2. LEXICAL VARIATION
• A lexical variation is to use a linguistic element instead of other without making changes in the meaning
of words or phrases.
Example:
Perhaps – Maybe
Complete the chart with the possible lexical variations of the following words
Milkshake Rubbish
Freeway Autumn
Stone Biscuit
Cooker Engine
Trousers Vacation
Post French Fries
3. All languages change over time and vary according to the place and social setting.
Time
Three main aspects of language change over time: vocabulary, sentence structure and
pronunciations. Vocabulary can change quickly as new words are borrowed from other
languages, or as words get combined or shortened. Some words are even created by
mistake.
As noted in the Linguistic Society of America's publication Is English Changing?, pea is one
such example. Up until about 400 years ago, pease referred to either a single pea or many
peas. At some point, people mistakenly assumed that the word pease was the plural form of
pea, and a new word was born.
4. • English is spoken in different places and among different social
groups. One of the most common differences between dialects is the
way in which past tenses are formed.
• Most English verbs have a simple past tense that is unmarked for
person, such as played, went, saw, did. In other words we simply say I
played, you played, he/she/it played, we played and they played and
make no adjustment to the ending of the verb. This contrasts quite
markedly with the way past tenses are expressed in many other
European languages. The verb 'to be' on the other hand has two
simple past forms in Standard English - I/he/she/it was and
you/we/they were.Apart from the special case of you, the distinction
is, therefore, between singular was and plural were.
• In some regional dialects, however, this pattern is not observed. In
some parts of the country, speakers use was throughout, while
speakers elsewhere use were exclusively. There are also dialects where
the two different forms are used for the opposite function - singular
were and plural was.
5. • Variation in lexis may be systematically used by
speakers to index their affiliation with particular
social groups. Recently, work has shown that this is
also true for sign languages. This variation may
function as an index of social variables such as
region, gender, ethnicity, and social class, or social
factors that are distinctive to sign language
communities, such as the language policy of the
school attended during childhood or the language
background of the signer’s family. It may also be
indicative of a language change in progress.
• “A linguistic change can be said to have taken place
when a new linguistic form, used by some sub-group
within a speech community, is adopted by
other members of that community and accepted
as the norm.”
Jennifer Coates
6. QUESTIONNAIRE
1.Which are the three main aspects of language that
change over time?
2.According to Jennifer Coates, when can a change take
place?
3.Which are the three main aspects that affect language?
4.What is a lexical variation?
5.Mention 5 places where English is spoken
6.Which is the singular form of pea?
