How does change spread?

Language change generally follows certain patterns and can be triggered by various social, cultural and technological factors.
Key means through which language change spreads includes geographical diffusion and hierarchical diffusion.

Geographical diffusion:

Occurs when language change spreads from a central point across adjacent areas.
This type of spread can be seen in dialectal variations that stretch across different regions.

Hierarchical Diffusion:

Language changes often appear first in large, culturally influential cities, before spreading to smaller towns and rural areas.
This is evident in the spread of slang or colloquial expressions which often stem from urban areas.

Social networks and language change:

Social networks, either physical or virtual, significantly impact language diffusion by facilitating rapid and widespread changes.

Technological influences:

With the rise of global communication platforms like social media and internet slang, language changes can disseminate quickly and broadly.
Innovations such as texting and online communication have led to changes in spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure.

Media and popular culture:

Media outlets, television, films, popular music and literature often introduce new words and expressions and help circulate them.
New linguistic styles and jargons brought into mainstream media become popular and quickly adopted by the generation tuning into these channels.

The role of institutions:

Institutions such as the education system, legal system or government can propagate formal changes in language, such as spelling reforms or new legal terminologies.

Socio-cultural factors:

Language change can also spread through social or cultural shifts. For example, increased global mobility, international trade and multicultural societies have contributed to the borrowing and adopting of foreign words.

Youth Culture:

Young people typically take the lead in language change, inventing and spreading new words, phrases and speech patterns. Their linguistic innovations often spread upwards to older generations.

It’s crucial to understand that language change is a continuous and dynamic process which is shaped by several interacting variables.