Monday, 9 May 2016
Dialects and banning words
In the article linked below, there are multiple quotes which stand out and would be to use in the Language Change section of the exam.
I found it interesting to see that some schools in the UK, Ongar Academy, are banning specific words from being use in the school and in social settings. Some of these words are: 'coz', 'aint', 'like' and 'innit' which I find astonishing as many of these banned colloquialisms are dialectal words. In some places these words are part of children's everyday vocabulary and have been brought up to talk using these words, to force them to stop using them could hinder their confidence when participating in conversation.
Someone who is for the banning of slang words is James Sledd, who is a Professor of English at the University of Texas. He stated that, "to use slang is to deny allegiance to the existing order". Another person who is for the banning of words in schools is, the head teacher of Ongar Academy, David Grant. He is has listed many different reasons why the ban is a good thing: their dialect "may not favourably reflect on them when they attend college and job interviews". In a way he could be seen as correct as some dialects are seen as stereotypically 'smarter' than others, which is a poor judge of character, based only on dialect. The writer of the article, Stan Carey, later goes on to say that "to assume that students who use slang – ie, most of them – will do so in interviews does them a disservice."
Both Sledd and Grant show a very prescriptive attitude throughout the article, claiming that slang is a bad thing and shouldn't be used. However a descriptivist's opinion is also expressed in the article: Julia Snell. Snell is a Sociolinguist and states that, "to learn and develop, children must participate actively in classroom discussion; they must think out loud, answer and ask questions." She is saying that through participating in the classroom, they are exercising their social skills and building it. However she also spoke about how the child's behaviour changes when the teacher's focus is on the form of speech and not the content that the child is providing, "children may simply remain silent in order to avoid the shame of speaking 'incorrectly', and miss the interactions crucial to learning." The children won't participate and develop their social skills causing them to miss critical periods of learning. And it will all be because they are scared of expressing themselves which the teachers would have enforced. The writer of the article appeared to be, by the end, against the ban (standardisation). He write that student's are now policing each other's language which is clearly wrong.
A theory that would be useful to link to this is Howard Giles' Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT). Giles said, "when people interact they adjust their speech, their vocal patterns and their gestures, to accommodate to others." This could be used by descriptivist's to show that no matter whether they use a dialect in everyday life or not, children will adjust their language when needed, e.g. in an interview.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/03/dialiects-slang-children-language-English
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication_accommodation_theory
Tuesday, 26 April 2016
Results from Targets of Mock Exam
Targets from the mock exam:
Language Change Theories/Theorists:
To fix my first target, I have researched two well known Language Change theories and theorists.
Erin McKean
David Crystal
CLA:
Piaget's Theory-Stages of Cognitive Development:
- Go over Language Change theories.
- Revise Piaget and Lenneberg's theories.
- Go over key features to use in CLA essays other than theorists.
Language Change Theories/Theorists:
To fix my first target, I have researched two well known Language Change theories and theorists.
Erin McKean
- Erin McKean is a lexicographer who has performed a few TED Talks, a significant one being: 'The Joy of Lexicography'. She's described her job as 'directing traffic of words'.
- She said that online dictionaries are pretty much replica's of physical dictionaries except it has a search engine. She went on to say that physical dictionaries soon won't be the 'physical shape' of the dictionary.
- She also said that we are 'in the dark' about language and the amount of words that are actually used.
David Crystal
- He believes in the theory that says people have the ability to use two dialects of the same language, with people about to adapt their language to meet the needs of different situations.
- He also said that 'the popularity of abbreviating words as our liking of 'linguistic economy' space constraints and technological limits are motivations to help us i.e. texting acronyms and initialisms usually convey message without wasting characters.'
CLA:
Piaget's Theory-Stages of Cognitive Development:
- Piaget stated that children won't learn concept that they don't understand unless they are ready to learn it and understand it.
- He came up with four stages of cognitive development: Sensori-motor, pre-operational, concrete operational and formal operational.
- Lenneberg said that there is a critical period where a child can learn rapidly.
- He stated that after this critical period language development becomes a lot harder.
- An example to prove his theory would be the famous case of 'Genie: the feral child'.
- Hallidays Functions
- Over/under generalisation
- Over/under extension
Thursday, 14 April 2016
Jonathan Swift Poem Analysis
The following poem is written by Jonathan Swift, it shows how he uses language in a non-standard way.
On Stella's Birth-Day 1719 by Jonathan Swift
Stella this Day is thirty four,
(We shan't dispute a Year or more)
However Stella, be not troubled,
Although thy Size and Years are doubled,
Since first I saw Thee at Sixteen
The brightest Virgin on the Green,
So little is thy Form declin'd
Made up so largely in thy Mind.
Oh, woud it please the Gods to split
Thy Beauty, Size, and Years, and Wit,
No Age could furnish out a Pair
Of Nymphs so graceful, Wise and fair
With half the Lustre of your Eyes,
With half your Wit, your Years and Size:
And then before it grew too late,
How should I beg of gentle Fate,
(That either Nymph might have her Swain,)
To split my Worship too in twain.
The poem shows language used in a different way to modern standard English. One example would be when he says: "Stella this Day is thirty four". I'm assuming that he's saying that it is Stella's thirty fourth birthday. The structure of the line causes a difficulty in figuring out what it is meant to say. It's quite an old-fashioned way of writing it and it even has the sense of a love letter with the use of the words "beauty" and "brightest". This isn't uncommon as back in the Swift's day, a lot of writing was about love. There are other lines that have structures that are uncommon in modern day:"Since first I saw Thee at Sixteen".
The noun 'birthday' that is in the title is split in to two with the two words being split by a hyphen. This shows that language is always changing mainly due to what is easier. What was before two words is now one word (a compound word), this makes it easier to both say and write. It is also capitalised which is interesting as back when Swift write the poem, birthday's weren't a big celebration like they are today. It is now more common to capitalise it now than back then.
