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the tendency of people to treat language as an ornate building that once had a peak of perfection but is now falling apart.
Aitchison disagrees with this claim based on the fact that there has never been a time when English had reached its ultimate “peak of perfection” implying it is not possible to preserve something that is constantly changing.
This is the view that there was once a “golden age of language” as David Crystal spoke about (but didn’t adhere to), where people think that language used to be at its best but has since fallen apart.
This view is particularly seen as a prescriptivist attitude
pros - shows that language is always changing and evolving which allows us to understand our language more.
cons - places language in a negative light as it has never been perfect

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This theory is based on a fable that looks at a frog that lived down in a well which is all he knew and therefore it was his life (his environment). One day, a turtle came by and told him about the sea. 'The sea? Hah! It's paradise in here. Nothing can be better than this well. Why don't you come down and enjoy?’

-Moral: Some ignorant people know nothing aside from their own world.

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a view that ppl pick up language changes by trying to fit into society, and they want to be up to date with everything. eg changing hello to wagwan.

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view that changes are caught from those around us and infect language, particularly related to Americanisms

English ahs taken from other languages throughout history

Changes though social contact, people picking up things and applying it to their own speech

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The view that people pick up language change by trying to fit in with what is new within language and society.

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New forms of speech arise then become used more like a nest full of young cuckoos competing with each other till one wins.

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language like a old building that used to be perfect but overtime its crumbled and more language has disappeared and gone non existent so we need to save and preserve it.

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The theory is al about the tendency of peoples attitude to treat language as an ornate building that once had a peak of perfection but is now falling apart.
real life application is shown because it is all to do with the fact language is always changing on a constant line. This affects real life as words are altered in different ways for different purposes. Pros are it highlights that language is always changing or decaying as she says, and helps us understand how to manage this. Cons are that it creates a negative feeling around language change but sometimes this can be a positive thing as it allows people to have a wider range of words and how to use them. I think the crumbling castle provides a great understanding for people to recognise language change in todays society and how to adapt to change in a vocal field whilst also giving more people more ways to express themselves through language.

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A rigid system is not always better than a changing one

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Quote: "People pick up changes because they want to. They want to fit in with social groups, and they want to adapt their hairstyle, clothes, and language to those of people they admire.” - Aitchison.
Explanation: Language changes for people to fit in with society and changes.
-Idea that language change is a choice.
Opinion: I agree with this theory. People don't have to use specific words when synonyms are so vast in the English language. To take a word into one's vocabulary is a choice. People can shun words. They are under no obligation to use a word.
Example: Words from pop culture and books are made popular and adopted into everyday speech e.g. 'muggle', 'shook' made popular by R & B 'salty' for wittiness
Pros- coincides with some of Crystal's theories about the future of language being based off of the future of society.
Cons- Prescriptivists are likely to believe new language lacks the same relevance and power.

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The infectious disease assumption is the view that people pick up language change by trying to fit in with what is new within language and society. Aitchison summarised this assumption  implying it is normal behaviour, claiming people pick up changes because they want to. They want to fit in with social groups, and they want to adapt their, for example, hairstyle, clothes, language to those of people they admire.

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This treats the English language as a beautiful old building with gargoyles and pinnacles which need to be preserved intact, as implied in statements by the writer John Simon: Language, he argues, should be treated like "parks, national forests, monuments, and public utilities ... available for properly respectful use but not for defacement or destruction".

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No change can occur without variation and change only happens when the variation is used more often.