Linguistica Inglese (Storia della lingua dalle origini e Lessicografia)

PDE:

Then there were two young poor scholars, [SVO]

Who dwelt in this hall, of which I tell. [rel. pronoun, verb]

Chancery English (London)

The spelling and morphology of Chancery English was conservative. It also developed a distinctive

handwriting. It is clear that already by the 15th century the language of the Chancery was not a

regional variety but a mixed form of English which was used as a general means of

communication between dialects.

Summary:

- Spelling becomes more standardised and the pace of grammatical change slows down

- More dialects emerge compared to the Old English era. West Saxon is now Southern;

Northumbrian is Northern; Mercian splits into West Midlands and East Midlands; Kentish is the

most conservative and it still encompasses the south east

(NB In Scotland, the dialect diverges radically from English dialects and it adopts Gaelic words and a unique

pronunciation. The change is dubbed by some ‘Middle Scots’ to distinguish it from ME)

- The dialect of the East Midlands begins to establish itself as a form of ‘standard English’. This is

the most populous region of England and home to important social, administrative, and educational

centres, including the royal court at London

Which English? [summary]

Four language standards:

a) Wycliffite dialect (J. Wycliffe, 1330 – 84)

b) First London standard

c) Second London standard

d) Chancery standard (government office in Westminster, London) (from 1430s onwards)

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[Early London English → late 13 and 14 century → late 14 century (Chaucer) → …]

From Middle to Early Modern English

The language meanwhile keeps on changing, new conditions come into play:

(a)Language variation and change (e.g., Great Vowel Shift)

(b)Printing from movable types (Caxton 1476)

(c)Education makes rapid progress / literacy becomes more common

(d)Travels, communication, explorations / the Renaissance

(e)Metalinguistic awareness

Great Vowel Shift

The GVS was a major change in the pronunciation that took place in Southern England between the

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15 and the 18 centuries.

It was first studied by Otto Jespersen (1860–1943), a Danish linguist and Anglicist, who coined the

term.

The values of the long vowels form the main difference between the pronunciation of ME and

ModE, and the GVS is one of the historical events marking the separation of ME and ModE.

The changes affected the seven long vowels in ME /a:, ɛː,e:, i:, ɔː,o:, u:/

Each vowel changed its sound quality, but the distinction between one vowel and the next was

maintained. th

The two front vowel /ɛː,e:/ did merge as /i:/, but not until the 18 c.

In two cases, just a single move was involved; in others, the shift had further consequences which

entailed other steps.

The series of changes was connected

A move in one of the vowels causing a move in another, and so on throughout the system.

Two theories:

a. Drag chain: the series started with the /i:, u:/ dropping to diphthong, opening their slot and

dragging the vowels to follow, so that /e:, o:/ raised

b. Push-chain: /e:, o:/ raised to /i:, u:/ pushing them to diphthongise and giving way to a move up in

the articulation for the lower and central vowels which could fill the slots left empty by raising

These sound changes are widely recorded:

- In the form of the order in which new spellings appeared, the use of new rhymes, and the

description of contemporary writers

- Competing systems of pronunciation reflected in rhymes: scene/green but also shade/mead

Language change: the GVS

Internal factors:

- Principles of vowel shifting

External factors

- Diastratical

- Diatopical

The exact causes of the shift are continuing mysteries in linguistics and cultural history; some

theories attach the cause to the mass migration to the southeast part of England after the Black

Death, where the difference in accents led to certain groups modifying their speech to allow for a

standard pronunciation of vowel sounds.

The different dialects and the rise of a standardised middle class in London led to changes in

pronunciation, which continued to spread out from that city.

Towards codification

- the arrival of the printing press → texts and books become more widely available → spread of

literacy, at least one person per middle-upper class family.

The printing revolution

The new invention gave an unprecedented impetus to the formation of a standard language and the

study of its properties.

Apart from fostering norms and spelling conventions, the availability of printing provided more

opportunities for people to write (and much wider circulation). Nearly 20,000 books are estimated

to have appeared from 1500 to 1650. The story of English thus became more definite.

William Caxton as a translator

The items printed by him can be grouped into 4 categories: His own translations, Works of the

English poets, Prose works in English, A miscellaneous group of works, probably for particular

clients.

He was a merchant –not a linguist or a scholar –he had to deal with major problems while

translating: Should he use foreign words or replace them by native English words? Which variety of

English should he follow? Which literary style should be used as a model? Should he change the

language of native writers so as to make it more widely understood?

