IFERFUE 

http://iferfue.blogs.uv.es/author/iferfue/ 

THE BIRTH OF STANDARD ENGLISH AND THE DEMISE OF COCKNEY 

To King James’ version, which is much more precise and pithy. 

QUESTIONS ON CRAWLEY 

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

Elocution is the study of formal speaking in pronunciation, grammar, style, and tone. Lessons to improve pronunciation, grammar, style and tone.

(page 54)

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

Polyglossia means the coexistence of multiple languages in the same area.

Monoglossia means the absence of this división.

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

The usual speech of the court, and that of London and the shires lying about London within 1 mile.

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

Abundant and archaic without order at all. Caotic.

/’kəupɪəs/.

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

The use of a word in a different sense than that which is proper to it.

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

Because it was a process of fights until it became regularised.  It was a common trope in the 18^th century.

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

A formal or high expression of praise.

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 in the fact  that language is linked with the civil and religious constitution, and it degenerates like any kind of government.

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

Dryden, Defoe, Addison and Wilson.

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

(page 61, bottom of page)

Because they related the academy to France, and thus with the Stuart claimants to the monarchy and because it had been instituted by the Cardinal Richelieu, an aristocratic Catholic.

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

He refers to the fact that French people would submit to an absolutist government but “our people” would not submit to any laws they do not give their own consent.

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

The change of government into tyranny, no more encouragement for popular orators, freedom of the city and capacity for employments to several towns which brought foreign pretenders into Rome. Summing up heteroglossia brings about the imperial downfall.

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

I think he refers to the fact that writers like Shakespeare have changed language a lot by the invention of new words and expressions.

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)

He proposed that the clergy should be taught pronunciation in order that they could then act as the medium by which it could be propagated. Church, state and the principles of elocution are yoked together in order to bring about a new linguistic and historical order.

17. How did several authors describe other European languages? Do you agree with this

kind of classification? (page 71)

Lemon classifies French as “flimsy”, Italian as “neat”, Spanish “grave”, Saxon, High Dutch “Belgic” and Teutonic tongues as “hoarse and rough”.

I agree with most of them except with qualifying French as “flimsy”, as I find it as strong as any other language like English or Spanish, although it listens very soft.

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

In “Robinson Crusoe”.

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

(page 77 -also 75)

It was not necessary for the burgeoise.

20. How did learning to speak English using standard English empower people? (page

78)

The languages are directly related to political and social factors. Standard English became the prestigious accent in society. It distinguished different social classes. For example the bourgeois started to take interest in the vernacular in order to be admitted within the social and political life.

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

top)

There are different opinions about it, but it seems that the English used in London, Universities and Court, was the “proper” one.

22. How was the inculcation of linguistic patterns carried out with middle-class children

(page 84, bottom, page 85, top)

By means of discipline, punishment and education. For example dividing the class in groups of children according to the length of words they could spell, rewarding them if they do properly changing into a better group.

23. What was the purpose of training women linguistically in the 18th century according

to Crowley? (page 90, middle)

There were two purposes: to fulfil the role of the mother, passing on pure language to the child and to act as companion to the male in public spheres.

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

He was against the communication between children and servants, because he thought that children would learn an inadequate language as well as tricks and vices.

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)

He argues that the gentry mistakes are not structural.

TRANSCRIPTION: 

/ diərɪst ‘kri:tjər ɪn kri:’eɪ∫ən

‘stʌdɪŋ ‘ɪŋglɪ∫ prənʌnsɪ’eɪ∫n,

ʌɪ wɪl ‘ti:t∫ ju: ɪn maɪ ‘vɜ:s

‘saundz laɪk ‘kɔ:ps, ‘kə, ‘hɔ:s ənd

‘wɜ:s//

aɪ wɪl ‘ki:p ju:, ‘su:zɪ, ‘bɪzɪ

‘meɪk juə ‘hɛd wɪð ‘i:t ‘grəu ‘dɪzɪ

‘tɛər ɪn aɪ juə ‘drɛs ju:l ‘tɛə

‘kwɪə, fɛə ‘sɪə, ‘hɪə maɪ ‘prɜ://

‘preɪ, kən’səul juə ‘lʌvɪŋ ‘pəuɪt,

‘meɪk maɪ ‘kəut ‘luk ‘nju:, dɪə ‘səu ɪt! //

dʒʌst kəm’pɛə ‘ha:t, ‘bɪəd  ənd ‘hɜ:d,

‘dai:z ənd ‘daɪət, ‘lɔ:d ənd ‘wɜ:d,

‘sɔ:d ənd ‘swɔ:d, rɪ’teɪn ənd ‘brɪtn

mʌɪnd ðə ‘lætə hau ɪt ɪz ‘rɪtn/

‘meɪd həz nɒt ðə ‘saund əv ‘beɪd,

‘seɪ, ‘sɛd, ‘peɪ, ‘leɪd bʌt nɒt ‘plad/

nau ʌɪ ‘∫uəlɪ wɪl nɒt ‘pleɪg ju:

