...Lecture ( 4 ) The Formation of the National Literary English language 1. Some effects of the Renaissance. The introduction of printing and the fixation of the written standard. 2. Growth of Literature in the Early English Language. 3. The formation of the spoken standard. 4. New sources of information about Language History in the 15th and 16th Centuries. The formation of the national English language, or Standard English, is considered to date from the period between the 15th and the 17th centuries. After that time the language continued to change, so one can speak of the evolution of Standard English instead of tracing the similar or different trends in the history of its dialects. We must mention at least two of the external factors that led to this development: the unification of the country and the progress of culture. Other historical events, such as the increased foreign contacts, produced a more specific kind of influence on the language: they affected the wordstock. The changes in the economic and social conditions were accompanied by the intermixture of people coming from different regions, the growth of towns with a mixed population, and the strengthening of social ties between the various regions. All these processes played an important role in the unification of the English language. All over the world the victory of capitalism over feudalism was linked up with the consolidation of people into nations and the unification...
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...Question Using suitable examples, describe and comment upon some of the reasons for language change. Language changes, as do all things in the living world, as language reflects and affects the society which uses it. The mechanics of language change show language as a system with larger and larger scale trends, which allows us to examine the conditions necessary for change. The process of change occurs gradually, and the rate of this change does conform to a pattern. For instance, if you get an influx of foreign words, few people use them, and they spread slowly until people have become familiar with them. When they have, the word usage stabilizes. Another factor affecting language change is hyper-correction. This occurs when a sentence is corrected so frequently that the deviant form becomes the norm in spoken English. For example, the sentence Jill and me went to the fair is often corrected to Jill and I went to the fair. The result of this is that the phrase and me has become disdainful and unacceptable. The ultimate effect of this is an exaggerated use of the term and I. For example, Mother gave the book to John and I is a deviant form which has become the norm in spoken English. Research has also discovered many other reasons why language changes. William Labov conducted a study in America investigating the use of the letter r. He used three sets of shop assistants from high-class, middle-class, and lower-class stores and found that all three sets consciously...
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...English has come a long way since it first started to crop up as a language. Many words have been borrowed from pervious and concurrent languages in the beginning and still are to this day. English is an ever evolving language. Even now, new words and phrases are being adding to it. What will the English language look like in 500 years? We can look to the past and present for clues to how the language will evolve over that time. The English language as it is known now will not exist in 500 years. The difference between English at the beginning of its usage and English in the modern day is astounding. It has come a very long way from how it used to be. This is due, in part, to the fact that English speakers are constantly adding new words and phrases. These days, it is common to see people texting on their phones and chatting on social media sites. To decrease the amount of characters they have to type, many use abbreviations or acronyms. Abbreviations and acronyms make it faster and easier to share information. They have become very prevalent in modern society. Acronyms like YOLO, which means “You Only Live Once”, have become so popular in writing that they have become commonly used while speaking. This form of speaking has become very popular among young people. In years to come, it would not be improbable if this acronym or acronyms like it became actual words. This would not be the first time an acronym has become a word though. The word laser was an acronym for Light...
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...Ngugi (1986) argues that the dominance of English takes us “further and further from ourselves to other selves, from our worlds to other worlds”. Drawing from this readings, argue for or against this statement. Ngugi (1986) argues that language and identity are inseparable, and that a global language robs people of their identities. I however believe that language does in a way guide how we perceive the world but it in no means defines who we are. Identity as explained by Gervais-Lambony (2006) develops over time and is shaped from our social experiences. Identity is not fixed and can change over time to how we want people to perceive us. In this discussion I shall argue against Ngugi’s statement by drawing from readings that opposes what Ngugi says. Ngugi (1986) feels that English was forced upon him and that his home language and his culture were taken away. For Ngugi identity, culture and language are closely linked. Therefore he feels that if one’s language is taken away so is your identity. An author that agrees with his statements is Appiah (1999) who has a strong traditional sense of what it means to be an African. Appiah uses the word tribe when he speaks of identity ( Appiah 1999: 42 ) “ a tribe is thought of as a group of people who are descended from common ancestors and ruled by a chief , who share a single culture including language and religion”. Ngugi and Appiah do not believe that there is any choice in identity, they believe that identity is fixed. On the...
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...New York Times published an article written by Ilan Steavans, called “The Rolled R’s” of Vanessa Ruiz. Vanessa Ruiz is a news anchor for an English-language television newscast in Arizona. She has a bilingual background, and she started her career at a Spanish-language television network. As a news anchor, on the English-language show, Ruiz receive criticism for the way she pronounced Spanish words. The critics posted online comments that her punctuation was annoying, wrong and stupid. Ruiz, with a Spanish language background, was pronouncing words the correct way in the Spanish-language culture, but since she is a news anchor for an English-language news program, critics believe she should pronounce words in an English manner. Ruiz believes the way she speaks the Spanish words honor the original Arizona settlers. Cultures are mixing creating mix linguistics in the United States; there are a numerous amount of Spanish-speaking people in the United States....
