1. What does "elocution" mean? What are elocution lessons? Do they exist in Spanish?

(page 54)

( Oratorical or literary expression of thought; literary ‘style’ as distinguished from ‘matter’; the power or art of appropriate and effective expression -OED).

 

Elocution means diction, pronunciation.

Elocution lessons are the kind of lessons that help people to reach a certain way of pronunciation, usually for those wanting to have the prestige or standard pronunciation. They are not necessary in Spanish as we don't have different sounds for the same letter.

 

2. What do "polyglossia" and "monoglossia" mean? (page 55)

polyglossia is a situation of coexistence of different languages in the same area  as in the case of Britain at the 18th century in which Latin was the dominating one and monoglossia when there is just one and in this case this one was English language in triumph as a pure language.

 

3. What kind of English does Puttenham recommend? (page 55)

He recommends taking the form which is “natural, pure and most usual of the country”.The English from London and the shires nearby as the English of the Court.

 

4. What does "copious" mean? Look up pronunciation. (page 56, paragraph 2)

it means abundant like English language which is a language without order and rules.

 

5. What does "trope" mean? (page 57, para. 2)

it is a metaphorical figure use to make a comparison between the opposite tendencies about language in the 18th century and the reality of a war. In that way the term 'trope' is used with the meaning of metaphor.

 

6. Why does Crowley call the standardization process a war? (page 57)

The 18th century –Britain was a continuous sequence of battles about language as much as the continuous battles for the economic and imperial development. There wasn’t harmony in any way in Britain. Language was related to political, social and economic problems. This war between polyglot and monoglot Britain was easily compared with social and political wars. This was the time for intrusions and exclusions and language, wasn’t an exception. Language as much as social, political and economical sphere was in constant war.

 

7. What does "encomium" mean (page 58, para. 2)

Encomium is an enthusiastic praise, a panegyric as we see in the text, gently describing the imperial power, victorious abroad and settled at home, as the author describes when talking about The British Empire. The ode is not just a description it’s a nationalistic ode.

 

8. Who wrote the "Proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English

Tongue"(1712) (page 59)

Swift

 

9. Do Johnson and Swift agree that the English language has degenerated? (page 60)

yes, they agree but Swift is more specific, he talks about English language itself. His idea of reform aims the creation of a proper vehicle of communication and by fixing it, avoids any danger of mutability of the history. As he says, preventing diachronic change it’s possible to ensure the history which remains fixed for ever. For Johnson who is less specific, the fixation of the language will not guarantee any successful communication of the success of the past in the future.

 

10. Swift proposed an academy. Who else? (page 61)

Defoe, Addison, Dryden and Wilson.

 

11. Why were the Whigs (See Whigs and Tories in Wikipaedia) against an academy?

(page 61, bottom of page)

The Whigs are often described as one of the two original political parties (the other being the Tories) in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to the mid-19th centuries. Although the Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule, either party might be termed "conservative" by modern standards[. Both parties began as loose groupings or tendencies, but became quite formal by 1784, with the ascension of Charles James Fox as the leader of a reconstituted "Whig" party ranged against the governing party of the new "Tories" under William Pitt the Younger.

The Whig party slowly evolved during the 18th century. The Whig tendency supported the Protestant Hanoverian succession and toleration for nonconformist Protestants (the "dissenters," such as Presbyterians), while the Tories supported the exiled Stuart royal family's claims for the throne (Jacobitism), the established Church of England and the gentry. Later on, the Whigs drew support from the emerging industrial interests and wealthy merchants, while the Tories drew support from the landed interests and the British Crown. The Whigs were originally also known as the "Country Party" (as opposed to the Tories, the "Court Party"). By the first half of the 19th century, however, the Whig political programme came to encompass not only the supremacy of parliament over the monarch and support for free trade, but Catholic emancipation, the abolition of slavery and, significantly, expansion of the franchise (suffrage). Eventually the Whigs would evolve into the Liberal Party (while the Tories became the Conservative Party).