It's also interesting that 'Day' has been capitalised in "Birth-Day". The reason for this could be to show the significance of the particular day. It could also be because there wasn't a particular/ standard way of writing the word(s). It isn't just the title that use odd capitalisation, it also used in the text eg: "Size and Years". I find it odd as there isn't a special significance to the two words. It almost seems like they are randomly put there as there are more than one capitalized word in every line.
Monday, 11 April 2016
Older texts and Standardisation
Dr. Johnson:
Dr Johnson's dictionary was published in the 18th century in 1755. He has been described as "a driver of standardising English"- he was specifically interested in spelling. At the time when Johnson published his dictionary, there was a large "explosion of popular print" like newspapers and magazines. Through this "explosion", Dr. Johnson "embalming English for all time, but he soon recognised that language has a plastic nature that can't be set in aspic."
Dr. Johnson's Dictionary wasn't the first dictionary to be created, there were many dictionaries that were created but none were more recognised as Johnson's. The dictionaries didn't have the same rules and the popular ones were those that were written by people who were respected for the literary world. In fact the first "word reference books" can be dated back to as early as the 8th century. Johnson provided etymologies for every word and a list of multiple meanings for the words. He also excluded obsolete terms and names.
He helped to "drive" the standardisation of English by doing many things. He helped pronunciation by showing how important stress was as a rule. He also cited words with similar vowel sounds. He quoted prestigious authors that were most popular to show the more standard way to write. The dictionary then created a space for future works like the Oxford English Dictionary, which is one of the most used at the moment.
Robert Lowth:
Robert Lowth was an Oxford professor that published his book 'Short Introduction to English Grammar' in 1762, around the same time as Dr. Johnson published his dictionary. His book was really influential in school education and had 45 editions by 1800.
Lowth's book created the 'do's' and 'don'ts's' of English Language. An example of one of the rules he created was using the word 'whom' correctly as the object form of 'who'.
Bibliography:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8255720.stm
https://prezi.com/imlh1dgypzho/samuel-johnsons-dictionary-and-its-contribution-to-the-standardisation-of-the-english-language/
http://www.1066andallthat.com/english_modern/standardising_03.asp
https://www.uni-due.de/SHE/HE_Standardisation.htm#grammars
Dr Johnson's dictionary was published in the 18th century in 1755. He has been described as "a driver of standardising English"- he was specifically interested in spelling. At the time when Johnson published his dictionary, there was a large "explosion of popular print" like newspapers and magazines. Through this "explosion", Dr. Johnson "embalming English for all time, but he soon recognised that language has a plastic nature that can't be set in aspic."
Dr. Johnson's Dictionary wasn't the first dictionary to be created, there were many dictionaries that were created but none were more recognised as Johnson's. The dictionaries didn't have the same rules and the popular ones were those that were written by people who were respected for the literary world. In fact the first "word reference books" can be dated back to as early as the 8th century. Johnson provided etymologies for every word and a list of multiple meanings for the words. He also excluded obsolete terms and names.
He helped to "drive" the standardisation of English by doing many things. He helped pronunciation by showing how important stress was as a rule. He also cited words with similar vowel sounds. He quoted prestigious authors that were most popular to show the more standard way to write. The dictionary then created a space for future works like the Oxford English Dictionary, which is one of the most used at the moment.
Robert Lowth:
Robert Lowth was an Oxford professor that published his book 'Short Introduction to English Grammar' in 1762, around the same time as Dr. Johnson published his dictionary. His book was really influential in school education and had 45 editions by 1800.
Lowth's book created the 'do's' and 'don'ts's' of English Language. An example of one of the rules he created was using the word 'whom' correctly as the object form of 'who'.
Bibliography:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8255720.stm
https://prezi.com/imlh1dgypzho/samuel-johnsons-dictionary-and-its-contribution-to-the-standardisation-of-the-english-language/
http://www.1066andallthat.com/english_modern/standardising_03.asp
https://www.uni-due.de/SHE/HE_Standardisation.htm#grammars
Monday, 21 March 2016
Language Change and Analysis
Reasons for Language Change:
When words begin to be used in different ways and acquire new meanings it is called neosemy, EG: 'Text' was originally a noun then became a verb as well. There are many different processes in language which are linked to neosemy like amelioration. This is the process where a word gains a more positive meaning like 'pretty' used to mean sly. Another process that is linked to neosemy is broadening, this is where a word keeps it's old meaning but adds a new one.
These processes are the ways in which language is changing. Through broadening, amelioration, narrowing and pejoration, words add, lose or change meanings which changes the language that we use everyday. But there are many reasons why language changes below.
One reason why language is changing is because of external factors like technology. Through the rise of technology and popularity of it, new words have been created and old words have broadened to be part of the lexical field of technology like the words "windows" and "virus". However not only is it external factors but also internal factors that affect it, like the base meaning of a word can be linked to something similar EG: an actual virus can be similar to a computer virus. Other reasons why could be because changing of social ideas where words aren't socially acceptable anymore EG: They instead of 'he' or 'she'.
Analysis of Hefer's article:
Throughout the article it is clear that the writer has a very prescriptive attitude which is what was expected when seeing that is from the Daily Mail. The newspaper is known to have an attitude that is about what's right and wrong, not having a more open opinion. It is shown when talking about the word "rubbish":
"These abominations have no place in serious writing."
The use of the word "abomination" is very odd to find in the text especially when talking about language change. The word brings along with it many negative connotations of horror and disgust. The word itself hasn't changed much over time as the original meaning from the Old French word "abominacion" which meant "the feeling of disgust, horror and loathing".
