Language change and the inference of meaning

Abstract

The natural state of living human languages is one of continuous gradual change, underpinned by variation in both form and meaning (Trask, 1996). Small differences in the contexts in which particular utterances are used, or changes in the way in which words are pronounced, accumulate over generations of use to such an extent that the language itself can become unrecognisable in only a few generations (Deutscher, 2005). © 2007 Springer-Verlag London.