Why does language change
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The document discusses the standardization of the English language over time. It explains that standardization was a gradual process influenced by printing technology, prescriptivism through grammar books and dictionaries, and a desire to stabilize and codify the language. While standardization made spelling and grammar more consistent, it was also influenced by social and political factors regarding notions of "correct" English. The document also contrasts prescriptive and descriptive views of language and how attitudes toward standardization and change have varied over time.
Why does language change
- 1. Why does language change?
- 2. Exploring language standardisation As you become familiar with Late Modern English texts you can see transitions in style and usage from 1700 to present day. Language has been standardised in the key linguistic areas: • Lexis and semantics: Dictionaries have attempted to “fix” the meanings of words, or reflect semantic changes. • Grammar: Printing and prescriptivism have fixed some syntactical rules, captured in grammar books. • Spelling: Dictionaries, spell-checkers and the teaching of spelling rules make spelling more “correct” and rule-bound than it used to be. • Graphology: Printing has allowed for more uniformity, and even cursive handwriting styles are taught to children in school.
- 3. Key words... • Prescriptivism... an attitude to language use that makes judgements about what is right and wrong and holds language up to an ideal standard that should be maintained. • Descriptivism... an attitude to language use that seeks to describe it without making value judgements. • Renaissance... from the French for “rebirth”, it refers to a cultural movement in European history from the middle of the 14th to 17th century which looked back to the classical age for its inspiration.
- 4. Exploring language standardisation • Technological developments have affected language standardisation as people make more idiolectal choices over things like text spelling. • Have a think about... Why standardise a language? Who is responsible for standardising a language? How is language standardised? (Look on page 108 for the answers!)
- 5. Standardisation has a long history... It happened gradually as the result of some key factors: • Printing allowed conventions of spelling and punctuation to evolve and, as many argue, gave southern dialects supremacy in creating Standard English. • People’s desire to stabilise, fix and codify the language and became stronger and resulted in grammar books and dictionaries that recorded rules for written English.
- 6. Exploring language standardisation • Standardisation was driven by people for ____ and ____ reasons and supported through _____ advances that made it possible to ____ language and create rules. However, standardisation is very much caught up with attitudes and values, such as those of prescriptivism, and notions of what is “correct” and “poor English. • Define prescriptivism... An attitude to language use that makes judgements about what is right and wrong and holds language up to an ideal standard that should be maintained. • Much political and media rhetoric is heard concerning raising literacy standards and maintaining English grammatical rules. Codify, social, technological, standard, political, modern
- 7. Emerging standardisation • Drive for standardisation - a gradual process over centuries - enabled by printing technology and establishing of a particular dialect for printed texts - assisted by the crucial changes to English grammar, lexis, punctuations and phonology occurring in Early Modern English during Renaissance. • It was in the 18th Century that standardisation was firmly more established. The grammarians of the 18th Century left a more lasting effect on English, and their work has resulted in many of the “rules” you apply when you use written Standard English e.g. famous examples are not using double negatives and not ending a sentence with a preposition.
- 8. Emerging standardisation • 1755 – Dr Samuel Johnson, first major dictionary. *offered definitions of about 40,000 word. Most ambitious dictionary yet, and started trend for dictionaries that culminated in the Oxford English Dictionary in the 19th century* • 1762 – Robert Lowth’s “Short Introduction to English Grammar” • 1794 – Lindley Murray’s English Grammar All these contributed to trying to “fix” the English Language into a prestigious and standard form. This partly involved the revering of Latin and incorporating some of its rules into English. The spoken language and the language used by ordinary people was judged inferior by 18th-century standards, linking ideals about English usage to class attitudes. What is the difference between “obsolete” and “archaic”? • 19th century built on the standardisation process. There was mass education and literacy programmes enforced for the “ideal” standards of written English. This was a focus predominantly on written English, creating a distance and difference between this mode and spoken English. Remind yourself of key dates at the bottom of page 111.
- 9. Exploring prescriptive and descriptive attitudes • What is prescriptivism? an attitude to language use that makes judgements about what is right and wrong and holds language up to an ideal standard that should be maintained. (Believe high standards should be maintained. Current English usage has declining standards. Judgements are made about regional dialect and sociolectal forms e.g. slang is inferior) • What is descriptivism? an attitude to language use that seeks to describe it without making value judgements. (Change is inevitable and necessary and should be embraced) Look at fig. 14 on page 112 to see the opinions of both expressed.
- 10. Some fun theory!!! • Jean Aitchison, 1996. “Is our language in decay?” She uses metaphors to suggest people’s worries and fears about language change: Damp-spoon syndrome: Language changes because people are lazy, like leaving a damp spoon in the sugar bowl. This view presupposes that one type of language is inferior to another. Crumbling castle view: Language is like a beautiful castle that must be preserved. However, language has never been at a pinnacle and a rigid system is not always better than a changing one. Infectious disease assumption: Bad/poor language is caught like a disease from those around us and we should fight it; but people pick up language changes because they want to, perhaps in order to fit with certain social groups.
- 11. Exploring prescriptive and descriptive attitudes The view that English is in decline is not a new one: • 18th century - the age of prescriptivism. The main fears were: the speed of change, the lack of official control over change, and writers’ disregard for grammar and spelling. • 20th & 21st centuries – greater informalisation, fewer distinctions made between spoken and written, non-standard forms of English are valued (eye dialect or text language), debates have centred on society’s attitudes towards language used about specific groups, hence the notion of using politically correct speech. Marked the popularity of the descriptivist attitude, although other influential members of society (the government and the media) often offer prescriptivist ones ***Look at page 114-116 to note the key changes in attitudes across Late Modern English***
- 12. Changing attitudes and changing contexts • Throughout English attitudes have changed with regard to your key social contexts of power, gender and technology. E.g. issues of political correctness might be evident in contemporary texts discussing gender.
- 13. Some fun theory!!! • David Crystal in “Rediscover Grammar” sees what he calls a tridialectal future for us, an extension of bidialectism, where people use their national standard and regional dialect. He says that we move comfortably between three dialects in various situations: - At home we will use the dialect of the region from which we come - Travelling around Britain, for work a pleasure, we will use Standard English - Travelling around the world we will use World Standard English