James Milroy: some new perspective on sound change.

                        Sociolinguistics and the Neogrammarians

·        Why does Milroy say that sound change appears to have no obvious function or rational motivation?

That is due to the fact that sound change is caused by a given group of speakers within a determinated community and the process is so slow and gradual that it is hardly noticed.

By the same token, languages are constantly changing as they are spoken.

According to Milroy, what does language change depend on?

Language change depends on many factors, such as: the area, region, or wherever the language is spoken (geographic factor), it also depends on who uses that language (social factor): how many users a given language has, how many books or magazines are written in that language, etc; and according to the context in which it is used.

Why does Milroy say that sound change actually does not exist?

Sound change is said to not exist as a language which is not spoken, does not change.

For example, in words of the type of need, keen, knee, /e:/ sound became /i:/ by the course the time, but this would not have taken place by itself without the interaction of the speakers of a given dialect who start pronouncing a sort of words in that way.

Why does Milroy disagree with the Neogrammarians when they say that sound change is blind?

Because the language speakers are perfectly concious of the process of sound change.

What is meant by “lexical difussion”?

Lexical difussion happens when a determinated word is originated or made up at any area and it later spreads throughout other places.

In the case of gradual sound change, it differs slightly, step by step, but in the case of lexical difussion, sound change differs markedly.

What does dialect displacement mean?

That occurs when a dialect is displaced by another which, for some reason, is more dominant and prestigious than the other one at some particular time.

What are “community” or “vernacular” norms?

The norms of a language are maintained by social pressures, and codified by the institutions of that society. The truth is that when anybody says something different from what is considered and established as normal, that word said to be wrong.

By the same token, this fact states that language is normative phenomenon.

What does Milroy mean when he says that h-dropping may not ever reach “completion”?

H- dropping is not a completion since any change in language may not be an end by itself, as language is changing continuosly.

Explain what Milroy means by “speaker innovation” and change in the system. How are they connected?

An innovation is done by speakers, while a change takes place within a language system.

Moreover, an innovation tends to be irregular and unstructured, whereas a change is caused as a result of a mistake.

What is necessary for a sound to spread?

Firstly, a sound goes from speaker to speaker within a society (social factor), so that happens in a determinated place (local factor) at a given time (chronological factor).