1
UNIVERSIDAD TÉCNICA PARTICULAR DE LOJA
ESCUELA DE CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓN
MENCIÓN INGLÉS
MODALIDAD ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA
A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF ANGLICISMS
USED IN ECUADORIAN NEWSPAPERS
Research done in order to achieve
the Bachelor’s Degree in Teaching
English as a Foreign Language
AUTORA:
TAY LEE SUN LING
DIRECTORA:
MGS. PINZA ELIANA
CERTIFICATION
Eliana Pinza Tapia
CERTIFIES THAT:
This research study has been thoroughly revised by the graduation
committee. Therefore, authorizes the presentation of this thesis, which
complies with all the norms and internal requirements of the Universidad
Técnica Particular de Loja.
Loja, September, 2010
……….
CONTRATO DE CESIÓN DE DERECHOS
DE TESIS DE GRADO
“Yo, SUN LING TAY LEE declaro ser autora del presente trabajo y eximo
expresamente a la Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja y a sus
representantes legales de posibles reclamos o acciones legales.
Adicionalmente declaro conocer y aceptar la disposición del Art. 67 del
Estatuto Orgánico de la Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja que en su
parte pertinente textualmente dice: “formar parte del patrimonio de la
Universidad la propiedad intelectual de investigaciones, trabajos
científicos o técnicos y tesis de grado que se realicen a través, o que el
apoyo financiero, académico o institucional (operativo) de la
Universidad”.
………
AUTHORSHIP
The thoughts, ideas, opinions and the information obtained through this
research are the only responsibility of the author.
Loja, September, 2010
………..
Sun Ling Tay Lee
DEDICATION
This final study is dedicated with all my love to my family Fernando and
Daniela, both of them, my major blessings. Only with their
unconditional support, love and patience I have been able to achieve this
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
To God, Great Architect of the Universe, to Universidad Técnica
Particular de Loja, its authorities and to my advisor Mgs. Eliana Pinza
Tapia, the ideal advisor, for her invaluable guidance to fulfill this
CONTENTS TABLE
Certification i
Contrato de Cesión de Derechos ii
Authorship iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgment v
Abstract 1
Introduction 3
Methodology 7
Results 11
Discussion
Theoretical Background 27
Description, Analysis and Interpretation of Results 59
Conclusions 99
Bibliography 102
Abstract
The following thesis has as theme “A descriptive analysis of
anglicisms used in Ecuadorian newspapers”.
It basically looks for understanding the variation in language
usage in newspapers regarding the expressions containing anglicisms at
the same time identifying which are the really necessary ones among
them.
It took place in Quito, based on a bibliographic method for
gathering the scientific material necessary for the theoretical
background. Then the Analytic and Descriptive methods were used in
order to fulfill the field investigation, as well as to do the descriptive and
statistical analysis, and the interpretation of the data gathered through
the field research.
The research was applied considering the sample which consisted
of three newspapers: El Comercio, Ultimas Noticias and El Extra, with
their sections: News, Ads, Reports, Social and Sports. Moreover as
techniques we used selection of written material, note-taking to collect
bibliographic information and interviews to linguists, journalists and
readers. This methodological design was completed with the use of
instruments like interview and charts forms.
This paper provides a linguistic, semantic-syntactic, morphologic
analysis of the chosen thirty anglicisms; we also add appropriate
After doing the cited analysis including comparative and
sociological ones we found that the subvariables with highest frequency
of anglicisms use do not differ from one variable to another.
Furthermore, anglicisms are well accepted by a certain group of readers
and neglected by others, who consider them unnecessary due to the
richness our language. Undoubtedly languages are dynamic and, as a
consequence, they are continuously changing. Language borrowings are
Introduction
Languages are dynamic and as a result they are continuously
changing. This phenomenon is nowadays observed in a widely
acknowledged upsurge in anglicisms.
In our country, especially in its two major cities Quito and
Guayaquil, we find a huge influence of English. This influence is clearly
observed in the more usual loan of English words in one field: their
newspapers. This upsurge is due to factors such as the arrival of workers
from English speaking countries, immigration, and subsequent economic
and political involvement, and during the last years the denomination of
Ecuador as a touristic destiny. Besides, we can not forget the cited
phenomenon of globalization spurred on by North American
commercialism, and specially the development and access to
communication media such as: cable television, and movies which are
showed almost at the same time as they are in United States, Internet,
press and magazines. All these factors have conducted to the bigger
importance anglicisms acquired everyday as part of our speech.
Sensitive to the need for a deeper linguistic analysis of anglicisms
use in Ecuadorian newspapers, which has unfortunately been an
unexplored area, the University has settled the theme “A descriptive
analysis of anglicisms used in Ecuadorian newspapers” as the final
research before obtaining our degree. In this way the University, and
specifically we, the students, have the great opportunity to present new
challenge to give to the community material that has already been
studied in other countries, but not in ours.
One important part of our work is the theoretical background
which is based on information taken from different bibliographical
sources. At this point we can mention the utility of previous studies
about our topic. However it was quite a difficult assignment to find
them. What we found were studies made in Spain, Argentina and
Venezuela about topics referred to anglicisms but not to their direct use
in newspapers, such as: economic anglicisms, anglicisms in Buenos
Aires Spanish and lastly English borrowings in Venezuelan Spanish in
their order. Nevertheless, they were not about our specific topic, they
were extremely useful for the development of our work.
Besides this limitation, we had another one when referring to the
articles to be read in order to find out anglicisms use. Fortunately it was
solved by reading almost all of the information in each newspaper.
In order to understand the importance of this research we cite its
Specific Objectives as follows:
• To identify syntactic and lexical anglicisms more commonly used in
newspaper material in Ecuador.
Through the exhaustive reading of the newspapers chosen as sample, we
could identify those anglicisms more commonly used in there. We found
more than 50 anglicisms with a total repetition of more than 500 times
• To do a deep analysis of the anglicisms found in Ecuadorian
newspapers regarding etymological, syntactic-semantic and
morphological aspects.
With the help of both dictionaries, one from the Royal Academy of
Spanish Language and Merriam’s Webster it was quite an unproblematic
objective to fulfill. Fortunately these dictionaries had the complete
information, which was very useful to do the requested analysis.
• To determine the written sections of Ecuadorian newspapers in
which anglicisms are mostly used.
With the conscious reading of the newspapers, and the clear directions
given by our teachers, to do the charts and statistic data, it was possible
to determine the sections in our newspapers in which anglicisms are
mostly used.
• To know the level of acceptance that Ecuadorians have on the use
of anglicisms in newspapers.
