Economic and Political unification

Economic and Political Unification. Conditions for Linguistic Unity
The formation of the national literary English language covers the Early NE period
(1475-1660).
There were at least two major external factors which favoured the rise of the national language:
the unification of the country;
the progress of culture.

Economic and social
changes were accompanied
by political unification.
In the late 15th c. England
became a centralized state.

Economic and political unification
played a decisive role
in the development
of the English language.
The rise of capitalism
helped to knit together
the people and
to unify their language.

Progress of Culture. Introduction of Printing

Flourishing of Literature
Of all the outstanding achievements of this great age, the invention of printing had the most immediate effect on the development of the language, especially its written form. Printing was invented in Germany in the mid-15th c.; the first printer of English books was William Caxton. The first English book, printed in 1475, was Caxton’s translation of the story of Troy.

This period is known
as the “age of Shakespeare”
or the English Literary Renaissance.
The most notable forerunners
of the literary Renaissance
in the first half of the 16th c.
were the great English humanist
Thomas More (1478-1535)
and William Tyndale.

Establishment of the Written Standard
Towards the end of Early NE, one of the forms of the national literary language – its Written Standard – had been established.
Its growth and recognition as the correct or “prestige” form of the language of writing had been predetermined by the factors described above.

The Written Standard of the 17thc.
was far less stabilized
and normalized.
The writings of the Renaissance
display a wide range
of variability at all linguistic levels.

Normalizing Tendencies
Correct usage and
protection of the language from corruption and change became the subject of great concern and numerous discussions.

In 1664 the Royal Society
appointed a special committee
"for improving the English tongue".
The fixed structures of dead languages –
Greek and Latin – made the neo-classicists
regard all linguistic change
as corruption that ought to be checked.

Normalizing Tendencies
The role of English grammars and dictionaries in the period of normalization was very significant.
The greatest achievement of the 18th c. English lexicography is certainly connected with the name of Dr. Samuel Johnson, who believed that the English language should be purified and corrected.

New English Vocabulary
Borrowings from classical languages:
In the 16th and 17th centuries Latin was the main language of philosophy and science;
There were some borrowings from Greek: pertained to scientific terminology, theatre and literature.

New English Vocabulary
Borrowings from contemparary
languages:
The influx of French,
Italian, Dutch, Spanish, German, Portuguese
and Russian words

Контрольные вопросы
How did the unification of the country and the progress of culture favor the rise of the national English language?
Speak on the introduction of printing.
Why was the period of the late 17th-18th c. called “the age of normalization and correctness”?
What sources was the New English vocabulary enriched from?

Литература:
Основная учебная литература:
Расторгуева Т.А. История английского языка: Учебник для вузов М.: Астрель, 2003 (чз-5, аб-15).
Иванова И., Чахоян Л., Беляева Т. История английского языка: Учебник. Хрестоматия. Словарь/ И.Иванова, Л.Чахоян,Т.Беляева СПб.: Лань, 2006 (чз-5, аб-17).
Дополнительная учебная литература:
Ярцева В.Н. Языкознание: Большой энциклопедический словарь / Под ред. В.Н.Ярцевой М.: Большая Российская энциклопедия, 2000 (чз-3).
«Сrosscultural Aspects of The English Language History (Historical, social and cultural backgrounds of the English language history)»: учебное пособие по курсу истории английского языка/ Сост.: Р.Ж. Саурбаев, C.Г. Кулагина; Сургут. гос ун-т. – Сургут: Изд-во СурГУ, 2003 (медиатека ИнЕУ).

Standard written English refers to the preferred form of English as it is written according to prescriptive authorities associated with publishing houses and schools.

Anglo-Saxon words are usually characterised by a cloudy morphology (early\ere), wildly unphonemic spelling, and the presence of silent letters and digraphs. Common affixes are “un-”, “-ful”, and “-ness”. These are the most common words used to describe everyday, informal and interpersonal matters.

interjections such as "like" are rarer than in speech.
Stephen FryStephen Fry stated his view on the exclusivities of Written English in an anonymous essay on Wodehouse

There are grammatical constructions and words that one uses in speech that one generally avoids in written compositions. An astute modern reader might extrapolate "Well thou writest." from the millennium-old sentence "Wel ðu writst."

Dated circa AD 1000.
Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum si þin nama gehalgod tobecume þin rice gewurþe þin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofonum urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us to dæg and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge ac alys us of yfele soþlice.

Dated AD 1384.
Ovre fadir þat art in hevenes halwid be þi name; þi revme or kyngdom come to be. Be þi wille don in herþe as it is dovn in hevene. yeve to vs today ovre eche dayes bred. And foryeve to vs ovre dettis þat is ovre synnys as we foryeven to ovre dettovris þat is to men þat han synned in us. And lede vs not into temptacion bvt delyvere vs from evyl.

Dated AD 1611.
Ovr father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give vs this day ovr daily bread. And forgive vs ovr debts as we forgive ovr debters. And lead vs not into temptation, bvt deliver vs from evill.

Dated AD 2011.
Our father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

John H. Fisher, author of The Emergence of Standard English, observes that in Spanish, Italian, French, and English, the written languages became standardised before the spoken languages, and that these provide frames of reference for what is considered standard speech. He said, in an interview for the Children of the Code project.

I came to the conclusion that all of the discussion of standardisation of language was a discussion of the written forms of language. It had nothing to do with spoken language. We don't have the spoken language standardised yet.

As there is no regulatory body for the English language, there is some disagreement about correct usageAs there is no regulatory body for the English language, there is some disagreement about correct usage, though there is enough agreement that the written form of English is relatively transcendent of dialectal variation. In addition to being used in written media such as books and newspapers, it is also the basis of Signed English.

When we say that we're speaking Standard English, what we're doing is transferring into our spoken vocabulary and syntax the elements of the written language.

Romance words are also common and bear closer resemblance to French morphemes and words (very\vrais). There is often more regularity in their spelling.

Latinate and Greek words are set apart from Romance words by very methodical morphology, Classical Latin and Greek morphemes, and consistent spelling. They usually have rigid definitions and are used more frequently in formal and scientific writing as well as in constructing technical, philosophical, and legal jargon.