Language change

 You are going to read part of a book about the study of languages. For questions 31-36, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

 

Language change

 

The phenomenon of language change probably attracts more public notice and criticism than any other linguistic issue. There is a widely held belief that change must mean deterioration and decay. Older people observe the casual speech of the young, and conclude that standards have fallen markedly. They place the blame in various quarters - most often in the schools, where patterns of language education have changed a great deal in recent decades, but also in state public broadcasting institutions, where any deviations from traditional norms provide an immediate focus of attack by conservative, linguistically sensitive listeners.

 

It is understandable that many people dislike change, but most of the criticism of linguistic change is misconceived. It is widely felt that the contemporary language illustrates the problem at its worst, but this belief is shared by ever¡ generation. Moreover, many of the usage issues recur across generations: several of the English controversies which are the focus of current attention can be found in the books and magazines of the 18th and 19th centuries - the debate over lt's me and very unique , for example. In 1863, Henry Alford listed a large number of usage issues which worried his contemporaries and gave them cause to think that the language was rapidly decaying. Most are still with us, with the language not obviously affected.

 

There are indeed cases where linguistic change can lead to problems of unintelligibility, ambiguity, and social division. If change is too rapid, there can be major communication problems, as in contemporary Papua New Guinea, where by some counts over 800 languages have evolved, most spoken by fewer than 3,000 people. But as a rule, the parts 01 language which are changing at any given time are tiny in comparison to the vast, unchanging areas of language. Indeed, it is because change is so infrequent that it is so distinctive and noticeable. So me degree of caution and concern is therefore always desirable, in the interests of maintaining precise and efficient communication; but there are no grounds for the extreme pessimism and conservatism which is so often encountered.

 

For the most part, language changes because society changes. To stop or control the one requires that we stop or control the other - a task which can succeed to only a very limited extent. Language change is inevitable and rarely predictable, and those who try to plan a language's future waste their time if they think otherwise - time which would be better spent in devising fresh ways of enabling society to cope with the new linguistic forms that accompany each generation. These days , there is in fact a growing recognition of the need to develop a greater linguistic awareness and tolerance of change, especially in a multi-ethnic society. This requires, among other things, that schools have the knowledge and resources to teach a common standard, while recognizing the existence and value of linguistic diversity. Such policies provide a constructive alternative to the emotional attacks which are so commonly made against the development of new words, meanings, pronunciations, and grammatical constructions. But before these policies can be implemented, it is necessary to develop a proper understanding of the inevitability and consequences of linguistic change.

 

Some people go a stage further, and see change in language as a progression from a simple to a complex state - a view which was common as a consequence of 19th-century evolutionary thinking. But there is no evidence for this view. Languages do not develop, progress, decay, evolve, or act according to any of the metaphors which imply a specific endpoint and level of excellence. They simply change, as society changes. If a language dies out, it does so because its status alters in society, as other cultures and languages take over its role: it does not die because it has 'got too old', or 'become too complicated', as is sometimes maintained. Nor, when languages change, do they move in a predetermined direction. Some are losing inflections (endings, like 's' to indicate plurality); some are gaining them. Some are moving to an order where the verb precedes the object; others to an order where the object precedes the verbo Some languages are losing vowels and gaining consonants; others are doing the opposite. If metaphors must be used to talk about language change, one of the best is that of the tide, which always and inevitably changes, but never progresses, while it ebbs and flows.

 

31.- In the first paragraph, what point does the writer make about languages?

A) Young people tend to be unaware of the differences between their language and that of older people.

B) The way that schools teach language is raising awareness of language change.

C) Many people believe that any change in a language is undesirable.

D) Public understanding of how languages develop is increasing.

 

32.- The writer mentions it's me and very unique in the second paragraph to show that…

A) recent controversies may be nothing new.

B) the speed of linguistic change is greater than in the past.

C) every generation has its own list of unacceptable changes.

D) a linguistic change may take place over a long period.

 

33.- What is the writer's intention in re1erring to Papua New Guinea?

A) to challenge a prevailing view concerning Iinguistic change

B) to give an example of linguistic change that is unusual

C) to show the danger of making generalisations about linguistic change

D) to illustrate conflicting views about the potential effects of linguistic change

 

34.- In the third paragraph, the writer claims that…

A) the public are inconsistent in the value they place on accurate communication.

B) changes that take place in a language can be difficult to reverse.

C) caution is necessary when attempting to measure language change.

D) public attention to linguistic change reflects the essential stability of languages.

 

35.- What point does the writer make in the fourth paragraph?

A) Trying to prevent change should have a lower priority than dealing with its effects.

B) Multi-ethnic societies need a shared language to make communication possible.

C) Language change tends to be tolerated in multi-ethnic societies.

D) The emergence of new linguistic forms often leads to communication difficulties.

 

36.- In the fifth paragraph, the writer argues against the notion that languages…

A) change in apparently random ways.

B) improve by becoming increasingly complex.

C) should in some circumstances be allowed to die out.

D) can be categorised according to stages in their evolution.

 

O’Dell, Felicity (2015) Advanced Trainer. 2^nd edition. Reading and Use of English Part 5 Test 4. Cambridge University Press: Dubai. Pages 134 and 135.