Language Change: Progress or Decay?

Cambridge Approaches to Linguistics

by Jean Aitchison

This book gives a lucid and up-to-date overview of language change, discussing where our evidence about language change comes from, how and why changes happen, and how languages begin and end. It considers both changes that occurred long ago, and those currently in progress. This substantially revised third edition includes two new chapters on change of meaning and grammaticalization. New sections have been added to other chapters, as well as over 150 new references. The work remains nontechnical in style and accessible to the reader with no previous knowledge of linguistics.

Genres: Linguistics, Nonfiction, Language, Academic, Reference, Essays, Science

312 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1980

About the author

Jean Aitchison is a Professor of Language and Communication in the Faculty of English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford.

Her main areas of interest include:

Socio-historical linguistics
Language and mind
Language and the media

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

While it's title might make the book seem a collection of papers taking sides in a debate, Language Change: Progress or Decay is a textbook written by Jean Aitchison introducing contemporary study of language change to beginning students of linguistics. The book has proven quite popular for its gentle tone and its clear summarization of important work in the field, and has now gone through several editions.

I read this as a graduate student of historical linguistics, and I had several years of experience in the field. For all its simplicity, however, Aitchison's book was relevatory. Those with training in the Indo-European or Uralic language families tend to think of language change as some abstract sequence of events that are cleanly reconstructed with the comparitive method. Our traditional handbooks are rather divorced from contemporary research and don't consider the "why" and "how" of language change. Aitchison remedies this by considering language as a product of human beings, with all of their social pressures and insecurities. She first presents the work of William Labov, who viewed language change in progress in 20th-century new York. His work tells us about how varying standards of pronunciation in a given population spread or die depending on social prestige.

Another matter this student of historical linguistics was unclear about is exactly why sounds tend to change along the same lines in all language families. Everyone knows that final consonants tend to be lost, labiovelars stops may become /p/ or /b/, and /l/ often shifts to /w/. Aitchison explains the physical causes for these common phonetic and ultimately phonological changes. By far the most rigorous and useful chapter for me was "The Mad-Hatter's Tea Party", an admirably easy-to-grasp explanation of push chains and drag chains with plenty of examples.

As for the question in the subtitle, Aitchison ceaselessly stresses that language change is natural and unavoidable. She quotes from a long line of English-language purists, from Jonathan Swift to William Safire to show the absurdity of seeking to freeze language at a given moment. At the same time, she emphasises that languages do not evolve towards some ideal, but rather endlessly wheel about from one configuration to another.

I highly recommend this book to any student of historical linguistics. Even if you have some training in the field, you're bound to find something new and exciting in Aitchison's text.

[فؤاد · Rating 4 out of 5]

یه دکتر زبانشناسی این رو بهم معرفی کرد. با هوش مصنوعی به پادکست تبدیل کردم و گوش کردم.

[Gonçalo Sousa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pronto, um gajo começa o mestrado e agora dá-lhe para ler livros chatos de teoria… que pretencioso académico wannabe 🙄🙄
Mas a culpa não é minha que o livro até é bué interessante e um bom introdutório a ideias de mudança linguística, com muitos bons exemplos que vou absolutamente usar nos meus trabalhos!!!! 😰😰

[Kyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good introduction to (English) diachronic linguistics. At times a bit vague and a bit too reliant on rather vague metaphors, which often make little sense. For instance she likens language change to a car crash, 'because in both cases there is not just one reason for the event". Or when she describes linked changes to 'star-crossed' lovers who follow each other or perhaps 'a better metaphor' would be a private detective shadowing their target... They are not absolutely non-sensical, but they are not very clear or very appropriately compared.

[Dibya_jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice introduction to the subject of language change, as the title indicates. Consequently, the other focus area of historical linguistics, namely linguistic reconstruction, is only briefly touched upon. The only weakness in my view is the chapter on language death. It has a very emotional tone to it. I understand the sentiment, but it is in stark contrast to the scholarly tone of the rest of the book.

[Emma Lindhagen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An actually pocket sized linguistics textbook? Amazing!

