The Study of Linguistics

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The Study of Linguistics

Language changes with history and time. Our perception of words changes. Everything changes, from cooking with a fire to cooking with a microwave. Some examples of the ways language changes are through accents, books, slang, influential people, and historical events.

Accents show development of culture over time, maybe through a historical event, such as a new country being found. The people living there might adopt the culture of the founders. Language also changes, from using different sounds in words, which are called phonemes or "segments that differentiate words" (Fromkin and Brace 303). The English language has about 43 different phonemes, such as OH, EE, etc, which make up our language. Different cultures, such as some Indian Tribes, may have more or less phonemes in their language, showing either a lower form of language with less words and sounds, or a higher form with only the necessary sounds and words.

Accents also have different languages linked to them. Different letters phrases and even a whole new language may be created in the process of learning the language, over time. It's like a metamorphosis to keep up with the changing world.

Letters are called graphemes (Lamb 59)(Friend 128) meaning the 26 letters of the alphabet. There may be more or less in different languages. Different symbols can also be associated with different cultures. The cross is associated with our religion, although it might not be in some other country for example.

Also the syntax or "the phase of grammar which deals with the relationship of words in sentences and the grammar and the manner in which words are put together" (Lamb 141) has an effect on the society. There is no "proper" way to w...

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... it, and the everyday change is so subtle most of the time we don’t even notice it. But if we were zapped into the future, we would find it foreign to us because we do not know the language and cultures. Historical influences can bring together two cultures, destroy many, and make new ones. We all have different views of what language is and how it changes. Those stated are just my own and those of the authors in my bibliography, and they might change when we share information with others, getting their ideas and using ours as I have done in through my research and essay. Our standards and meanings of words change too, our sounds and syntax grows to accommodate for new concepts. New concepts help us to understand the world; new concepts are made with time and necessity. Language is a wonderful thing that we all use and change ourselves to suit our own needs.

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