Because the chosen linguists were specialized in Spanish language, we
could have a clear idea about the opinions this group of professionals
has around anglicisms use. It was interesting to hear their reluctance to
foreign loans and the reasons for this disapproval. On the other hand
we had readers’ opinions, who have a more opened attitude towards
anglicisms. About this point I would like to point out that my research
would be more complete and accurate if as part of the instruments I
would have applied surveys to a more extent sample. However, with the
It can be concluded that anglicisms are constantly being
incorporated to our daily speech. They are accepted by the population,
and they are not only part of specific jargons, they are starting to be
incorporated to many other fields. To be able to understand them in a
professional way it is extremely important to consider English in a global
context, which at least indirectly, influences the borrowing of one or
several words elements into other languages. This research is expected
to help its readers to have a clear view about anglicisms penetration,
Methodology
To fulfill our research, we have followed some clear and very
important steps. Noticing that the topic to be carried out is “A descriptive
analysis of anglicisms used in Ecuadorian newspapers” it was
undeniably basic to set up the information required for the further
processing, presentation, analysis, description, and interpretation of the
data that will be collected once the Field Research was done.
To gather the information in order to support the Theoretical
Background, many sources were consulted, including a variety of books,
magazines and internet pages. The amount of information for this part
was so huge that one of the most difficult assignments was to compile
this information into the scheme requested by the University, trying to
use only the most relevant and supporting opinions, facts, definitions,
specific data, etc.
After the theoretical background was presented and approved by
the group in charge of the graduation program the next step was to
present the results obtained from the field investigation.
In order to carry out this practical research the sample was
selected based on the capability to collect it. Thus, the sample consisted
in newspapers which have circulation in Quito. They were collected
through seven consecutive days, however Sunday November 29th was not
considered because that day not all the newspapers had circulation in
the city. In other words the dates went from November 24th 2009 to
The chosen sample, also considered as our variables are: El
Comercio (newspaper with national circulation), Ultimas Noticias (local
newspaper) and Extra (tabloid or sensationalist newspaper). At the same
time, the sections taken into account to fulfill the research and which are
our subvariables are: News, Ads, Social and Culture pages, Reports and
Sports.
The three cited newspapers were chosen because I consider they
are the most representative of their kind and constitute a good sample to
develop this investigation.
After collecting the newspapers, the next step consisted in a deep
and conscious reading of them in order to find out as many anglicisms as
it was possible. Once the anglicisms were located we had to continue
with their organization. To achieve this, the information was classified
day by day, and is showed through 15 charts. In each of them, the
information is presented considering the Variable, Subvariable and the
context where they appear plus the number of repetition it presents. On
the other hand, Charts 16, 17 and 18 present the frequency of
anglicisms use in the Subvariables of each newspaper. Finally Chart 19
presents the most frequent anglicisms used in our sample newspapers.
To do the charts basic statistical tools, such as frequency and
percentages were used.
One problem that could appear during the process was the
selection of the articles taken into consideration for anglicisms search,
each one. Only in this way I found enough amount of interesting
anglicisms to develop this work.
After the acceptance of the field research, the next step was the
analysis of our results. To fulfill this step the methodology applied was a
field diagnostic-descriptive investigation with the correspondent
statistical analysis. In other words, 30 anglicisms were chosen among
the three variables. After that, each anglicism was analyzed from a
linguistic view, which at the same time included etymological,
syntactic-semantic and morphologic analysis. Here we used tools like English and
Spanish Dictionaries and the opinion of linguists, readers as well our
own thoughts.
The opinions which helped to carry out the analysis were from
two linguists and two frequent newspapers readers. They were asked to
answer a short questionnaire about their opinions facing anglicisms use.
It is important to state that the two linguists are specialized in Spanish.
I chose them because I considered essential and attention-grabbing to
know the opinions from people who are not connected to English
language. Their opinions are summarized in the sociological analysis.
Also the opinion of a radio journalist was included. This section is
completed with the interviews made to five frequent readers. Two
young-middle aged readers (-25 years old), two adults (35-50 years old) a senior
adult reader (76 years old). Their opinions have constituted an important
As a summary of the followed methodology it can be said that the
most accurate and appropriate methods to do our investigation were:
bibliographic method for gathering the scientific material necessary for
the theoretical background, analytical and descriptive methods to
complete the proposal in order to perform the descriptive and statistical
analysis, and the interpretation of the data.
The techniques used were: note taking at the moment of collecting
bibliographic information, direct observation to gather newspapers data,
interviews and conversations with linguists and readers. These
techniques had the support of questionnaires and charts. The formats of
these two instruments, as well as the charts’ are included in the Annex
Results
CHART ONE
Variable: National Newspaper El Comercio Subvariable: News
ANGLICISM EXAMPLE TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE
flex Se ven restos de
espuma flex 2 Estudiantes del Montúfar no usan puente
24-11-09
LED Tecnología LED 2 Venezuela dará 5.1.
