if you can throw these in:

Technological revolution - brought loooads of new words

graphological features (not a term, per say) - printing restrictions

Estuary english - a blend of recieved pronunciation (the oxford/cambridge type accent) and cockney. Used in the media. E.g. Johnathan Ross has it

Archaisms - very easy to throw in. Words that have left the lexicon.

Anyway, good luck... all the best fot the exam!

Words that once meant something specific, then went on to mean something much broader (hence the term, broadening)

for example - 'ship' at one time specifically meant a sailing vessel, now it can mean a space ship or many other vehicles

No prizes for guessing what this one means xD

The opposite of broadening, words that meant something very broad, now means something specific

Meat, for example, meant any food stuff at all

now, it only means food taken from an animal (and quorn, some may argue)

The long S was used before the end of the 18th centuary

it looks like this! ſ <-- a bit like a fancy F

It was only used at the beginning and the middle of words, never at the end

It seemed to fade out due to printing issues

If you see an old text, this may be something to comment on (even if it isnt there!)

See if you can throw these in:

Technological revolution - brought loooads of new words

graphological features (not a term, per say) - printing restrictions

Estuary english - a blend of recieved pronunciation (the oxford/cambridge type accent) and cockney. Used in the media. E.g. Johnathan Ross has it

Archaisms - very easy to throw in. Words that have left the lexicon.

Anyway, good luck... all the best fot the exam!

Words created based on a name

e.g. Sandwich - from the Earl of Sandwich :)

Words that made by adding an affix or a suffix

for example 'degenerate', 'discombobulated'

Acronyms that form words themselves.

Famous example: SCUBA; self -contained-underwater-breathing-apparatus (or something similar)

Words that join together to make new words that, as the name suggests, are pretty much self explanatory

Examples: Handbag, Girlfriend etc

Words that join together but in a half & half kind of way

Examples: brunch (breakfast & lunch) Jeggings (jeans & leggings)

Conversion: nouns changing to verbs, visa versa - e.g. a hammer, to hammer

"oh look a hoover"

"oh god i've gotta go hoover that up now"

You get the idea xD

Semantic change = changes in meaning

These could be:

Pejoration

Amerlioration

Broadening

Narrowing

Register drift

A word that was originally considered to be slang may gain acceptance

or, of course, the other way round

A word that had good connotations has become more negative over time

the example everyone uses is 'gay' - used to be joyful, now either means someone who is of homosexual orientation or used by many youngster to mean stupid or annoying.

The opposite to Pejoration

Words that were once bad go to something that is good

e.g. Nice used to mean stupid, now it means pleasant :)

Words that once meant something specific, then went on to mean something much broader (hence the term, broadening)

for example - 'ship' at one time specifically meant a sailing vessel, now it can mean a space ship or many other vehicles

No prizes for guessing what this one means xD

The opposite of broadening, words that meant something very broad, now means something specific

Meat, for example, meant any food stuff at all

now, it only means food taken from an animal (and quorn, some may argue)

The long S was used before the end of the 18th centuary

it looks like this! ſ <-- a bit like a fancy F

It was only used at the beginning and the middle of words, never at the end

It seemed to fade out due to printing issues

If you see an old text, this may be something to comment on (even if it isnt there!)

See if you can throw these in:

Technological revolution - brought loooads of new words

graphological features (not a term, per say) - printing restrictions

Estuary english - a blend of recieved pronunciation (the oxford/cambridge type accent) and cockney. Used in the media. E.g. Johnathan Ross has it

Archaisms - very easy to throw in. Words that have left the lexicon.

Anyway, good luck... all the best fot the exam!