Language Change

Task 1- Borrowing

Anorak- Greenlandic

Barbeque- Arawak, Spanish

Barrack- French

Blizzard- American

Bongo- Latin American Spanish

Bonsai- Japanese

Boomerang- Dharuk

Budgerigar- Aboriginal

Bungalow- Hindi

Chipmunk- Ojibwa

Chutney- Hindi

Dinghy- Hindi

Dungarees- Hindi

Gnu- Khoikhoi

Haiku- Japanese

Hamburger- German

Igloo- Inuit

Kangaroo- Aboriginal

Ketchup- Chinese

Llama- Spanish

Mohair- Arabic

Potato- Spanish

Puma- Spanish

Pyjamas- Hindi

Safari- Arabic

Sauna- Finnish

Shampoo- Hindi

Sherbet- Arabic, Turkish, Persian

Ski- Norwegian

Skyscraper- American

Taboo- Tongan

Tattoo- Dutch

Tea- Chinese, Mandarin

Toboggan- Canadian French

Tortilla- Spanish

Totem- Qjibwa

Trek- South African Dutch

Tycoon- Japanese

Yeti- Tibetan

Task 2- Phonology

This article suggests that accents should not matter anymore. It says they previously had to be voice tested and trained in order to get a job, in addition it suggests that having British or American names ‘make it easier’ for you. However, it disagrees that people should do this as accents shouldn’t matter in a ‘multiracial, multilingual, multicultural Britain’. The overall view is that as long as people can understand what you’re saying, you should be allowed to express yourself and talk however you would like to.

My experience of accents is that it can change how people view you. Some accents sound happier than others and can also change how people perceive how well educated you are. I wouldn’t say I have a very strong accent and have also been pointed out for this as I sound different to others from my area.

http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2013/apr/20/debate-accent-david-victoria-beckham

Task 3- Grammar and Lexis

The sentence structure is that the sentences are either minor or compound. This ruins any rhythm of the diary entry as the sentences vary from being incredibly short to long which makes the reading sound awkward and as though it doesn’t flow.

Within the sentences the adverb is before the subject such as ‘as ever I saw’ which adds to making the entry read awkwardly. In modern English this wouldn’t be ‘correct’ sentence structure. Adjective positions are also moved and many more added in to make the text sound very descriptive and emphasised. We have standardised our adjective patterns as ‘A good looking tall man’ would now be written as a tall good looking man.

There is lots of punctuation such as commas used, these are often in place of conjunctions. However, what is now considered as the Oxford Comma is also largely used which breaks up the sentences into clauses as in the third paragraph is only two sentences.

The writer uses multiple prepositions such as ‘nearly opposite to’ and also the general word order has changed as they have used preposition, verb then subject. An example of this is ‘and away galloped the horses with the coach from the statue’, nowadays, we would generally put the verb after the subject. This was likely to have changed when it became standardised at the release of grammar books.

How does the language in all three recipes change?

Text A is ‘To make a Currey the India Way’, from the Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy in 1747. The most common semantic change in this Text is narrowing. Words such as ‘shovel’ and ‘fowels’ have been narrowed, fowl used to refer to all kinds of birds and now more commonly only to guinea fowl. By recommending the reader to use fowl, it shows the lack of trade between countries during this time as the author is suggesting local produce. Despite this, there are examples of the influence of emerging British Empire and colonisation of India as the recipe includes Coriander Seeds and how the curry is made the ‘India Way’. It was also before standardisation as f is interchangeable with s which is now obsolete, examples of this is ‘foftly’ and ‘obferve’. Another example of obsolete language use is the old subjunctive ‘if the sauce be too thick’. Clipping is also used as ‘Spoonful’ loses the suffix, in addition, it shows a change in how the compound becomes a single word. There is also borrowing such as ‘Currey’ which would be taken from India. Also, ‘India’ in the title is a proper noun being as an adjective which further shows the lack of standardisation. Text A is the most formal of the Texts using verbs such as ‘obferve’, however, Text B also uses formal language such as ‘palatable’ which is considered to be quite archaic language.

