Contemporary Language Change (Phonological Change) Flashcards Preview

A- Level English Language Language Change Paper 2 > Contemporary Language Change (Phonological Change) > Flashcards

Flashcards in Contemporary Language Change (Phonological Change) Deck (20)
Loading flashcards...
1
Q

What is phonological change

A

Change in the sound of English

2
Q

What were accents like in early English

A

There were various regional accents which meant communication could be difficult and there was no one accent that everyone aspired to

3
Q

Give an example of an Old English word

A

“Father”- a change in pronunciation of “ther”

4
Q

Give an example of a Middle English book and the author

A

“The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” by Chaucer

5
Q

What was the great vowel shift

A

A major change in pronunciation in the 1400s. All long vowels changed their pronunciation and English was becoming standardised in the 15th & 16th century this has caused the spellings of English words.

6
Q

Give an example of the great vowel shift

A

-i is always pronounced eg nice, dice

7
Q

Who coined the term received pronunciation and when

A

Linguist AJ Ellis in 1869

8
Q

What does received mean

A

Accepted or approved

9
Q

Where did RP originate

A

In public schools and universities of 19th century Britain

10
Q

What accent was RP based on

A

Accent of the south east midlands

11
Q

What factors contributed to the growth in prestige of RP

A

When Lord Reith, g.m of the BBC adopted it in 1922 as a broadcasting standard now known as “BBC English”

12
Q

What are the differences between RP pronunciations and those of the early 20th century

A

Use of glottal stops and other non-RP sounds by RP speakers

13
Q

Give an examples of differences between RP pronunciations and those of the early 20th century

A

Early 20th- palace /e/, late 20th palace /ae/

Early 20th- black /e/, late 20th /ae/

14
Q

How has the Queen’s speech altered from 20th to the 21st century

A

She is moving away from using RP to using more well known phrases today

15
Q

According to David Crystal what does the future hold for RP

A

Prejudice of accents has changed as people see the regional accent as more down to earth and customer friendly

16
Q

Why has RP changed in the last 20 years

A

Those who come from traditional RP background adapt regional features because they increase “street cred”

17
Q

What regional features are now used by RP speaker

A

glottal stops, vocalisation of “L”, YOD, YOD dropping

18
Q

What is Estuary English

A

A variety of modified regional speech of non regional and local South- Eastern English pronunciations and intonations. Result in the change of RP

19
Q

What is the prescriptivist attitude towards phonological change

A

They criticise widespread use of glottal stops and non RP sounds

20
Q

What is the descriptivist attitude towards phonological change

A

They see such language use as progressive language change