Text 3:

W. Caxton's (1415/22-1492) version of Higden’s Polycronicon (1482)

As it is knowen how many maner peple ben in this

llond ther ben also many langages and tongues.

Netheles walschmen and scottes that ben not medled

with other nacions kepe neygh yet theyr first langage

and speche

Also englysshmen though they had fro the

beygynnyng thre maner speches Southern northern

and myddle speche in the middel of the londe, as they

come of thre maner of people of Germania. Netheles

by commyxtion and medlyng first with danes and

afterward with normans In many thynges the

countreye langage is appayred/ ffor somme vse

straunge wlaffyng (stammering) /chytering (chattering)

harryng (snarling) garryng(growling) and grisbytyng

(gnashing)

This appayryng (impairing) of the langage cometh to

two thynges/ One is by cause that children that gon to

scole lerne to speke first englysshe / & than ben

compellid to constrewe her lessons in Frenssh and

that have ben vsed syn the normans came in to

Englond

Also gentilmens childeren ben lerned and taught from

theyr yongthe to speke frenssh. And vplondyssh

(rustic) men will counterfete and likene hem self to

gentilmen and arn besy to speke frensshe for to be

more sette by (be thought more of).

This maner was moche vsed to fore the grete deth.

Buth syth it is somdele chaunged For sir Johan

cornuayl a mayster of gramer chaunged the techyng in

gramer scole and construction of Frenssh in to

englysshe. and more Scoolmaysters vse the same

way now in the yere of oure lord / M.iij/C.lx.v the /ix

(1385) yere of kyng Rychard the secund and leve all

frenssh in scoles and vse all construction in englissh.

Also gentilmen have moche lefte to teche theyr

children to speke frenssh Hit semeth a grete wonder

that Englyssmen have so grete dyversyte in theyr

owne langage in sowne and in spekyng of it / whiche

is all in one ylond. And the langage of Normandye is

comen oute of another lond / and hath one maner

soune among al men that speketh it in englond…

 

Summary of the text commented in class 7/4/09:

W. Caxton begins with an introduction of how the English language has been influenciated by external sources throughout time (Danes and Normans) This external diversity was getting worse, according to W. Caxton, because the new generation learnt French grammar at schools instead of English. Fortunately by the year 1385, there was an increasing nationalization of English by the upper classes and grammar teachers. This new tendency put an effort to maintain English as it was and avoid more influence of French which was then consider as a language of France not of England. 

 

Academic year 2008/2009
© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
Barry Pennock Speck
© Carolina Cody Aldaz
cacodyal@alumni.uv.es
Universitat de València Press