Something else that I found interesting is Heffer's use of the word 'he'. It seems to be his default word for third person, personal pronoun. A reason for this could be because of his prescriptive attitude as people with that attitude tend to say 'he' and don't understand why they should say anything else instead of it. The article was written in 2014, when 'they' would have been used instead of 'he' or 'she' when they don't know the gender of the person. Even though it might not have been fairly common, as a journalist he would have known that 'they' would have been the more favourable word. He does actually use 'they' at one point but then quickly reverts back to 'he'. It's interesting to consider the fact that he may have used it to be controversial. As a newspaper known for being controversial, the Daily Mail could have approved of his use of the default word just to get readers talking.
Following on from the newspaper's need to be controversial, the writer used the word 'joyously' to describe the whole article. The word brings positive connotations and makes you think that the article is going to be a light hearted article when really it's quite heavy with the use of "abomination" and "absurdity". They could have used even used it to be funny or sarcastic, it was again an odd use of the word.
When words begin to be used in different ways and acquire new meanings it is called neosemy, EG: 'Text' was originally a noun then became a verb as well. There are many different processes in language which are linked to neosemy like amelioration. This is the process where a word gains a more positive meaning like 'pretty' used to mean sly. Another process that is linked to neosemy is broadening, this is where a word keeps it's old meaning but adds a new one.
These processes are the ways in which language is changing. Through broadening, amelioration, narrowing and pejoration, words add, lose or change meanings which changes the language that we use everyday. But there are many reasons why language changes below.
One reason why language is changing is because of external factors like technology. Through the rise of technology and popularity of it, new words have been created and old words have broadened to be part of the lexical field of technology like the words "windows" and "virus". However not only is it external factors but also internal factors that affect it, like the base meaning of a word can be linked to something similar EG: an actual virus can be similar to a computer virus. Other reasons why could be because changing of social ideas where words aren't socially acceptable anymore EG: They instead of 'he' or 'she'.
Analysis of Hefer's article:
Throughout the article it is clear that the writer has a very prescriptive attitude which is what was expected when seeing that is from the Daily Mail. The newspaper is known to have an attitude that is about what's right and wrong, not having a more open opinion. It is shown when talking about the word "rubbish":
"These abominations have no place in serious writing."
The use of the word "abomination" is very odd to find in the text especially when talking about language change. The word brings along with it many negative connotations of horror and disgust. The word itself hasn't changed much over time as the original meaning from the Old French word "abominacion" which meant "the feeling of disgust, horror and loathing".
Something else that I found interesting is Heffer's use of the word 'he'. It seems to be his default word for third person, personal pronoun. A reason for this could be because of his prescriptive attitude as people with that attitude tend to say 'he' and don't understand why they should say anything else instead of it. The article was written in 2014, when 'they' would have been used instead of 'he' or 'she' when they don't know the gender of the person. Even though it might not have been fairly common, as a journalist he would have known that 'they' would have been the more favourable word. He does actually use 'they' at one point but then quickly reverts back to 'he'. It's interesting to consider the fact that he may have used it to be controversial. As a newspaper known for being controversial, the Daily Mail could have approved of his use of the default word just to get readers talking.
Following on from the newspaper's need to be controversial, the writer used the word 'joyously' to describe the whole article. The word brings positive connotations and makes you think that the article is going to be a light hearted article when really it's quite heavy with the use of "abomination" and "absurdity". They could have used even used it to be funny or sarcastic, it was again an odd use of the word.
Monday, 14 March 2016
English throughout time
Different periods of English:
The English language originated in around the 5th century from a variety of other languages including Angles, Anglo-Saxons and Jutes; before it became a language we spoke in Celtic. Due to historical events like the Viking raids until the 11th Century language has been caused to change. A large influence on our language has been Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse which is proven if you look at the etymology of most words; the origins will most likely be one of the two or from Latin, which is also highly influential.
In the 11th Century (Middle English), the Norman invasion was very important in the evolution of the English Language. The verbal language at the time was mostly French where as written documentation used Latin, mainly by the Church. Towards the end of this period English became prominent through writers like Chaucer who decided on writing in English than French (the most known verbal language). The differences between dialects became clearer at this point and separated the different parts of the English Language.
By the 15th Century many works were printed in English by the printing press from Europe by Caxton, this contributed to beginning of a standard form of English. It used the dialect form the South East as the basis of the new standard English. At this time there was an increasing pride in English as a language, as more writers write in the language like the Bible being printed into English and Shakespeare.
By the time of Modern English (18th Century), the language had increased it's usage including the borrowed words from Latin, Greek, French and other languages around the world. The structure of language and grammar was studied to reveal patterns in the way we use language which created what was right and what was wrong in language by people with prescriptive views. Now in present day English has developed through the influence of the media, travel and technology as world-wide language.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary:
When looking at a page from Samuel Johnson's Dictionary it is very clear that language has changed dramatically since 1755. There are few words that I recognise from the extract and the words that I do recognise have changed since then. The meanings have changed as have the way we pronounce them. An interesting part of the extract is that next to each word it has a name of who had used the word in their works; like Shakespeare and Dryden, then there was an example of the word being used. We have examples in the Oxford English Dictionary and even references if the example is from writing but we don't have an example from a text after every single word.
Inkhorn Controversy:
From the 16th-17th Century, as mentioned before, there was an increase in pride of the language. New words were coined using borrowed words from languages like Italian, Spanish and Latin, and compounding.
In 'The Arte of Rhetorique' inkhorn terms were first used. The terms were considered pretentious and artificial but encouraged creativity. They were used by many writers like Shakespeare.
The English language originated in around the 5th century from a variety of other languages including Angles, Anglo-Saxons and Jutes; before it became a language we spoke in Celtic. Due to historical events like the Viking raids until the 11th Century language has been caused to change. A large influence on our language has been Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse which is proven if you look at the etymology of most words; the origins will most likely be one of the two or from Latin, which is also highly influential.
In the 11th Century (Middle English), the Norman invasion was very important in the evolution of the English Language. The verbal language at the time was mostly French where as written documentation used Latin, mainly by the Church. Towards the end of this period English became prominent through writers like Chaucer who decided on writing in English than French (the most known verbal language). The differences between dialects became clearer at this point and separated the different parts of the English Language.
