Encyclopedia of the Languages of Europe: English

15 Pages·2001·0.96 MB·English

by  Price, Glanville

English
A member ofthe West Germanic group ofthe ^Germanic languages, its closest
relative being ^Frisian. Historically, the following periods are identified: Old
English (or Anglo-Saxon) (up to ^.1100), Middle English (1100-1500), Modern
English(1500tothepresent). Thelastoftheseissometimesfurthersubdividedinto
earlyModern English (1500-1700), laterModernEngHsh (1700-1900) and Present
English(20thc),butitisperhapsbettertotreattheperiodasawholeandusePresent
English for the most recent state ofthe language. In Europe, its spread is mainly
confinedtotheBritishIsles(includingtheChannelIslands), insomepartsofwhich
it is spoken alongside indigenous languages (*Welsh, ^Scottish Gaelic, *Irish,
^Channel Islands French, and some would add *Scots) or recently arrived
^community languages; itisalso the dominantlanguagein the British colony of
Gibraltarandisanofficiallanguage(with^Maltese)inMalta.World-wide,itisesti-
mated tobe the firstlanguageofsome377 millionspeakers.
OldEnglish
Origins and the earlyperiod, 'Old English' is the term now normally used for the
earliest period ofthe English language, as distinct from 'Anglo-Saxon', the older
term, now used of the people, their history and archaeology. The origins ofthe
language lie with the Germanic tribes living along the North Sea coast of
the Continent, in modern terms from southern Denmark to Holland. Small groups
from these tribes were employed by the Romans in defending the eastern and
southern coasts ofBritain during the last years ofRoman rule in the province, but
themaininfiltrationswereintheperiodfollowingthedepartureoftheRomanlegions
in the early 5th c.
Theperiod between about 500and 600 wasoneofgradual penetration ofBritain
by groups ofGermanic settlers. There seems never to have been a large-scale in-
vasion, rather groups ofraiders and settlers, sometimes reaching far inland via the
largerivers,likeThamesandTrent,establishedsettlementsnexttoorinplaceofthe
local Celtic inhabitants. By the early 7th c. there were what could be called Anglo-
SaxonkingdomssidebysidewithCelticones,inthenorth,forexample,theEngHsh
Deira besidesthe CelticElmet. Walesand Cornwalland themore northerlypartsof
Scotland werenotpenetrated by thenewsettlers.
CelticandtheGermaniclanguagesoftheearlysettlerswouldhavebeenmutually
unintelligible. The diplomatic contact between neighbouring kingdoms was no
138 English
doubt carried out through interpreters and it is difficult to see a general need for
eithergrouptolearnthelanguageoftheother.Thereisnowayofknowingwhatkind
of everyday contact there was between the ordinary Germanic settlers and their
Celticneighboursbutplace-nameevidencesuggeststhatco-existencewasatleastas
commonasthefireandsword describedbytheearlychroniclers. Earlyplace-names
with Walk meaning 'Briton' rather than 'slave', e.g. Walton, Walcot, and with
Cumbre meaning 'British' (cf. Welsh Cymro 'Welshman', Cymru 'Wales'), e.g.
Cumberland, Comberbatch, suggest recognition by Germanic-speakers ofcontin-
uing Celtic settlement, less certainly suggested by the purely Celtic topographical
names, e.g. Thames, Severn, Calder, Avon. There are still very few certain Celtic
borrowings into EngHsh ofthe period, but it is likely that on a local, and perhaps
temporary, level there werefarmore.
Besideslanguage, theothergreatdifferencebetween CeltsandAnglo-Saxonslay
in their beliefs. The Celts had been converted to Christianity whilst still under
Romanruleand hadanorganized church. TheAnglo-Saxonswerestillpagan. The
conversionoftheAnglo-Saxonsbeganinthe6thc.andwaslargelycomplete(though
notalwayslasting)by theend ofthe 8th c.
