How Language Changes Start and Spread

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Language change happens every day. New words are constantly being added and new dialects are forming. People have always argued about the causes of language change and tried to control the changes that occurred but ultimately they accomplished nothing. Languages changes and spread as a result of the people who use it daily. African American English and California English are both examples of the different ways language can change. People try to resist the changes in their language because they do not want to see it change. Language change is a natural process that can be affected by others but never stopped. This course has done an excellent job explaining how language change starts and spreads. Language change can be caused by numerous factors including political and social shifts. As societies evolve the pre-existing language is often replaced by a newer more popular one. Language change also happens as a result of time. Different people in a society use their language in ways that vary depending on their age, gender, race and social economic class. When language change is a result of large political and social shifts it can happen very rapidly. Many of the examples studied in this course document languages being forced out of use by new political parties. Adult speakers are no longer allowed to speak publicly in their native tongue and young speakers are taught a new language. If a language does not have new speakers using it, it will die out with the silent elders. The subtle language changes that take place over time often go unnoticed until they are more main-stream. As this class has shown people of one regional area can vary greatly in how they use their native language. Generational differences appear in language through ... ... middle of paper ... ...fight the change will lose. As the world continues to grow so will the languages that exist within it. Some languages might disappear while new ones are formed but language change will always occur. Language change is a result of the interactions of the people who speak it with speakers of other languages. African American English is an example of how different languages can come together to create a creole. Hollywood is an example of how languages can spread new words to other dialects within it. All change faces resistance and language is no different. People are afraid of change and do not want to see the perfect version of their language destroyed. No matter how much people fight language change it will still happen. Language change is a natural process that cannot be stopped. It can be altered and changed but no one can stop the natural evolution of languages.

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