LANGUAGE CHANGE

SONIA ALBERTAZZIMILAGRO AZOFEIFA

SASCHA VAN KOETSVELD

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9t7pDp5wt0&feature=feedf

• General Objective • To contrast and compare the Spanish variation used in Costa

Rica fifty years ago with the one used today.

• Specific Objectives

• To define language change.• To explore the reasons why language changes.• To determine if costarriqueñismos are still part of our everyday

language.• To analyze the lexicon and expressions used in La Nación

newspaper fifty years ago. • To find similarities and differences between the spoken language

of two people from the same geographical focal area.

• Dictionaries and encyclopedias define language change as the phenomenon by which phonetic, morphological, semantic, syntactic, and other features of language vary over time. The effect on language over time is known as diachronic change.

• Doctor George Boeree from Shippensburg University states that languages change, usually very slowly.  According to Boeree there are many reasons a language might change.  One obvious reason is interaction with other languages. 

• The slower mechanisms of change seem to include the "battle" between simplicity and expressiveness. 

• There once existed a language known

as Proto-Indo-European from which other languages developed.

Latin Italian Spanish Portuguese French dicto detto dicho dito dit lacte latte leche leite lait lecto letto lecho leito lit nocte notte noche noite nuit

Why They Change

• Languages change for a variety of reasons. Large-scale shifts often occur in response to social, economic and political pressures.

• The needs of speakers drive language change. New technologies, industries, products and experiences simply require new words.

• By using new and emerging terms, we all drive language change.

• Through our interactions, we pick up new words and sayings and integrate them into our speech.

• Jonnie Robinson, Curator of English Accents and Dialects states that no two individuals speak identically: people from different geographical places clearly speak differently.

• Within the same small community there are variations according to a speaker’s age, gender, ethnicity and social and educational background.

Types of Change

• From a traditional point of view, the only changes that can be considered important are those that have structural consequences. (Wardhaugh, 2006)

• Internal changes, those structural variations occurring over periods of time that are considered more important by linguists and

• External changes brought by borrowing words from other dialects or languages.

• External changes are more noticeable for common speakers since they bring elements from other variations and are often rejected by those who pursue purity in language.

Agents of Change

• Children serve as agents for language change when, in the process of learning the language of previous generations, they internalize it differently and propagate a different variation of that language.

• Another theory for phonological change is lexical diffusion.

• According to this theory a sound

variation disseminates through the words in which the change applies and moves to others until the change is complete.

Social Changes in Costa Rica in the last fifty years

• The population of Costa Rica has increased a lot during the last fifty years. In 1963, there were 1.336.274 Costa Ricans. In 2000, there were 3.810.179.

• The population has grown old due to the reduction of mortality and to the improvement of health conditions.

• In 1963, 6% of families had a television set. In 2000, 92% of families had a TV.

• The occupations have also changed. Most Costa Ricans were farmers and factory workers. Now they are bilingual workers, computer technicians, professionals.

• All these changes in the situation of the country contribute to the variation in the language as well.

• The increase in population, the better living conditions, the change of occupations and of the place people live in, the improvement of education, and the access to worldwide communication contribute to modify the way Costa Ricans speak.

According to Arturo Aguero in his book El Español de Costa Rica published in 2009, people in rural areas say:

• la calor and el calor• Hace mucha calor• la radio, el radio• tigre and tigra• doña and don

• antier, and antantier• ¿Qué horas son?

Diminutives are popularly used:

• nuevito instead of nuevecito• Carlitos • esposita • dinerito

• One of the particular characteristics of Costa Rican Spanish is the use of vos. If vos is not used, usted is usually used. Tu is very rarely used. Vos implies trust, familiarity, friendship.

• Some people conjugate regular and irregular verbs incorrectly: neva instead of nieva, forzo instead of fuerzo.

Methodology

• With the purpose of gathering data to show how language has changed in Costa Rica in the last fifty years, we collected samples of spoken and written language.

INTERVIEW SUMMARY• Some expressions used by the older

informant that were not used by the younger informant are:

• Diay• Hay que pellizcarse• Ahí estamos• Algo me pellizco para los cigarros• Jueputa vicio• He sido tortero

• Bebía mucho guaro• Eso es falta de copitos• Nada de echarle jeteras a las mujeres• Financeo• Bailongos• A veces se ponen chúcaros

• These differences cannot be attributed only to time but they are most certainly caused also by other factors discussed earlier as agents of change such as education, social class, interaction and cultural background.

SURVEY RESULTS

How frequently do you use Costa Rican sayings in your everyday life?

Often Sometimes Never 33% 67% 0%

How frequently do you use “vos” in your everyday life?

Often Sometimes I don’t use it 40% 46% 14%

Do you say "pachucadas?"

Often Sometimes I don’t use them 14% 60% 26%

Do you use the pronoun tu?

Often Sometimes I don’t use it 7% 26% 67%

NEWSPAPER INFORMATION1961

They used to say…

2011

We would say…

“Cien manzanas de bosque…” Hectáreas de bosque

“Caudal del río Tiribí merma cada Segundo.”

Disminuye

“En vista del sesgo que tomó el asunto, terminaron las pesquisas.”

En vista de la dirección que….

1961

They used to say…

2011

We would say…

“Horripilante infanticidio ocurrió en Nicoya” Possibly, we would not use the word “horripilante” in the title of this news.

“El descubrimiento del cuerpecito fue hecho en una forma casual, pues una piara había dado cuenta de partes del tierno niño.”

Simpathetic words such as cuerpecito and tierno niño, are no longer common in formal news.

“piara” is a heard of pigs

“…El sujeto, de quien estamos seguros de que no le valdrán de nada sus apellidos para salir de esta torta,….. con el cargamento de la fatídica hierba.

Last names would not be mentioned as a way of avoiding jail.

The use of the word “torta” is very informal.

“La fatídica hierba” refers to marihuana.

1961

They used to say…

2011

We would say…

“…lo que Cocaleco hizo fue una verdadera parada: no volvió ni a aparecer con el dinero ni con el guaro.”

We would not use the word “parada” to refer to the actions of “Cocaleco”

“…entre ellos una niña, quien dijo que no lo hizo antes para que el individuo no la cogiera del pescuezo.”

An expression such as “coger del pescuezo” would not be used in a formal newspaper.

“…declararon que ellas habían sido víctimas también del individuo quien estaba ya acostumbrado a revolcar a cuanta mujer se encontraba en algún lugar.”

“violar” would be used instead of “revolcar”

• Ana Virginia París celebra hoy sus quince floridas primaveras con la bendición de su honorable familia.

• …nuestro embajador extraordinario y plenipotenciario en Cuba…

• Jeannette María Gudiño llega a la dichosa edad de 15 años, en compañía de quienes la saludan.

• Jorge Arturo Aymerich Peralta es este guapo mocito que está celebrando hoy su primer cumpleaños.

• Margarita Mata y Rodolfo Lizano, formaron su hogar hace un año y ahora lo celebran grandemente.

• La encantadora señorita Eunice Jarquín Morales festeja este día, con gala, sus 15 años.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9YMoxLGW0c

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jiszalx864k&NR=1

Conclusions• The variation of Spanish used in Costa Rica

has indeed changed in the last years. This is evident from the oral and written information collected for this project as well as from the speakers opinions gathered. Changes in language cannot be attributed to a single cause but to a variety of causes that include education, interaction, social class, age and gender among others.

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