The Nature of Language Change

Abstract

The presented study discusses the nature of language change caused by its internal and external elements. It reviews changes brought about by internal and external factors. Internal factors relate to the inherent laws of language development and include changes in spelling, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. External factors, on the other hand, are connected with political, social, cultural, and educational conditions outside the language itself, such as migration, military conquests, language contact, bilingualism, industrialization, social and economic fluctuations, educational policy, and so on.
We discuss the existence of many different ways in which language changes occur, such as language change during the learning process, linguistic change through social differentiation, and linguistic change through natural processes arising from language use.
It is noted that in modern linguistics there is an increasingly widespread recognition of the approach that language change should be considered as the result of the interaction between internal and external factors. For example, structural possibilities (internal motivation) are sometimes realized only when there is social pressure or a favorable context for the spread of innovation. Consequently, a comprehensive analysis of language change requires consideration not only of the logic of the linguistic system, but also of the social experience and behavioral patterns of language users