Scripts,Christianitymeantnotonlyanewreligionbutalsoanewlanguageandaccess
to a new means ofrecording events and ideas. The Anglo-Saxons, like their north
Germanic neighbours, used *runes. What survives suggests, however, that both
beforeandafterthecomingofChristianityruneswereused forcommemoration, to
expressownership,empowering(ofweapons,inparticular)and,perhapsinallcases,
decoration rather than communication. Though it is possible that messages cut in
wood formed an everyday practical use for runes, no unequivocal evidence has
survived from England. A very few, very briefinscriptions survive from the pagan
Anglo-Saxonperiod,cutonboneorimpressedonpottery,butthemajorityarelater.
Even these are not numerous or on the whole very long. The Ruthwell cross
(Dumfriesshire) inscription, with 290 existing runes and at least a further 100 lost
through the 17th-c. breakingup ofthe cross, is thelongest.
ThefrequencyofwritingLatinafterthecomingofChristianityandtherelatively
easyadaptationofitsalphabetforthewritingofEnglish nodoubtmadeitinevitable
that Roman rather than runic letter forms would become the norm. Though
primarilyusedforcuttingin stone,boneorclay,and thereforestraight-sided,runes
could have been adapted, but with a highly developed series ofalphabets derived
from Roman capital and cursive already in existence there was Htde need to do so.
TheonlyadditionstotheRomanalphabetweretherunicletters <I» {vpynn)for[w]
and <{)> {thorn) for [9] or [6], and the adapted <d>, <6> {eth)^ used side by side
with <{)>. Itshould notbeimagined thatadoption was immediate and uniform. In
the early stages experiments were clearly made. There are early examples of<th>
ratherthan <^>^ and <u> or <uu> is usedsporadically throughouttheperiodside
byside with <1».
Dialects. As runicinscriptionsand written vernaculartextsmake clear, therewerea
number ofdialects in Anglo-Saxon England, possibly as a result ofthe differing
(
English 139
regions ofthe Continent from which the early setiers came but as likely from dif-
ferences which developed after settlement in widely separated areas ofEngland.
Broad differences existed between AngHan in the midlands and north. West Saxon
in thesouthandKentishinthesouth-east, butthdrearealsovariationswithin these
areas, particularly Mercian and Northumbrian within Anglian. Since early records
are few, most of the evidence for dialect variaWtions.1, as for all linguistic features,
comes from the 8th c. and later. By the 10th c. ^st Saxon, because ofthepolitical
dominance ofthe West Saxon kings, had become widespread throughout England
asanadministrativelanguageandhadalsoachievedsomethingofthestatusofastan-
dardizing literary language into which earlier works were copied. Before that
happened, however, the relative stability ofthe Anglo-Saxon kingdoms was to be
broken.
Scandinavian and other influences. From the lae 8th c. onwards Scandinavian
marauders subjected the east and south coasts of England to a series ofraids cul-
minating in the mid-9th c. in larger-scale invasi3ns After a series ofdefeats the
English eventually rallied under Alfred, king ofthe West Saxons, and a settlement
was made dividing England into the Danelaw, under Scandinavian control, north
andeastofalineroughlydrawnfromLondontoChester,andWessex,underEnglish
,
control, tothe south and west. TherearetwoI major differences between this settle-
mentand the earlier Germanicone ofCeltic Britain: first, therelationship between
English and the Scandinavian languages was c1os(j as they were branches ofearlier
Germanic, andsecondly, whereastheCelts gradu;^llylostcontrolofeastern, central
and southern Britain, the Scandinavians for a tim|e ruled the northern and eastern
partsofEngland which they had overrun, and later(11th c) gainedcontrol for
a time ofthe whole ofEngland. As with the earlier Germanic settlement, however,
it was once again a matter of Christian inhabitaikts and pagan invaders. Little is
knownoftheearlylinguisticinteractionbuttheScjndinavianJsettlementleftavaried
andlastingresidueofScandinavianwordsandforijissofeverygrammaticalcategory,
as well as influencing the forms and meanings ofliome English words. Largely due
j
no doubt to the dominanceofWest Saxon in the l|Othc, these wordsand forms do
not appear in texts in any number until after th( end ofthe Old English period.
