Language Variation and

Change

From hwaet to what

Image from: http://www.asnc.cam.ac.uk/resources/facsimiles.htm#English

Gherciu E.D., univ. lecturer, Comrat State University

Dear Annie: I am really bothered when people use
words that are not part of the English language (as I was
taught by my mother and teachers), such as “stupidest,”
“theirselves,” “hisself” and “funner,” to name a few. Have
times changed so that these words are now accepted as
proper English? – Sharon

Dear Sharon: Of course not, but poorly educated

people don’t know any better, and unless they are your
children, you are not allowed to correct them in public,
no matter how tempting. Sorry.
The English language changes all the time. And
there is no stopping it!

People sometimes refer to changes in language as

corruption or progress

These are subjective evaluations, such as this

sounds/looks better.

The English language is neither progressing nor

decaying in linguistic terms!
 Old English
Ø ca. 450-ca. 1100 [1066] (ca.=circa)
Ø (The arrival of the Angles, Saxons, and the Jutes in the British Isles –
The Norman Invasion)
 Middle English
Ø 1100 [1066]-1500 [1476]
Ø (– The ascension of the Tudors or the first printed book in English)
 Early Modern English
Ø 1500 [1476]-1700 [1776]
Ø (– The American Declaration of Independence)
 Late Modern English
Ø 1700 [1776]-1900
Ø (– turn of the century, the death of Queen Victoria)
 Present-Day/Modern English
Ø 1900 and beyond
Because people change it (consciously or
subconsciously).

Language is not a self-sustaining organism

that changes by itself.

A number of factors are involved, both

linguistic and extralinguistic.
Factors in the language influencing how we change
it
1) Ease of articulation factor (“the lazy factor”)
Ø nuclear, athlete, knee
2) Phonological symmetry (we like to have neat,
corresponding sounds)
Ø kicked [t] vs. hammered [d]
3) Analogy (“linguistic peer pressure”)
Ø OE naman > Present-Day names
4) Reanalysis (“also known as a ‘mistake’”)
Ø naperon > aperon, nadder > adder
5) Hypercorrection (“being over-zealous”)
Ø The posh whom
Factors outside the language influencing the
language
1) Language contact (It’s all about who you meet)
Ø ME He, hem, her > Pres-Day they, them, their
Ø Borrowing of words: smorgasbord, ombudsman
Ø Fad words
2) Social attitudes, evaluations, and
ideologies (It’s all about who you are)
Ø The n-word
Ø Chairman, chairwoman, chair
Understanding historical texts (and hence the culture,
society, values, etc. of the past)

Understanding the English language, where it comes

from and how it got there (wherever you may be from)

Understanding how and why language changes

Understanding sociocultural attitudes toward

language and language ideologies