English Language Change Key Terms Key terms for lexical and semantic change in the English Language 4.5 / 5 based on 26 ratings ? English LanguageA2/A-levelAll boards Created by: KateCreated on: 06-01-12 16:25 The development of Standard English over a period of time Standardisation 1 of 19 Words or phrases that are no longer used or have gone out of fashion e.g. We now call 'Wireless' 'Radio' Archaism 2 of 19 When a word develops a more positive meaning e.g. 'wicked' or 'sick' Amelioration 3 of 19 When a word develops a negative meaning e.g. 'gay' Pejoration 4 of 19 When words lose their original force e.g. 'soon' is now seen as any length of time Weakening 5 of 19 When the meaning of a word grows to include more things, e.g. 'holiday' was once only used for holy days. Broadening 6 of 19 When the meaning of a word becomes more specific e.g. 'mete' used to refer to food in general, whereas now 'meat' means only one type Narrowing 7 of 19 Phrases that when said literally, make no sense 'over the moon' or 'under the thumb' Idiom 8 of 19 When alternative words and phrases are used to make something more pleasant e.g. 'kicking the bucket' Euphemism 9 of 19 Overused phrases and words e.g. 'at the end of the day' Cliche 10 of 19 Words which are taken from other languages Borrowing 11 of 19 The creation of a new word, usually through fictional authors Coinage 12 of 19 Adding prefixes and suffixes to existing words to form new ones e.g. 'Euphem(ism)' Affixation 13 of 19 When two words combine to make a new word, sometimes hyphonated e.g. 'blackbird' Compounding 14 of 19 When two parts of words are combined to make a new one e.g. 'smog' Blend 15 of 19 When the word class of a word changes e.g. a noun to a verb... 'bottle' becomes 'to bottle' Conversion 16 of 19 When a new word is formed by shortening a word e.g. 'ad' for 'advert' Abbreviation 17 of 19 Words formed by the initial letters of words e.g. 'NASA' or 'PLO' Acronym 18 of 19 When a word comes from names e.g. 'sandwich' or 'hoover' Eponym 19 of 19
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