By the 15th Century many works were printed in English by the printing press from Europe by Caxton, this contributed to beginning of a standard form of English. It used the dialect form the South East as the basis of the new standard English. At this time there was an increasing pride in English as a language, as more writers write in the language like the Bible being printed into English and Shakespeare.
By the time of Modern English (18th Century), the language had increased it's usage including the borrowed words from Latin, Greek, French and other languages around the world. The structure of language and grammar was studied to reveal patterns in the way we use language which created what was right and what was wrong in language by people with prescriptive views. Now in present day English has developed through the influence of the media, travel and technology as world-wide language.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary:
When looking at a page from Samuel Johnson's Dictionary it is very clear that language has changed dramatically since 1755. There are few words that I recognise from the extract and the words that I do recognise have changed since then. The meanings have changed as have the way we pronounce them. An interesting part of the extract is that next to each word it has a name of who had used the word in their works; like Shakespeare and Dryden, then there was an example of the word being used. We have examples in the Oxford English Dictionary and even references if the example is from writing but we don't have an example from a text after every single word.
Inkhorn Controversy:
From the 16th-17th Century, as mentioned before, there was an increase in pride of the language. New words were coined using borrowed words from languages like Italian, Spanish and Latin, and compounding.
In 'The Arte of Rhetorique' inkhorn terms were first used. The terms were considered pretentious and artificial but encouraged creativity. They were used by many writers like Shakespeare.
Thursday, 10 March 2016
Article Analysis
In the article linked at the bottom, there are a range of examples of prescriptive attitudes throughout. I can apply Jean Aitchison's 'Damp Spoon' metaphor to the text as the metaphor is all about how society has became lazy with language and don't use as many words as we used to. The article stated that parents don't understand 'text speak' anymore as it has evolved to keep parent's 'in the dark' from their children's lives, both online and off.
A quote I found which showed the prescriptive attitude is, "unfathomable words". The "unfathomable words" that the writer is talking about are "bae" and "fleek" which are now very common words and young adult/ teenage speak. The writer seems to imply that these words are negative because of the group of people who use them. He appears to be stereotypical by calling the words unfathomable and then linking that to the users. Teenagers have the stereotype of the older generation not understanding them and so their language use isn't correct when really it's just non-standard. By using the word "unfathomable" he's saying that you can't understand the words and so they are wrong; it's unlikely that he would use that word is an adult said those words. If it was a descriptivist talking about the words then they would have just said that it's the evolution of language.
My next example which shows that the article has a prescriptive attitude is "these words are now effectively extinct". "Extinct" is a word that is commonly used in language by both people who have prescriptive attitudes and descriptive attitudes, that's not what the issue is. The issue with this quote is that the writer is stating the fact that the words "gr8" and "m8" are extinct. By stating this fact he's suggesting that using them now will be wrong as they "are extinct". Also, they aren't extinct, they are just not used as frequently as they are used today.
My last example is when he uses the phrase "caveman-form". The use of the words caveman has many negative connotations, it appears to be describing something as pre-historic and not correct. Saying that something is wrong is a prescriptive attitude as they have a set idea of what's right and what's wrong. This also links to when he says "today's youth" which has negative connotations.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3063455/English-language-changing-fast-words-majority-not-understand.html
My next example which shows that the article has a prescriptive attitude is "these words are now effectively extinct". "Extinct" is a word that is commonly used in language by both people who have prescriptive attitudes and descriptive attitudes, that's not what the issue is. The issue with this quote is that the writer is stating the fact that the words "gr8" and "m8" are extinct. By stating this fact he's suggesting that using them now will be wrong as they "are extinct". Also, they aren't extinct, they are just not used as frequently as they are used today.
My last example is when he uses the phrase "caveman-form". The use of the words caveman has many negative connotations, it appears to be describing something as pre-historic and not correct. Saying that something is wrong is a prescriptive attitude as they have a set idea of what's right and what's wrong. This also links to when he says "today's youth" which has negative connotations.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3063455/English-language-changing-fast-words-majority-not-understand.html
Tuesday, 8 March 2016
Analysis of Sandi Toksvig article
Toksvig Article: Sandi Toksvig finds linguistic treasures in the 'Urban Dictionary'
Throughout the article it is clear that Sandi Toksvig has a very descriptive attitude and it is communicated well through the text. She cleverly manages to express her descriptive view through the text, so that it suits the GRAPE.
As a newspaper, especially the Telegraph, you may assume that the articles that are published will be serious and will have a very prescriptive attitude; Toksvig expressing a descriptive attitude seems like it shouldn't fit, due to the audience most likely being people with prescriptive attitudes, but it does. She uses informal phrases like "a funny old thing" which suits the genre and audience. Along with this the phrase isn't criticising language, and isn't saying if something is right or wrong. She's suggesting that language is a bit unpredictable and that that is good, it's just the way that it goes. She also does this when she writes about a complaint she received from a woman at a Q&A. The woman appeared to have a very prescriptive attitude to language compared to Sandi Toksvig. And when Toksvig doesn't criticize her, it shows her descriptive attitude.
Later on she states that language is always evolving and "has never been one person's preserve". She says that as it is always evolving, it will never stay the same and she sows this when talking about the Oakland School Board in 1996. It shows that there's increasingly more words being added to languages and dialects, and even in this case, new languages/ dialects.
Another way that she suits the GRAPE is by adding humour to the article. She talks about a joke website which changes language into a comical language, which definitely suits the purpose to entertain; along with keeping the audience interesting. She also adds humour by including all of the different languages for "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year", then she ended on a humorous end by wishing the audience "Merry Christmas" in Danish.
One point in her article that could be considered questionable is when she talks about the Urban Dictionary. It is a very modern idea and also very descriptive which could make the audience not want to read it. The Telegraph newspaper doesn't usually talk about things like the Urban Dictionary and so it is questionable as to whether it is suitable. Personally, I think it is okay as she is talking about a topic which links to the purpose of the article.
