Andrew Radford - Linguistics An Introduction [Second Edition]

Network links with other ethnic groups have led, in this case, to a weakening in the use of the ethnic variety and the adoption of linguistic features from ‘outside’

(exercises 8 and 9 ).

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words

In this part of the book, we have introduced a range of concepts which are

necessary to understand if we are to come to terms with the rich variety of processes on which different languages rely for forming complex words, focusing on English in

section 10 and taking account of aspects of other languages in section 11. Just as progress in understanding sound systems requires a way for describing sounds accurately (the IPA of section 2), so discussion of word formation is dependent on classification of words into certain types, and we took the first steps in this direction in

section 9 (see also section 18). A parallel aim throughout sections 9 to 11 has been to sketch a view of the lexical representations which are an integral part of a grammar (see the introduction, p. 41), constituting, as they do, the lexicon. Such representations, as well as having phonological and syntactic aspects (see 115), also encode the meanings of lexical items, and section 12 has examined how such meanings might be described. This section has also raised the issue of how the overall structure of the mental lexicon might be understood in terms of meaning relations; that is, as well as coming to terms with the internal structure of a lexical representation, we proposed that meaning relations such as hyponymy and meronymy are useful in determining the ways in which lexical representations are related to each other.

With basic concepts in place, the next three sections of this part have sought to establish their usefulness in the study of the acquisition of words by small children

(13), the processing and storage (in a mental lexicon) of words by adults (14) and the difficulties in perceiving and producing words which can arise as a consequence of brain damage (15).

Finally, in section 16 we have examined variation with respect to two of the principle components of the lexical entries, the semantic representation and the morphological shape of word forms serving particular grammatical functions. We have seen cases where each of these may be subject to variation within the speech of an individual, across social groups, between dialects and at different stages in the historical development of a language or dialect. For a full description of a speaker’s behaviour, then, the simple representations we have presented in section

10 are not fully adequate; however, we can be confident that they constitute the basic core or nucleus over which variation can be defined.

Our final major theme is the sentence, to which we now turn in the final part of the book.

Exercises

1.

Check the following list of words in a good dictionary and:

(a) find out the language of origin of each word;

(b) ascertain when it is claimed the word entered the English language;

(c) speculate on WHY the word was borrowed.

aardvark

anchovy

arsenal

bamboo

bistro

brandy

cauliflower

chocolate

Lexical variation and change

239

cocaine

cocoa

coffee

cotton

cuddle

decoy

frolic

graffiti

jumbo

lilac

magazine

mango

moped

mugger

paprika

potato

robot

sandal

slogan

sugar

2.

When sociolinguists wish to study variation in phonology, they nor-

mally rely on an analysis of recordings of natural speech. In an hour’s

recording, there are usually enough examples of most variables for an

adequately representative sample. Attempting to analyse lexical var-

iation and change from recorded speech samples is not so straightfor-

ward, however. Suppose we were interested in finding out whether

people said ‘biscuit’ or ‘cookie’. We might find that in an hour’s

recording (or even ten hours’ recording) there will be no examples

of biscuit or cookie or any other word associated with the relevant

concept. (Let’s face it, how often do you talk about biscuits or cookies

in your everyday conversation?) So how do we find out which word

people use? It might be reasonable to assume that we could simply

ask: Do you say ‘biscuit’ or ‘cookie’? There is evidence that this

method is flawed too. Researchers in New Zealand found, for exam-

ple, that while people claimed to use the word trousers when asked, it

was discovered that they used the word pants in later conversation.

Bearing in mind these data collection problems, how would you

analyse lexical variation?

3.

Etymology is the study of the history of words. Find a good etymo-

logical dictionary and examine how the meanings of the following

words have changed over time:

luxury

engine

budget

toilet

bully

naughty

poison

brilliant

4.

Recent technological developments have led to familiar words

being used for new concepts in IT, the media and so on. Explore

why the following words have been chosen for the new items they

denote:

mouse

zip

blackberry

menu

window

surf

icon

web

virus

cookie

wallpaper

worm

5.

In 2006, a DJ on a leading British popular music radio station was

widely criticised in the media for using the word ‘gay’ to mean ‘feeble’

or ‘rubbish’, when referring to the ringtone of a mobile phone. His

employers, the BBC, defended his use of the word, claiming that this

was a common usage of the word among young people. Why do you

think he received such criticism? What could a linguist add to such a

discussion?

240

words

80

70

ero 60

50

40

30

20

% use of 3rd person z

10

0

Village (Glemsford)

Town (Sudbury)

City (Ipswich)

location of study

old speakers

young speakers

Figure 50 Third person singular present tense zero in three locations in East Anglia 6.

As discussed earlier in this section, some dialects of (mostly northern)

East Anglia in England delete third person singular -s, and so forms

like (a) and (b) are common:

(a) he like going to the pub

(b) she make us laugh, she do

Figure 50 shows the results of a survey by Michelle Bray and Juliette Spurling of third person singular present tense -s in three places in

East Anglia – a village, a town and a city – all of which are within 30 km

of each other. What’s going on in the three places and how might we

explain the patterns found there? Are the results what you expected?

7.

Having asked their permission, make a short recording of a group of your

friends conversing. From the recording you have made, listen and note

down the pronunciation of each occurrence of (ing). Compare the way

males and females in your recording pronounce (ing). What are your

results? Do your findings agree with those of other researchers? Can you

identify any differences between (ing) in progressives and verbal com-

plements on the one hand and nominal (ing) on the other?

8.

In a number of varieties of English, the tag ‘isn’t it?’ is often pronounced

‘innit?’ [ɪnɪʔ] as in (a) and (b) below:

(a) It’s a wicked track, innit?

(b) It’s been really cold lately, innit?

In and around London, innit? is now being used as an invariant tag as

in (c) and (d):

(e) He’s gonna fall over, innit?

(d) You found her asleep, innit?

Lexical variation and change