I quite enjoyed this book. It's fairly theory-light but still gets the broad points across well while drawing on a range of easily comprehensible examples.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ended up just skimming the rest because I got so bored. Repeats herself repeatedly (haha). Quite a good introduction to language change though, may read it properly some day.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is just fine. It is really very clear and mostly quite compact, but it could do with a few less examples and tended to get a little boring at times.

[Eli Adair · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was highly informative when studying linguistic changes. The voice is great, and reads like a novel instead of a stuffy textbook.

[Alan Biles-Liddell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether you are a teacher or student studying A level language you will find Aitchinson's book immensely readable and accessible. As the blurb on the back states it is extremely 'lucid' and Aitchinson's metaphors and analogy are easy to follow. Cuts through a variety of sociolinguistic theorists whilst exploring her own thoughts on whether language-and not just English language-progresses or decays over time.

[John Kinkade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful textbook (though sometimes very textbook-y in its tone) on language change. Useful overviews of a lot of things--expected conclusion for the question in the title, though explained a little better than I have seen (particularly noble savage theories of decline vs evolutionary theories of progress). Especially interesting explanation of the lack of a pair for /h/ for why it might be dropped in more and more dialects.

[Evelyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In the long run, it may be more important to detect manipulation of this type ['nuclear bombs', 'nuclear weapons' - > 'nuclear deterrents', 'nuclear shields', 'assets'] than to worry about whether the word 'media' should be treated as singular or plural."

Out of context but basically a very valid take.

[Tomaž Potočnik · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an introduction to an introduction to language change. It's fine, if you're new to this, although the metaphors on language change get silly very fast and there are so many of them. For more, find an actual introduction.
A plus: It has a decent literature list, although it's kinda old now.

[Egor Reznichenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it true that language can be spoilt? What is the reason: slovenliness or children's mistake? Neither the one nor the other, says J. Aitchison. But we are aware of evolving and extinction of languages. How to reconcile these facts the book will try to answer.

[Susan Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended by a WEA linguistics tutor, it was a page-turner in parts and, in parts, a little more demanding than my level of interest and concentration required. I will shelve and dip into again.

[Reece · Rating 3 out of 5]

Understandable and concise, and although it could've gone more in-depth, it was a good introduction into the main case studies, theorists, and theories in the field of linguistics.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really nice to dip my toes back into the world of language change and linguistics! Particularly enjoyed the (brief) focus on Tok Pisin and decreolisation.

[Chakib Miraoui · Rating 1 out of 5]

Speech is growing inintelligible, through sheer laziness and sloppiness of mind, English is polluted, and lost the past subjunctive.

I'm saddened at editor's bow to every slaphappy and slipshod change of meaning

The grammar has become simpler and coarser, the standard of speech and pronunciation has declined so much . . . that one is ashamed to let foreigners hear it

We abuse our language, we go out of our way to promulgate incessantly f the very ugliest sounds and worst possible grammar.

And yet this Oxford false linguist defends all there trends in the name of natural disruption and therapy!

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, Jean Aitchison's description of language is succinct, full of examples, and entertaining. She covers all bases in an organised manner that is easy to read for specialists and non-specialists alike. However, after having read her 'Seeds of Speech' I found some serious overlapping which was a bit of a disappointment - there were 1 or 2 examples that seemed to be verbatim, which is unneeded repetition considering world languages are chock-full of examples for each and every situation one can imagine.

[Ruby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aitchinson presents her subject in a clear manner that is easy to follow and pleasant to read. However, her insane metaphors and comparisons did threw me off course regularly and they made it hard, sometimes, to take her serious.

[Raphael Paulian · Rating 4 out of 5]

extremely well documented, insightful. chapter 13 "chain reaction changes" was news to me : I had never heard about it before. her chapters about creoles run a tad long though.

[Jennifer Deegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very accessible and fascinating linguistic text.

[Hans Henrik]

linguistics

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required reading for my college Introduction to Linguistics course. Clear, fluid writing.

[Aline Smedts · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as text books go, this one is definitely a winner!

[Yana Cools · Rating 4 out of 5]

the most fun textbook i've ever read

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly accessible, well-organized overview of language change processes. An enjoyable read!

[Macalester Linguistics]

M 17.0