Language Change in Social Use

【Abstract】Language changes with the advancement of society. Language in use gets a further development because of the social revolution， the scientific and technological improvement， and the political and economic booming. Throughout the communication of politics， cultures and economy among different countries， language has been being made more abundant and more perfect. This paper gives some examples to show how English language in use changes and points out the trend of language.

【Key words】English language； development； changes

1. Introduction

Language is an efficient instrument that is used for peoples communications. It originated too early when human being needed to communicate with each other in the process of labor. We can say that it is the work fruit. And a man connects a society tightly； as the society evolves， the language develops.

To some extent， language is tightly related to our society. One does not need to be very observant to find that certain linguistic phenomena cannot be allowed for unless they are placed in the general context for society. A speaker of modern English， for example， would find old English unintelligible. If we examine the changes that have occurred during the 1500 years since “birth” of English， we can find changes in the phonology， morphology， syntax， lexicon and semantic components of the grammar. In the following sections the changes will be investigated at different language levels.

2. Various changes of language

2.1 Phonological changes

Although all components of the grammar are susceptible to change over time， some types of change yield more obvious results than others. Variation and change are particularly noticeable in the phonology of a language. Several common types of sound changes can be distinguished.

From ancient times， people just spoke very crude language and later they found it was very awkward to sound. So they had the consciousness to change them for more clear pronunciation. Gradually， sound has changed a lot. When we speak， we tend to increase the ease of articulation（1）.

2.2 Changes in word formation

There is called blending that is created from nonmorphemic parts of two already existing items， like“brunch”. More than 87% English words were brought from other countries such as Latin， France， Spanish， even China. In the 1950s in China， there broke out a large revolution to influence our country seriously； at that time， a word thebigleapforward（2） was introduced into English dictionary.

2.3 Semantic changes

As revealed above， lexical items may be added to a language or be lost. It is also true that words may shift in meaning. In terms of semantic broadening， the word “holiday” can be taken into account. As for semantic narrowing， “Hound”， for example， which used to be the general term for “dog”， has been narrowed of a special kind of dog. Semantic shift means that a word loses its original meaning replaced by new meaning.

3. Conclusion

To sum up， a language changes not accidentally but inevitably. Its changes have been gradually piled up through the long history. No matter from which angle we see the changes of a language， English vocabulary will not weaken their lexicon characteristics； contrarily， it is broadening quicker and quicker. This trend will make the language more colorful and fertile. There are many factors for new words thriving. Due to social evolution in aspects of politics， economics and culture， new words have been poured into the dictionaries continuously. With frequent international communication among countries as well as the advanced media， more and more borrowed words are merged into peoples daily life. To a further development， more and more words become shorter and briefer to replace complex and prolix words while they actually contain all needed information.

Language comes into being when a society shapes. Language can best reflect the various terms of a society-politics， economics， and science and technology. Throughout the language， we can see the changes of these terms immediately. Every day we meet new words， some fashionable terms， so knowing what they mean is necessary to adapt ourselves to the continuously changing society and the world. If we need to receive new things， then we must begin with new words. Many people are not willing to study what they dont like. However， we live in the society and we must force us to receive these new words.

As a tool for communication， language is very inevitable for our daily life. By deepening the understanding of the language in different historic stages， people can talk about every aspect of life better， thus promoting the development of society.

References：

[1]胡壮麟.语言学教程[M].北京：北京大学出版社，2007，（11）.

[2]鲁修红.浅议英语词汇的变化[J].纺织高校基础科学学报，2004，（1）.

作者简介：沈迎迎（1988-），女，汉族，江西都昌人，中学二级，本科，学士学位，于2009年在江西科技师范学院英语专业本科毕业。七年来一直致力于英语教学、获得省市英语教学竞赛一二等奖项数次并荣获县级骨干教师荣誉称号。