Exploring the Echoes of Social Changes: Case Study of Language Infantilism

Abstract

Infantilization is increasingly becoming one of the major trends in contemporary society. A remarkable feature of social trends is that they could influence changes of language. The changes driven by growing infantilism of speakers are identified in this paper. The aim of this work was to further extend current knowledge of extra linguistic reasons that affect linguistic behavior. A preliminary attempt to trace the areas of language where changes have been taking place is presented in order to illustrate the growing tendency towards language infantilism. The present analysis provides a possible explanation for the growing tendency to use linguistic strategies more typical of younger generations in adult speech. Thus, the paper synthesizes the results from several primary literature papers and produces an argument about language infantilism and its correlation with the social trends. Overall, this research is initiated to invite the discussion in the field of recent changes in the linguistic habits of society.

Keywords: infantilization, language infantilism, language change, contemporary society, adaptation

JEL Classification: Z10