Tories-The term, derived from Tóraidhe, was originally used to refer to an Irish outlaw and later often applied to any Confederate or Royalist in arms.[1] English and British Tories from the time of the Glorious Revolution up until the Reform Bill of 1832 were characterised by strong monarchist tendencies, support of the Church of England, and hostility to reform, while the Tory Party was an actual organization which held power intermittently throughout the same period.(wikipedia)

It was a class political problem. The Whigs were conservative and were against changes (as usual with conservative mentalities: the past is always better) and the academy supposed a radical change. They also identified the Academy with France therefore they saw a political threat. Their opponents, the Tories with Swift as an example, saw a clear necessity for a reform in language. They were two confronting parties having, not only a political problem also a class war.

 

12. What does Sheridan mean by "the genius of our people"? (page 62, para. 4)

He is comparing France and Britain and he says that the idea of an academy “would not work” in Britain because the English felt proud of themselves and won’t submit to any laws, they didn’t feel as slaves. This feeling of superiority and proudness is what he calls the “genius of our people”.

 

13. What reason does Swift give for the "decay of Latin" (page 63, bottom)

Swift reads the history trough language therefore he explains the decay of Latin language by looking the moral and political fortunes of people of that time.

Orators and great eloquence, he explains is not need it when the monarchy or the power of God (the tyranny) is in charge on every simple decision.

 

14. What does "suffer" in line 2 of page 66 mean?

Swift talked about “the dangers and problems caused by linguistic mutability” one of the factors in the campaign for language standardization. But as he says, not only affected writers, not only them 'suffer' a cause of that, also History could be affected.

 

15. Who was the first person, involved in German cultural nationalism, to make the link between language and nation? (page 67 para. 2)

Herder

 

16. What was Sheridan's solution to the problem of divergence in pronunciation? (page 69, bottom)

To instruct the priests in standard so people will follow their example and the language will spread because of them. The clergy are the perfect people to spread uniform pronunciation.

 

17. How did several authors describe other European languages? Do you agree with this kind of classification? (page 71)

The Italian is pleasant, but without any bases. The French is delicate, but without countenance. It was flimsy compared to English.

The Spanish is majestical, but very guttural (of speech sounds produced at the back of the throat and therefore deep) and not very pleasant and quite grave. The Dutch is considered manlike, very harsh (unpleasant, unkind)

 

I don’t agree at all, I presume that this is just a question of taste. Many people don't like Catalan or German and I like them. Moreover our mother tongue is usually the one what we usually prefer finding it more attractive or beautiful.

 

18. In which novel did Daniel Defoe capture the "colonial fantasy"? (page 72, top)

Robinson Crusoe written in 1719 by Defoe.

 

19. Locke thought that learning Latin was not necessary for which group of people?

(page 77 -also 75)

The bourgeois sphere of trading and business men.

 

20. How did learning to speak English using Standard English empower people? (page78)

Because languages were at that time a deep form of class division and the correct mode of expression (standard) gave people respect. Classical languages until there where a sign of well education and class and now with the upgrading of the bourgeois, the vernacular English became the standard and an assertion of education and a vehicle of social and political class.

 

21. What kind of English is deemed to be "proper" English? (page 80, bottom-page 81,top)

the one of the middle-classes and the upper-classes.

 

22. How was the inculcation of linguistic patterns carried out with middle-class children (page 84, bottom, page 85, top)

a process of discipline, punishment and education. Rewards and punishment were hand on hand in the process of giving the skills required for their social position.

 

23. What was the purpose of training women linguistically in the 18th century according to Crowley? (page 90, middle)

The purpose was to fix their role of good mothers and good wives in order to perform properly both of them in the public sphere.

 

24. Why did Locke warn against children talking to servants? (page 93, top)

to not be influenced by bad linguistic habits.

 

25. What was the difference between the mistakes made by the working classes and those made by the gentry according to Sheridan? (page 96, bottom)

the upper classes made only occasional mistakes while the working classes were constantly making them by their bad use of the language.