Recipe analysis

The language throughout all three recipe texts is varied due to the different time periods of when they were written, for example the semantic change of words and meanings, format and the features of orthology are different. Text number one (of which was written in 1747) is a curry recipe. There are uses of non-standard language, such as the spelling, “currey”, of which now has the spelling adaptation of just being “curry” without the requirement of the “e”. There also seems to be a dismissal of the letter “s”, of which is replaced by the letter “f”, such as words, “Fowls”, “fmall”, “Frefh”.  However the letter “s” wasn’t ignored completely, as the recipe later on has intermittent uses of the constantan S, “Stew-pan”, “Salt”. It seems as though the letter “f” is used on verbs and adjectives, however if there is a word beginning with S and it is a noun, the S is kept and it is also made to be a capital even if it is mid-sentence. This links to another non-standard feature of this recipe is also the orthography, where the capitalisation of nouns, especially concrete nouns (such as the ingredients of the curry), are capitalised. This may be due to the confusion of concrete nouns and proper nouns; however language over time has become more specific, splitting the nouns into different groups to no longer need capitalisation unless it is a proper noun.

Recipe no. 2 is an Economical Pot Liquor Soup that was written in 1852, of which the language is different again to the previous recipe. Firstly, the recipe being described a “pot liquor soup” suggests a different meaning to what it would have meant back in the 1800’s, as liquor is alcohol in the 21^st century, whereas the recipe would have intended a different meaning that doesn’t include alcohol. The contextual time that this recipe was written is also reflected in this recipe as it directly speaks to the target audience, “a thrifty housewife”, suggesting that this recipe is for working class women. This gender specific text is tailored to suit the stereotypical domestic housewife, which would not be seen in a 21^st century recipe due to the stigma of only women cooking has changed, meaning that men are cooks just as much women can be.

Recipe 3, the “wan kai thai-style red curry” is instantly different (written in 1998), as the borrowing of the word “curry” was originated from Tamil in the late 16^th centry, however has adapted to the English language. It is evident how the spelling of the word has changed by just looking at the spelling “currey” from text number 1 compared to tis modern text. The graphology of this recipe is the major difference between this recipe compared to the other two, as the other two recipes were set out as columns of block text, talking through the steps of the recipe. However the modern 1998 recipe is set out in bullet points. Whereas the previous recipes included the ingredients within the process of the recipe rather than listing them before, the ingredients are listed with the exact measurements in units before the steps of the recipe in the modern text. This is because people nowadays have less time to prepare meals, and the use of bullet points are quick and easy to read. There is also a “nutrition notes per serving”, telling the reader all of the facts about what this recipe includes in terms of calories and fats. People are more aware of what they are eating, and the obsession of diets and calories are constantly what people search for in foods. The government have also put these nutritional intake statistics with red, yellow or green colours to indicate the healthiness of the food product. It seems as though recipes are now including these types of information for the consumer to be able to make a quick decision whether they want to make and eat this recipe or not. English language has not only changed through the events and influences of modern-day life, but it has adapted to suit the lifestyle of 21^st century audiences. 

Grammar & Lexis

Grammar & Lexis

18th Century Diary

The language that has been used in this 18th century diary is noticeably different to the use of language and structure of sentences in the 21st century. This is because language's semantic change has shifted meanings and structures from influences such as colonization, language and power, gender and also technology. Language changing is possibly ongoing as new conflicts and technology will change the way users of language speak. During this particular diary entry, the sentence structure is different, "At 7 came a coach from the Strand", the active voice would still be active int he 21st century, however it would be changed in the way that the verb is before the subject. Nowadays, the subject tends to be before the verb, creating an alternative sentence such as "The coach came at 7 from the Strand".

Fashion has also changed the English language, as there are also lists of clothing garments that are no longer in fashion, therefore 21st century generations may not understand or know what these nouns are. "scarlet frock coat and drab hat and white trousers as coachman", where "scarlet frock coat" would not necessarily be understood. Frock coats are no longer worn, therefore the use of this word has decreased. The change of hypernyms and hyponyms within fashion have changed drastically, and even describing the frock coat as the colour scarlet is an adjective that doesn't occur within the English language as much as describing a deep blue such as navy. A "drab hat" would possibly be described as a khaki cap or bucket hat in terms of modern fashion.

Phonology

Phonology and Accents

Living in Bristol means that I have accommodated a Bristolian accent, which is perfectly normal, however whether I like the accent or not is something different... My mum tells me that my Bristolian accent isn't particularly strong and I am probably the least Bristolian out of my family, however I still feel a negative attitude towards my accent. I especially get conscious of my accent when I dismissively pronounce words without pronouncing all of the letters, for example 'butter' and 'water'. The glottal stop that I have adapted into my language makes me cringe and when I realise that I have said it out loud, I then correct myself and say the word properly. The idea that I want to pronounce my words "properly" is the standardization of the English Language, giving the idea that there is a right way to speak and pronounce words correctly, meaning that people who have different accents, pronouncing words differently are speaking "lazy" or "non- standard". This can lead to judgement, and prejudice as speakers of the English language in a harsher tone or a "lazier" accent can lead to assumptions. For example, the Essex or East London accent has a stereotype that their accent makes them seem dumb or illiterate. This could however be influenced from reality TV programme, The Only Way is Essex, or soap, Eastenders, however it has created a label to people who speak "common", such as Essex or East London.


