Modelling Change

Bailey’s ‘Wave Model’

Language change is all about studying the ways in which language has changed since it began. This module will look at how and why language has changed and the ways in which is continues to change.

Studying change

There is much debate over how language spreads and changes.
Linguists have created many ways of looking at the way language changes.

Bailey’s ‘wave model’

The wave model works on the same basis as a drop of water hitting the surface of a lake – it creates ripples.
Essentially, the closer you are to the drop of water the stronger the ripple.

Spread

In this sense, those closest to the geographical location of where the change occurs are more likely to pick up the change.
If you think back to MLE, the change spread very quickly through London, but took longer to diffuse out wider than this.

Trudgill

Trudgill, however, challenges this model.
He believes that change comes from big cities, is passed to big towns and then to smaller towns, missing out country dwellings.
He believes that the core case study of this is Yorkshire, where the archaic ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ are still in use in place of ‘you’.

Chen’s ‘S-Curve’ Model

Chen’s model shows that change takes time.

Chen’s ‘S-Curve’ model

Uptake

At point 1 – the change is made and there is some uptake (usually spreads through a social group).
At point 2 – more people are using it, but this is still limited to a geographical region or group.

Resistance

At point 3 – many more people know it now.
At point 4 – the change has reached as many people as it can. - Note that no change can ever reach 100% uptake, because people resist change, particularly older people.

Stage 1 & 2

You can use an example to exemplify this, like ‘lol’.
At stage 1, ‘lol’ was used by teens texting.
At stage 2, more teenagers began to use it nationally, internationally and globally.
This continued to spread and texters of other ages began to use it.

Stage 3 & 4

It received media publicity leading to stage 3 where there is now a large uptake from parents and older texters (note that it becomes almost obsolete amongst teens now).
We are currently at point 4, where many, many people know the term.

Effectivity

However you will often find that old people do not know that ‘lol’ means ‘laughing out loud’ and not ‘lots of love’, therefore the change has not been fully effective.

Evaluating Chen’s ‘S-Curve’ Model

MOVING UP THE BANDS – AO2: producing effective long-term change.

Level 3 - show detailed knowledge:

Chen’s ‘S-curve’ model can demonstrate that all change needs time in order to be effective.
In this model, change is shown to be effective as long as it can move out of a social group or geographical area.
- For example, MLE has started to have an effective change on the country due to it spreading outside of London to places as far as Manchester (as detailed in research from Drummond).

Level 4 - challenge:

However, Chen’s model also states that no change made can ever be 100% effective, as there will always be some people who resist change or who don’t adopt changes.
As a result, many changes may be ‘long-term’, but aren’t necessarily effective or vice-versa.
- For example, it is unlikely that ‘lol’ will still be being used in 50 years.

Level 5 - evaluate:

Change often loses effectiveness as a result of a lack of uptake.
As Chen details, no change is ever 100% taken up.
We can see this when considering something like ‘political correctness’ and other semantic and lexical change.
- For example, archaic racially-charged pejorative epithets (like the ‘n’ word) are rarely seen today, but are still occasionally seen in the speech of the older generation (who are resistant to change).

Level 5 - evaluate cont.

Ultimately, a change can gain mass popularity, but cannot ever be fully effective.
Even standardised lexical values often vary according to things like region.
- For example 'children' are also known as 'bairnes' in Newcastle.