millones de focos
24-11-09
exprés Secuestro exprés 3 Pichincha registra 13
secuestros exprés
25-11-09
fuel oil Como fuel oil, nafta o bunker
2 19 proyectos eléctricos a paso lento
25-11-09
show Show de Méndez 2 Show de Méndez y de Liga 26-11-09
stand Stands de la Plaza
de las Américas 1 El chofer elegido, en vigencia
26-11-09
flogger La flogger más famosa de Argentina
1 El tema de la imagen se analizó en la Feria del Libro
26-11-09
ranking Ubicadas en ranking 1 La universidad, en la mira 26-11-09
round Un round más duro
para Uribe
2 Canciller de Colombia no llega a cita
27-11-09
laptop Una laptop por niño 6 Uruguay dice sí a una laptop por niño
27-11-09
ranking Allá no hay ranking 3 Evaluación polémica 27-11-09
notebook Que puedo hacer en mi notebook
2 Uruguay dice sí a una laptop por niño
27-11-09
off La voz en off decía 2 María Caridad, la nueva
reina de Quito
27-11-09
round En este round
Colombia pudo 3 Colombia gana un round a Venezuela
28-11-09
test Este test de
confianza 2 El estado de excepción se ampliará
28-11-09
stock Abastecer su stock 2 La huelga de ERCO
encarece llantas
30-11-09
blog Ironizó desde su
blog
3 Mujica, nuevo presidente de Uruguay
30-11-09
web Es el portal web 1 Punto de enlace 01-12-09
GPS Fuimos con mapas y
GPS
1 El ejército buscó a Solarte en Opuno
01-12-09
gay La primera pareja
gay
1 La primera boda gay se suspende
01-12-09
CHART TWO
Variable: National Newspaper El Comercio Subvariable: Ads
ANGLICISM EXAMPLE TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE Ipod,DVD,LCD El Ipod,DVD, las
pantallas LCD, las aplicaciones
1 Gran Atlas de la Ciencia 24-11-09
suite Se arrienda suite amoblada
8 Bines Raíces 24-11-09
full Se vende auto full
equipo 8 Vehículos
24-11-09
garage sale Aproveche la garage
sale 1 Mercaderías
24-11-09
estándar Con los más altos
estándares de calidad1 Nuevos Alup
25-11-09
stock Hasta agotar stock 1 DePrati promociones 25-11-09
light Parrilla light y vegetariana
1 Secretos de la parrilla 25-11-09
GPS No al GPS 1 Placer es el nuevo BMWX1 26-11-09
SAV Este poderoso SAV 1 Placer es el nuevo BMWX1 26-11-09
semifull Cabina simple
semifull 1 Mazda BT-50 2900 4x2
26-11-09
light Parrilla light y
vegetariana 1 Secretos de la parrilla
27-11-09
Email Mi Email es más fácil 3 Nokia connecting people 27-11-09 Internet dial
up Conexión a Internet dial up 2 Telecsa escogió a CANTV como socio
27-11-09
light Parrilla light y vegetariana
1 Secretos de la parrilla 27-11-09
LED Con luces LED 1 Salón de Navidad 27-11-09
VIP Arena VIP 1 Plaza de Toros Belmonte 27-11-09
stock Hasta agotar stock 2 Megamaxi promociones 28-11-09
full Volkswagen full
equipo
5 Vehículos 28-11-09
premium Marca líder de
segmento premium 2 Audi, número uno en Ecuador
30-11-09
penthouse Penthouse de venta 3 Bienes Raíces 30-11-09
stock Hasta agotar stock 1 Adriana Hoyos, super
colección
01-12-09
minisuite Minisuite amoblada 2 Bienes Raíces 01-12-09
CHART THREE
Variable: National Newspaper El Comercio Subvariable: Social and Culture Pages
ANGLICISM EXAMPLE TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE
blog ¿Se puede escribir
ficción en un blog? 2 Seis días dedicados a la cultura
24-11-09
remake Disney anunció
hará un remake
1 “High School Musical” tendrá version China
24-11-09
blog En su blog se
encuentran datos
2 “Kito kon k “es la ciudad que salió
25-11-09
film
El premio al film más taquillero
2 “El secreto de sus ojos”
gustó en Quito 24-11-09
Para tener la realización del film
1 Todos en algún momento
hacemos canalladas
26-11-09
trailers Encontrará trailers
de películas 2 Punto de enlace
27-11-09
merchan-dising
Mucha promoción y merchandising
1 Amor adolescente con sed de sangre
27-11-09
Latin jazz Ritmos hasta el latin jazz
1 IMC band de la USFQ 27-11-09
film
El film aumenta la tensión
El segundo film de la saga
2
3
“Perro come perro: la estética de la violencia”
Amor adolescente con sed de sangre
27-11-09
27-11-09
web En esta web
encontrará
1 Punto de enlace 27-11-09
best-seller Cómo hacer un best seller
2 Meyer, juega con el héroe romántico
28-11-09
rock star Digno del mayor
rock star 3 Berlusconi es el rock star del año
28-11-09
film Cuatro filmes
chilenos 2 Películas chilenas brillan
30-11-09
VIP Para arena VIP 1 Festival taurino con fines
benéficos
30-11-09
performance Performance de Marcelo Evelin
2 Un performance de
Marcelo Evelin
30-11-09
post El premio de post
producción
1 Películas chilenas brillan 30-11-09
web En la página web 3 Aurelio Valdez, reconocido
en Bolivia
01-12-09
CHART FOUR
Variable: National Newspaper El Comercio Subvariable: Reports
ANGLICISM EXAMPLE TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE
flex Se ven restos de
espuma flex 2 Los estudiantes del Montúfar no usan puente
24-11-09
LED Tecnología LED 2 Venezuela dará 5.1.
millones de focos
24-11-09
mall En el mall no hay
cortes de luz
3 Con los apagones creció la afluencia de gente en el centro comercial
25-11-09
web Nos remitamos a la
pagina web 2 Con la nueva ley será imposible la investigación
25-11-09
hit Las radios repiten
hits extranjeros 2 La producción nacional se incentivará por obligación
26-11-09
fan Tendrá fans que lo
impulsen
2 La producción nacional se incentivará por obligación
26-11-09
sachet Empaques tipo
sachet
2 41 sabores de pulpa se ofertan
26-11-09
shock Estábamos en
shock 1 El delito desborda a la reforma penal
27-11-09
DJ Prefiere bailar al
ritmo del DJ 2 Las fiestas de Quito cumplen 50 años
27-11-09
fuel oil Combustible entre
diesel y fuel oil 2 Los subsidios crecerán con apagones
27-11-09
ranking El ranking mundial de universidades
3 La investigación le dio “A” a la Espol
27-11-09
mail Y yo reenvío los
mails
2 La investigación le dio “A” a la Espol
27-11-09
check list Un check list, que
se les daba 1 La investigación le dio “A” a la Espol
27-11-09
plus La investigación es
el plus 1 La investigación le dio “A” a la Espol
27-11-09
marketing Trámites legales,
marketing 2 El emprendedor busca capacitación
28-11-09
blog A través de su blog 2 Estrellas muestran su
faceta verde
28-11-09
express El llamado
secuestro express
2 El rey de copas 30-11-09
ranking Ocupó el sexto
lugar en el ranking 2 Los emprendedores se transformaron
01-12-09
boom Este boom del
emprendimiento 2 La prensa escrita incubó a nuevos emprendedores
01-12-09
CHART FIVE
Variable: National Newspaper El Comercio Subvariable: Sports
ANGLICISM EXAMPLES TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE ticket El ticket permitió a
los aficionados 4 Liga puso a la venta 28.000 localidades
24-11-09
set Ganó en dos sets 2 Dos equipos buscan cupo 24-11-09
pívot Actúe como pívot 2 La estrategia de Fossati 24-11-09
slogan Apeló al slogan Promociona un slogan
1
1
Solo falta esta copa
Gloria Paz, la terapeuta
25-11-09
27-11-09
boom Boom petrolero 1 Lupe de Ureña, se desvela 25-11-09
ringtone El ringtone de su
Nokia 1 Lupe de Ureña, se desvela
25-11-09
Club La directiva del
club decidió 3 Barcelona revisa 55 contratos
25-11-09
hat trik El hat trik de Edison Méndez
1 Méndez y el equipo
estuvieron prendidos
26-11-09
charter En un charter 2 Albos no usarán titulares 27-11-09
suite En la suite que
pertenece
4 Gloria Paz, la terapeuta 27-11-09
spa Empleados de su
spa a la final
3 Gloria Paz, la terapeuta 27-11-09
top five El top five de la semana
1 Gloria Paz, la terapeuta 27-11-09
club Para que el club
logre 4 Cuenca retiene a 10 campeones
28-11-09
play off Equipos que
jugarán los play off 2 Torneo de ascenso continúa en
28-11-09
chat Hin chat 2 Participa de nuestro chat 30-11-09
club Los clubes tienen
las armas 7 La sociedad anónima no es garantía
30-11-09
másters Ganó el másters de
tenis 3 Davydenko ganó el Másters de tennis
30-11-09
break Concluir sus tres bolas de break
2 Davydenko ganó el
Másters de tennis
30-11-09
set En dos sets
En dos sets
2 2
Davydenko ganó Másters Irvin destronó a Villaflora
30-11-09 30-11-09 ranking No. uno del ranking 3 Nadal en baja potencia 30-11-09
top Jugadores top 2 Nadal en baja potencia 30-11-09
look Jugaba con su look
de surfista
2 Nadal en baja potencia 30-11-09
set En el tercer set 2 Williams será suspendida 01-12-09
tour Cada tour cuesta
US$1400
3 Fluminense confía en
golear a Liga
01-12-09
chárter Saldrán los charter 2 Fluminense confía en golear a Liga
01-12-09
DVD ¿Está bien
conectado el DVD?