Throughout the article it is clear that Sandi Toksvig has a very descriptive attitude and it is communicated well through the text. She cleverly manages to express her descriptive view through the text, so that it suits the GRAPE.
As a newspaper, especially the Telegraph, you may assume that the articles that are published will be serious and will have a very prescriptive attitude; Toksvig expressing a descriptive attitude seems like it shouldn't fit, due to the audience most likely being people with prescriptive attitudes, but it does. She uses informal phrases like "a funny old thing" which suits the genre and audience. Along with this the phrase isn't criticising language, and isn't saying if something is right or wrong. She's suggesting that language is a bit unpredictable and that that is good, it's just the way that it goes. She also does this when she writes about a complaint she received from a woman at a Q&A. The woman appeared to have a very prescriptive attitude to language compared to Sandi Toksvig. And when Toksvig doesn't criticize her, it shows her descriptive attitude.
Later on she states that language is always evolving and "has never been one person's preserve". She says that as it is always evolving, it will never stay the same and she sows this when talking about the Oakland School Board in 1996. It shows that there's increasingly more words being added to languages and dialects, and even in this case, new languages/ dialects.
Another way that she suits the GRAPE is by adding humour to the article. She talks about a joke website which changes language into a comical language, which definitely suits the purpose to entertain; along with keeping the audience interesting. She also adds humour by including all of the different languages for "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year", then she ended on a humorous end by wishing the audience "Merry Christmas" in Danish.
One point in her article that could be considered questionable is when she talks about the Urban Dictionary. It is a very modern idea and also very descriptive which could make the audience not want to read it. The Telegraph newspaper doesn't usually talk about things like the Urban Dictionary and so it is questionable as to whether it is suitable. Personally, I think it is okay as she is talking about a topic which links to the purpose of the article.
Monday, 7 March 2016
Prescriptive attitudes to language change
Using the words 'like', 'wait' and 'speak', I have found some similarities and differences between online dictionaries.
- The first similarity that I found in all the dictionaries that I looked at is that there was a phonetic spelling of the words, which is there to help the reader to pronounce the word.
- There are adjectives like 'archaic' next to the words to help to describe whether they are still used in modern day or if they are no longer used.
- In all dictionaries the word 'informal' is used to describe the formality that the word is used in. For example in the Oxford Online Dictionary, when looking at the word 'like', it is used when describing 'like' as a conjunction and then gives an example of the word in the phrase: "people who change countries like they change clothes". However it isn't just 'informal' used, 'British informal' is used in the same dictionary. It uses the phrase 'like anything' and then has 'British informal' next to it to explain to readers that it is only used in Britain as a informal phrase.
- Other conventions that it used is putting the word class next to the word, before the example of the word being used in that word class. An example would be that in all dictionaries when searching the word 'wait' it has the word classes, "noun" and "verb".
Monday, 29 February 2016
Attitudes to Language Change
Attitudes to Language Change, Prescriptive and Descriptive
In the article linked at the bottom of this post, it explores the idea that fashion is like language. It's interesting as it suggests that where fashion has it's phases that come and go like "beards", language too has phases, like when people in the 2000's were saying "sick" and in the 90's "wicked" was the word everyone said. Another more modern example is how teenagers from last year started saying "fleek" and "bae", the fashion trend was having "ombre" hair. The article had a very descriptive attitude, exploring the different attitudes and why they may have changed.
However it then explained that fashion and language do differ from each other. This is because in fashion, trends come back, where as it is unlikely for language trends to come back, like with the example the article gave: "hotsy totsy". It ended up explaining that language differs from fashion because language is a practical tool, not just a form of expression.
Even though clothes are practical, fashion is an aspect of clothing that can be changed to suit a person's taste. Language has parts that aren't essential to what is being communicated. It has a purpose to do that is essential for us to live. Fashion, although good as it is, doesn’t have an important purpose. If there was an emergency and you had to explain something to an emergency team, fashion wouldn’t help in that situation, words will.
Another person who has an interesting view on language is Jean Aitchison. She is a Professor of Language and Communication and created metaphors to describe prescriptive views to language change. The metaphors included: the damp spoon metaphor, the crumbling castle metaphor and the infectious disease assumption metaphor.
The Damp Spoon:
This is the metaphor that suggest that language change is because of laziness. She said that "there's a trade off between smooth, fast speech and slow careful speech. Faster speech involves more words per minute, and cannot be classed as ‘laziness’." When we speak faster, we will most likely use more words than if we spoke slower. When we speak slower, we miss out words that we as irrelevant. For example: People may now say "Went Asda" instead of "I went to Asda." This could also link to the idea of technology and text speak, creating initialisms because we can't be bothered to say "be right back" so we say "BRB".
The Crumbling Castle:
This metaphor is about language crumbling and that it needs to be preserved. She said, "…implies that the language of English was gradually and lovingly assembled until it reached a point of maximum splendour at some unspecified time in the past. Yet no year can be found when language achieved some peak of perfection, like a vintage wine.” She suggested that we use new uses of older forms of words, EG: "shoot up", "shot up" and "shooted up."
The Infectious Disease Assumption:
She stated, "The wholesale spread of corruption may surely be ascribed to mere infection, to the careless, unthinking assimilation of the floating germs which envelop us." The changes in language aren't random and hold on if language is moving in a specific direction.
Bibliography:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/06/language-fashion-weather-speak
http://a2englishlanguagestringer.blogspot.co.uk/
https://aggslanguage.wordpress.com/jean-aitchesons-language-change-progress-or-decay/
In the article linked at the bottom of this post, it explores the idea that fashion is like language. It's interesting as it suggests that where fashion has it's phases that come and go like "beards", language too has phases, like when people in the 2000's were saying "sick" and in the 90's "wicked" was the word everyone said. Another more modern example is how teenagers from last year started saying "fleek" and "bae", the fashion trend was having "ombre" hair. The article had a very descriptive attitude, exploring the different attitudes and why they may have changed.
