What aspects of language change over time?
Sociolinguists help us in our understanding of the relationship between language change and historical events, language contact, and social affiliation.
We know that all aspects of language change over time: pronunciation, lexicon, syntax, and pragmatics.
Why Languages Change
Languages change for a variety of reasons. Large-scale shifts often occur in response to social, economic and political pressures. History records many examples of language change fueled by invasions, colonization and migration. Frequently, the needs of speakers drive language change. New technologies, industries, products and experiences simply require new words.
Types of Change
Three main aspects of language change over time: vocabulary, sentence structure and pronunciations. Vocabulary can change quickly as new words are borrowed from other languages, or as words get combined or shortened. The lexicon is "the most volatile part of a language." Sentence structure — the order of words in a sentence — changes more slowly.
Agents of Change
Before a language can change, speakers must adopt new words, sentence structures and sounds, spread them through the community and transmit them to the next generation. According to many linguists — including the National Science Foundation's David Lightfoot — children serve as agents for language change when, "in the process of learning the language of previous generations, they internalize it differently and propagate a different variation of that language."
- Can we trace the evolutionary path of a language?
- How do language changes spread through communities?
- How do historical circumstances influence language change?
- What is the relationship between language learning and change?
What is an Anti-Language?
Anti-languages, a term
created by the
linguist MAK Halliday, are a way of communicating within a language that
excludes outsiders. An anti-language uses the same grammar and words as
the main speech community, but uses them in a different way so that
they can only be understood by insiders."
antilanguage
n. A collection of words and phrases used to exclude outsiders from a particular group and to disguise the group's activities.
Example Citation:
"Mobspeak is a language that grows out of secrecy, and who can be more secret than the Mafia? The anti-social nature of the Mob is the perfect breeding ground for an 'Antilanguage'."
—Bryan McLucas, "Mobspeak: The Language of the Mafia"
n. A collection of words and phrases used to exclude outsiders from a particular group and to disguise the group's activities.
Example Citation:
"Mobspeak is a language that grows out of secrecy, and who can be more secret than the Mafia? The anti-social nature of the Mob is the perfect breeding ground for an 'Antilanguage'."
—Bryan McLucas, "Mobspeak: The Language of the Mafia"
Cockney Rhyming Slang
Cockney Rhyming Slang (CRS) is not slang and it does not rhyme. It is a full and living language with a long history.
CRS is generally thought to have originated in the mid-19th century in the East End of London. The seemingly spontaneous nonsense actually masks an ingenious linguistic invention. Over time, CRS has often been employed as a way of artfully dodging vulgarities and taboo subjects in public discourse through the substituting of code words with embedded meanings and inner-relationships.
CRS construction loosely involves taking a commonly used word (e.g., "Here comes my wife."), replacing it with a two-part rhyming phrase (trouble and strife). Often, the substitution is made using only the first part -- the non-rhyming part of the phrase. ("Here comes my trouble.") This process has a technical name: hemiteleia. For an outsider listening in, the meanings of the phrases are impossible to discern.
"Got to my mickey, found me way up the apples, put on me whistle and the bloody dog went. It was me trouble telling me to fetch the teapots."
Translation:
"Got to my house (mickey mouse), found my way up the stairs (apples and pears), put on my suit (whistle and flute) when the phone (dog and bone) rang. It was my wife (trouble and strife) telling me to get the kids (teapot lids)."
"'Allo me old china - wot say we pop round the Jack. I'll stand you a pig and you can rabbit on about your teapots. We can 'ave some loop and tommy and be off before the dickory hits twelve."
Translation:
"Hello my old mate (china plate) - what do you say we pop around to the bar (Jack Tar). I'll buy you a beer (pig's ear) and you can talk (rabbit and pork) about your kids (teapot lids). We can have some soup (loop de loop) and supper (Tommy Tucker) and be gone before the clock (hickory dickory dock) strikes twelve."
Importantly, there is an inner-logic and a shared sensibility that allows for improvisation. This is mostly a matter of cultural knowledge, but a wry sense of humor is clearly seen as a driving force upon a sampling of some of the more classic substitutions.
Near and Far = car
dog and bone = telephone
clever mike = bike
Tony Blair = chair
fat boy slim = gym
brixton riot = diet
bucket and pail = jail
Calvin klein = fine
finger and thumb = rum
Basin of gravy = baby
half inch = pinch
Allan Border = out of order
bees and honey = money
dancing fleas = keys
hit and miss = kiss
airs and graces = faces
Band of hope = soap
jack jones = alone
Cat and mouse = house
April showers = flowers
danny larue = clue
Laugh and a Joke = Smoke
Britney Spears = beers
Pocket Davy Crockett
A la Mode = code
Cockney Rhyming Slang (CSR) Links
How To Do A Cockney Accent
The Only Way Is Essex
REALITY show: The Only Way Is Essex
These intriguing comments were located at the The Sun.The
article is written by Paul Kerswill, Professor of Sociolinguistics at
Lancaster University. He notes a mirror of the New York plural YOUS.
"For me, as someone fascinated by linguistics, what is most interesting, though, is the way they speak. For example, when Billi is talking to Kirk and his mate Joey she makes "you" plural by sticking an "s" on the end so it sounds like 'yous'. . . . Billi and Joey are also fond of the word 'was' where standard English would be 'were'. Are they just ignorant? No, they're following the old Cockney dialect of their forebears."
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