Lexical Change

Innovative Lexical Change

Lederer (and other linguists) have theorised about the ways in which new words can make it into our language. We can sort these changes into ‘innovations’ (changing something which exists) and ‘inventions’ (creating something new entirely).

Blending

Blending:
- When two existing words are fused to make one new word.
  - For example, smoke and fog forming smog.

Clipping

Clipping:
- When part of a word is removed, but the meaning is virtually the same.
  - For example, ‘sync’ from ‘synchronise’.

Compounding

Compounding:
- When two existing words are stuck together as they are to form a new word.
  - For example, ‘black’ and ‘bird’ to form ‘blackbird’.

Conversion

Conversion (sometimes called a function-shift):
- The word class of an existing word is changed.
  - For example, from ‘text’ the noun (‘I sent a text’) to ‘text’ the verb (‘I’ll text him’).

Derivation

Derivation (sometimes more broadly called affixation):
- Adding a bound morpheme to change the word class of a word.
  - For example, adding ‘-ing’ onto the noun ‘text’ to form the present progressive verb ‘texting’.

Back formation

Back formation:
- The removal of a morpheme in order to change the word class of an existing word.
  - For example, the verb ‘enthuse’ comes from the noun ‘enthusiasm’.

Reduplication

Reduplication:
- The repetition of words which are the same or very similar.
  - For example, ‘nitty-gritty’.

Inventive Lexical Change

Neologising

Neologising (sometimes called a coinage):
- Making up a brand-new word.
  - For example, the word ‘yeet’ which occurred in the past few years.

Borrowing

Borrowing:
- Words are taken from another language.
  - For example, ‘person’ is a borrowing from the Latin ‘persona’.

Acronymising

Acronymising:
- Forming a word which is said as a word and is formed of the initials from what it is describing.
  - For example, ‘SCUBA’ for ‘Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus’.

Initialising

Initialising:
- Forming a word which is said as the individual letters formed of the initials from what it is describing.
  - For example, ‘BBC’ for the ‘British Broadcasting Corporation’.

Eponyming

Eponyming:
- Forming a word based on a brand name or a person’s name.
  - For example, ‘hoover’ for vacuuming from the brand ‘Hoover’.

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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