However it then explained that fashion and language do differ from each other. This is because in fashion, trends come back, where as it is unlikely for language trends to come back, like with the example the article gave: "hotsy totsy". It ended up explaining that language differs from fashion because language is a practical tool, not just a form of expression.
Even though clothes are practical, fashion is an aspect of clothing that can be changed to suit a person's taste. Language has parts that aren't essential to what is being communicated. It has a purpose to do that is essential for us to live. Fashion, although good as it is, doesn’t have an important purpose. If there was an emergency and you had to explain something to an emergency team, fashion wouldn’t help in that situation, words will.
Another person who has an interesting view on language is Jean Aitchison. She is a Professor of Language and Communication and created metaphors to describe prescriptive views to language change. The metaphors included: the damp spoon metaphor, the crumbling castle metaphor and the infectious disease assumption metaphor.
The Damp Spoon:
This is the metaphor that suggest that language change is because of laziness. She said that "there's a trade off between smooth, fast speech and slow careful speech. Faster speech involves more words per minute, and cannot be classed as ‘laziness’." When we speak faster, we will most likely use more words than if we spoke slower. When we speak slower, we miss out words that we as irrelevant. For example: People may now say "Went Asda" instead of "I went to Asda." This could also link to the idea of technology and text speak, creating initialisms because we can't be bothered to say "be right back" so we say "BRB".
The Crumbling Castle:
This metaphor is about language crumbling and that it needs to be preserved. She said, "…implies that the language of English was gradually and lovingly assembled until it reached a point of maximum splendour at some unspecified time in the past. Yet no year can be found when language achieved some peak of perfection, like a vintage wine.” She suggested that we use new uses of older forms of words, EG: "shoot up", "shot up" and "shooted up."
The Infectious Disease Assumption:
She stated, "The wholesale spread of corruption may surely be ascribed to mere infection, to the careless, unthinking assimilation of the floating germs which envelop us." The changes in language aren't random and hold on if language is moving in a specific direction.
Bibliography:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/06/language-fashion-weather-speak
http://a2englishlanguagestringer.blogspot.co.uk/
https://aggslanguage.wordpress.com/jean-aitchesons-language-change-progress-or-decay/
Wednesday, 24 February 2016
Etymology and the stages of semantic development of 'Like'
'Like'
Etymology:
'Like' originally came from the Old English verb: lician, which meant "to please, be sufficient," similarly to the Proto-Germanic word, "likjan" where the "lik" meant: "body, form; same." The base meaning was "to be like". 'Like' and 'dislike' originally wasn't structured out the way we do today, originally it was: "It likes me" where as we now say "I like it". Our modern structure started to begin in late 14c.
Semantic Development:
Later on the verb broadened to become an adjective in Middle English, meaning "having the same characteristics or qualities". It could have been taken from the Proto-Germanic word: "galika" which meant "having the same form".
In 1200c 'like' became a noun meaning "a similar thing" to something else. Also at this time 'like' was used as a preposition with nouns and pronouns, for example: "It was only five o' clock, but it seemed like the middle of the night."
In modern day 'like' has become a discourse marker in, most commonly, teenager's speech. It can be used along with 'um', 'uh' and 'erm'. For example: "I, like, don't know where I'm going."
It is also used in modern day (although originally first used in 1778 then not used as much until much later) as part of speech that is from a particular dialect, EG: "I didn't do anything, like."
With the introduction of technology there has been the increase in social networks, including Facebook. As part of Facebook you can 'like' something, by clicking on the 'like' button. This then changes the 'like' from a semantic verb to a dynamic verb. An example would be "I saw you liked my Facebook status."
I think that with the increase of social network sites like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube there will always be new developments in language and new meanings to words. I think what could also be a factor in changing language recently is the media EG: newspaper articles, which frequently create blend words of celebrity couples. Along with this there's the ever growing film industry and new generations which create new meanings to words.
Examples:
It can be used as a synonym to 'enjoy' and 'be pleased by'.
'I like sweets' and 'I like skiing in winter.'
'We like to go to the dentist every six months.' and 'I like going to the gym every week.'
Another use of it is 'To come near' and 'to avoid with difficulty'
"He liked to have been too late."
It also means to find someone attractive, for example:
"I really like ... but don't know how to tell him."
Bibliography:
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=like
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv156.shtml
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/like#Etymology_1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like
Etymology:
'Like' originally came from the Old English verb: lician, which meant "to please, be sufficient," similarly to the Proto-Germanic word, "likjan" where the "lik" meant: "body, form; same." The base meaning was "to be like". 'Like' and 'dislike' originally wasn't structured out the way we do today, originally it was: "It likes me" where as we now say "I like it". Our modern structure started to begin in late 14c.
Semantic Development:
Later on the verb broadened to become an adjective in Middle English, meaning "having the same characteristics or qualities". It could have been taken from the Proto-Germanic word: "galika" which meant "having the same form".
In 1200c 'like' became a noun meaning "a similar thing" to something else. Also at this time 'like' was used as a preposition with nouns and pronouns, for example: "It was only five o' clock, but it seemed like the middle of the night."
In modern day 'like' has become a discourse marker in, most commonly, teenager's speech. It can be used along with 'um', 'uh' and 'erm'. For example: "I, like, don't know where I'm going."
It is also used in modern day (although originally first used in 1778 then not used as much until much later) as part of speech that is from a particular dialect, EG: "I didn't do anything, like."
With the introduction of technology there has been the increase in social networks, including Facebook. As part of Facebook you can 'like' something, by clicking on the 'like' button. This then changes the 'like' from a semantic verb to a dynamic verb. An example would be "I saw you liked my Facebook status."