(Nouns:bracken(1300),keel{Un\law(1000),leg 1300),sky(1289),window(1225);
adjectives:awkward{\A2S\flat{UT^Q),ill(1200);v rbs: call(1225),die(1175),drown
(1325),get(1200),hit(1075), lift(1200), raise(120C),scrape(1225), take(1100), want
(1200); prepositions:/r^? (1200), till(SOO); pronouns: they, them, their(1200), Dates
MED
givenareoftheearliestrecorded usesaccordingto or OED,)
The Scandinavian languages were not the only sources ofnew words. A number
ofLatin borrowings ofa largely non-Christian kind existed early in the Germanic
languages either brought from the Continent or taken over from Latin-speaking
Celtsin Britain. From thetimeofthearrivalofth( Christian missionarieswith new
conceptsandalanguagecarryingtheprestigeofth|enewreligion, wordsweretaken
intoEnglishfromLatinbut,sincetheGermanicprocessofcreatingnewwordsfrom
within thelanguagewasstill dominantatthattimd, newborrowings existed sideby
,
140 English
side with numerous new creations, largely loan-formations or loan-translations, in
the areaofthenewreligion. Probably from contactwhilestill on the Continentare:
street (OE street)^ mile (OE mil)^ mint^ from Lat. moneta 'coin' (OE mynet)^ silk (OE
sioluc);fromBritish-Latincontacts:strap(OEstropp),pail(OEpcesel),pot(OEpott)y
cat (OE catt(e)), cock (OE cocc)\ later borrowings and new creations: abbot (OE
abbodjy mass (OE mcesse), alms (OE celmesse); OE Promung = Lat. Passio 'Passion',
OE = OE =
(leornung-)cniht Lat. discipulus'disciple', mildheortnesse Lat. misericordia
OE =
'mercy'; Prynnes Lat. Trinitas 'Trinity'.
By the time of the Norman Conquest of 1066 the process had already begun
whereby English gradually lost almost all of the inflectional system which had
markeddistinctionsbetweenclassesofnouns,verbsandadjectivesaswellasgender,
case, tense and number. No doubt interaction between two distinct but similar
Germaniclanguageshadsomeeffectthroughthestressingofstemratherthaninflec-
tion, but the main cause is likely to have been the tendency ofEnglish stress to fall
on the firstsyllabletherebyleavinginflectionsweaklystressedornotstressedatall.
OldEnglish literature. TheOld English period traditionallyends withthe Conquest
though nothing like so sharp a break actually existed. At the time ofthe conquest,
EnglishpossessedaflourishingHterature-poetry: secular,heroic(e.g. Beowulf)and
elegiac (e.g. The Wife's Lament, The Ruin)^ and rehgious (e.g. Dream ofthe Rood,
Jfudith); prose: saints' lives (by, for example, iElfric), the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,
homilies (e.g. Blickling Homilies), scientific works (e.g. Byrhtferth's Enchiridion).
Though Latin remained the primary language oflearning and religion, English
throughtranslationandoriginalcompositionhadachievedapositionofconsiderable
prestige. Itwasalsothecommonadministrativelanguage, usedforlawcodesaswell
ascharters, grantsoflandand wills.
Middle English
French influences. The Norman Conquest marks a considerable change in the
linguistic contextofEnglish, its firsteffectbeing to move English from its position
ofadministrative prestige as second only to Latin. In origin the Norman invaders
wereScandinavianbuttheyhadadoptedthelanguageofthelandtheyhadconquered
and consequently introduced a further language, Norman French or
*Anglo-Norman, into England. There had been contact between Anglo-Saxon
England and France before the Conquest - such as to leave a small inheritance of
loan-words (e.g. castle, tower, bacon, proud) - but the major influence ofNorman
FrenchonEnglishcomesintheperiodofsocialdominanceinthelate 11thand 12th
centuries. Norman-French-speakersfairlyquicklytookoverthedominantpositions
in secularand religiousaffairsthuscreatingafterawhileaprestigelanguageofreh-
giousand sociallifeandadministration.