wɪð sʌt∫ ‘wɜ:dz əz ‘veɪg ənd ’e ɪgju:,

bʌt ‘bi: ‘kɛəful hau ju: spi:k,

seɪ ‘gʌ∫, ‘bu∫, ‘steɪk, ‘stri:k, ‘breɪk,

‘bli:k,

‘pri:vɪəs, ‘prɛ∫əs, ‘fu:∫ə, ‘vi:ə,

‘rɛsɪpi:, ‘pʌɪp, ‘stʌdɪŋ seɪl, ‘kwaɪə,

‘wəuvn, ‘ʌun, ‘hau ənd ‘ləu,

‘skrɪpt, rɪ’si:ts, ‘∫u:, pəuɪm, ‘təu//

‘hɪə mɪ ‘seɪ, dɪ’vɔɪd əv ‘trɪkərɪ,

‘dɔ:tə, ‘la:ftə, ənd tɜ:p’sɪkəri:

‘taɪfɔɪd, ‘mi:zl, ‘tɒpseɪl, ‘aɪls

‘ɛksaɪls, ‘sɪmɪls, rɪ’vaɪls,

‘həulɪ, ‘hɒlɪ, ‘sɪgnəl, ‘saɪnɪŋ

‘seɪm, ɛg’zæmɪnɪŋ bʌt ‘mʌɪnɪŋ

‘skɒlə, ‘vɪkə, bʌt sɪ’ga:,

‘səulə, ‘mʌɪkə, ‘wɔ:, ənd ‘fa:,

frəm dɪ’zaɪə dɪ’zaɪərəbl,

æd’mɪrəbl frəm æd’maɪə,

‘lʌmbə, ‘plʌmə, ‘bɪə, bʌt ‘braɪə,

‘tɒpshəm, ‘bru:m, rɪ’naun, bʌt

‘nəun//

 PROLOGUE TO THE VIRGIL´S BOKE OF ENEYDOS:

After dyuerse werkes made translated and achieued, hauing noo werke in hande, I, sittying in my studye where as laye many dyuerse pauntflettis and bookys, happened that to my hande came a lytyl booke in frenshe, whiche booke is named Eneydos made in latyn by that noble poete and grete clerke Vyrgyle.

And whan I had aduysed me in this sayd boke, I delybered and concluded to translate it in-to englysshe, And forthwyth toke a penne and ynke, and wrote a leefe or twyne whyche I ouersawe agayn to corecte it. And whan I sawe the fayr and straunge termes therin, I doubted that it sholde not please some gentylmen whiche late blamed me, syeing that in my translacyons I had ouer curyous termes whiche coude not be vnderstande of comyn people and desired me to vse olde and homely termes in my translacyons. And fayn wolde I satysfye euery man; and so to doo, toke an olde boke and redde therin and certaynly the englysshe was so rude and brood that I coude not wele understand it … And certaynly our langage now vsed varyeth ferre from whiche was vsed and spoken when I was borne … And that comyn englysshe that is spoken in one shyre varyeth from another. In so moche that in my dayes happened that certayn marchauntes were in a shippe in Tamyse, for to haue sayled ouer the see into Selande, and for lacke of wynde thei taryed atte Forlond, and wente to lande for to refreshe them; And one of theym named Sheffelde, a mercer, cam in-to an hows and axed for mete; and specyally he axyed after eggys; and the goode wyf answerde, that she coude speke no frenshe, And the marchaunt was angry, for he also coude speke no frenshe, but wolde haue hadde ‘egges’ and she vunderstode hym not. And theene at laste another sayd that he wolde haue ‘eyren’ then the good wyf sayd that she vnderstod hym wel. Loo, what sholde a man in thyse dayes now wryte, ‘egges’ or ‘eyren’?