1Language Levels

1.1Assessment Objectives

1.1.1Assessment Objectives

1.2Lexis

1.2.1Introduction

1.2.2Common, Proper, Abstract & Concrete Nouns

1.2.3Collective Nouns

1.2.4Adjectives

1.2.5Main, Auxiliary & Copular Verbs

1.2.6Dynamic & Stative Verbs

1.2.7Transitive, Intransitive, Active & Passive Verbs

1.2.8Mood of Verbs

1.2.9Adverbs

1.2.10Personal, Possessive & Reflexive Pronouns

1.2.11Relative & Demonstrative Pronouns

1.2.12Determiners

1.2.13Conjunctions

1.2.14Synonyms, Antonyms & Phonological Features

1.2.15End of Topic Test - Lexis

1.3Grammar

1.3.1Morphology

1.3.2Clauses

1.3.3Phrases

1.3.4Present Tense

1.3.5Past Tense

1.3.6Future Tense

1.3.7End of Topic Test - Grammar

1.4Semantics & Pragmatics

1.4.1Semantics

1.4.2Pragmatics

1.5Discourse Structure, Graphology & Orthography

1.5.1Discourse Structure

1.5.2Graphology & Orthography

1.5.3End of Topic Test - Semantics, Graphology etc.

2Language, The Individual & Society

2.1Children’s Language Development

2.1.1The Exam

2.1.2Phonemes, Vocal Tract & Articulation

2.1.3Writing About Phonemes

2.1.4Phonological Simplification

2.1.5A Child's First Year & Consonant Acquisition

2.1.6Beginning Stages of Language

2.1.7Lexical Development

2.1.8Stages of Development

2.1.9End of Topic Test - Child Language Development

2.2Children's Language Development - Theories

2.2.1Behaviourism

2.2.2Interactionism

2.2.3Challenging Interactionism

2.2.4Nativism

2.2.5Nativism - Exam Answer

2.2.6Cognitivism

2.2.7Social Constructionism

2.2.8Writing About Spoken Acquisition

2.2.9End of Topic Test - Development Theories

2.3Literacy Development: Reading

2.3.1Introduction

2.3.2Phonics vs Whole Word

2.3.3Debates in Reading

2.3.4Modelling Reading Acquisition

2.3.5Other Reading Theories

2.3.6End of Topic Test - Reading

2.4Literacy Development: Writing

2.4.1Orthography

2.4.2Kroll's Theory

2.4.3Barclay's Theory

2.4.4Creativity vs Accuracy

2.4.5Other Writing Theories

2.4.6The Exam

2.4.7End of Topic Test - Writing

3Language Diversity & Change

3.1The Importance of Gendered Language

3.1.1Writing About Gender

3.1.2Dominance Theory

3.1.3Interruptions - Zimmerman & West

3.1.4Deficit Theory

3.1.5Difference Model

3.1.6Difference Model - Men

3.1.7Diversity Model

3.1.8End of Topic Test - Gendered Language

3.2Social Groups

3.2.1Writing About Social Groups

3.2.2Social Class

3.2.3Social Class 2

3.2.4Age

3.2.5Age - Teen Speak

3.2.6Milroy’s Belfast Study

3.2.7Labov’s Martha’s Vineyard Study

3.2.8End of Topic Test - Social Groups

3.3Occupational Groups

3.3.1Writing About Occupational Groups

3.3.2Jargon

3.3.3Conversations

3.3.4Hierarchy & Power

3.3.5End of Topic Test - Occupational Groups

3.4Accents & Dialects

3.4.1Writing About Accent & Dialect

3.4.2Introduction to Accents & Dialects

3.4.3Accents - Matched Guide Experiment

3.4.4Accents - Received Pronunciation & Brummie

3.4.5Dialects - Dialectal Variations

3.4.6Accent & Dialect Case Study - London

3.4.7End of Topic Test - Accents & Dialects

3.5Language Change

3.5.1Writing About Language Change

3.5.2Modelling Change

3.5.3Modelling Change 2

3.5.4Lexical Change

3.5.5Semantic Change

3.5.6End of Topic Test - Language Change

3.6History of English

3.6.1Old English

3.6.2Old English 2

3.6.3Middle English

3.6.4Middle English 2

3.6.5Early Modern English

3.6.6Late Modern English

3.6.7Present Day English

3.6.8Global English

3.6.9American English

3.6.10Modelling Global English

3.6.11End of Topic Test - History of English

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