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Language Changes
All languages are constantly changing.
▫ Like-insertion
▫ “confuddled”
▫ Vocal fry
Attitudes?
Language Changes
• Attitudes to change?
• Languages, like governments, have a natural tendency to degenerate.
▫ Samuel Johnson, 1755
Language Changes
• Attitudes to change?
• The English language hath been much cultivated in the last 200 years, but it
hath made no advances in grammatical accuracy.
▫ Robert Lowth, 1710-1787
Language Change
• Change = Degeneration
▫ Predictions?
Language Change: English
• Case
▫ Marks the function of a noun in a sentence
Old English Modern English Noun’s Function is…
Se cyning paid. The king paid. Subject (Nominative)
The baker paid þone cyning. The baker paid the king. Direct Object (Accusative)
The baker gave it þ m ǣ
cyninge.
The baker gave it to the king. Indirect Object (Dative)
þæs cyninges baker The king’s baker Possessor (Genetive)
Language Change: English
• Case
▫ Marks the function of a noun in a sentence
Old English Modern English Noun’s Function is…
Se cyning paid. The king paid. Subject (Nominative)
The baker paid þone cyning. The baker paid the king. Direct Object (Accusative)
The baker gave it þ m ǣ
cyninge.
The baker gave it to the king. Indirect Object (Dative)
Baker þæs cyninges The king’s baker Possessor (Genetive)
English changed to lose its Case markings.
Is that bad or good?
Case Markings
• Language with Case markings: German
German Modern English Noun’s Function is…
Der Koenig paid. The king paid. Subject (Nominative)
The baker paid den Koenig. The baker paid the king. Direct Object (Accusative)
The baker gave it dem Koenig. The baker gave it to the king. Indirect Object (Dative)
Baker des Koenigs The king’s baker Possessor (Genetive)
Dem Koenig gave it the baker. = The baker gave it to the king.
Is German better/worse than Modern English?
- Flexible Word Order
Case Markings
• Language without Case markings: Mandarin
Mandarin Modern English Noun’s Function is…
Guówáng paid. The king paid. Subject (Nominative)
The baker paid guówáng. The baker paid the king. Direct Object (Accusative)
The baker gave it guówáng. The baker gave it to the king. Indirect Object (Dative)
Baker of guówáng The king’s baker Possessor (Genetive)
Is Mandarin better/worse than Old English?
Is Mandarin better/worse than German?
- Strict Word Order
- Extra Words
Cycle of Changes to Inflection
Fusional
Isolating
Agglutinative
No Inflections -Mandarin
睡觉 = he sleeps, he slept
they sleep, they slept
A suffix for each meaning
- Turkish
masa-lar-ım-da on my desks
Desk-plural-my-on
kat-lar-ım-da on my floors
masa-lar-ım-ın under my desks
Lots of meanings in each suffix
- German
schlaf-t he sleeps
sleep-3rd person/singular/present
schlaf-en they sleep
schlaf-e I sleep
Cycle of Changes to Inflection
Fusional
Isolating
Agglutinative
No Inflections
-Mandarin
A suffix for each meaning
-Turkish
Lots of meanings in each suffix
-German
Simplify the grammar
Expressive Power
Shorter words
Is one of these better/worse?
Cycle of Changes to Inflection
Fusional
Isolating
Agglutinative
No Inflections
-Mandarin
A suffix for each meaning
-Turkish
Lots of meanings in each suffix
-German
Old English
Modern English
Is one of these better/worse?
Change is not bad!
• Degenerate or Progressive English?
▫ Assumes a golden age of English speaking
Texting
• It’s new and very different: but is it a degeneration?
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings shoulda
▫ non-standard punctuation i
▫ initialisms btw
▫ shortenings pic
▫ pictograms 
▫ new words lol
Texting
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings shoulda
 1602 Quarto edition of the Merry Wives of Windsor “should ha”
▫ non-standard punctuation I
 No other language does this, including Old English ‘ic’
▫ initialisms btw
 Mistress  Mrs. in 1485
▫ shortenings pic
 Telephone  phone in 1880
▫ pictograms 
 & (ampersand) for Latin “et” by 1 AD
▫ new words lol
 Japanese suffix ‘-ne’
Change is not bad! (or good)
Language Change
Benrath-Urdingen Line
Predictably:
-Diffuses through vocabulary
-Diffuses through population
Isogloss
• Isogloss:
▫ line drawn between two linguistic features
• Bundle of Isoglosses
= different dialects by formal linguistics
Change doesn’t affect all speakers at the same time…
Language Change moves through vocabulary
• Are all words affected at the same time?
▫ I [to sit] right now?
▫ I [to think] right now that this is fun?
▫ I [to like] this class right now?
▫ I [to understand] right now that this is fun?
▫ I [to appreciate] this class right now?
Language Change
• Are all words affected at the same time?
▫ No
Lexical Diffusion
Language Change moves through vocabulary
• Are all words affected at the same time?
▫ I [to sit] right now?
