English Language Quiz Answers

1.       What are the main reasons for language change?

·         Economy – principle of least effort, using economy in articulation which leads to phonetic reduction of speech forms

·         Analogy - reducing word forms by likening different forms of the word to the root

·         Language contact - borrowing of words and constructions from foreign languages

·         Cultural environments – speakers will reflect their place, situation, and objects

·         Migration/movement - Speakers will change and create languages, such as pidgins and creoles

·         Technology – social media and the ability to talk to others instantly over a great distance, written and spoken forms merging creating new words.

2.       What are the ways in which language changes?

·         Lexical changes – standardisation of spellings

·         Semantic changes – shifts in meaning of pre-existing words

·         Syntactic change – the evolution of the syntactic structure of natural language

   

3.       What are the key influential factors on the development of English as accessible to all?

·         One of the key influential factors of English developing as a language accessible to all would be the standardisation of the English language. William Caxton’s printing press allowed the mass production of written texts; this allowed books and other reading material to be produced which consequently made them more accessible to all. Books etc where implemented into schools which meant that children from an early age where taught how to read and write. Along with the printing press technology and the growth of the internet; this started off as no more than a really big forum for people to talk. Texting on mobile phones also allowed people to talk instantaneously but had a word count, so this lead to acronyms coming more popular and abbreviations so messages could fit the word count. Eventually these words evolved and transcended written language and where used orally.

4.       What is the difference between a prescriptive and descriptive attitude to language use? Find two quotes that represent each attitude that you can make a reference in the exam.

·         Descriptive approach –is the work of objectively analyzing and describing how language is actually used (or how it was used in the past) by a group of people in a speech community.

·         Prescriptive approach – is the practice of elevating one variety or manner of language use over another. It may imply some forms are incorrect, improper, and illogical, lack communicative effect, or are of low aesthetic value.

5.       What did Johnson think were the problems with his dictionary? Are these problems still evident in dictionaries today?

·         I’m not too sure what he thought was bad but I did find out what others thought was bad; the descriptions Samuel’s used were sometimes very opinionated for example: “Oats: A grain which in England is generally given to the horses. But in Scotland supports the people.” Another is that making this dictionary span over 7 years so new words where becoming present in the English language. This meant that he missed some words in his dictionary that span 4 volumes instead of the intended 2.

6.       What is a ‘lingua franca’ and to what extent was/is English one?

·         A language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different.

7.       What are the prestigious forms of English now (over and covert)?

·         Non-standard dialects are usually considered low-prestige, but in some situations dialects "stigmatized by the education system still enjoy a covert prestige among working-class men for the very reason that they are considered incorrect"

8.       How have politically correct language and the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis influenced modern English language?

·         Political correctness is an attitude or policy of being careful not to offend or upset any group of people in society who are believed to have a disadvantage. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis or the principle of linguistic relativity holds that the structure of a language affects the ways in which its respective speakers conceptualize their world, i.e. their world view, or otherwise influences their cognitive processes. These theories I believe have changed the way we speak by making us as a society hyper sensitive. Anything no matter how small that ‘offends’ us we complain and voice our opinions normally over the internet from the privacy of our homes. Not many of us would complain so openly because of politeness but would rather do it possibly anonymously

9.       Find three example of obsolete English grammar that you can make reference to in the exam

·         “Thou” and 2Thee” are both pronouns that have been dropped by modern English users.

·         The silent “e”

·         Pas tenses like “deceiv’d” instead of “deceived”

1.   Find three features of modern punctuation that takes advantage of a lessening of prescriptivism

·         The improper use of the colon

·         The use of “?!” at the end of a sentence to show questioning shock

·         “Superellipse” ellipses going up in size if you want the reader to wait a long time before continuing reading.

1.   Find three neologisms from the past five years

·         Google:  To use an online search engine as the basis for looking up information on the World Wide Web.

·         Crowdsourcing: The activity of getting a large group of people to contribute resource to project, especially by using a website where people can make contributions.

·         Metrosexual: A man who dedicates a great deal of time and money to his appearance.

1.   Do an internet search to find an article that interests you on language uses. Find a key quote to memorize. How does that writer communicate their ideas?

·         "The internet is an amazing medium for languages, Language itself changes slowly but the internet has speed-ed up the process of those changes so you notice them more quickly " http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10971949

1.   Read at least one chapter from a book from a library about language change; identify how the attitudes expressed in it are a product of when it was written

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1.   What does gender theory reveal about English use through the ages?

·         Gender theory reveals that the long standing stereotypes of both male and females are still relevant in today’s society. Males have always been the dominant gender in language using more direct lexis unlike women who are use more lo key lexis and are less upfront in what they are saying. In modern times we as a society like to think that both genders language are merging but this is not the case; gender differences are still present but are not said aloud but in more private spaces.