Flashcards · 7702 · Topic 2

Language diversity and change flashcards

18 cards on Topic 2, subtopics 3.2.1 to 3.2.4. Pick a subtopic or study them all.

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What does Paper 2 Section A require?: One 30-mark evaluative essay from a choice of two: one on language diversity and one on language change.
Sociolect or dialect: what is the test?: A sociolect varies by social group (occupation, gender, ethnicity). A dialect varies by geography (regional, national, international).
What timeframe does 7702 set for language change?: 1600 to the present day, so a change essay needs at least one historical comparison point, not only present-day examples.
What are Aitchison's three metaphors for attitudes to change?: The damp spoon, the crumbling castle and the infectious disease: three prescriptivist images of change as decline, which Aitchison herself rejects.
What is the S-curve model of language change?: A new form spreads slowly at first, then rapidly, then slowly again as it reaches the last holdouts.
Functional theory or random fluctuation: what is the difference?: Functional theory says change meets new communicative needs (technology, social contexts). Random fluctuation says some changes have no single identifiable cause.
What is the difference between accent and dialect?: Accent is pronunciation only. Dialect covers grammar and vocabulary as well.

What is semantic change? Name four kinds.: A shift in a word's meaning over time: broadening (more general), narrowing (more specific), amelioration (more positive) and pejoration (more negative).
Name common word-formation processes in language change.: Borrowing, compounding, blending, affixation, conversion (a new word class), clipping, and acronyms or initialisms.
What is standardisation in the history of English?: The process by which one variety became the accepted norm in spelling, grammar and vocabulary, helped by printing, dictionaries and grammars.
How can language data such as corpora or frequency tables be used?: As evidence: describe the trend in usage over time or across groups, then link it to a plausible social or functional explanation.

What does Paper 2 Section B Question 3 require?: Analysis of two texts about a language issue (40 marks): how each writer uses language to present ideas, attitudes and opinions about language.
What is a language discourse?: A way of talking and writing about language that carries attitudes and values, for example presenting change as decline or a dialect as inferior.
Prescriptivism or descriptivism: what is the difference?: Prescriptivism sets rules for correct usage and treats deviation as error. Descriptivism records how language is actually used and treats variation and change as natural.
What is a named debate worth having ready for Paper 2?: Two or three, such as prescriptivist against descriptivist attitudes to change, or whether a dialect or sociolect is unfairly stigmatised, to bring into any essay.

What does Paper 2 Question 4 (directed writing) require?: An opinion piece on a language issue for a specified audience, purpose and form (30 marks), assessed as writing as well as for its ideas about language.
How should the directed writing differ from an essay?: It must follow the conventions of its form (such as an article) and engage a non-specialist reader, while conveying linguistic ideas accurately.
What is the commonest timing error in Paper 2 Section B?: Spending too long on the 40-mark analysis and rushing the 30-mark directed writing.