5 Xavier Burbano el espía digital
01-12-09
CHART SIX
Variable: Local Newspaper Ultimas Noticias Subvariable: News
ANGLICISM EXAMPLE TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE
web Mensajes recorren
la web 2 La prensa marcha contra nueva ley
24-11-09
exprés Secuestro exprés 5 Quito, ¿secuestro exprés? 25-11-09
show Era el show de la
Feria 2 Los niños cuenteros
25-11-09
broster Huele a pollo y no
es broster 1 En la Pampa están hartos de las plumas
26-11-09
show Que abrieron el
show
2 Será la reina de los niños 27-11-09
smog Túneles llenos de
smog
2 Más que unos túneles 27-11-09
test El test da confianza 1 Estado de excepción por un mes más
28-11-09
blog Participan a través
de su blog 2 Otra marcha en dos semanas
28-11-09
blog En su blog se
describe 2 Latigada por culpa de corta minifalda
30-11-09
dumping Por prácticas de dumping
2 Acusan a China de
dumping
30-11-09
ringtone El ringtone de su celular
1 Desapareció y fue hallado muerto
01-12-09
CHART SEVEN
Variable: Local Newspaper Ultimas Noticias Subvariable: Ads
ANGLICISM EXAMPLES TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE
full Polo full extras 4 Vehículos 24-11-09
rent a car En V y V rent a car 2 Vehículos 24-11-09
VHS Se arreglanTV, VHS 2 Mercadería 24-11-09
cyber Se vende cyber café 2 Negocios 24-11-09
marketing Domine marketing 1 10 claves para mi negocio 24-11-09
Laptop Laptops nuevas 3 Mercadería 25-11-09
Web,WAP Chat
Correo movistar, Web, WAP y Chat
1 Movistar te regala 25-11-09
CD CD móvil 1 Negocios 26-11-09
full Daewoo full equipo 3 Vehículos 27-11-09
burguer Vendo burguer 2 Negocios 28-11-09
DJ Contrate DJ 2 Servicios 28-11-09
Laptop Laptops,
computadoras
2 Mercadería 30-11-09
Laptop Laptops nuevas 2 Mercadería 01-12-09
LCD Televisores LCD 2 Mercadería 01-12-09
full Optra full 2 Vehículos 01-12-09
Author: Sun Ling Tay Lee
CHART EIGHT
Variable: Local Newspaper Ultimas Noticias Subvariable: Social Pages
ANGLICISM EXAMPLE TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE
fans Las fans de Sandro 2 Sandro con corazón y
pulmón nuevos
24-11-09
cheerleaders Bastoneras,
cheerleaders, 2 Se prende fiesta quiteña
25-11-09
film La realización del
film 2 Todos en algún momento somos canallas
26-11-09
show Se roba el show
Un show antológico 2 5
Ríase de los desamores Metal europeo, el fuerte
27-11-09 27-11-09
rock Labrando el futuro
del rock
3 Metal europeo, el fuerte 27-11-09
heavy metal El heavy metal de Resistencia
6 La resistencia del heavy 27-11-09
web Muchas opciones
en la web 2 Opciones de farra
30-11-09
show Disfrute el show 2 Celebremos las fiestas 01-12-09
fan Las fans se
emocionaron 2 Artistas cantan a Quito
01-12-09
CHART NINE
Variable: Local Newspaper Ultimas Noticias Subvariable: Reports
ANGLICISM EXAMPLE TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE
web En la web mire una
galería de fotos 1 María Francisca Paz y Miño
24-11-09
mail Escríbanos un mail 1 Una pesadilla de película 24-11-09
web Más en la web
Me conecté a la web
1
2 Tu palabra El testimonio de aquellos días
25-11-09 25-11-09
crews Ellos les llaman
crews
2 Arte, color y cultura urbana
25-11-09
Infocus Además les presta un infocus
1 Arte, color y cultura urbana
25-11-09
jeans Aquel tipo de
pantalones jeans 2 Lo asaltaron y venció el miedo
25-11-09
CD Vendía Cds y
periódicos
1 Lo asaltaron y venció el miedo
25-11-09
hobby Rossi arte y hobby 1 Un decorativo reno 26-11-09
glitter Aplique una buena
cantidad de glitter 2 Un decorativo reno
26-11-09
rock Una banda de rock
gótico
3 Solo la prensa fue más allá en el caso Factory
27-11-09
mail Y los mails
enviados
2 Él pone de pie a los narcos 30-11-09
light Seguir una dieta
light 1 Que no se deshidrate
01-12-09
CHART TEN
Variable: Local Newspaper Ultimas Noticias Subvariable: Sports
ANGLICISM EXAMPLES TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE
Tour Hay tours privados 3 AKD, fin de la chirez 24-11-09
charter Charteando
aviones 1 AKD, fin de la chirez
24-11-09
master Se coronó campeón
master 2 Etica Profesional se llevó título
24-11-09
fitness Fitness: si le gusta
estar bien 1 ¿Pie plano? El ejercicio ayuda
24-11-09
off side Reclamó por un off side
2 Liga, un carnaval que hizo delirar
26-11-09
Club El club brasilero 3 No se puede pedir más 26-11-09
Tour Organizando varios
tours
4 Los tours se alistan a viajar
27-11-09
club Directivos de otros clubes
2 Ya están en la Copa 27-11-09
play off primera parte de los play off
2 Liga va al Guayas sin Méndez
27-11-09
deficit Déficit económico 2 Hay en quien apoyarse 27-11-09
ranking Dentro del ranking de la COSAT
2 Mañana arrancará la
quinta Copa
27-11-09
blog Todo está en el blog 2 Flu salió del descenso 30-11-09
Ranking En el ranking de la
COSAT 3 Se inició Quito Junior Open
30-11-09
software Software, matriz o
lo que sea 2 Nueva dirigencia, nuevos cerebros
30-11-09
set Ganó en dos sets
6-2 y 6-6-2 2 Se inició el Quito Junior Open
30-11-09
Charter El charter de Tame 3 Las peripecias en Río 01-12-09
mail A través del mail se
comunican 1 Los chullas no están confiados
01-12-09
CHART ELEVEN
Variable: Tabloid Extra Subvariable: News
ANGLICISM EXAMPLE TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE pick up Conducía una pick
up Nissan 2 Aplastados por el cajón de su camioneta
24-11-09
ranking el ranking mundial 7 Ranking de la corrupción 26-11-09
laptop Encontraron
laptops en su poder 2 Asaltaban en carros robados
27-11-09
web En el portal web 2 Compañía maneja portal
web
27-11-09
on line Plataforma on line 2 Más firmas recurren a titularizacón
28-11-09
mail Se comunicaban
con mails
2 Estafaban vendiendo
carros robados
30-11-09
tour Este brutal tour 2 Chofer loco embistió a diez
personas
30-11-09
mail El envío de mails 2 Quito, enorme bodega de
droga
01-12-09
Author: Sun Ling Tay Lee
CHART TWELVE
