Man, it seems as though I could write about this forever. This section will be on the third survey our class conducted. It's about language change.

Like I said before, change is inevitable for any language that wants to stay alive. Think about it: English is constantly adopting new words from other languages, and vice versa. Since English has become the language of scholarship, many new technological phrases are coined in English. Other languages will adopt these terms in their English form. For example, the Polish word for much of new technology is exactly what it sounds like in English (these are also called "loan words" sometimes).

Our survey consisted of a few questions, the first of which was "Do you think language has changed in your lifetime?" If they answered "yes," they were prompted to think of examples of some changes. The person was then asked if he or she liked language change (and why or why not).

For the most part, our participants answered that yes, language was changing. The examples they thought of were mostly slang words that "the kids use these days," and many liked language change because they thought it was fun and innovative. One woman explained that language was changing so fast that she didn't understand the newest slang, and that she would have to ask her son to "translate for [her]." Her use of the word "translate" here brings up an interesting point--that slang is becoming its own "new language system." This comment made me quite happy, because this woman was open to recognizing other forms of language to be just as valid as the one she spoke.

An old couple talked about how some terms had gone out of use, such as "DA," or "duck's-ass-haircut," to describe hair that was slicked on the sides and pointed in the back. Another older adult shook his head and ranted about how "grammar was being forgotten about," which reminded me of the many prescriptivist views we encountered on our grammar survey. A younger woman raved about how much she loved the new slang because it helped her feel "young again," showing how much language is tied to your identity, whether that be a biological age or perceived age.

Language can be tied to your gender as well, and many older generations noted how society has begun to use more gender-sensitive language. This brings me to another study we read, written by Edina Eisikovits. "Girl talk/Boy talk: Sex Differences in Adolescent Speech" examines the development of language between genders in a middle-low class Australian community. Teenage girls and boys are surveyed once when they were about 14 years old and then again when they were about 16. Both genders talked slang when they were 14, and they sometimes saw it as a form of being "rebellious teens." Just two years later, when the same teens were questioned, the girls had changed their language to be more professional and "standard," while the boys remained just as vulgar in language and used slang.

The girls claimed that their rebellious days were over, and that society had pressured them to adapt to a more "grown-up" image. The boys, on the other hand, had no regrets of their younger, rebellious days--and they continued that rowdy behavior. Eisikovits' study brings up the question of whether this is more unfair to the boys or the girls. One can argue that it is unfair to give girls this double standard of having a rebellious phase, but then suddenly forcing them to conform to speak professionally.

On the other hand, it can be seen as a way for the girls to get out of the cycle of poverty they grew up in. With their new, grown-up language, the girls can enter a more professional workforce where society will accept them as, ahem, "articulate." (Are we seeing a pattern in the stigmas around certain types of speech?) The boys won't have this opportunity, as they will continue to use their form of "country-talk." It can actually be argued even further, though, that the boys still have the upper hand here. Say one boy decided to drop his teenage language and start speaking more adult-like; he would be praised above a girl who spoke with just as much formality. The girl is expected to speak formally, but the boy gets credit for speaking above and beyond expectations.

Keep pondering the possibilities.

(This topic will be discussed further in the next section. Keep your eyes peeled!)