Language Change - Is it good/bad

- Arguments for and against language change

For -

Language change is good because it needs to accomadate technological advances.
Helps to perform personal and group identity.
closes the gap between different cultures.
Change reflects fashions of that time.

Against-

Words can change meanings.
Creates boundries between generations.
Encourages socially innapropriate behaviour.
Words can get negative connotations because of views of society.
English should resist change to protect its history/tradition.
ESOL different to keep up with constant change.

My view-

I believe that language change is good because it helps to name new products that come into the market, otherwise there would be nothing to call them. It helps people to socisalise with friends and they may use words in a different way to others.

What are the most important influences on language change?

The most important influences on langauge change are media and fashion because new products are created all the time and they need to be giving names, so therefore new names are given to these products, also with fashion not everything can have the same name so again they need to gove new products names and therefore this contributes to language change.

Do you think some of the more recent additions to language will survive?

I don't think that some of the new additions to language will survive e.g. (bare, butters, peng, mandem) because they tend to be used by the younger generation and will fade away as they get older. I say this because new kids will come up with new words and these older words will eventually go and be replaced because language changes all the time.