Thisnewlinguisticinvasiondiffered markedlyfromitspredecessors. Onceagain
mutually unintelligible languages had come together but this time with one as a
sociallydominantpartnerwhichhadtobelearntandunderstoodinsomeformbyat
least some ofthe members ofthe other language community. As a result, the two
English 141
languagesremainedfunctioningseparately,indifferentpartsofthecommunity,each
influencingtheother.
Norman French in England gradually developejd its own form ofthe language,
Anglo-Norman,anditsownliterature. Thelossof[Normandyin 1204didnotmean
thelossofEnglishpossessionsinFranceandthere]SJacontinuingFrenchinfluence,
fromAnglo-Normanwithinthecountryanditssph((Tecofinfluence,andfromCentral
French, especially thatofParis, abroad- no longe' influence through invasion but
through cultural desirability.
By the middle ofthe 14th c. Anglo-Norman wjas giving way to English as the
language ofadministration. Signs ofthis are the Statutes ofPleading, which made
English rather than French the language of the aw-courts, and the opening of
Parliament in English, both in 1362. French as a teacching medium in schools also
appears to have been giving way to English at this time, and the 14th c. sees the
burgeoning ofHterature in English: chronicles, r(|mances, lyrics, poetry ofevery
kind.AsaliterarymediumFrenchwasalmostenttiirijlysupersededinEnglandbythe
end ofthe 14th c, butbythattimeEnglish wasavastly differentlanguagefromthe
(
oneithadbeenatthetimeoftheConquest.ThemobtnotablelegacyofFrench(both
Anglo-Norman and Central French) was in the vo:abulary, and words were intro-
ducedineveryareaofhumanactivityandultimatelypenetratedeverylevelofsociety,
often producing French/English pairs which havI later become differentiated in
meaning, e.g. mutton/sheepy royal/kingly; or Angle Norman/Central French pairs
e.g. warden/guardian, cattle/chattel, catch/chase. Tjie spellingsystem also had been
much affected: <ch, qu, sh, z> wereall Frenchimnovations.
Dialectsandthestandard. The factthatEnglish was notsubjectto the standardizing
influencesandneedsofareaslikeadministrationduiingitheperiodbeforethe 14thc.
meant that dialectal differences, already present in the Old English period and
heightenedby the Scandinavian settlementin thenorthandeast, established them-
selves in written form. Five generally distinctive ireas are usually distinguished:
Northern,EastMidland,WestMidland, Southern mdKentish,andinaddition, by
theendoftheperiod, Scottish.Nooneofthesecarr edgreaterprestigethananother
and all produced aconsiderablenumberofliterary texts, butwith the development
ofLondon as a metropolitan centre a particular form ofEngHsh began to develop
which,thoughbasedonEastMidlandforms,wasalst)affectedbyspeakersfromother
areasofEngland.
By the 14th c. the earlier establishment ofthe Clancery at Westminster showed
signsofproducinganinclinationtowardsa'correct'formofthelanguageforadmin-
istrative use. The end ofthe 15th c. saw the mtrocluction ofprinting into England
and Caxton, the first printer, expressed concern varieties ofEnglish and the
need to find appropriately acceptable and lasting f(|)rms ofwords for the language.
This cluster ofinfluences contributed to the growt|ti ofastandard written English,
though it is unlikely that the feeling ofthis as a 'correct' form at first spread far
outsideLondon, orevenisolated groups within London.
142 English
Middle English literature. Despite the social prestige ofAnglo-Norman in the early
part of the period, English retained a place in literature - not only sermons and
religiousinstruction(inthecaseofaworklikeAncreneWisse (AGuideforAnchoresses)
ofhigh literary as well as didactic value) but also secular and religious history and
legendinworkslikeLajamon'sBrutandthe CursorMundi.Bytheendoftheperiod
English was again the dominant literary language represented in particular in the
work of Geoffrey Chaucer, William Langland and the anonymous author of the
poemsofthe Gamain/Pearlmanuscriptin thelater 14th c. The 15th c, though not
perhaps matching the earlier period in quality, established English in a new and
expandingrangeofliterarywork,sothatwiththeadventofprintingattheendofthe
centuryitwasEnglishasmuch asLatin worksthatwerepublished.
