Lexical Change in Farming Terms

During the 30-year period between the collection of the original LAGS (Linguistic Atlas of the Gulf States) data and the collection of this data in 2001, the field of agriculture has undergone sweeping changes, and the people of southwest Georgia, as a rule, are less focused on agriculture, having turned to other occupations. By replicating a small portion of the original LAGS study using modern speakers as subjects, the study shows that lexical change in farming words during this time stems from changing agricultural methods, technological advancements, and the increased availability of information. The various Linguistic Atlas Projects provide contemporary researchers with a wealth of data that can and should be mined in conjunction with new research to study the forces involved in language change.