Variable: Tabloid Extra Subvariable: Ads
ANGLICISM EXAMPLE TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE
suite suites amobladas 3 Bienes Raíces 24-11-09
full Vitara full equipo 4 Vehículos 24-11-09
van repuestos para
autos, vans, buses
1 Star Motors: La Casa
Mercedes Benz
25-11-09
full Esteem full equipo 5 Vehículos 25-11-09
VIP Salas VIP 2 Cartelera 25-11-09
chat Chat en vivo 5 Servicios 26-11-09
call center Call center medio
tiempo 2 Trabajos
26-11-09
hot Hot! 5 Servicios 27-11-09
chat Chat en vivo 4 Servicios 27-11-09
laptop Laptop toshiba 6 Mercaderías 27-11-09
Ítems 30% descuento en
items
1 Grifine Ceramics 28-11-09
full Megane full equipo 5 Vehículos 28-11-09
chat Participa en el chat 3 Servicios 30-11-09
Open house Gran open house 1 Central Park Club 30-11-09
web Visita nuestra
página web
2 Corín Tellado y Extra 01-12-09
call center Trabaje en call
center 1 Trabajos
01-12-09
CHART THIRTEEN Variable: Tabloid Extra Subvariable: Social Pages
ANGLICISM EXAMPLE TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE
show En cada uno de
sus shows
Como teloneros del show
4
2
Yolanda López: voy a las pasarelas
Wisin Yandel: exquisito en Ambato
24-11-09
24-11-09
club Hasta con un club
de fans 2 Fernando Lara: todo un fenómeno
24-11-09
fans Gracias al apoyo de
su fans
2 Fernando Lara: todo un fenómeno
24-11-09
staff El staff de “Los Extraterrestres”
3 Wisin Yandel: exquisito en Ambato
24-11-09
marketing Haber creado todo un marketing
1 Karen Minda: la diosa soy yo
25-11-09
rock El grupo de rock 4 Voy a dar un gran
concierto
26-11-09
shopping De shopping 2 Voy a dar un gran
concierto
26-11-09
Show El montaje del
show empezó
4 Voy ad ar un gran
concierto
26-11-09
feeling Todavía hay feeling 1 Carolina: enamorada como la primera vez
27-11-09
mall La encontramos en
el mall
2 Paola infraganti 28-11-09
staff Participa en el staff del programa
2 Paola infraganti 28-11-09
CD Su sexto Cd 3 Casi Ángeles: no nos
vamos a separar
30-11-09
record Ha batido records
con su 4to.CD 2 Casi Ángeles: no nos vamos a separar
30-11-09
fast track Ultima competencia fast track
1 Ecuador en reñida
competencia
30-11-09
sexy Es sexy hasta en la
mirada
3 Magali, la roquera sexy 30-11-09
reality show Además de los realitys de Gama
2 Dora West, la bella morena
01-12-09
Show En el show
participan 3 Hoy Quito tiene show para largo
01-12-09
CHART FOURTEEN Variable: Tabloid Extra Subvariable: Reports
ANGLICISM EXAMPLES TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE fashion Le dará un toque
fashion 1 Escogiendo el juego de dormitorio
24-11-09
jeans Con jeans
ajustados
1 De Cali es Quito la sucursal
25-11-09
DJ La música del DJ 2 De Cali es Quito la
sucursal
25-11-09
CD Ha grabado 5 Cd’s 4 Máximo León, sigue
rugiendo
26-11-09
breaker Tener un bipolar o breaker
4 Recomendaciones para
evitar tragedias
27-11-09
DVD Nuestras series
favoritas en DVD 2 Perdidos en la repetición
28-11-09
boom Furon el boom en
otras épocas
1 Perdidos en la repetición 28-11-09
baby shower Participaron en el baby shower
2 Belleza celebra baby shower
30-11-09
hit Fue un verdadero
hit
2 “La niñera” que todos queremos
30-11-09
tips Difundió tips de
cocina
2 Difusión cultural a través de radio
01-12-09
remake El remake de 60’s 1 Otra de terror 01-12-09
Author: Sun Ling Tay Lee
CHART FIFTEEN
Variable: Tabloid Extra Subvariable: Sports
ANGLICISM EXAMPLE TIMES TITLE OF THE ARTICLE DATE Champions revelación de la
Champions
3 Rubín Kazán quiere pasar a octavos
24-11-09
club El club se
concentró
2 Flu no tiene miedo a la altura
24-11-09
penalti Quien atajó tres penaltis
2 Se vuelven a ver las caras 25-11-09
suite Reunidos en la
suite presencial
1 Hasta los empleados en Barcelona
25-11-09
debut Año de debut 2 Méndez, culpable 27-11-09
club El club de la 3 Dos estilos se enfrentan 28-11-09
corner Cobró el corner 2 Chullas con medio título 30-11-09
off side Cobró el off side 2 Chullas con medio título 30-11-09 charter Luego al charter
que salió desde 2 Sarita, la hincha más chiquita
01-12-09
set En el tercer set
perdió el control 4 Final de infarto
01-12-09
CHART SIXTEEN
Variable: National Newspaper El Comercio
SECTION f %
News 42 18
Ads 48 21
ANGLICISMS Social Pages 32 14
Sports 37 16
Reports 71 31
Total 230 100
Author: Sun Ling Tay Lee
CHART SEVENTEEN
Variable: Local Newspaper Ultimas Noticias
SECTION f %
News 22 16
Ads 32 23
ANGLICISMS Social Pages 28 20
Sports 20 14
Reports 37 27
Total 139 100
CHART EIGHTEEN Variable: Tabloid Extra
SECTION f %
News 21 13
Ads 50 31
ANGLICISMS Social Pages 43 27
Sports 22 14
Reports 23 15
Total 159 100
Author: Sun Ling Tay Lee
CHART NINETEEN
The Most and the Least frequent anglicisms (in all variables)
ANGLICISMS WORD REPETITION NUMBER
full 36
ranking 27
club 26
show 26
web 20
laptop 17
suite 16
chat 14
set 14
mail 13
blog 12
film 12
tour 12
charter 10
exprés 10
rock 10
cd 9
ANGLICISMS REPETITION TIMES OF
DVD 7
dj 6
flex 6
heavy metal 6
stock 6
hot 5
led 5
mall 5
round 5
boom 4
breaker 4
fuel oil 4
hit 4
light 4
marketing 4
master 4
off side 4
play off 4
ticket 4
call center 3
champions 3
email 3
jeans 3
penthouse 3
performance 3
rock star 3
sexy 3
spa 3
test 3
top 3
baby shower 2
best seller 2
break 2
burger 2
cheerleader 2
corner 2
crew 2
debut 2
deficit 2
dumping 2
glitter 2
GPS 2
internet 2
items 2
Latin jazz 2
ANGLICISMS REPETITION TIMES OF
look 2
notebook 2
off 2
on line 2
penalti 2
pick up 2
pivot 2
premium 2
reality show 2
record 2
remake 2
rent a car 2
Ring tone 2
sachet 2
shopping 2
slogan 2
smog 2
software 2
staff 2
tips 2
trailers 2
VHS 2
VIP 2
broster 1
check list 1
estándar 1
fashion 1
fast track 1
feeling 1
fitness 1
flogger 1
garage 1
gay 1
hobby 1
infocus 1
ipod 1
market 1
open house 1
plus 1
SAV 1
semifull 1
shock 1
stand 1
van 1
DISCUSSION