Text B is titled ‘No. 3 Economical Pot Liquor soup’ from ‘A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Class’ in 1852. Another similarity between Texts A and B is the evidence of a class hierarchy. A says ‘and fend it to Table’ which insinuates through a servant and B is aimed at the working class. In Text B there are many semantic changes of broadening with words such as ‘fat’ and ‘scum’, however, there is also narrowing in words such as ‘liquor’ which would now refer to an alcoholic beverage. There is also the use of archaic language such as ‘broth’ which is also used dialectally. Another example of the archaic language is adjectives being used differently, ‘found to be too salt’, is not something that would be said in Modern English. This is the only Text to use direct address towards the audience and also the only one with a specific audience. This recipe is aimed at women on a budget and this is shown through the opening sentence being ‘A thrift housewife’. A change in lexis between Texts A and B is a greater awareness of time. In A the language is imprecise as it says ‘ftew it foftly till the meat is enough’ and B says ‘on the fire for about twenty minutes’ showing an advancement in understanding time and possibly technology.

Text C a ‘wan kaj thai-style curry’ from 1998 in ‘Meals in Minutes’ has an entirely different approach as it is cooking food that is in fashion rather than economical for large families on a budget. A similarity between A and C is the use of imperatives but this is one of the only similarities between the two. There has been a large technological advancement between 1747 and 1998. A and B show a lack of technology through phases such as ‘on the fire’ and ‘over the fire’ which shows an apparent lack of oven. Whereas, C uses terminology such as ‘non-stick pan’. Another example of advancement is in the increasing precision of measurements. By 1998 there were exact measurements of 400g of coconut milk whereas A has a ‘large Spoonful’. Text C reflects the society’s desire of being more health conscious as it contains nutrition values which shows more scientific neologisms being present. Another way it reflects society is the smaller number that it serves and how it is aimed at people in a hurry but the detailed instructions show it is also aimed at people who are inexperienced cooks but are cooking for pleasure more than necessity. Examples of the detailed instructions are the increase of adjectives such as ‘gentle simmer’.  The language used is quite elliptical which shows a change as the previous Texts were quite formal.

The sentence structure in A is very minimal. The entire text is split into three sentences which shows the little discourse structure. There is no obvious recipe structure and it is a list laid out on paragraphs. It has a newspaper aesthetic which is a similar graphology to Text B, the capitalisation in Text A adds emphasis to this effect. In addition, they both have long sentences and being laid out in paragraphs. Text C has a completely different graphology which is more easily read which could reflect how it is designed for people in a hurry to cook. C is also the only Text to have a persuasive paragraph previous to recipe showing a change in how people can choose what to cook rather than what they can afford for a large family. The technology advancement also shows as how it can be printed changes the layout. In addition, the changes of fonts at different is a part of the discourse structure and graphological device.

Language Change Exercise

Lean
The modern meaning of lean is be in or move into a sloping position and a deviation from the perpendicular; an inclination. This has changed from originally meaning thin, emancipated. Lean has been through a semantic change of broadening. The adjective of lean is defined as (a person or animal) being thin, especially healthily so; having no superfluous fat. This shows a conversion as it has changed from being a verb to an adjective. The semantic change that has taken place is amelioration as it has changed from meaning a sloping position to being healthy which shows a positive change of definition.


Novice
Novice is now defined as a person new to and inexperienced in a job. The previous meaning of this word was  a member of a religious order who has not taken vows yet meaning it has been broadened. The definition is now less specific but has the same general meaning.


Revolutionary
An earlier meaning of revolutionary was someone who favours overthrowing the government, however, more recently it is defined as  a person who advocates or engages in political revolution or engaged in or promoting political revolution. This shows that a semantic change has taken place of narrowing as the definition is now a lot more specific to politics. It has also been through a semantic change of amelioration, the definition is now more positive as it is engaging and promoting politics rather than overthrowing.


Lewd
Lewd used to mean not having an official position in the church, to now being defined as crude and offensive in a sexual way. This show lewd has been through a semantic change of broadening as it no longer applies to people in a church, another change is pejoration as it now has attained a much more negative meaning.