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...Wilson, Emily McPeake ENG 1A September 21, 2013 How Is Evolution Killing the English Language? Texting has become one of the most common forms of communication in modern times, especially with the younger generations. As the times and definitions of “modern” continues to change, many people are having troubles coping with this concept and the fact we are and will always continue to evolve. Just as growing up is the human body’s way of changing, language is societies way of changing. There is no set definition of what the English language is supposed to be composed of, forever. The English language is not negatively impacted by texting; it is simply evolving through new forms of communication, entertainment, and learning. Our way of communicating with each other has been transformed with the help or “txtspeak.” It is a very common way of talking, whether it’s in person or through SMS. If we compare what we considered to be the language of English from a few hundred years ago to now, there is an obvious change. As we evolve as a society, everything around us does as well. Abbreviations are being entered into the dictionary and many people are going crazy over it. One of the most common complaints about our overuse of abbreviations is the multiple meaning of them. Humphrys claims that, “as it has developed, its users have sought out increasingly obscure ways of expressing themselves.”(Humphrys, 187) Even though this seems to be true, the trick to figuring out the meaning...
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...Does the spread of English prevent its NSs from learning foreign languages? Does the spread of English prevent its NSs from learning foreign languages? Table of Contents Page number introduction: 3 Argument With: 4 Argument Against: 5 Responding To The Counter-Argument 6 Conclusion: 7 List Of References: 9 INTRODUCTION: At a time when the number of users of English language increases in all parts of the world to nearly two billion people, while only a number of talking about it as their mother tongue on the about five this total number or less, while more jobs and uses English language by speakers of their native language or foreign language alike, regardless of the nationality of the Spokesman (or writer), started a number of results in emerging clearly. Some of these results to the need not only to knowledge of the facts and in English on pace of changes. Some of them relate to, inter alia, the standards and criteria for English-language education, and the goals and criteria evaluation of success in learning and education. Some people say that because of the worldwide spread of the English language, the native speakers of English do not need to learn any other languages because they can use English everywhere. For this reason, some people say that the native speakers of English lose any other languages they might have learned because they do not practice it. We now will show if the the spread of English prevent its native speakers from...
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...In George Orwell’s Politics and the English Language and Anne Curzan’s Teaching the Politics of Standard English, they both explain that a language becomes the standard way of speaking and writing due to social and political factors as well as the words infused in the language evolve with the social events that follow. The term for this Salafi Jihadist Militant group (ISIS) was first conceived in 1999, but it was not until it began affecting the surrounding countries that it peeked global interest. Rather than understand the implications and evolution of our language, we just adapt it free-willingly, without accounting for the previous forms of its use as well as taking the time to truly comprehend how our society adopted these words and evolved their uses in contemporary syntax and semantics, which will lead for one to question the significance of language on the way one perceives their societal environment....
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...SOCIOLINGUISTICS “LANGUAGE CHANGE” GROUP 8 : 1. Danu Alfian Baihaqi 2. Dio wahyu 3. Dedeh Y 4. Firman Setiawan Pamulang University 2015 LANGUAGE CHANGE Definition Language change is a phenomenon studied both by historical linguists and sociolinguists. Historical linguists study basically the change of languages over time (diachronic change) and examine how languages were used in the past and how they relate to one another . Eg. Old English Middle English Modern English Sociolinguists study the origins or the causes of language changes and explain how society and changes in speech communities influence language and generate sociolects . Eg. Spanish spoken by an upper class man/woman in Madrid and Spanish spoken by a working class man/woman in Andalucía. Language change is the phenomenon whereby phonetic, morphological, semantic, syntactic, and other features of language vary over time Language Change Causes * Economy The principle of least effort is one of the basic and most used explanations for many language changes . Eg. She + is = she's; we + have + been = we've been; clothes /kloʊðɪz/ - /kloʊz/; fifth /fifθs/ /fifs/. * Analogy A linguistic process that reduces words which are perceived as irregular by making them similar to other regular forms . Eg. Semantic historically “livid” meant “pale”, its similar sound with “vivid” has led to analogical semantic change. Morphological the verb “thrive” (thrive-throve-thriven)...
