Modelling Change 2

Modelling Change

Aitchison’s PIDC model documents the timeline of how language changes. Halliday believes that language changes as a result of the needs and requirements of the users of the language.

Jean Aitchison

One of the most influential and important linguists for language change is Jean Aitchison.
Aitchison’s PIDC model documents the timeline of how language changes...

Aitchison’s PIDC model

Potential – there is the gap or potential for change.
Implementation – the change occurs.
Diffusion – the change spreads.
Codification – the change is made official (e.g. being added to the dictionary).

Halliday

Halliday believes that language changes as a result of the needs and requirements of the users of the language.
This can work in two ways...

Halliday’s functional theory

Lexical gaps – there is a gap in the lexicon for something which needs describing.
- For example, ‘laptop’.

Halliday’s functional theory cont.

Function shifts – where a word exists, but we need a different word class.
For example, ‘Google’ as:
- A noun (‘I found it on Google’).
- A verb (‘I’ll Google it’).
- An adjective (‘A Google search’).

Other Theories

Hockett’s theory accounts for errors. Substratum theory explains how changes can be made as a result of interactions with other languages and variations of English.

Hockett’s ‘random fluctuation’ theory

Hockett’s theory accounts for errors.
He says that when someone makes an error (a ‘random fluctuation’ in the standard), these errors can be standardised and recognised as somewhat synonymous.
- For example, iPhones famously autocorrect ‘fuck’ and ‘fucking’ to ‘duck’ and ‘ducking’, sparking social media attention and memes.

Substratum theory

Substratum theory explains how changes can be made as a result of interactions with other languages and variations of English.
- For example, British English saw an increase in the use of ‘like’ as an intensifier as a result of American English use of it on TV shows like FRIENDS.

Substratum changes

The most common explanation for substratum changes include:
- The media (the above example).
- Invasion (the French invasion of 1066).
- Immigration (as in MLE).
- Through travel and exploration (as in the birth of America).

Crystal & Aitchison

Crystal describes language changing as being like the tide. Aitchison created 3 models to describe attitudes towards language change.

David Crystal’s tide metaphor

Crystal describes language changing as being like the tide – new things get washed up on shore and the tide takes other things away.
Sometimes things make it onto the beach permanently, others only momentarily.

David Crystal’s tide metaphor cont.

In addition, there are never two tides exactly the same – some tides will only impact certain parts of the beach.
The metaphor explains that all change is different, lasts differing amounts of time and affects different groups of people.

Aitchison’s prescriptivist attitudes

Aitchison created 3 models to describe attitudes towards language change.
However it is important to note that Aitchison does not believe that language change is any of these things – quite the opposite – she is a descriptivist.
These are attitudes which prescriptivists have.

Damp spoon syndrome

Damp spoon syndrome:
- This stems from the distasteful act of leaving a damp spoon in a bowl of sugar.
- This implies that people are lazy and disrespectful of language.
  - For example, the growing trend of ‘g-dropping’.

Infectious disease assumption

Infectious disease assumption:
- This is all about the idea that changes are like germs which spread and infect the language.
  - For example, text language is often described as infecting our language.

Crumbling castle view

Crumbling castle view:
- This is all about the idea of that English was at some point at a ‘golden age’ and is now in a state of disrepair.

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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