Modem
English
Despite the wide variety ofdevelopments affecting the Enghsh language in the
15thc,geographicallyitremainedalanguageconfinedalmosttotheboundariesthat
contained it at the end ofthe Anglo-Saxon period. The only extensions were ofa
small kind in Ireland, Wales and Cornwall. The 16th c. began the outward expan-
sion ofEnglish. Italsosaw furtherextensionsin therangeofthevernacular, largely
through translation, intoareasofscholarship once entirely Latin. TheReformation
established Enghsh asthelanguageofreligion and theRenaissance helped to create
anew self-consciousnessin EnglishliteraryandHnguisticendeavourin itsattempts
tomatch theachievementofLatin.
Earlyforeign contacts and the English overseas. At first, rather than exporting the
Englishlanguage, trade,andlatersimplytravel,broughtEnglish-speakersintocon-
tact with a variety of new languages, and with familiar ones in a new context,
resulting in varied and extensive borrowing. At the same time there was extended
contactwithotherlanguagesthroughprintedworksofeverykind. Borrowingsfrom
Spanish cameabouttoagreatextentasaresultoftradingin theNewWorld-new
situations and new names for new objects - and there was not just borrowing of
Spanish words butalso ofwords from the indigenous languages ofthe New World
throughthemediumofSpanish. Somerecordedearlyborrowingswere:sherris(later
sherry) 1540,primero (the card game) 1533, tornado 1556, alligator{allagarto = 'the
Hzard') 1568,armadillo 1577,mosquito(='littlefly') 1583;andfromnativelanguages:
canoe (Sp. from Haitian) 1555, maize (Sp. from Cuban) 1585, banana 1597.
Examples oflater borrowings are: vanilla 1662, avocado 1697, barbecue 1697 - the
latter two from native languages. The same is true to a more limited extent of
Portuguese in Africaand Asia. From Portuguese were, for txamph:flamingo 1565,
molasses 1582, madeira 1595, caste 1613, dodo 1628; j/^m {} African word) 1588,
assagai (Port, from Arabic from Berber) 1625, macaw 1668, mandarin (Port, from
Malay) 1589,pagoda (Port, from an Indian language) 1634. There was a continued
borrowing of words from French, and, on a smaller scale, from Dutch. From
French: trophy 1513, pioneer 1523, viceroy 1524, genteel 1599, rendezvous 1591,
machine 1549 (a Scottish use), hautboy \SIS^promenade n. 1567, v. 1588, moustache
English 143
1585; and httr.fanfare 1605 (a Scottish use), stockade 1614 (from Spanish), unique
1602,ballet 1667,burlesque(fromItalian)n. 1667, tableau(atfirst= 'picture,graphic
description') 1699, champagne (wine) 1664, compoti' 1693 (earlier borrowed as com-
post 1420). From Dutch: luck 1500, isinglass 1545, cambric 1530,5^//V^ \S1A-S,yacht
1557, 0?^^6>w 1523,w/>ro^r 1526;andlater: etch 1634, landscape 1603,r^«r 1602,^foi&^r
1660, keelhaul 1666, iwj97^ 1677. These borrowings clearly reflect opportunities for
contact, but often they also reflect the importance ofcertain languages in various
areas ofexpertise or fashion: music, the visual arts, warfare, seafaring, cookery.
