Language Change Theorists

Norman Fairclough
1. Conversationalist
  1. Spoken language drives change in written mode
2. there have been 'shifting boundaries between written and spoke discourse practises and a rising prestige and status for spoke language'
Jean Aitchison
1. describes attitudes to language change using metaphors
2. parodies of prescriptivism
  1. damp spoon parody
  2. crumbling castle parody
  3. infectious disease parody
Dennis Freeborn
1. similar to Aitchison
  1. parodies prescriptivism
2. describes trends in Spoken language change
3. 3 main views
  1. incorrectness view
    1. all accents are correct compared to SE and RP
    2. Freeborn refutes this- RP standard due to fashion and convention
  2. ugliness view
    1. some accents don't sound nice
    2. linked to stereotypes and negative connotations
    3. least-liked accents often found in poorer urban areas
  3. inprecisness view
    1. lazy and sloppy accents
    2. e.g. estuary English
Howard Giles
1. Accomodation Theory
  1. Speakers adjust their speech to accomodate others
    1. showing need for approval
      1. convergence
    2. some exaggerated accent in order to distance selves from others, reinforcing identity
      1. divergence
informalisation
1. the general belief that language is getting increasingly informal over time
Standardisation
1. process that occured throughout late Modern Period where rules of spelling, punctuation and grammar were standardised
2. standardised to resemble English as we know it, following printing press and emergence of dictionaries and grammar guides
3. context
  1. William Caxton's printing press- 1476
  2. Samuel Johnson's Dictionary- 1755
  3. first fascicle of OED published- 1884
Prescriptivism vs Descriptivism
1. Prescriptivits
  1. believe that there's a 'correct' way to speak and write English
    1. judge non-standard uses as inferior to SE and RP
  2. Jonathan Swift was a prescriptivist
2. Descriptivism
  1. describe changes in English using non-judgemental/ neutral terms
  2. David Crystal is a good example of this
William Labov (1963)
1. 'Martha's Vineyard Research'
  1. suggested we subconsciously change our language to suit ourselves with one group rather than another
Searle (1976)
1. 5 different groups of semantics
  1. assertives
    1. state/ suggest/ boast
  2. directives
    1. order/ demand/ request
  3. commisives
    1. promise/ offer
  4. expressives
    1. thank/ comiserate
  5. declaratives
    1. name things/ appoint

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Language Change Theorists

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	Created by BethanMayStevenson over 9 years ago