230516 Language Change (S) (WiSe 2025/2026)

‘Ye knowe ek, that in forme of speche is chaunge
Withinne a thousand yer, and wordes tho
That hadden prys now wonder nyce and straunge
Us thenketh hem, and yet they spake hem so.
And spedde as wel in love as men now do.
Troylus and Criseyde II, 22-6. (Chaucer, quoted in Aitchison 2001: 4)

As this little excerpt of a text by Chaucer clearly illustrates, the English language has changed dramatically over the past six to seven hundred years. Throughout history people, including the medieval writer Chaucer himself, noticed that language, like everything else, is in a continuous state of change. Thus, from its beginning, linguistics has been looking at language change. In this class we will therefore look at the various theories, which have been proposed to explain language change. We will also discuss language-external (e.g. language contact) and language-internal (e.g. structural instability) motivations for language change and look at specific manifestations of language change at all levels of linguistic description, i.e. phonological, grammatical, semantic and pragmatic changes.

At the end of term, we will hopefully be equipped with the necessary knowledge to sensibly discuss the question put forward by Jean Aitchison, as to whether language change is to be seen as progress or as decay.