http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/06/language-fashion-weather-speak
This link is to an article in which David Shariatmadari explores language change. The article includes other links which could be interesting to explore for more information on language change.
Jean Aitchison's metaphors for prescriptive language change:
There are two main attitudes to language change, they are : Prescriptive and Descriptive. Descriptive tries to explain things how they actually are and not what we want them to be, tries to find the unconscious rules that people follow then they are writing and speaking. Prescriptive tries to tell us how we should speak and write and what rules of language people should know.
Jean Aitchison is a descriptivist who came up with three metaphors to describe how the prescriptive view could be a myth. There are three myth idea's:
1. The crumbling castle: This is used to describe the English Language as once being a great castle but how overtime it has crumbled and decayed. However, Aitchison disagrees with this as she believes that language is constantly changing and there has been no time in history where language ahs remained the same and is perfect.
2. The damp spoon: This myth suggests that 'Bad English' sticks to people who are lazy and passive. Jean says, that this is not the case
Bibliography:
https://a2englishlanguagerevision.wikispaces.com/Attitudes+towards+Change+and+Variation
http://akinomisoon.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/7-what-is-meant-by-prescriptive-and.html
Monday, 9 May 2016
Language Change
Howard Giles developed a theory whereby people accommodate
their language in accordance with who they are talking to called Communication
Accommodation Theory. There are two types of accommodation processes in Giles’
Theory:
Convergence– convergence is a
process where people tend to adapt the other person’s communication
characteristics to reduce the social differences
Divergence-the process
contradicts the method of adaptation and in this context the individual
emphasise is on the social difference and nonverbal differences between the
interactants. It is often linked to overt prestige.
Either one depends on the characteristics of the interactant.
Bibliography:
Either one depends on the characteristics of the interactant.
Dr. Baratta is a lecture of sociolinguistics in University
of Manchester; he looked at ‘accentism’. He looked at how people modify their accents;
his investigation has 98 participants varying from young children to adults and
from teachers to students and other staff members from a variety of institutes.
Dr. Baratta said: “Many Brits consciously modify their
accent in social situations as a means to create a better impression.” Many of
the participants of the investigation
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