The P Word

http://www.vox.com/2016/10/11/13241068/samantha-bee-trump-hot-mic-leaked-audio

TABOO WORDS AND THEIR POWER in interpreting meaning.

pussy
cock
dick
piss
ass
faggot
bitch
and.....

Language  Change, Attrition & Loss

-langauges are constantly changing as long as they are "living".

BLOOMFIELD: (traditional)

• you cannot directly observe change, only its consequences
• most variation is random and inconsequential
• aimed at DESCRIBING this change
• write INTERNAL HISTORIES of languages showing structural changes that have occurred over periods of time. (internal change)
• BORROWING: usually appears somewhat idiosyncratic (may retain FOREIGN marking) WHY? (external change)
• describe exotic objects
• scientific words
• variant "attitudes" about language (French versus English)

Newer views look at PROCESSES of change rather than descriptions:

• FAMILY TREE
• at some point in time varieties "split" (protoforms) and less frequently "coalese"
•  WAVE THEORY (Labov & Baily)
• changes flow into and interact with one another (fluidity of boundaries between languages)
• LEXICAL DIFFUSION (Baily)
• changes "diffuse" in language sometimes in idiosyncratic ways (sounds diffuse through lexicon (words))
• sounds spread this way through PRODUCTIVE words

PROCESSES OF CHANGE

• Change from Above & Change From Below (Labov)
• CHANGE FROM "BELOW"
• generalizations of form which filter through all levels of society; originating from a "restrictive subgroup" of a speech community.
• commonly a marker of regional status
• change away from the norms of the standard
• SOLIDARITY MARKER (indicates group membership)
• below the level of consciousness (social awareness)
• CHANGE FROM "ABOVE"
• Change becomes the marker defining a speech community and shows stylistic variation. High status people stigmatize certain forms and initiate change from above. 
• hyper-correction in SECOND GENERATION PHENOMENON
• become markers of ETHNICITY (we just talked about!!!)
• more dramatic changes in form and function than change from below
• at the level of conscious social awareness

Labov's 11 stages (example):

1. sound change occurs in a restricted sub-group
2. spreads to all members of the subgroup (change from below-unconscious)
3. hyper-correction in next generation exaggerates these differences
4. changes spread to other groups with similar values
5. changes limited by speech community
6. variation becomes the marker of the group and shows variation stylistically (elaborated on creatively)
7. members of the highest status group stigmatize changes
8. this initiates changes toward the highest prestige form (change from above)
9. hyper0-correction from above
10. chages disappear under extreme stigmatization
11. Prestige form solidifies status

Bailey's Lexical Diffusion (example)

1. each speaker controls a "lect"
2. the lects of various speakers are inter-related
3. researcher plots variation between the lects to see how langauge is changing
4. changes 'diffuse" through vocabulary in certain "fixed" patterns (sound changes)
5. "s-curve" describes these changes  (slow-fast-slow)
6. shows how a particular change spreads through a set of words in which a phonological feature undergoing change actually occurs.

WHAT CHANGES IN LANGUAGE? Every Level of Language

• SOUND CHANGES
• ASSIMILATION: when one sound is influenced by the pronunciation of a neighboring sound
• noctum-->notte
• sandwhich-->samwich
• usually motivated by EASE OF ARTICULATION
• DISSIMILATION: when sound moves away from the pronunciation of a neighboring sound
•  fifth-->fift
• reservoir--> resewar
• MERGER /COALESCENCE: mereging of two phonemes
• which--->witch
• reed-->read
• archaeology--->archeology
• SPLIT: one sound becomes two
• athlete--> athelete
• LOSS: a sound disappears from the language
• "great vowel shift in the history of English"
• HAPOLOGY: loss of a sound because of its similarity to a neighboring sound
• hoarse-->horse
• METATHESIS: two sounds change places
• ask---> aks
• spaghetti-->psghetti
• SYNCOPE:loss of medial sounds
• sewer-->sore
• crayon-->crown
• coral-->carl
• ACOPOPE: the loss of final sounds (very common)
• helpe-->help
• going-->goin'
• PROTHESIS: addition of initial sound
• schola-->eschuela
• EPENTHESI: introduction of an extra medial sound
• athlete--.athelete
• commercial-->commercianl
•  GRAMMATICAL CHANGE
• ANALOGY: irregular grammatical partners are changed in accordance with the regular patterns which already exist in the language (extends the patterns range)
• fish---->fishes
• water--->watwers
• deer-->deers
• shrimp--.shrimps
• BACK FORMATION:gives a new "base" form
• burglar (n)-->burgles (v)--> was burgled (adj)
• worker (n)-->work (n)---> work (v)-->working person (adj)
• FOLK ETYMOLOGY: false histories that make sense culturally based on similarity of sound. Etymology is the history of a word
• garter snake---->garden snake
• gamblind--->sandblind
• Alzheimer--->old timers
•  crevice--->crawfish/crayfish
• moscalini--->mussalini (gnats)
• scapegoat---> and escaped goat
• SEMANTIC CHANGE
• BORROWINGS:arrival of new words-remain marked, degree depends on how "accepting" the borrowing culture is. USA-very, France-not at all.
• transfer exactly (except for phonological accommodation)
• ballet, aupair, bon voayage, et cetera
• alter when transferred
• LOAN TRANSLATIONS/CALQUES: words may be borrowed whole but PARTS translated separately and new words are formed
• telephone--->fernsprecher (distant speaker)
• hunger grabs me (I'm hungry)
• ears hard (deaf/won't listen)
• types OF SEMANTIC CHANGE
• EXTENSION: a word widens its meaning
• freshman (all first year not just male or college)
• kleenex (all facial tissue)
• xerox (all copying)
• virtue (not just righteous male qualities)
• NARROWING:word becomes more specialized in its meaning
• liquor (liquid)
• deer (animal)
• token (symbol)
• mete (meat)
• animal (not human)
• SHIFT: moves from one SENSE to another
• immoral (customary)
• profane (mundane)
• silly/gay (happy)
• navigator (ship-car-plane-internet)
• artist (painter-actor-dancer-singer)
• FIGURATIVE USE;shift in meaning based on similarity of things
• crane (bird)--->machinery
• mouse (rodent)--->computer control
• bitch (female dog)--->nasty female, pain
• cool (temp)--->even headed
• bull (animal)---> strong
• AMELIORATION: word loses its original negative meaning
• bitch (AAVE)
• mischievous (disastrous)---> playful trouble
• PEJORATION: word develops a negative sense 
• notorious (widely known)
• villain (peasant)
• liberal
• feminist
• negro
• dick, cock, piss, fag, gay, ass...
• WORD LOSS:
• groovy
• far out 
  
• WORD ADDITION
• ACRONYMS
• SOBL
• NATO
• RSVP
• RADAR (radio detection & ranging)
• LASAR (light amplification through simulated emission of radiation)
• POSH (port out, starboard home)
• BLENDING; combination of of the parts of two or more words
• smog
• brunch
• hangry
• duplex
• CLIPPING: shorten words w/out paying attention to their derivational morphology
• exam
• dorm
• taxi/cab (taximeter cabriolet)
• gym
• COINAGE: creating words w/out using any method already described 
• name brands -Kodak, Exxon
• snob
• pooch
• FUNCTIONAL SHIFT: shift parts of speech without changing a word to create new words
• laugh, run, steal, buy----> (nouns)
• position, process, contrast----> (verbs)
• EPONYMY: names created from people
• Washington DC
• kaiser, czar (Ceasar)
• ohm (George Ohm)
• watt (James Watt)