Cetainly it is harde to palyse euery man by cause of dyuersite and chaunge of langage. And som honest and great clerkes haue ben wyth me, and desired me to wryte the moste curyous termes that I coude fynde. And thus between playn, rude and curyous, I stande abasshed, but in my judgemente the comyn termes that be dayli vsed, ben lyghter to be vnderstonde than the old and auncyent englysshe. And for as moche as this present Booke is not for a rude vplondyssh man to laboure therein ne rede it, but onely for a clerke and a noble gentylman that feleth and vnderstondeth in faytes of armes, in loue, and in noble chyualrye, therefor in a meane bytwene bothe I haue reduced and translated this sayd booke in to our englysshe, not ouer rude ne curyous, but in suche termes as shall be vnderstanden, by goddys grace, accordynge to my copye.

— William Caxton, 1490

Milroy answers

Indoeuropean Transcription

Milroy answers 2: 

James Milroy: Some new perspectives on sound change: sociolinguistics and the Neogrammarians. 

Why does Milroy say that sound change appears to have no “obvious function or

rational motivation”?

Because any sound change has no progress or benefit to the language or its speakers, it is purely arbitrary.

What is/are the main difference/s between Milroy’s approach and that of the

Neogrammarians?

The first difference is that Neogrammarians made an approach separating languages from their speakers. They focused on language as an object, while sociolinguistic approaches deal with speakers. Two other fundamental differences are the aspect related with data-base available for study and the method used to study these data-base.

According to Milroy, what is language change dependent on?

After the language change is produced in a community the most important thing is how it is maintained in the system after it has been accepted. Therefore it depends on social acceptance.

Why does Milroy say that sound change actually doesn’t exist?

Because he asserts that sounds do not physically change, what happens is that in the course of time one sound is substituted for another.

Why does Milroy disagree with the Neogrammarians when they say that sound

change is “blind”?

Because languages doesn´t change, it is speakers who change languages. Sound change is a social phenomenon.

What is meant by “lexical diffusion”?

It is also a type of sound change like regular sound change. The main differences are that while the new form as result of gradual phonetic change differs only slightly from the older one in lexical diffusion it differs markedly. Lexical diffusion refers to sound changes, which spread gradually through the lexicon and this is contrary to the assumption that all items in the affected set change at the same time.

What does dialect displacement mean? Give an example.

It is another pattern of language change. The displacement of one dialect by another which is, for some reason, socially dominant at some particular time.

For example, there is evidence from recordings of persons born around 1860 which indicate that much New Zealand English in the 19^th century was southern British in type, and that it was displaced by an Australian type.

What are “community” or “vernacular” norms? What term that we have used in class

is similar?

Community or vernacular norms are those observed by speakers and maintained by communities often in opposition to standardizing norms. Those norms characterise dialects as a whole.

What does Milroy mean when he says that h-dropping may not ever reach

“completion”?

Because as language stability depends on speaker-agreement on the norms of language, and linguistic change is brought about by changes in agreement on norms. In this solidary change it should be noted that the starting point and the end point of change are not necessarily uniform states. A change can persist as a variable state for seven or eight centuries without ever going to completion in the traditional sense.

Explain what Milroy means by “speaker innovation” and change in the system. How

are they connected?

By speakers innovation he means that any innovation in language is an act of the speaker whereas a change is manifested within the language system. Sometimes an innovation is observed but it is not known that it will lead to a change, but changes have to do with synchronic variability. We can think of sound change as moving gradually through a population of speakers, assuming a regular sociolinguistic pattern. Innovations occur and they can be interpreted as manifesting the socially gradual diffusion of changes.

Why isn’t borrowing from one language to another and the replacement of one

sound by another through speaker innovation with a language as radically different

as the Neogrammarians posited?

Because sound changes in progress are often traceable to borrowings from neighbouring dialects. Each single event of borrowing into a new speech community is as just an innovation as the presumed original event in the original speech community.

What is necessary for a sound to spread?

The implementation of a sound change depends on the borrowing of an innovation: all sound change is implemented by being passed from speaker to speaker, and it is not a linguistic change until it has been adopted by more than one speaker. A change is not a change until it has assumed a social pattern of some kind in a speech community.

Why does believing in the ideology of standardization lead to believing in “blind

necessity”?

Because standard languages are created by the imposition of political and military power, hence the sound patterns in them and the changes that come about do not come about through blind necessity, and they are not wholly explainable by reference to phenomena internal to the structure of language. The idea that the sound changes differentiating these well-defined socially-based human intervention is absurd, it is another consequence of believing in the ideology of standardization.

What does Milroy mean by “clean” and “dirty” data?

He refers with clean data to those provided by standard languages, those already normalized; and the vernaculars that we encounter in the speech community, which are relatively intractable are dirty data.