Later in the 16th c. Italian words began to appear. A few had existed already in
MiddleEnglishbutthevastmajoritydatefromthe 7thc.andlater,partlyasaresult
ofItalian dominance in many areas, artistic and domestic, partly as a result ofthe
growing importance of the grand tour. Many have remained specific to Italian
circumstances, the country and its way oflife, but many began as specific butlater
becamegeneralized.Somehaveretainedtheiroriginilform,andtoanextentpronun-
ciation,manyhavebecomewhollyAnglicized:ofthe 16thc.are:nuncio,podesta,doge,
duomo, piazza, madonna, strappado, duello, macaroni, parmesan, artichoke, cupola,
madrigal, stanza;ofthe 17thc:capriccio, vermicelli, recitative, cameo, model, miniature,
intrigue,gazette, bulletin, opera, volcano.Datingofwordborrowingisalwaysdifficult
since the firstrecorded useisall thereis to go byand words borrowed orally rather
than in written form can exist for some time wiihout record. This was true of
ScandinavianinthelateOldEnglishperiodandNo: manFrenchintheearlyMiddle
English,anditistrueagainofborrowingsfromotherEuropeanlanguagesintheearly
modern period. Themain differenceliesin the volumeand varietyofEnglish liter-
atureand thenewinterestinlanguage.
ThoughLatinretaineditspositionastheprimarylearnedlanguage,everykindof
literaturewasnowproducedinEnglishfromprintec ephemeraHkebroadsideballads
to philosophic and scientific treatises. The growth oflearned writing in English,
often translation from Classical originals, meant tlat everyday (and exotic) words
were entering EngUsh not only from the Hving lani^uages ofEurope and the wider
world but also from the Classical languages. This 'foreign contact' was entirely a
paperone. Often with theintention ofimprovingthe language, its 'beauty' (as they
sawit)oritsrange,largenumbersoflearnedwordswereborrowedfromLatin.This
waslargelyaliterarymatter,butsoextremedidtheborrowingofLatinwordsbecome
thatabodyofopinionarosecondemningtheoveruse ofthese'inkhornterms',asthey
wereabusivelycalled, wordsborn oftheinkpotnotthehuman mind.
Manyoftheborrowingssurviveandnolongersetmoutlandish,eg. conscious, reci-
procal, defunct, spurious, inflate (v.), strenuous^ mmy hardly survived their first
appearance (except in dictionaries of'hard words'), e.g. obstupefact,furibund, obla-
trant, magnificate. All thewords quoted here, BenJonson holds up to ridiculein his
play ThePoetaster(1602). Thelaterborrowingsfrom the Classicallanguages, Latin
and Greek, or in some cases words created on Classical models, were largely scien-
tific. LatinhadfromitsfirstappearanceinEngland 3eenasourceoftechnicalwords
ofallkindsbecauseitwasthelanguageofalllearning;. Itwastheexpansionofscience
(initsmodernmeaning)andthetaking-overoftheaeabyEnglishthatproducedthe
144 English
new influx ofborrowings orcreations, e.g. from Latin in the 17th c: specimen, spec-
trum, formula, stamen, nebula, antenna, momentum. Another area in which the
influenceofLatinwasfeltwasinthe(sometimesquiteerroneous)remodellingofthe
spellingofwordsonthelinesoftheirsupposedoriginals,e.g. doutefromFrench,re-
speltdoubtbecauseofLatindubitum.
Early language study. The condemnation of 'inkhorn terms' is a sign ofanother
characteristic of 16th-c. England, an interest for the first time in the language for
itself, or for the sake ofimproving and regulating it. One ofthe first weaknesses of
the language to catch attention was orthography, where the mismatch between
spelling and pronunciation was apparent. Those who considered that spelling
should reflect pronunciation were drawn into the first systematic investigations of
thepronunciationofEngHshaswellasintoanexaminationofEnglishspellingprac-
tices. John Harte's Orthographie (printed 1569) was one of the eariiest and most
remarkable ofthese, providing a new orthography as well as an analysis ofEnglish
spelHngand pronunciation. In the course ofthe 17th c, phonetics became an inde-
pendent study, partly at least because of the concern with teaching English to
foreigners. Christopher Cooperlate in the century, gives a remarkably full account
ofEnglish pronunciation {English Teacher, 1687). The early attempts at radical
spelling reform, however, having failed to gain general acceptance, gave way to
regularization of traditional spellings, something which printers had been doing
sincethelate 16th c. Bythebeginningofthe 18thc, spellingwasbyandlargefixed
in its present form.
