OED Youtube Channel Summary
OED Appeal for "cooties"
This video is about the term that is usually used by North American children, "cooties", a made up word that has made it into the dictionary. The definition that the video gives is a term that a young person would tend to use to describe imaginary germs and that is usually talking about the opposite sex. This video is to appeal to ask the audience if they know anything about the history of the word and it's usage.
Are there any words that rhyme with "orange"?
During this video, the woman talks about how it is very uncommon to have words that perfectly rhymes with the word, "orange". She tells us that the only rhyming word is "sporange", which is a part of a plant; of which isn't commonly used nowadays in modern English language. However there are some half rhymes that the dictionary suggests, such as lozenge, that could be possibly used as an alternative. This video also explores how the word "silver" does not have many rhyming words either, and the only word that the dictionary offers is "chilver", (a female lamb), however, yet again, an unpopular/unused word. The video then goes on to explain the difference between a half rhyme and a full rhyme; a full rhyme being where the vowels are the same and pronounced the same (at the end of a word), whereas a half rhyme is a similar use of vowels that sound similar but are not used in the same way, so it doesn't give the exact same sound.
An OED Appeal for "in your dreams"
This video is an appeal to ask the members of the audience if they know any history or information about sayings such as the phrase, "in your dreams", usually used in a sarcastic tone. The research that has been found out about the phrase so far is the use of the phrase in a Usenet news group posting in 1986, however they think that it was probably used further back in history.
An OED Appeal for "disco"
This video is another appeal for the audience to try and get involved with the research to the history of the use of language of certain words. The research that has been carried out on the word "disco" has resulted to the finding that it used to be used to describe a long, sleeveless dress, and then later on they found examples of the word being used to describe disco dancing. Further research revealed the new usage of the word to describe an event where the disco dancing takes place.
Tuesday, 3 February 2015
Monday, 2 February 2015
Article analysis
Referring to both texts in detail, discuss how language changes.
The Sun's Black Hole article, written in 1999 shows the modern language features, especially when compared to The Daily Mirror's article, One Touch Of Nature, written in 1912. The difference between structure of format and graphology is the first noticeable difference, as The Daily Mail's text is written as block texts in lengthy paragraphs, whereas The Sun's article uses short sentences and paragraphs, of which are also broken up with the use of headlines. The headlines are in capitals (uppercase), in bold. This creates a quick-read feature, making the article punchy and paced to keep the reader entertained and interested.
Following on from this, the headlines of "WHY" are then followed by rhetorical questions. The rhetorical questions allows the reader to engage emotionally with the article. It makes the audience question the points that are being raised, whereas Daily Mirror's article uses adjectives to engage with the reader to provoke emotion. This is however suitable tot he article's subject, as Daily Mirror's article is aout Titanic, talking about a sensitive subject that many (if not, all) readers will be familiar with, however The Sun's article is about a Black Hole. Readers are aware what a black hole is but they may not be aware of its dangers or consequences. This article uses a field specific lexis to denote danger. Words such as "feared", "fire", "failures, "blazing", "panic" are used to signify warning to influence the reader to feel fear when reading this article. The use of lexis successfully creates a strong tone of voice that is suitable for the typical The Sun newspaper reader. The Sun is a tabloid with a general target audience of CDE2 audience (working class), of both genders, however it is known that the language that is used in The Sun is purposely easy for readers, and content for the newspaper is created so that a 16 year old can understand the articles. This is reflected through the informal, chatty language that is used through a narrative-like tone of voice. Italics are used after a declarative sentence, "That is clearly not true", to enforce a slightly sarcastic tone to the article, giving a personalised feel to interact with the reader directly.
The grammar and punctuation used within The Daily Mirror's Titanic article shows semantic changed from archaic language, such as "Draughtsmen", "mightily" and "nothingless", of which would most likely be unfamiliar to readers if this language was used in The Sun's newspaper. The Daily Mirror's audience is for of a more sophisticated middle class older audience, and even though nowadays The Daily Mirror was more of a broadsheet, it has changed to a tabloid (now The Mirror). Due to this article targeting an educated audience, the audience are expected to follow the article without the need of breaks through headlines or rhetorical questions, creating a more formal approach. The article at the end is signed off as "W.M." at the end, whereas articles have changed typically to a full name at the top of the article underneath the title. The initials at the end are now seen as more of a formal sign off.
The Sun's Black Hole article, written in 1999 shows the modern language features, especially when compared to The Daily Mirror's article, One Touch Of Nature, written in 1912. The difference between structure of format and graphology is the first noticeable difference, as The Daily Mail's text is written as block texts in lengthy paragraphs, whereas The Sun's article uses short sentences and paragraphs, of which are also broken up with the use of headlines. The headlines are in capitals (uppercase), in bold. This creates a quick-read feature, making the article punchy and paced to keep the reader entertained and interested.
Following on from this, the headlines of "WHY" are then followed by rhetorical questions. The rhetorical questions allows the reader to engage emotionally with the article. It makes the audience question the points that are being raised, whereas Daily Mirror's article uses adjectives to engage with the reader to provoke emotion. This is however suitable tot he article's subject, as Daily Mirror's article is aout Titanic, talking about a sensitive subject that many (if not, all) readers will be familiar with, however The Sun's article is about a Black Hole. Readers are aware what a black hole is but they may not be aware of its dangers or consequences. This article uses a field specific lexis to denote danger. Words such as "feared", "fire", "failures, "blazing", "panic" are used to signify warning to influence the reader to feel fear when reading this article. The use of lexis successfully creates a strong tone of voice that is suitable for the typical The Sun newspaper reader. The Sun is a tabloid with a general target audience of CDE2 audience (working class), of both genders, however it is known that the language that is used in The Sun is purposely easy for readers, and content for the newspaper is created so that a 16 year old can understand the articles. This is reflected through the informal, chatty language that is used through a narrative-like tone of voice. Italics are used after a declarative sentence, "That is clearly not true", to enforce a slightly sarcastic tone to the article, giving a personalised feel to interact with the reader directly.
The grammar and punctuation used within The Daily Mirror's Titanic article shows semantic changed from archaic language, such as "Draughtsmen", "mightily" and "nothingless", of which would most likely be unfamiliar to readers if this language was used in The Sun's newspaper. The Daily Mirror's audience is for of a more sophisticated middle class older audience, and even though nowadays The Daily Mirror was more of a broadsheet, it has changed to a tabloid (now The Mirror). Due to this article targeting an educated audience, the audience are expected to follow the article without the need of breaks through headlines or rhetorical questions, creating a more formal approach. The article at the end is signed off as "W.M." at the end, whereas articles have changed typically to a full name at the top of the article underneath the title. The initials at the end are now seen as more of a formal sign off.
Tuesday, 27 January 2015
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 21st 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 21st
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 16th 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 21st
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.
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.
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!
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.
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’
Tuesday, 20 January 2015
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.
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.
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.
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