The Mirror article, What is the UK's UGLIEST Accent? looks at how accents have now deemed to be attractive or unattractive, making speakers of these accents more aware and conscious that there are pressures to speak in a certain way; the attractive accents being the ones that are pronounced "properly" or more formally than common.

"Sorry, Brummies. The rest of the UK don't like you"

The Mirror have so- say found out that the majority of the UK find the Brummie accent unattractive

Another article, alternatively about the snobbery of accents and how there can be a negative view on having a POSH accent!

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/02/britain-accent-sound-foreign-snobs

Lexis and Origins

Lexis and origins of words; Language and Change


Anorak - 1920s: from Greenlandic anoraq . The British English informal sense dates from the 1980s
Barbeque - mid 17th century: from Spanish barbacoa, perhaps from Arawak barbacoa ‘wooden frame on posts’
Barrack - late 19th century: probably from Northern Irish dialect.
Blizzard - early 19th century (originally US, denoting a violent blow): of unknown origin
Bongo - 1920s: from Latin American Spanish bongó
Bonsai - 1950s: from Japanese, from bon ‘tray’ + sai ‘planting’
Boomerang - early 19th century: from Dharuk
Budgerigar - mid 19th century: of Aboriginal origin, perhaps an alteration of Kamilaroi gijirrigaa (also in related languages)
Bungalow - late 17th century: from Hindi baṅglā ‘belonging to Bengal’, from a type of cottage built for early European settlers in Bengal.

Chipmunk - mid 19th century: from Ojibwa.

Chutney - early 19th century: from Hindi caṭnī

Dinghy - early 19th century (denoting a rowing boat used on rivers in India): from Hindi ḍiṅgī

Dungarees - late 17th century (in sense 2): from Hindi duṅgrī 

Gnu - late 18th century: from Khoikhoi and San, perhaps imitative of the sound made by the animal when alarmed

Haiku - Japanese, contracted form of haikai no ku ‘light verse

Hamburger - late 19th century (originally US): from German, from Hamburg

Igloo - mid 19th century: from Inuit iglu ‘house’

Kangaroo - late 18th century: the name of a specific kind of kangaroo in an extinct Aboriginal language of North Queensland

Karaoke - 1970s: from Japanese, literally ‘empty orchestra’

Ketchup - late 17th century: perhaps from Chinese (Cantonese dialect) k'ē chap ‘tomato juice’

Llama - early 17th century: from Spanish, probably from Quechua

Mohair - late 16th century: from Arabic muḵayyar ‘cloth made of goat's hair’ (literally ‘choice, select’). The change in ending was due to association with hair

Potato - mid 16th century: from Spanish patata, variant of Taino batata ‘sweet potato’. The English word originally denoted the sweet potato and gained its current sense in the late 16th century

Puma - late 18th century: via Spanish from Quechua

Pyjamas - early 19th century: from Urdu and Persian, from pāy ‘leg’ + jāma ‘clothing’

Safari - late 19th century: from Kiswahili, from Arabic safara ‘to travel’

Sauna - late 19th century: from Finnish

Shampoo - mid 18th century (in the sense ‘massage (as part of a Turkish bath process)’): from Hindicāṃpo! ‘press!’, imperative of cāṃpnā 

Sherbert - early 17th century: from Turkish şerbet, Persian šerbet, from Arabic šarba ‘drink’, fromšariba ‘to drink’. Compare with syrup

Ski - mid 18th century: from Norwegian, from Old Norse skíth ‘billet, snowshoe’

Skyscraper - American

Taboo - late 18th century: from Tongan tabu ‘set apart, forbidden’; introduced into English by Captain Cook

Tattoo - mid 17th century (originally as tap-too ) from Dutch taptoe!, literally ‘close the tap (of the cask)!’

Tea - mid 17th century: probably via Malay from Chinese (Min dialect) te ; related to Mandarinchá . Compare with char

Toboggan - early 19th century: from Canadian French tabaganne, from Micmac topaĝan ‘sled’

Tortilla - Spanish, diminutive of torta ‘cake’

Totem - mid 18th century: from Ojibwa nindoodem ‘my totem’

Trek - mid 19th century: from South African Dutch trek (noun), trekken (verb) ‘pull, travel’

Tycoon - mid 19th century: from Japanese taikun ‘great lord’

Yeti - 1930s: from Tibetan yeh-teh ‘little manlike animal’

Semantic Change

Old definitions: 
Lean: thin, emaciated

Novice: a member of a religious order who has not taken vows yet
Revolutionary: someone who favours overthrowing the government
Lewd: not having an official position in the church.

Modern definitions:

Lean: especially healthily so; having no superfluous fat.

Novice: a person new to and inexperienced in a job or situation.
Revolutionary: involving or causing a complete or dramatic change.
Lewd: crude and offensive in a sexual way.

The word "Lean" originated from the borrowing of the German lexis, hlinian; related to Dutch leunen and Germanlehnen, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin inclinare and Greek klinein. This semantic change of this word has shifted the definition, meaning that the use of the word within conversations and lexis use has fluctuated over the years.

"Novice" originated as Middle English: from Old French, from late Latin novicius, from novus ‘new’. The new definition makes more logical sense as it relates the original word's meaning; this semantic change is not as strong.

"Revolutionary" used to be referred with a political definition, however the change in semantics has generalised and has weakened the word to describe a situation as opposed to describing a person.

The definition of the word "Lewd" has shifted; the comparison of the old definition has completely changed semantically. The modern definition of the Old English word has changed to an euphemism to talk about a less pleasant subject through an informal, jokey manner.