Phonological Changes
In the process known as ______, phonemes aren't being articulated, so they eventually stop being pronounced.
Loss
_____ are formed by taking the first letter of each word in a string of words and pronouncing them as a new word.
Acronyms (ex. ANZAC)
___________ are anglicized forms of words brought in from other languages.
Borrowings (ex. sushi, raison d'etre)
What is the difference between connotation and denotation?
Connotation - the feelings or ideas about a word that are culturally dependent
Denotation - the literal, standardized meaning of a word (dictionary definition)
A prescriptivist is ____________.
Those who define how others should use language.
This process typically occurs in consonant clusters or in phonologically complex lexemes.
Addition
The process of _________ refers to adding two or more words in their entirety, creating a word that carries meaning from both elements.
compounding (ex. bookcase)
When a proper noun becomes a common noun, it is known as what lexical process?
Commonisation (ex. the way Americans call all tissue 'kleenex' after the brand name)
When a word's connotation becomes more negative over time, it is known as _______.
Deterioration
A descriptivist ___________.
Attempts to describe language use as it is occurring and see changes as a natural evolution.
When one phoneme assimilates (becomes similar) to the one next to it or the two coalesce into one another.
Alteration
Give an example of a word that has gone through the process of conversion.
Word that shifted part of speech (ex. email, Google)
What are the four reasons for word loss?
Obsolescence, brevity, taboo, unknown reasons
The lexeme 'viral' would be an example of ______, as it has gained additional meanings over time.
Broadening
You ask a teacher, "Can I use the bathroom?" and they respond, "I don't know, CAN you?"
Is this teacher most likely a prescriptivist or a descriptivist?
Prescriptivist
During The Great Vowel Shift, what was the major change in the vowel sounds used?
The sounds' place of articulation moved up, creating more long-vowel sounds. (ex. m-eh-t to m-ee-t)
What is affixation, and give one example?
The process of adding affixes to words to create new words. (ex. governMENT, YouTubeR)
To avoid using taboo language (things that are frowned upon or banned in society), many people use ______.
Euphemisms (ex. 'pass away' or 'laid off')
The number of referents a lexeme denotes can decrease over time. This is known as _____.
Narrowing (ex. apple used to mean any fruit, now it means only one type of fruit)
Name one reason prescriptivists are concerned about language changing over time.
- Confusing
- Removes access to older texts
- Encourages variety in dialects, reducing mutual understanding
- Allows language to evolve and become 'lazy'
- Causes miscommunications between speakers of different generations
- Mixing dialects after the Plague
- During war against France, Britain wanted to distance itself from French-sounding pronunciation
- Wealthier middle class tried to over-correct their speech to sound more French before the war.
What makes it difficult to know if a word has been created through the process of backformation?
You need to know when each form of the word entered into the language.
The word neologism comes from what Greek roots?
neo - 'new'
logos - 'word'
What is an example of a lexeme whose denotation has SHIFTED?
Awful (inspiring wonder > very bad)
Pretty (craft/clever > beautiful)
Their denotations have shifted away from original meaning completely.
Name one reason why descriptivists say language change is valuable.
- natural part of language
- can enrich the language by giving more options for expression
- reflects aspects of life, tech, and values
- allows for language to evolve to meet needs of speakers
- alleviates discriminatory or problematic elements of language