Language Change Theories

Language Change Theorists 

Keith Chen S-Curve Model - shows language change in the form of an 'S' shape. Meaning that language change, perhaps a certain lexical item or grammatical function, is initially slow and gradually used, however is then frequently used as it becomes more and more accepted. After this period, the feature then slowly dips down in frequency and is just commonly accepted into language use.

Functional Theory - Theory developed by Halliday, where language changes and adapts to needs of its users. For instance, the introduction of initialisms such as CD and DVD.

Wave Theory - The theory that people close to the epicenter of 'change', primarily being London and dense cities, feel the tremors of language change, but people far away are less likely. However this is an old theory, and social media allows us to communicate with various sociolects therefore meaning that other regions not close to the 'epicenter of change' can still be impacted.

Jean Aitchison - She came up with three myths that encapsulated people's anxieties about language 'decay'.

Damp Spoon Syndrome 

The idea that people have become 'lazy' with language. She counter-argued this by saying that the only form of lazy speech is drunken speech.

Crumbling Castle View

Tendency for people to treat language as an ornate building that is falling down. Aitchison said language can never reach a 'peak', it is not possible to preserve something that is always changing as language is a static monolith,

Infectious Disease Assumption 

People pick up language change to fit in with social groups.

The Great Vowel Shift 

Major change in the pronunciation of the English language that took place in 1350 and 1600. Through the Great Vowel Shift, all Middle English long vowels changed their pronunciation. English spelling was becoming standardized in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the Great Vowel Shift is responsible for many of the peculiarities of English spelling.


Some quotes surrounding language change

John Humphries - texters are destroying our language: pillaging our punctuation; savaging our sentences; raping our vocabulary. And they must be stopped.

David Gelernter - in the 1970s and 1980s, arrogant ideologues began recasting English into heavy artillery to defend the borders of the New Feminist state

David Mitchell - when language changes, slang becomes correct, mispunctuation is overlooked and American spellings adopted, I feel that I'm a mug for having learnt all the old rules to start with.