The following section contains the theoretical background which
supports this research. Definition and explanation of important
linguistic terms, historical information and previous studies about the
topic are some of the items included.
After this theoretical setting three kinds of analysis will be
developed. They are: linguistic, comparative and sociological. They will
be the base for the final conclusions, with which this section is
completed.
Theoretical Background
Language
Language seems to be as old as our species. Yule (1996) says
that we do not know how language was originated, but what we know is
that spoken language developed before written language. What is
unquestionably certain is language is the expression of human
personality in words, whether written or spoken. It is the universal
medium for conveying the common facts and feelings of everyday life.
Along time, many definitions of language have been proposed.
Henry Sweet, an English phonetician and scholar, stated: “Language is
the expression of ideas by means of speech-sounds combined into words.
Words are combined into sentences, this combination answering to that
The American linguists Bernard Bloch and George L. Trager
formulated the following definition: “A language is a system of arbitrary
vocal symbols by means of which a social group cooperates.” Besides
these definitions, according to The New Encyclopedia Britannica (2007),
language is a system of conventional spoken or written symbols used by
people in a shared culture to communicate with each other. Thus,
language reflects and affects a culture’s way of thinking, and changes in
a culture influence the development of its language.
Language, as described, is species-specific to human beings.
Other members of the animal kingdom have the ability to communicate,
through vocal noises or by other means, but the most important features
characterizing human language, are its infinite productivity and
creativity. As Todd (1987) says “nothing in the animal kingdom even
approximates to human language for flexibility, complexity, precision,
and quantity. Humans have learnt to make infinite use of finite means”.
At this point it is possible to convey that language interacts with
every aspect of human life in society, and it can be understood only if it
is considered in relation to society.
Linguistics
The science of language is known as Linguistics. Todd (1987) gives
a clear and concise definition; Linguistics is defined as “the scientific
study of language”. When a linguist is said to be scientific it means that
physics. It means observing language use, forming hypotheses about it,
testing these hypotheses and then refining them on the basis of the
evidence collected. As Linguistics traditionally has been well known as
the study of the nature and structure of language, we can find in the
Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (2006) a short compilation
about its history. According to this publication Greek philosophers in
the 5th century B.C., who debated the origins of human language, were
the first in the West to be concerned with linguistic theory. The first
complete Greek grammar, written by Dionysus Thrax in the 1st century
B.C., was a model for Roman grammarians, whose work led to the
medieval and Renaissance vernacular grammars. With the rise of
historical linguistics in the 19th century, linguistics became a science. In
the late 19th and early 20th centuries Ferdinand de Saussure
established the structuralist school of linguistics, which analyzed actual
speech to learn about the underlying structure of language. In the 1950s
Noam Chomsky challenged the structuralist program, arguing that
linguistics should study native speakers’ unconscious knowledge of their
language (competence), not the language they actually produce
(performance). His general approach, known as transformational
generative grammar, was extensively revised in subsequent decades as
the extended standard theory. Other grammatical theories developed
from the 1960s were: generalized phrase structure grammar,
lexical-functional grammar, relational grammar, and cognitive grammar.
development of disciplines like psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics.
The goal of theoretical linguistics is the construction of a general theory
of the structure of language or of a general theoretical framework for the
description of languages; the aim of applied linguistics is the application
of the findings and techniques of the scientific study of language to
practical tasks, especially to the elaboration of improved methods of
language teaching.
Branches of Linguistics
Linguistics has been traditionally divided language into the
following five components for purposes of description and analysis even
though in actual use all levels must interact and function
simultaneously. It traditionally encompasses phonology, morphology,
semantics, syntax, and pragmatics.
a. Phonology
In “Introduction to Linguistics”, Todd (1997) says that Phonology
as the branch of linguistics focused on the speech sounds according to
their production, composition, distribution and function within language,
involves two studies. The first one is the study of the production,
transmission and reception of speech sounds, a discipline known as
Phonetics, and the other is the study of the sound patterns of a specific
language known as Phonemics. Speech sounds considered as units of
convention, are represented by enclosing the appropriate alphabetic
symbol in square brackets. Thus [p] will refer to a p sound. A phonetic
transcription may be relatively broad (omitting much of the acoustic
detail) or relatively narrow (putting in rather more of the detail),
according to the purpose for which it is intended.