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...Running head: TRACING THE NATURE OF SEMANTIC CHANGE Tracing the Nature of Semantic Change Shahrin Akter 1521358655 Department of English North South University Tracing the Nature of Semantic Change Introduction Language never stands still. All living languages are continually changing over the course of time due to social, cultural, environmental, historical and linguistic factors. Semantic change is one of the major phenomenon of language change. Basically, semantic change deals with the change of the original meaning of a word as well as the development of a new word which is reflected in the way the words are being used. This paper mainly puts an insight to the major causes of semantic change as well as trace the traditional classification made by various scholars. According to Varshney, “The main factors responsible for semantic change are vagueness in meaning, loss of motivation, polysemy, ambiguous contexts and the structure of the vocabulary”. (p. 284). Over the passage of time, people use words in a new context. Hence the meanings of the words are changing gradually, often to the point that the new meaning is radically different from the original usage. For instance, the word ‘awful’ originally meant ‘awe-inspiring, filling someone with deep awe’, as in...
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...Texting and technology while evolving has not taken over the English language if you asked my opinion. it has however added a different dimension to the way we interact as people....Let's be honest most Americans have spoken a broken English Long before text messages where ever thought of ...whether it was shorthand in written form or the chronic use of slang during oral communications. The English language has always seen challenges in it's purity and correctness. Many writers understand that most common communicators don't is that the thoughts and Idea's conveyed are only as strong as the creative nature of the individual expressing him or her self. The English language is never a finished product, though it's existence has allowed it to cover a great range in matters of communication, while technology and texting remains a fast growing substitute. The technological advances comes with it's fare share of glitches when it comes to expression much like the English language when used improperly you run a high risk of being Misinterpreted or misunderstood in a arena where cap locks are used to express emotion their lies great room for error. This is the reason for the use of things like emoji's Meme's and the array of tech jargon used to better express human emotion our ability as a civilization to articulate thoughts and Idea's as well as relay emotion is a skill we all must have so as technology grows and we adapt and master the skills necessary (When in Rome) we must keep in...
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...Roxanne Reininger EDLD 6342 Community Leadership & Development Dr. Israel Aguilar Support for our English as a Second Language Learner English as a second language (ESL) is rapidly growing and changing not only our schools, but our communities as well. Every district needs to become aware of the need to incorporate more programs and opportunities for these language learners. To succeed in this, it will take a collaboration of administration, teachers, and community figures. Getting started and developing an ESL program will allow schools to set goals for success with English Language Learners (ELL); it will also allow schools and communities to work together and move forward, taking action to help these students. Getting started to help ELL students is the first step of the process. The context is a politically charged atmosphere where our English Language Learner ELL, need to be given appropriate interventions to become successful. A gap in basic language are holding back students to be successful in high school and beyond graduation. Context looks at the political environment as compared to public perception. In the political world, there are requirements to reach in reaching success for ELL students. Although these requirements can help, it is not always easy to obtain. They want to hire trained professionals for student, increase budgets to help with programs, and offer as much help as possible to see ELL students graduate. However, the public sees...
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...English should continue to be the official language of India. English is used as the official language in India. Yes • English is one such language that is understood by people from different castes and states, and therefore deserves to be the official language of India. • If any other language is tried to make the official language, all the regional parties will start the battle of making the state level as official language of India. • If Hindi is given priority then it will create differences among the people who don’t speak it making them feel as second class citizens. • Region C forms an important part of India that got agitated when PM Modi used Hindi for its diplomatic talks. • The use of English language is as per the requirement of being a part of globalization and there is nothing wrong in it. No • Forget about all the different castes and religions as Indians have their own national language that is Hindi, and that should only be the official language of India. • It is the duty of the government to take the measures so that people all over in India can read, write and speak in Hindi. • Already Indian has adopted the western culture in many ways. If it continues there will be no personal or rather say national identity of India. • In this case, India should learn something from Pakistan who made the Urdu as their official language after the division of country. • The small little steps are the ways that will make sure that the...
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...are different norms of national cultures, there is a good deal of variation among individuals making up the norm” (Daniels, Radebaugh, Sullivan 2007). The following paper defines the term culture along with examining the elements of German culture and how they impact business practices. Definition of Culture There are many times when people don’t understand why a certain people do certain things but they attribute it to a culture other than their own. It is easy to “blame” something on culture. Knowing what culture is exactly is not always as easy as a person might think. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary; culture is the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties especially by education (2008). It is also defined as “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations (Merriam-Webster 2008). Culture pertains to the activity of humans. It comes from Latin and means to cultivate. Cultures are different all over the world, different countries have different ways of life which include music, religions or beliefs, languages, traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation and the attitudes of the people in a culture. Germany The land of Goethe, Konrad Adenauer, Johann Strauss, Albert Einstein,...
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...Gaelic and English are undoubtedly very different languages. The difference in the way words sound and are spelled varies greatly between the two. Yet, when translated, they have the same surface meaning. They do not, though, have the same history and importance. This is the theme of Brian Friel’s play, Translations. When the British army enters Ireland and attempts to anglicise it, first by changing something as seemingly insignificant as street names, it has a great effect on Irish people and culture. In reality, 1833, the time period for this...
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