Why Does Everyone Say ‘Like’ and ‘Um’ All The Time? - Valerie Fridland | Modern Wisdom 630

TL;DR

Language changes due to a combination of underlying cognitive and articulatory pressures, as well as social pressures. Social identity plays a role in determining which linguistic pressures individuals succumb to, leading to dialectal variations.

Transcript

one thing that we do notice is when people are more Dynamic speakers when they say something that's more interesting and they're more engaging people actually don't tend to note their O's and um's as much as people that give sort of a monotonous boring delivery and maybe don't have content that's really interesting so a lot depends on what you're s... Read More

Key Insights

• 💱 Language change results from a combination of cognitive and articulatory pressures, as well as social pressures.
• 🔇 Linguistic complexity tends to decrease over time in widely spoken languages due to the influence of non-native speakers and the need for efficient communication.
• 🤕 Social factors, such as gender, age, ethnicity, and language proficiency, interact with linguistic pressures to shape dialectal variations.
• 😯 Social pressure influences which linguistic pressures individuals conform to, leading to the development of different speech styles.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why do languages change over time?

Languages change due to underlying cognitive and articulatory pressures, as well as social factors. These pressures drive linguistic patterns and lead to variations in dialects.

Q: How do social factors influence language change?

Social factors, such as gender, age, ethnicity, and language proficiency, play a role in determining which linguistic pressures individuals succumb to. Social identity interacts with linguistic pressures to shape dialectal variations.

Q: What are some examples of linguistic pressures?

Linguistic pressures can include cognitive preferences for minimal syllable structures, articulatory issues related to certain sounds, and the influence of language contact and language acquisition.

Q: How does social pressure impact language change?

Social pressure influences which linguistic pressures individuals conform to based on their social identity. Factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, and language proficiency determine the linguistic variations that individuals adopt.

Key Insights:

• Language change results from a combination of cognitive and articulatory pressures, as well as social pressures.
• Linguistic complexity tends to decrease over time in widely spoken languages due to the influence of non-native speakers and the need for efficient communication.
• Social factors, such as gender, age, ethnicity, and language proficiency, interact with linguistic pressures to shape dialectal variations.
• Social pressure influences which linguistic pressures individuals conform to, leading to the development of different speech styles.
• Language change is a natural evolutionary process driven by social and cognitive factors that have always existed within human speech communities.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Linguistic patterns vary based on social factors, such as gender, age, ethnicity, and language proficiency.

• Languages change as a result of underlying cognitive and articulatory pressures, as well as social pressures.

• Linguistic complexity tends to decrease over time, particularly in widely spoken languages due to the influence of non-native speakers and the need for efficient communication.

• Language change is a result of both natural linguistic tendencies and social factors, leading to the development of dialects.