On the other hand, considered as phonological units—i.e., from
the point of view of their function in the language—sounds are described
as phonemes and are distinguished from phones by enclosing their
appropriate symbol between two slash marks. Thus /p/ refers to a
phoneme that may be realized on different occasions of utterance or in
different contexts by a variety of more or less different phones.
b. Morphology
Simon (1990) in his book “An International Handbook on
Inflection and Word-Formation” says the term Morphology has been used
in Linguistics for over a hundred years as a general description for
phenomena of accidence and word formation. The term was borrowed
from the biological sciences and reflects consciously or unconsciously,
the view of language as an organism characterized by systems
susceptible to synchronic or diachronic analysis. For this author,
Morphology is the study of morphemes (smallest significant units or
grammar). As word structure study it is focused on the formation and
combination and description of morphemes by using a set of
word-combination principles.
If a morpheme in English is posited with the function of
accounting for the grammatical difference between singular and plural
nouns, it may be symbolized by enclosing the term plural within brace
brackets. Now the morpheme [plural] is represented in a number of
different ways. Most plural nouns in English differ from the
corresponding singular forms in that they have an additional final
segment. In the written forms of these words, it is either -s or -es (e.g.,
“cat”: “cats”; “dog”: “dogs”; “fish”: “fishes”). The word segments written -s
or -es are morphs.
c. Semantics
As said by the New Encyclopedia Britannica, Semantics is the
study of meaning in natural human languages. Therefore it focuses on
what natural expressions (words, phrases and sentences) are about, and
how this can be discovered and described. As a branch of linguistics, it
has to do with the study of signs, symbols and structures of meaning. In
Ladusaw (1988), we find the two most important developments in recent
work in semantics are: first, the application of the structural approach to
the study of meaning and, second, a better appreciation of the
relationship between grammar and semantics, as
The first, structural semantics, goes back to the period preceding
World War II and is exemplified in a large number of publications, mainly
by German scholars—Jost Trier, Leo Weisgerber, and their collaborators.
According to this approach the meaning of each word in the language is
described independently of the meaning of all other words. On the other
hand we have the Transformational-generative grammar. According to
Burneo (2008), it was proposed by Chomsky in 1957, and “had the
purpose of providing structural descriptions necessary to generate all the
grammatical sentences and only the grammatical sentences in a
particular language”. It includes a syntactic component which collects a
set of phrase structure rules which creates a limited number of base
structures. This element is closely tied to the semantic component which
determines the meaning of a sentence.
d. Syntax
British linguists often use the term “grammar” for the same level
of language that is referred to as “syntax” by many Americans. In
accordance with Burneo (2008), Syntax is a subfield of linguistics that
studies the principles and rules that govern the way words are joined
together to form phrases, clauses and sentences. As defined by the
Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics, “Syntax is the study of the
grammatical relations between words and other unit within a sentence”.
Similarly, Syntax, for Bloomfield, was the study of free forms that were
other theory rose by Halliday in the 1960’s, it was Systemic Functional
Grammar which links precise grammar patterns descriptions with their
function in a particular situation. This approach has been taken on by
many grammarians. As previously was mentioned, Bloomfield
determined a theory of syntax with the notions of form classes and
constituent structure. In Encyclopedia of Language Education (1997),
Bloomfield defines form classes, in terms of some common “recognizable
phonetic or grammatical feature” shared by all the members. He adds
that the smaller forms into which a larger form may be analyzed are its
constituents, and the larger form is a construction. For example, the
phrase “poor John” is a construction analyzable into, or composed of, the
constituents “poor” and “John.” Similarly, the phrase “lost his watch” is
composed of three word forms—“lost,” “his,” and “watch”—all of which
may be described as constituents of the construction.
e. Pragmatics
At New Encyclopedia Britannica we find that “Pragmatics is
defined as the study of the use of natural language in communication” or
the study of the relations between languages and their users. Pragmatics
is then the study of how both literal and nonliteral aspects of
communicated linguistic meaning are determined by principles that refer
to the physical or social context in which language is used. It analyzes
the relationship between utterances and the social context in which they
meaning with the speaker’s meaning. The distinction between sentences
and speaker’s meaning is basic for semantics and pragmatics.
Morphological Procedures
As we previously saw, Morphology is focused on the formation
and structure of words, based on the identification, analysis,
combination and description of morphemes by using a set of
word-combination principles. The most widespread morphological
constructions in terms of processes, from Encyclopedia of Language and
Linguistics are inflection, derivation and parasynthesis.
a. Inflection
From the same preceding source, Inflection is the change in the
form of a word (usually the addition of endings) to mark distinctions as
tense, person, number, gender, mood, voice, and case. It indicates noun
plural (cat, cats), noun case (girl, girl’s, girls’), third person singular
present tense (he buys), past tense (we walked), aspect (I’m calling), and
comparatives (bigger, biggest). Changes in the stem are another type of
inflection, as in sing, sang, sung and goose, geese.
b. Derivation
Derivation is the formation of new words from existing words;
e.g., “singer” from “sing” and “acceptable” from “accept.” Derived words
and suffixes (e.g., in-, -tion) to form new words (e.g., inform, deletion),
which can then take inflections. Inflection differs from derivation in that
it does not change the part of speech.
c. Composition
Bauer (2006) defines a compound as a word made up of two
other words. For example, compounds such as cloverleaf, gentleman, and
already show the collocation of two free forms. In describing the
structure of compounds it is necessary to take into account the relation
of components to each other and the relation of the whole compound to
its components. In the Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics (2006) we
find that these relations diverge widely in, for example, the words,
cloverleaf, icebreaker, breakwater, blackbird, peace-loving, and
paperback. In cloverleaf the first component noun is attributive and
modifies the second. Icebreaker, is a compound made of noun object plus
noun, consisting of verb plus agent suffix. The next type consists of verb
plus object. The blackbird type, consists of attributive adjective plus
noun. The next type, peace-loving composed of object noun and a present
participle.
d. Parasynthesis
In the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary we find that
parasynthesis is: “The formation of words by adding a derivative ending
(do, undo; way, subway), and those which follow the word, are suffixes
(do, doer; way, wayward). They may be native (overdo, waywardness),
Greek (hyperbole, thesis), or Latin (supersede, pediment). Modern
technologists greatly favor the neo-Hellenic prefixes macro-“long, large,”
micro- “small,” para- “alongside,” poly- “many,” and the Latin mini
-“small,” with its antonym maxi-. The Internet era has popularized
cyber-“of computers or computer networks” and mega- “vast.”