Examples: ‘And certainly the language now used is very different from that which was used and

spoken when I was born’

‘I have translated this book into an English which is neither too coarse nor too refined, but using

phrases which are understandable, God willing’

First book he printed: The recuyell (collection) of the Historyes of Troy (printed in Bruges, France,

not England)

The first one printed in England was The canterbury tales

Selection and codification

[...] and specially he axyd after eggys. And the goode wyf answerde that she coude speke no

Frenshe. And the merchaūt was angry. for he also coude speke no frenshe. But wolde have hadde

egges/ and she understode hym not/ And thenne at laste a nother sayd that he wolde have eyren/

then the good wyfe sayd that she understood hym wel/ Loo what sholde a man in thyse dayes now

wryte. Egges or eyren.

egg, eggs(< OE æʒ, æʒru) takes in ME both pl. forms eggys (< Scandinavian loan) and eyren from

the OE weak declension of plurals in –en, think of children.

Spread of Literacy

The Paston Letters are a large corpus of letters between members of the Paston family (Norfolk

gentry) and others connected with them between 1422 and 1509. From landed gentry to second

generation access to education and rising professional status as lawyers, JP, local govt and

connections through marriage. Letters between members in London and the family estate in

Norfolk.

The Renaissance

Queen Elizabeth I established the power of Britain on the seas;

Two main policies followed by the Queen:

- To encourage English sailors, John Hawkins and Francis Drake, to attack and destroy Spanish

ships (e.g. the defeat of tSpanish Armada).

- To encourage English traders to settle abroad and create colonies

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a. Since the 17 century English trading companies in India and participation to the slave trade in

Africa

b. Starting from the 17th century stable colonies established in America, Australia, New Zealand,

Canada, The Caribbean and South Africa.

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c. Later on in the 19 century colonial empire in Asia and Africa.

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During the 16 century there was a flood of new publication in English, prompted by a new interest

in the classical languages and literatures, and in the rapidly developing fields of science, medicine,

and the arts. This period, from the time of Caxton until around 1650, was later to be called the

‘Renaissance’. It included the Reformation, the discoveries of Copernicus, the European

exploration of Africa and the Americas.

The effects of these fresh perspectives on the English language were immediate & far-reaching

Unprecedented breadth and inventiveness in the use of English (especially in the area of

vocabulary). It has been estimated that the period around 1530 and the Restoration (1660) displayed

the fastest lexical growth in the history of the language.

Nearly half of the of the new words were borrowings from the many cultures with which English

was coming into contact; the remainder were different types of word formation using native

resources.

Shakespeare’s influence on the language

Shakespeare and King James Bible: greatest influence on EmodE, especially as documents of

current usage and for lexical creativity as a source of usage.

Shakespeare’simpact on English lexis:

a) neologisms still in use: accommodation (Oth.), assassination (Macb.), barefaced (MND), cat-like

(AYLI), count-less (Titus), downstairs (1HenryIV), go-between (Merry), laughable (Merchant),

long-legged (MND), priceless (Rape), successful (Titus), well-read (Taming);

b) forgotten neologisms: abruption, appertainments, cadent, persistive;

c) conversion: I am proverb’d with a grandsire phrase(R&J), Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no

uncle (Richard II), It out-herods Herod(Haml)

d) from quotation to idiom: what the dickens (MerryWives), a foregone conclusion(Othello),

caviare to the general (Hamlet), it’s Greek to me (Julius Caesar), make a virtue of necessity

(Pericles), I must be cruel only to be kind (Hamlet), all our yesterdays (Macbeth), love is blind

(Merchant).

William Shakespeare

Elizabethan theatre represents one of the most important influences on the development of the

language during the English Renaissance. In Shakespeare’s works we can find the first recorded

usage of a large number of words (about 2000 new words and phrases appear to have been invented

by him). The works of Shakespeare can be credited with having shown and popularised the

expressive power of English.

King James Bible

The King James Bible (a.k.a. Authorised Version of the Bible or KJV) was published in 1611

- Enormous influence on the development of the language

- The new translation was the work of about 50 scholars and it was based on bibles previously

circulating in England (Bishop’s, Geneva, Tyndale, also based on Wyclif Bible)

- As stated in the preface ‘to make a good translation better’

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By the mid 18 century it had become the most influential version, perceived as a masterpiece of

the English language. It contributed 257 idioms to English.

- A conservative style

Many irregular verbs are found in older forms

[digged(‘dug’), gat (‘got’), bare (‘bore’), holpen(‘helped’), wit/wist/wist(‘know’, cf. D wissen, SV

veta)]

Archaic lexis and syntax [twain (the two of them), things eternal, cakes unleavened, they knew him

not]

Early Modern English

There is no doubt that an EModE period needs to be recognised.

Between the time of Chaucer (15thc.) and Johnson (18thc.) the language con