Marcus Hills A Diachronic Study of English City Language in Social Commentary Fiction from Dickens to Smith.

Part 1 aimed at year 7s with little in depth knowledge of the study of English Language. The aim of this is to further the audiences understanding of dialect and accent and how language changes and varies through time. Hello everybody. Im here today with you guys to talk about the English Language. The language we all speak in this school is English, that much we all know, but did you know that English is made up of many different other languages? From Latin to French, English is just a melting pot of languages. For example the word Dentist comes from the French for tooth (dent) with the ending (or suffix) ist. So English as we know it is actually evolved from the influence that so many other countries and people have had on our country in the past. The English language is always changing to suit its speakers and we can see it in everyday use. Just imagine, for a moment, your parents using the slang of today. The reason they dont use the same words as you guys is that they have grown up in a different time with a different form of the language. Look at Shakespeare, for example, But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? from Romeo and Juliet, would now be seen as an odd wording of what most current English speakers would say; which is Oi! Shut up. Why is there a light coming through that window over there? or some variation on that. So, because of this, in 20 years time when you lot are all grown up, the English Language as you know it now will have changed in many ways. Did you know that in 2011 four hundred new words were added to the oxford English dictionary? These include OMG, LOL and the symbol for a heart. Is it any wonder that many adults cant get to grips with some of the younger peoples language? As well as these changes in English that happen slowly over time, there are also many changes in the language to do with the dialect. A dialect is (visual stimulus) a variation of an overall language (like English) that uses words and phrases unique to the region. Lots of people get dialect confused with accent. Accent, unlike Dialect, relies entirely on phonology that is how the words sound. In England and Britain, the most obvious examples of dialect that spring to mind are Geordie, Scouse and Brummie, or the Newcastle, Liverpool and Birmingham dialects to give them their proper names. In these regions of Britain the dialect is completely different. They still speak English of course, but this does not necessarily mean that, for example, somebody who speaks the Birmingham dialect would understand a person using the Liverpool variation. This is the same in other English speaking countries. Take America for example. Americans can easily pick up the different regional accents and dialects of English in their country, but it may not be as easy for a British person to recognise these differences. As well as this dialectical variation, there has also been a large amount of change in grammar use in the English language. What was once accepted as being correct or standard is now seen as antiquated (that means old) and obsolete. Take the phrase I didnt do nothing as an example. We all know why the phrase is seen as wrong or non-standard (that means not widely accepted) about I didnt do nothing. The use of two different negatives in the same sentence (what Linguists call multiple negation) is now frowned upon and seen as incorrect or nonstandard in English. However there was a time when it was perfectly normal and acceptable to use this construction. With all this variation and constant changing in the English language and language In general for that matter, it is easy for you to see why it is such a popular subject to study. 673 words.