Early attention was also given to lexicography. Latin-English glossaries ofa
limitedkindhadexistedsincetheOldEngHshperiod. Somewhatfullervocabularies
were produced in the 15th c. {Promptorium Parvulorum c. 1440 and Catholicon
Anglicum 1487) and in asimilar form continued into the 16th c. It was not until the
later 16thc. thattherewasacallforanEnglishdictionary(Bullokar 1580,Mulcaster
1582). In the same century a number of bilingual dictionaries appeared:
French-English (Palsgrave 1530), Italian-English (Thomas 1567, Florio 1598),
Spanish-English (Percyvail 1591). Springing partly from the influx ofnew words
andpartlyfromthenewself-awarenessinlanguagematters, thefirstEnglishdictio-
nary appeared in 1604, Robert Cawdrey's A Table Alphabeticall, conteyning and
teaching the true writing, andunderstanding ofhard vsuallEnglish mordes. As its title
suggests, itis little more than an alphabetically ordered glossary. Itwasfollowedin
1616 byJohn Bullokar's English Expositor. A series ofdictionaries appeared during
the 17th c. and early 18th c. The numberofwords is continuously expanded, often
by the inclusion ofwhatwould now be considered encyclopedic or gazetteer infor-
mation, and matters such as etymology, and register were touched on sporadically
andinadequately.ElishaColes's^wEnglishDictionary(1676)includeslargenumbers
ofregionalandarchaicwords. Itwasnotuntil theearly 18thc. thatsomethingHkea
comprehensive dictionary as opposed to a dictionary mainly concerned with
explainingunusual wordswas produced.
A systematic treatment was also given to grammar, starting with William
'
English 145
Bullokar'sBrefGrammar(1586). Grammaris treated alongwith pronunciation ina
numberofworksoftheearly17thc.culminatinginJchnWallis'sGrammaticaLingua
Anglicance(1653), whichattemptsto takethedescriptionofEnglish grammaroutof
the Latin mould. Wallis demonstrates the influencelofantiquarianism byincluding
ahistory ofthelanguage.
Interest in languagealso extended to areaslike sLingand thieves' cantand in the
17thc. todialectvocabularyandidiom.Thisverybroadinterest,however,wasover-
shadowedbythegrowingdesireamongstscholarsto establishandretaina'true'form
ofthelanguage.
LiteraturefromReformationtoRestoration,The 16th . andearly 17thc. wasaperiod
ofunprecedented literary activity, beginning with tie new translations ofthe Bible
early in the 16th c. (Coverdale, Tyndale), expandiijg into areas ofreligious debate
andextensivetranslationsoftheClassics(Plutarch,Iliny.Euclid)andcontemporary
,
European languages(Ariosto, Montaigne), andachitvinganexceptionalrichnessin
original writing in prose, poetry and drama (Baoon Nashe; Spenser, Sidney;
Marlowe, Shakespeare, Jonson, Webster). One of the most important linguistic
results oftheactivitiesoftheplaywrightswasthat, becauseoftheremarkablerange
oflanguageregistersrepresented,forthefirsttimetiefullvarietyofEnglishspeech
was reflected in literature. As the 17th c. progressed drama took a second place to
poetry (Milton, Dryden), and even to a still-deve oping prose writing (Bunyan,
Hobbes, Milton, Dryden), though it revived to some extent after the reopening of
the theatresattheRestoration.
Laterdevelopments in languagestudy. The 17th c. had seen the growth ofinterestin
anacademyasameansofrefiningthelanguageand^xingitinatrueandpermanent
form. The existence ofthe Italian (1582) and Frenih (1635) academies provided a
stimulus and Dryden and later Swift, among otiers advocated some form of
academy. The Royal Society (1662) might have serv^ed the purpose but in the end
turned itsbackon languagestudy, which thusremaned uninstitutionalized.
