Twentieth Century contextual research –

the 1950s.By Jasper King

War and it’s impact on language change.

• A huge nuclear lexicon developed throughout the 1950s as nuclear weaponry became a significant background to everyone’s lives. W.H. Auden’s poem ‘the Age of Anxiety’ certainly defines the 1950s as the ‘Nuclear’ decade.

• As a result of the development of nuclear weaponry during the 1950s words such as ‘nukes’, ‘H-Bomb’, V Bomber’ ‘thermonuclear’, ‘fallout’, ‘overkill’ and ‘mega death’ were just some of the new words that entered this new nuclear lexicon.

• Many of these Compound Words reflect the idea of emphasising nuclear importance in withholding a country’s power and status.

How Politics and Economics affected language change.

• At the beginning of the 50s a new Communist regime had established itself and the west had a new enemy ‘Maoism’, (Which was a new political term). Mao contributed to the anti-Communist fear which was already rife in the West through Stalin’s reign of terror in the Soviet Union.

• In response to war tensions, the 50s were therefore also a decade where new economic terms such as ‘common market’ and ‘EEC’ entered our vocabulary to counteract the growing political threat of Communism.

• New Economic and Political Terminology grew through the battle of Capitalism in the West and Communism in the East.

New Inventions in the 1950s.

• Towards the end of the 50s as the US were preparing for their space race against the Soviet Union people became familiar with new aerospace Jargon. Words such as ‘soviet sputnik’, ‘cosmonauts’, ‘moon shot’, ‘soft landing’, ‘space programme’ and ‘UFO’ were all associated with this new Space/Discovery lexicon that was developing in the 50s.

• Computers were also beginning to move out of university laboratories and into normal everyday establishments and as a result of this new terms entered the English vocabulary including ‘bootstrap’, ‘modem’, ‘on-line’, ‘real-time’, ‘print-out, ‘RAM’, ‘Algol’ and ‘FORTRAN’.

New Inventions in the 1950s continued…

• During the 1950s the Double Helix was also discovered by Watson and Crick with other scientific discoveries such as the Big Bang also being postulated.

• Within Medicine, surgeons started operating on the heart. This meant that new words from the lexicon of Medicine were beginning to be used including ‘by-passes', 'transplants’ and ‘pacemakers’.

• Other advances in Medicine included the Salk Vaccine which banished the mid-century scourge of Polio. However, ‘Thalidomide’ had appeared on the scene and Asian Flu was becoming a worldwide pandemic.

Social factors influence on language change in the 1950s.• The 1950s was an era rejecting stratified deference, with World

War 2 allowing greater social mobility amongst the classes. As a result of this the 1950s is recognised as the teen age, the age where young people thrust themselves into the spotlight. The ‘teddy boys’, ‘Hell’s Angels’, ‘Beatniks’ and early ‘Hippies’ all developed in protest (sometimes violent!) against the social and political climate of the 1950s.

• Music was a key element to the developing youth culture of the 1950s – notably rock and roll from the likes of Elvis Presley but other favourites included Country, Skiffle and Western.

• Record buyers were playing their albums on the new Hi-Fi’s and Stereo Systems.

Social Factors and Changing attitudes in Britain.

• The biggest development in electronic entertainment during the 1950s was the television which became the world’s leading medium in communication. In Britain the turning point for televisions was when thousands of people bought televisions to watch the coronation of Elizabeth the 2nd in 1953.

• Technology was also beginning to dominate the British diet. We could buy sliced bread with fish fingers announcing the arrival of frozen prepared dishes with fast food appearing on the high streets. From the changing attitudes to food in America ‘doner kebabs’, ‘McDonalds’ and ‘KFC’ slowly appeared in Britain and during and after the 1950s.

Transport in the 1950s and its impact on language change.

• On the roads, small and nippy was best, the ‘bubble

car’, ‘Vespa’ and ‘Mini’ were all new makes of cars and

new words that entered our vocabulary.

• In the air the ‘helicopter’ came of age as a means of

travel and went into battle in the Korean War. The word

‘helicopter’ soon broadened and included

colloquialisms and abbreviations including ‘chopper’

and ‘whirlybird’ and shortly after this along came the

‘hovercraft’.

Greatest songs of the 50s!• Bill Haley and His Comets – Rock Around the Clock

(1955)

• Dion and the Belmonts – A Teenager in Love (1959)

• Elvis Presley – Jailhouse Rock (1956)

• Jerry Lee Lewis – Great Balls of Fire (1957)

• Elvis Presley – Hound Dog (1956)

• The Five Satins – In the Still of The Night (1956)

• Elvis Presley – All Shook Up (1957)

• Elvis Presley – Don’t Be Cool (1956)

Greatest TV Programmes of the 50s!

• I Love Lucy 1951-1960

• Gunsmoke 1955-1975

• Leave It To Beaver 1957-1963

• Bonanza 1959-1973

• The Twilight Zone 1959-1964

• The Jack Benny Programme 1950-1965

• The Ed Sullivan Show 1948-1971

• Have Gun – Will Travel 1957-1963

Greatest Films of the 50s!• On the Waterfront 1954

• A Streetcar Named Desire 1951

• The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957

• All About Eve 1950

• Ben-Hur 1959

• The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951

• Sunset Boulevard 1950

• Some Like It Hot 1959

The End• Thank you for watching!