I think that with the increase of social network sites like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube there will always be new developments in language and new meanings to words. I think what could also be a factor in changing language recently is the media EG: newspaper articles, which frequently create blend words of celebrity couples. Along with this there's the ever growing film industry and new generations which create new meanings to words.
Examples:
It can be used as a synonym to 'enjoy' and 'be pleased by'.
'I like sweets' and 'I like skiing in winter.'
- John Locke (1632-1705)
-
- He may either go or stay, as he best likes.
- 1865, Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, chapter 10:
- “I can tell you more than that, if you like,” said the Gryphon. “Do you know why it’s called a whiting?”
- 1907, Robert W. Chambers, chapter VIII, The Younger Set:
- At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy ; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends, turning technicality into pabulum.
- 1662, Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Systems of the World (Dialogue Two)
- And therefore it is the best way, if you like of it, to examine these taken from experiments touching the Earth, and then proceed to those of the other kind.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, The Celebrity:
- He used to drop into my chambers once in a while to smoke, and was first-rate company. When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me.
'We like to go to the dentist every six months.' and 'I like going to the gym every week.'
Another use of it is 'To come near' and 'to avoid with difficulty'
"He liked to have been too late."
It also means to find someone attractive, for example:
"I really like ... but don't know how to tell him."
Bibliography:
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=like
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv156.shtml
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/like#Etymology_1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like
Monday, 25 January 2016
Language Change
Language Change Articles
I found these articles from the Guardian which I thought were really interesting about Language Change.
In the first article the writer talks about how English Language is evolving quickly recently because of social media and instant messaging. John Sutherland, a professor of English, discovered that the majority of parents today are confused as to what their children are saying to their peers when using "text speak" terms. He explores terms like ICYMI ( which means: in case you missed it) and modern terms like "fleek" and "bae". They surveyed 2,000 people to see if they knew what these terms meant, and the results were very low.
From the study they came to the conclusion that that there is a "seismic gap" between younger and older generations when talking about modern use of informal language. They found that the case of this was from the limitation barrier created by old mobile phones which was when the acronyms "M8" and "GR8" were created. However, the article mentioned that these terms are now "extinct" from language use as it is considered an old use of language. He then went on to explain how emojis are becoming the new form of language.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/01/icymi-english-language-is-changing-faster-than-ever-says-expert
The second article is called: 8 pronunciation errors that made the
English language what it is today. In he article, the writer starts of by
explaining that he heard a story from someone about a professor who
pronounced 'awry' wrong. He said that she had pronounced like that her
whole life and never realised until that point that she ad been saying it
wrong. He then went on to explain that there are many word that we pronounce
incorrectly but have used the incorrect version for so long that we don't know
any better.
One example he gave was that some words start with letter that when
pronounced sounds like it would have been on the preceding word. He explained
that many words began with the letter 'n' but now don't because of the
elimination from the word, for example: 'adder' was 'nadder' and 'apron'
was 'napron'. He mantions that linguists call this 'rebracketing'.
He also explains about when sounds disappear, swap around and when sound
intrude.
Friday, 22 January 2016
CLA Research
CLA Research task:
1. The stages of child language acquisition in order:
Cooing, Babbling, Holophrastic, Two word, Telegraphic and Post-Telegraphic.
2. Theorists and theories:
Chomsky- Nativist,
Piaget- Cognitive,
Skinner- Behaviourist,
Bruner- Interactional,
Lenneberg- Critical Period
3. A child refers to apples, oranges and grapefruit as 'ball'. What process is at work and what might be the reasons for this?
The process is overextension, the reason why this happens is because they are the same shape, children assume they are the same.
4. A child refers to her boots as 'shoes' but will not use this term to describe any other shoes, apart from her own. What process is at work and what might be the reason for this?
The process is under extension and the reason for it is because that they look the same or maybe that they learnt it through modelling. So, if her parents/ carer calls them shoes she will then call them shoes. It could also be that they can't relate it to any other word that they know.
5. A child says 'I falled over' or 'I runned away'. What process is at work and what might be the reason for this?
The process is called overgeneralisation and is because the child has learnt 'run' and 'fall', and so recognises adding 'ed' on verbs but uses it in a non-standard way.
6. A child says 'Daddy go work' as his father leaves for work. At what stage of development might we suggest the child is and which clause elements has the child used and which are missing?
The stage of development that the child is at is the Telegraphic stage. The clause elements that the child used the verb 'to go'. However, they've left out 'is' and 'to' which would change it to 'Daddy is going to work.'
7. A child says 'Me like ice cream'. In what way is she using some elements of grammar correctly and in what ways is she making errors?
The child is using language correctly by getting the words in the correct order and even using the pronoun 'me' and recognising what it means. However, she is making some errors like using 'me' instead of the personal pronoun 'I'.
8. A child says 'timney' instead of 'chimney'. What process is at work and what might be the reason for this?
The process that is at work is substitution. The reason for this is because it's easier to pronounce for the child.
9. A child says 'ca' instead of 'cat'. What process is at work and what might be the reason for this?
The process that is at work is deletion. This is because again it's easier to pronounce for the child.
10. A child says 'nana' instead of 'banana'. What process is at work and what might be the reason for this?
The process at work is deletion of an unstressed syllable. This would make it easier for the child to say.
11. Hallidays functions:
Instrumental- When the child uses language to express their needs.
Regulatory- Where language is used to tell others what to do.
Interactional- Where language is used to make contact with others and for relationships.
Personal- The use of language to express feelings, opinions and individual identity.
Heuristic- When language is used to gain knowledge about the environment.
Imaginative- When language is used to tell stories and jokes, and to create an imaginary environment.
Representational- The use of language to convey facts and information.
12.What are 'wugs'? Who researched them? What did she discover?
