The relationship between social interaction and changes in grammatical patterns

Contradicting sociolinguistic theories, a study suggests that adults integrated into different social niches follow the evolution of a language.

By Karina Toledo

Agência FAPESP – Can an adult change his or her grammar habits over time? To answer this question, Professor Maria Célia Lima-Hernandes of Universidade de São Paulo’s Philosophy, Letters and Humanities School (USP-FFLCH) began a study that resulted in the book Sociedade e Língua – Cara, tipo assim, fala sério! (Society and Language – Dude, like, c’mon!).

Recently released by Edusp with funding from FAPESP, the work is a version of the doctoral thesis that Lima-Hernandes defended in 2005 at Universidade Estadual de Campinas’ (Unicamp) Institute of Language Studies.

The author investigated how the same group of people could change their grammar patterns over a span of 20 years. Four words– “como” (“like”), “igual” (“equal”), “feito” (“agreed”) and “tipo” (“type”) – were used as a basis of comparison to test the hypothesis that extensive social contacts can cause changes in adults’ grammatical patterns in speech regardless of age, sex or educational level.

“The predominant sociolinguistic theory until then was that grammatical changes were the result of adolescent rebellion. Because they think their parents are square, youths would seek out innovative uses for words. This was recently questioned by William Labov, professor at University of Pennsylvania and pioneer of quantitative sociolinguistics,” explains Lima-Hernandes.

The theoretical school led by linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky holds that the child is the transformative force for language. “The child will interpret constructions in a different manner, producing a new grammar,” explains Lima-Hernandes.

In studies that she conducted before beginning her doctoral work, however, the author found evidence of changes in linguistic patterns at an adult age in several languages.

The confirmation came when she compared the interviews of a group of 36 residents of a Rio de Janeiro suburb who 20 years earlier had been the subjects of a study conducted by her mentor, Maria Luiza Braga, a professor at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

Lima-Hernandes initially observed that innovative uses of the word “tipo” (“type”) could be incorporated into speech based on the speakers’ social lives.

“Some people simply had stopped using the word ‘tipo’ or only used it for normal functions or categories. These generally had a restricted social circle.  But those having more contact with people of different ages and participating in varied social niches used all the forms of  ‘tipo’ or, rather, had followed the evolution of language even as adults,” she says.

Through an analysis of historical data from the 13th century to the 20th century, Lima-Hernandes uncovered the trajectory of the evolution of the words “como” (“like”), “igual” (“equal”), “feito” (“agreed”) and “tipo” (“type”), showing the different usages that have emerged over the years.

“One can see that changes in the use of words do not move in any old direction; it is not open to arbitrary creativity as was previously thought but respects cognitive principles. The new usage has to be linked in some manner to the resilient etymological vestiges, even if speakers have absolutely no idea of this,” she explains.

For more information, visit www.edusp.com.br/detlivro.asp?ID=413216.