ATTITUDES TO LANGUAGE

CHANGE

…or why do we feel

strongly about our
language?
 Complaints through the ages

 In the 14th century, a monk complained that the English

practise “strange wlallyng, chytering, harrying and garryng
grisbittyng”.

(strange stammering, chattering, snarling and grating

tooth-gnashing) Nothing new there, then!
Latin as a model

 In the 18th century, the fixed grammar of Latin was much

admired. In 1721, Jonathan Swift urged the formation of an
academy to regulate language use.
 But what constitutes “correct” English?
 English, like all languages, does have rules (e.g. where we put
the verb in a sentence) but this type of rule is really a
recurring pattern in order to aid communication and avoid
breakdowns.
 Some Grammarians

 One of the most influential grammarians of

the 18th century was Robert Lowth
 Another was Lindley Murray. Murray’s
grammar had enormous influence on school
practice and on popular attitudes. His rules
were widely taught.
 Examples of Prescriptive Grammar

 Double negatives
 Prepositions should not end a sentence
(Who does this belong to?)
 Splitting infinitives is “wrong” (to boldly
go)
 Correct pronoun should be used (between
you and me)
 Try these examples of “incorrect”
English

 None were left for the latecomers.

 This pattern is different to that one.
 That is the man who you saw.
 They will try and get here today.
 It was him who won the race.
 Everybody put on their hats.
 So why do we care?

 Mostly, it is older people who dislike what they

see as “sloppiness”
 Many letters have been written to newspapers
complaining about “standards” in language use
“slipping”
 People become quite irate, using words like
appal, cringe, grate, horrified.
 What are the concerns?

 Many concerns are to do with “taste” and

“good manners”
 Language rules are being invented as a
social ideology
 Many complaints are not about a failure to
communicate, but a failure to communicate
in a certain way ( e.g. “lazy” speech of the
younger generation.)
 Language use and “good morals”

 Norman Tebbitt, politician, (1985) said:

“If you allow standards to slip to the stage where
good English is no better than bad English, where
people turn up filthy…at school…all those things
tend to cause people to have no standards at all,
and once you lose standards then there’s no
imperative to stay out of crime.”
 Attitudes to language use

Donald MacKinnon (1996) categorises the attitudes people may

have to language use:
 Language use as correct or incorrect
 Language use as pleasant or ugly
 Language examples as socially acceptable or unacceptable
 Language examples as morally acceptable or unacceptable
 Language examples as appropriate or inappropriate in their
context
Some worries about language change

 “damp spoon” syndrome – sloppiness and

laziness causing language change. For ewxample,
glottal stop – wa’er, bu’er, le’er for water, butter
and letter. In fact it takes more muscular tension
to omit the /t/ than to say it.
 “crumbling castle” view – this sees English as a
beautiful old building which needs to be
preserved. This supposes a time when the
language reached a peak of perfection.
 Worries continued

 “infectious disease” idea – as if language

‘catches’ change, like a disease. In fact, we pick
up changes because we want to and because we
want to adapt to those around us.

[Jean Aitchison, 1996]