▫ I [to think] right now that this is fun?
▫ I [to like] this class right now?
▫ I [to understand] right now that this is fun?
▫ I [to appreciate] this class right now?
action
state of
mind
Language Change
• Are all words affected at the same time?
▫ No
1. High frequency  Low Frequency words
Lexical Diffusion
High Frequency  Low Frequency
• think vs. understand
• How many syllables?
▫ every
▫ burglary
▫ cursory
▫ family
▫ bakery
▫ harmony
High Frequency  Low Frequency
• think vs. understand
2 Syllable Words
Common
3 Syllable Words
Rarer
Every Burglary
Family Cursory
Bakery Harmony
Inconsistent
Behavior
=
Current
Change
Language Change
• Doesn’t affect all vocabulary at once
• Isn’t adopted by all language users at once
Language Change

Registers, Dialects, Languages, etc
Rate of Change?
Lexical Diffusion
• Start slow
• Go really fast for a while
• Slow down again
lots of words
few words
T I M E
S-Curve
S-Curve for Lexical Diffusion
lots of words
few words
T I M E
Come
Go
Talk
Sit
Walk
Exit
Arrive
Run
Converse
Think
Love Like
How does a
change move
through a
population?
S-Curve for Speakers
T I M E
Speakers using
New Form
Fashion
Diseases
Fads
Why do speakers change their speech at all?
Who do you want to sound like…?
Language Change
• Languages Change all the time!
▫ not degenerating…
• The whole language doesn’t change at once.
1. High frequency  Low Frequency
• Not everyone adopts the change.
• Language Change  Varieties
S-Curve
Texting
• 2003 supposed British essay:
▫ My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF &
thr 3 :-@ kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc.
"My summer holidays were a complete waste of
time. Before, we used to go to New York to see
my brother, his girlfriend and their three
screaming kids face to face. I love New York. It's
a great place."
Texting
Texting
• Change = Degeneration
▫ Less structured
Is texting less structured than other registers of English?
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
▫ initialisms btw
▫ shortenings pic
▫ pictograms 
▫ new words lol
Not
Standardized
Writing
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
Register!
“I write all my notes in txt, like from a video, if I were going 2 do an essay on it (which I
do in normal language), but I wouldn’t do it for proper work, ESPECIALLY EXAMS.”
- 11 year-old Charlotte
2003 BBC documentary
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
Register!
Not New…
thanx Oxford English Dictionary
gonna OED, colloquial writings
shoulda Quarto edition of the Merry Wives of Windsor “should ha”
donut shortening
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
Register!
Not New…
thanx Oxford English Dictionary 1936
gonna OED, colloquial writings
shoulda Quarto edition of the Merry Wives of Windsor “should ha”
donut shortening
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
Register!
Not New…
thanx Oxford English Dictionary 1936
gonna OED, colloquial writings 1806
shoulda Quarto edition of the Merry Wives of Windsor “should ha”
donut shortening
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
Register!
Not New…
thanx Oxford English Dictionary 1936
gonna OED, colloquial writings 1806
shoulda Quarto edition of the Merry Wives of Windsor “should ha” 1602
donut shortening
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
Register!
Not New…
thanx Oxford English Dictionary 1936
gonna OED, colloquial writings 1806
shoulda Quarto edition of the Merry Wives of Windsor “should ha” 1602
donut shortening late 1800’s, popular 1950
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
▫ initialisms btw
Common Process of Word Formation
NATO
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
▫ initialisms btw
Common Process of Word Formation
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization 1949
Mrs.
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
▫ initialisms btw
Common Process of Word Formation
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization 1949
Mrs. Mistress 1485
laser
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
▫ initialisms btw
Common Process of Word Formation
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization 1949
Mrs. Mistress 1485
laser light + maser 1960
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
▫ initialisms btw
▫ shortenings pic
Common Process of Word Formation
exam examination 1877
phone telephone 1880
etc etcetera 1920 1418 as &c
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
▫ initialisms btw
▫ shortenings pic
▫ pictograms 
Not New…
@ Florence, unit of wine
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
▫ initialisms btw
▫ shortenings pic
▫ pictograms 
Not New…
@ Florence, unit of wine 1536
& ampersand “et”
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
▫ initialisms btw
▫ shortenings pic
▫ pictograms 
Not New…
@ Florence, unit of wine 1536
& ampersand “et” 1 AD
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
▫ initialisms btw
▫ shortenings pic
▫ pictograms 
▫ new words lol
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
▫ initialisms btw
▫ shortenings pic
▫ pictograms 
▫ new words lol, slash
Pragmatic Markers:
adjust hearer’s
expectations
Texting
• Features of texting:
▫ non-standard spellings thanx
▫ non-standard punctuation i
▫ initialisms btw
▫ shortenings pic
▫ pictograms 
▫ new words lol, slash
Is this register less structured?
Plester et al 2006, 2007:
more text abbreviations, earlier they received their phone 
higher scores on Standard English reading/vocabulary tests