Hi everyone!
Following on from yesterday's lesson when we talked about how words can undergo changes and the reasons for this, today I want you to do a mini investigation of your own into the changing of words.
Using the context for changing words (Americanisms, immigration, youthspeak etc.) and new terminology we learned yesterday and last week (amelioration, pejoration, broadening, narrowing etc.), develop the quick task we did at the end of yesterday's lesson, and pick a word that you think has undergone an interesting change (for example the word 'gay' has undergone pejoration, broadening, amelioration etc.). A good example for this one is the word 'tart' - you could start here to give you ideas, but I don't want 13 blog posts about this word, try to find your own.
To make this into a mini-investigation, start by asking a few members of the class how they would define that particular word, and record their answers.
Research all the different uses of that word (e.g. in idioms, collocations, slang uses, famous quotes, product names etc.) and write an entry on your blog exploring the uses of the word, and how usage can change meanings (using language change terminology).
Basically, write an explanation of the different uses of the word in different contexts (changes over time and changes of meaning in different phrases/places).
Any problems, ask me! And if you finish, I've got an extension for you :)
Have fun with this one!
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