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November 21, 2005
chapter 11
I think the easiest one of these things to change is lexicon. We have already experienced changes in lexicon in our lifetimes, as we saw with the homwork on slang. Our vocabulary is changing all the time and it seems to spread much faster then pronunciation or syntax. I think that pronunciation is the next easiest thing to change. We have seen differences in pronunciation with respect to dialect and even though it probably takes awhile to change from region to region, I think it is easier than trying to change syntax, the actual rules of a language. People are going to be much more likely to go along with a change in pronunciation then they are with a change in ther rules of how we speak. It seems a child's lexicon will change first. They will learn "real" words after they have begun to communicate with "baby talk". A baby's babble stems from real words, but they must babble first before they can learn the words themselves. Young children often pronounce words incorrectly, one of the most common seems to be "spaghetti". However, their pronunciation changes as the get older and learn what they real way to pronounce words is, in respect to their specific dialect. Syntax seems to be the last thing children learn. They can say single words or simple sentences that we can undertsand but that are not grammatically correct before they can speak in grammatical sentences.
Posted by lcismardin at November 21, 2005 10:09 AM