Language change refers to the process in which a particular language varies in its linguistic levels of analysis by developing or assimilating new forms and/or eliminating and/or totally modifying some of the existing forms (Schukla & Conner-Linton, 2014). Every natural language is subject to change over time even if these changes and alterations do not receive recognition by the individuals that use them. The process of change can be a slow and sure process or certain catch phrases may be incorporated very quickly (Kroch, 1989). Thus, the changes may not always be obvious but by comparing different the same language at different times, comparing different dialects, or how different languages interact, it becomes clear that languages change in all of their qualities including their grammar, syntax, semantics, lexicon, morphology, and phonology (Algeo & Butcher, 2013).
The process of language change is studied both by historical linguists and sociolinguists.
Historical linguists study the changes occurring in languages over time (diachronic change), examine how languages/dialects were used in the past, and these relate to one another (Kroch, 1989). Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of all aspects of society on languages and how language changes over time (Algeo & Butcher, 2013) by focusing on how varieties of language differ between demographics (e.g., groups defined by social variables such as age, ethnicity, religion, level of education, and so forth) as well as how the creation and adherence language rules can be used to categorize individuals in terms of social or socioeconomic classes. Thus, these disciplines assume that the phonetic, morphological, semantic, syntactic, features of language will vary and change over time.
2. Analogy: This is a process that reduces words perceived as bring to similar to other regular forms of words. It involves the influence of one form or group of forms of a word on another word causing one group of forms to become more like the other.
a. Mostly due to morphological change. For instance the original past tense of the verbal verb help was holp; however, because many English verbs form their past tense by using the general and the regular morpheme ed so holp gave way to helped as the regular past tense form (Schukla & Conner-Linton, 2014).
b. There is also a semantic process involved with some words. For instance the word livid originally meant pale; however, its semantic similarity to the word vivid has resulted in a semantic change in its meaning (Hock & Joseph, 2009).
3. Contact with Other Languages: Different languages frequently come into contact with one another. Perhaps the most common way that languages influence each other occurs through the exchange of words. This is particularly true if there is lexical a gap in the language. An example would be the incorporation of the Japanese words sushi or karate into the English language (Beckner, Blythe, Bybee, Christiansen, Croft, et al., 2009).
Basic Types of Change
The above casual mechanisms result in three basic…
The attendant rules for the words may, or may not be carried to the new language. For example, many French words carry their plurals into English, while some more recent additions adopt English rules for pluralization So we create new words or meanings as needed, and we drop old ones as they become obsolete or lose their usefulness. Another way language changes is by attitude. Cultural influences make certain words
Real-Time Language Change "The moral of the story is that if we think we observe a change in progress from a to B, we need to provide evidence not just of the existence of B, but also of the prior existence of A" (Britain, 2008:1). So it is how Britain summarizes his overall findings of an investigation into the origins of a conservative conservational variant in 19th century New Zealand English.
Language and Social Grouping Language is used differently in different geographic groups, ethnic, age, gender, and socioeconomic groups (Williams, 2010). Geographic groups use the same languages in different dialects that belong to the particular geographic regions. Within each language are many different dialects that have been formed with different geographic locations and cultures. Shared words, experiences, cultures, and expressions are ethnic and shared elements of the social fabric. Language of a common
Finally, nativists must concede that culture and native language can shape ideas in the long run. After all, a person's cultural surroundings seem to greatly affect their interpretation of experiences over the course of their life (Bowerman and Choi 475-476). The difference in how much those cultural experiences affect an individual and their language, as well as when such effects happen, is what makes up the entire debate between
Changing Affirmative Action Laws The Need to Change Affirmative Action Laws The affirmative action laws have been around since the 1960s, but now there is a need to change them due to the changes that have been seen in society. The laws were designed for a very specific time in history, and at that time they were what was needed in order to make sure people who had been discriminated against were
Apparently this view has much in its favor. When we compare modern English with some of those Indian languages which are most concrete in their formative expression, the contrast is striking. When we say "The eye is the organ of sight, the Indian may not be able to form the expression the eye, but may have to define that the eye of a person or of an animal is meant.
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