Language Change & Variation - Exam Revision Sheet

1. 📌 Essentials

• Language change involves alterations in pronunciation, meaning, morphology, vocabulary, and syntax over time.
• Historical linguistics reconstructs past language states; focuses on outcomes, not mechanisms.
• Variationist sociolinguistics explains how and why language change occurs, emphasizing social factors- Change in progress: variants coexist; one gradually replaces the other.
• Stable variants coexist without replacement (e.g., (ING) [iŋ] vs. [in]).
• Models of spread: S-curve depicts slow start, rapid spread, plateau.
• Change from above: conscious, prestige-driven; spreads downward.
• Change from below: unconscious, vernacular; spreads upward.
• Lexical diffusion: gradual spread of sound change across words.
• Methods of study: Apparent-time (cross-sectional), Real-time (longitudinal), Re-survey.

2. 🧩 Key Structures & Components

• Variants: alternative forms of a linguistic feature (e.g., [iŋ] vs. [in]).
• Social groups: class, ethnicity, style influence variant use.
• Language contact: influences from neighboring languages or dialects.
• Change mechanisms: innovation, diffusion, contact, social prestige.
• Models: S-curve for spread, style and group influence.
• Study methods: Apparent-time (age groups), Real-time (decades), Re-survey (longitudinal).

3. 🔬 Functions, Mechanisms & Relationships