Historical Linguistics
From a practical point of view, historical linguistics maps the
world’s languages, determines their relationships, and with the use of
written documentation, fit extinct languages. For a better understanding
we have made a compilation from The Linguistics Encyclopedia, taking
information since Antiquity to our current days.
Antiquity, Middle Ages and The Renaissance
The foundations for historical studies in the West were laid down
by the ancient Greeks. In etymology- in the ancient Greek sense “the
true meaning of the word-, they also discussed the nature of language in
terms of a pattern (analogy) or its absence (anomaly), and formulated
statements concerning the various part of speech. The initiated science of
language was passed on to the Romans, whose linguistics studies were in
general application of Greek thought, controversies, grammatical
grammar were studied during the Middle Ages from a pedagogical point
of view. With the Renaissance, language studies underwent a change as
both local and non-Indo-European languages came under linguistic
scrutiny. Once vernacular languages were considered and the world’s
diversity in structures was recognized, language studies turned to
universal linguistic concepts and to the idea of universal grammar
18th, 19th and 20th Centuries
An important trend in the 17th century was the effort to compare
and classify languages in accordance to their resemblances. Early in the
18th century, comparative and historical linguistics gained more
consistency. The greatest achievement in the latter part of this century
came with the discovery that the Sanskrit language of ancient India was
related to the languages of Europe and to Latin and Greek, forming the
first period in the growth of historical linguistics and setting comparative
linguistics on a firm basis.
During the 19th century with scholars such as Dane, Rask, Boop
and Grimm, the comparative-historical linguistic studies of
Indo-European languages had a definitive beginning. It depends upon the
principle of regular sound change—a principle that, as explained above,
met with violent opposition when it was introduced into linguistics by the
Neogrammarians in the 1870s but by the end of the century had become
part of what might be described as the orthodox approach to historical
In the mid-19th century, August Schleicher introduced into
comparative linguistics the model of the “family tree.” For this author,
there is no point in time at which it can be said that new languages are
“born” of a common parent language. This assumption is built into the
comparative method as it is traditionally applied. And yet there are many
clear cases of convergence in the development of well-documented
languages. For example, the dialects of England are disappearing and are
far more similar in grammar and vocabulary today than they were even a
generation ago. The same phenomenon, the replacement of nonstandard
or less prestigious forms with forms borrowed from standard language
has taken place in different places at different times.
In 1872 Johannes Schmidt criticized the family-tree theory and
proposed instead what is referred to as the wave theory, according to
which different linguistic changes will spread, like waves, from an
important centre along the main lines of communication, but successive
innovations will not necessarily cover exactly the same area.
Consequently, there will be no sharp distinction between contiguous
dialects, but, the further apart two speech communities are, the more
linguistic features there will be that distinguish them.
The most recent development in the field of historical and
comparative linguistics is the theory of generative grammar. If the
grammar and phonology of a language are described as an integrated
differences between two closely related languages, or dialects can be
described in terms of the similarities and differences.
Language change
Every language has a history, and, as in the rest of human
culture, changes are constantly taking place in the course of the learned
transmission of a language from one generation to another. Languages
change in all their aspects, in their pronunciation, word forms, syntax,
and word meanings (semantic change). These changes are mostly very
gradual, becoming noticeable over the course of several generations.
According to McMahon (1994) in “Understanding Language
Change”, in some areas of vocabulary, particular words closely related to
rapid cultural change are subject to equally rapid and therefore
noticeable changes within a generation or even within a decade. In the
20th century the vocabulary of science and technology was an
outstanding example. The same is also true of those parts of vocabulary
that are involved in fashionable slangs and jargons.
Robins and Crystal (1998) add that in the structural aspects of
language, their pronunciation and grammar, and in vocabulary less
closely involved in rapid cultural movement, the processes of linguistic
change are best observed by comparing written records of a language
over extended periods. This is most readily seen by English speakers
through setting side by side present-day English texts with 18th-century
varieties of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) that survive in written form.
Noticeably, as one goes back in time, the effort required in understanding
increases, for the most part Old English texts are unintelligible to
modern English. The differences include meanings, grammar, and, so far
as this can be reconstructed, pronunciation. Silher (2000) mentions
examples of changes in the branches of Linguistics:
• Changes in Phonology
Old English Modern English
hús house
nama name
wulfas wolves
• Changes in Morphology
(tó) climban (ne) to climb
gé climbap you climb
híe clumbon they climbed
• Changes in the verb system. Involve two separate but interrelated
matters, the subject pronouns and the form of the verbs
themselves. The second person singular has been lost in Standard
English: you for thou. One change in the verb forms is the past
tense. In Old English, there were two different forms one just for
the first and third persons singular indicative, and a different one
• Changes in nouns. So much has changed in the structure of
English nouns that it could be misleading to try to compare the
morphology of Old and Modern English.
• Changes in English Syntax. Until a few hundred years ago the
English syntax for questions and denials in sentences were What
says she? And He gave not his reasons. This syntax was replaced
by structures containing a form of the verb do.
• Changes in meaning. Semantic changes are so present that hardly
a word in a dictionary lacks earlier meanings. For example:
Sacrilege in Early Modern English meant “stealing from a church”,
but now it means “any serious affront to religious teaching or
sensibility”.
• Changes in English lexicon. Changes in lexicon are common in
languages generally, but are abundant in the recent history of
English. Many of them including most of those lost in modern
English, appear to have been poetical words in any case. It is also
noticeable that the items which survive formally have usually
undergone considerable changes in sense. Other items are
maintained in current lexicon but only in very narrow use.
Language change may be considered in terms of changes
introduced into the underlying system of phonological and grammatical
rules (including the addition, loss, or reordering of rules) during the
process of language acquisition. As we can notice present-day conditions
spoken by relatively few people. In a way, languages must be seen, to be
properly understood: as products of a continuous historical process and
also as self-sufficient systems of communication in any period. Both as a
component of cultural history and as a central part of culture, language
is able to reveal, more than any other human activity and achievement,
what is involved in humanity’s development.
Language Vice
According to Fernández (2005) language vice can be defined as
construction or use forms of inappropriate vocabulary which can lead to
a speech or text misunderstanding.
Burton (2009) has done a complete and wide research about
vices. This author says “the terms for vices do not strictly denote changes
of meaning or arrangement as do most terms for rhetorical figures;
rather, these are qualitative labels whose accuracy will always be relative
to the context and purpose”. Every dimension or aspect of style has vices
associated with it, and every vice has a corresponding virtue.
However, it is helpful to understand that language alters the
normal meaning or arrangement of words to some degree. When
figurative language is apt for a given context and purpose, it is eloquent
and effective (exemplifies one or more of virtues of style); when figurative
language is not apt for a given context and purpose, ineloquent and