Thedesireforimprovingthelanguageandpreventingchangewenthand-in-hand
with a desire for standardization and regularization Though some advocated the
importance ofcurrent usage as a guide, the apparently uncontrolled variety ofthis
was uninviting to most writers of the time. Instepd appeals were made to logic,
etymologyand analogy (the 'genius ofthe language') to provideauthoritative guid-
anceas to whatshouldbeconsidered 'correct'. Itsh3uld besaid thatthenotion ofa
'correct' form ofthe language was a desirable one br those who had to teach and
those who wanted tolearn thelanguage.
Oneofthemostremarkableachievementsinthesystematicstudyofthelanguage
at the time was Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary ofthe English Language (1755).
Johnson's Dictionary demonstrates the settling o lexicographical practice very
largely into what is that oflater historical dictionaries Johnson improves on his
predecessors in his definitions, which are on the whole fuller and more analytic, in
hiscoverage,wherehereducestheencyclopediccontentandexpandsthenumberof
146 English
ordinarywords,andbyhisinclusionofquotationstoillustratetheuseofwords. His
workdominatedthedictionary-makingofthe 18thc. andasabasisforotherdictio-
naries lasted well into the 19th c. Thomas Sheridan (1780) andJohn Walker (1791)
used Johnson's as the basis for their definitions but expanded and improved the
information on pronunciation in their Pronouncing Dictionaries. Dictionaries
continued to appear throughout the 19th c. butuntil theadventoftheNewEnglish
Dictionary there were no major developments in England. In America the work of
Noah Webster not only resulted in an important dictionary (1828) but also estab-
lished the differentsystem ofspellingforAmerican English.
Concernwithestablishingastandardingrammaticalusageledtotheprescriptive
grammars ofRobert Lowth (1762) and most influentially Lindley Murray (1794).
These undoubtedly had a standardizing effect on many elements ofthe written
language, whichin somecaseslasted until the20thc.
The historical study ofthe language had begun in the 16th c. through the inves-
tigationofOldandMiddleEnglishtextsforevidenceoftheantiquityoftheEnglish
church as an independent institution. A dictionary of Old English had been
published in 1659 and in 1689 the great grammar of George Hickes appeared.
Despitetheseearlybeginningsthestudydidnotmoveforwarduntilthelate 18thc,
with Sir WilliamJones'sworkon Sanskrit, and the 19th c. through theactivitiesof
continentalscholars,forexampleRasmusRaskinDenmarkandthebrothersGrimm
in Germany. The extensive re-examination ofmanuscripts and the publication of
textstowhichthisgaverisejoinedwith themovementforcreatinganewdictionary
on historical principles proposed by the Philological Society in 1858. The Early
EnglishTextSocietywasfoundedin 1864atleastpartlytoprovidetextsforthenew
dictionary.
English overseas. Most important for later developments in the spread ofEnglish
world-wide wasthe settingup ofEnglish colonieson theeasternseaboardofNorth
AmericafromVirginiainthesouthtoNewEnglandinthenorthintheearly 17thc.
In 1783, with the conclusion ofthe War ofAmerican Independence, the United
StatesofAmericabecameaseparate state which developed its own pronunciations,
spellings and traditions ofEnglish. At present nearly two-thirds of the world's
English-speakers are American. Also in the 16th c. arather shifting series ofisland
and mainland colonies was developing in the Caribbean, soon to be populated
predominantly by black African slaves. These ex-coloniesalso developed theirown
EngHshes which in turn were brought back to Britain with the immigration ofthe
1950s and later. Developments on the other side ofthe world were a feature ofthe
late 18th c. (1788 BotanyBay, thefirstpenal settlementin Australia; gradual settle-
mentinNewZealandfromthe 1790s). SouthAfricaislargelya19th-c. development
andWestAfrican coloniesalsomainly developedin the 19th c, thoughcontacthad
existed from early in the 16th c. The British presence in East Africa is late 19th-c.
and 20th-c. RegularcontactwiththeIndiansub-continentdatesfrom 1612(trading
stationatSurat)and grewin importance duringthe 18thc.
EngHshremainedthefirstlanguageintheUSA,Australia,NewZealandandparts