'Wugs' are imaginary creatures created for the 'Wug Test' made up by psychologist Jean Berko Gleason. It was a test made to test children and see their ability to apply linguistic rules. She found that children younger than 4 years old couldn't apply the rules, but children aged 4 and 5 could apply the plural 'wugs' without ever hearing the word before hand. It proved to her that language isn't memorised.
13.Out of the average child's first 50 words, the most common word class will probably be what? Why might this be?
The most common word class are nouns, most likely concrete nouns. This is because nouns are the most common item that are around the child.
14. In what ways might turn-taking be established between a carer and a child?
It would be established by the parent asking them questions in a conversation so the child then would answer.
15. List the ways in which a parent or carer can make their use of language easier for a child to understand. What might this type of language be termed?
Using a simplified vocabulary, for example saying 'monkey' instead of 'Orangutan.
16. Who was Genie and what might she prove?
Genie was a 'feral' child found by social workers. She was 13 and limited to about 20 words. She's often used to prove Bruner's Interactional theory and Lenneberg's Critical Learning Period.
17. Who was Jim and what did he prove?
Jim was a boy who was born to deaf parents and was made to sit in front of a TV in the hope that he would pick up language. His language was damaged and is used to prove the Interactional Theory.
18. Apart from the main theorists mentioned above, which other researchers could you refer to when talking about child language?
Another researcher used when talking about child language is David Crystal.
19. What do the initials L.A.D stand for?
L.A.D stands for Language Acquisition Device.
20. At the telegraphic stage, children often combine content words in the correct sequence (syntax) but miss out certain grammatical words. Give two word classes (and an example of each) that children often omit.
Children often leave out determiners, for example: the, and auxiliary verbs, for example am running.
1. The stages of child language acquisition in order:
Cooing, Babbling, Holophrastic, Two word, Telegraphic and Post-Telegraphic.
2. Theorists and theories:
Chomsky- Nativist,
Piaget- Cognitive,
Skinner- Behaviourist,
Bruner- Interactional,
Lenneberg- Critical Period
3. A child refers to apples, oranges and grapefruit as 'ball'. What process is at work and what might be the reasons for this?
The process is overextension, the reason why this happens is because they are the same shape, children assume they are the same.
4. A child refers to her boots as 'shoes' but will not use this term to describe any other shoes, apart from her own. What process is at work and what might be the reason for this?
The process is under extension and the reason for it is because that they look the same or maybe that they learnt it through modelling. So, if her parents/ carer calls them shoes she will then call them shoes. It could also be that they can't relate it to any other word that they know.
5. A child says 'I falled over' or 'I runned away'. What process is at work and what might be the reason for this?
The process is called overgeneralisation and is because the child has learnt 'run' and 'fall', and so recognises adding 'ed' on verbs but uses it in a non-standard way.
6. A child says 'Daddy go work' as his father leaves for work. At what stage of development might we suggest the child is and which clause elements has the child used and which are missing?
The stage of development that the child is at is the Telegraphic stage. The clause elements that the child used the verb 'to go'. However, they've left out 'is' and 'to' which would change it to 'Daddy is going to work.'
7. A child says 'Me like ice cream'. In what way is she using some elements of grammar correctly and in what ways is she making errors?
The child is using language correctly by getting the words in the correct order and even using the pronoun 'me' and recognising what it means. However, she is making some errors like using 'me' instead of the personal pronoun 'I'.
8. A child says 'timney' instead of 'chimney'. What process is at work and what might be the reason for this?
The process that is at work is substitution. The reason for this is because it's easier to pronounce for the child.
9. A child says 'ca' instead of 'cat'. What process is at work and what might be the reason for this?
The process that is at work is deletion. This is because again it's easier to pronounce for the child.
10. A child says 'nana' instead of 'banana'. What process is at work and what might be the reason for this?
The process at work is deletion of an unstressed syllable. This would make it easier for the child to say.
11. Hallidays functions:
Instrumental- When the child uses language to express their needs.
Regulatory- Where language is used to tell others what to do.
Interactional- Where language is used to make contact with others and for relationships.
Personal- The use of language to express feelings, opinions and individual identity.
Heuristic- When language is used to gain knowledge about the environment.
Imaginative- When language is used to tell stories and jokes, and to create an imaginary environment.
Representational- The use of language to convey facts and information.
12.What are 'wugs'? Who researched them? What did she discover?
'Wugs' are imaginary creatures created for the 'Wug Test' made up by psychologist Jean Berko Gleason. It was a test made to test children and see their ability to apply linguistic rules. She found that children younger than 4 years old couldn't apply the rules, but children aged 4 and 5 could apply the plural 'wugs' without ever hearing the word before hand. It proved to her that language isn't memorised.
13.Out of the average child's first 50 words, the most common word class will probably be what? Why might this be?
The most common word class are nouns, most likely concrete nouns. This is because nouns are the most common item that are around the child.
14. In what ways might turn-taking be established between a carer and a child?
It would be established by the parent asking them questions in a conversation so the child then would answer.
15. List the ways in which a parent or carer can make their use of language easier for a child to understand. What might this type of language be termed?
Using a simplified vocabulary, for example saying 'monkey' instead of 'Orangutan.
16. Who was Genie and what might she prove?
Genie was a 'feral' child found by social workers. She was 13 and limited to about 20 words. She's often used to prove Bruner's Interactional theory and Lenneberg's Critical Learning Period.
17. Who was Jim and what did he prove?
Jim was a boy who was born to deaf parents and was made to sit in front of a TV in the hope that he would pick up language. His language was damaged and is used to prove the Interactional Theory.
18. Apart from the main theorists mentioned above, which other researchers could you refer to when talking about child language?
Another researcher used when talking about child language is David Crystal.
19. What do the initials L.A.D stand for?
L.A.D stands for Language Acquisition Device.
20. At the telegraphic stage, children often combine content words in the correct sequence (syntax) but miss out certain grammatical words. Give two word classes (and an example of each) that children often omit.
Children often leave out determiners, for example: the, and auxiliary verbs, for example am running.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)