Answer the following questions using the book and other sources.

Why does Milroy say that sound change appears to have no “obvious function or rational motivation” (146)?

Probably the most mysterious change in language, as it has no obvious function or rational motivation. Certain

changes do not benefit the language or its speakers in any way. These changes do not aid the progression of

languages either there is apparently no profit and no loss.

What is/are the main difference/s between Milroy’s approach and that of the Neogrammarians (147-148)?

The main difference between the approaches of the Neogrammarians and sociolinguists like Milroy is that the first

group focus on language as an object, and do not take into consideration the speakers of the said language.

In contrast, Milroy firmly believes in the importance of analysing speech and language in social contexts.

According to Milroy, what is language change dependent on? (149?)

Language change is embedded in a context of maintenance. The degree to which the change is admitted will depend

on this of internal cohesion in community and change will be admitted to the extent that there are lots of “weak

ties” .

Why does Milroy say that sound change actually doesn’t exist (150)?

Because in the course of time one sound is substituted.

Why does Milroy disagree with the Neogrammarians when they say that sound change is “blind” (150)?

Because sound change is a social process by which the speakers change their language.

What is meant by “lexical diffusion” (151)?

Lexical diffusion is a socially gradual process by which a form changes in a markedly different form, distinguishing

between lexical diffusion and gradual phonetic change.

What does dialect displacement mean? Give an example. (152)

The displacement of one dialect by another which is socially dominant at some particular time.

What are “community” or “vernacular” norms? What term that we have used in class is similar (152)?

Norms observed by speakers and maintained by communities in opposition to standardizing norms which

manifest themselves at different levels of generality.

The wave theory, which implies that a change spreads successively to further contexts and social groups until it is

realized in all contexts and with all speakers.

What does Milroy mean when he says that h-dropping may not ever reach “completion” (153)?

A change can persist as a variable state for seven or eight centuries without ever going to “completion” in the

traditional sense. He means that the practise of “h-dropping” is commonly used; we will never reach a point in

which all of the speakers of the English language consider this usage as normative.

Explain what Milroy means by “speaker innovation” and change in the system. How are they connected (153)?

An innovation is an act of the speaker and a change is manifested within the language system.

When an innovation is taken up by a speech community, the process involved is fundamentally a borrowing

process.

Why isn’t borrowing from one language to another and the replacement of one sound by another through speaker

innovation with a language as radically different as the Neogrammarians posited (154-6)?

Because each single event of borrowing into a new speech community an innovation of the “original speech

community”. 

What is necessary for a sound to spread (157)?

Sound changes have spread gradually through the lexicon.

By borrowing or a sudden replacement of one trill by another.

Why does believing in the ideology of standardization lead to believing in “blind necessity” (158)?  

Because standard languages are carefully constructed in order to appear as if they are discrete linguistic entities- and

the ideology of standardization causes people to believe that they are indeed discrete physical entities.

What does Milroy mean by “clean” and “dirty” data (158)?

“Clean” data is language uniform, unilinear and normalized .

“Dirty” data is the result of sociolinguistic studies; irregular and chaotic.