Early Modern English from 16th century towards a Standard

 

  • Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547) – establishment of Church of England, incorporation of Wales
  • Great Bible – Emphasis on English
  • Elizabeth I (r.1558-1603)
  • Defeat of the armada 1588. National pride including the English language.

 

 

  • RENAISSANCE: classical influence, loanwords.
  • English style affected, attempts to improve English
  • Beginning of colonial expansion – Bermuds, Jamaica, Bahamas, Honduras, Canada, American colony Plymouth, India, Gold Coast (in Africa), Australia, New Zealand
  • Words from non-Indo-European came into language through occupation

·        For example: koala, boomerang                                

  • Spread of English around the world

 

 

  • JAMES I (VI of Scotland) (r.1603-1625) – patron of King James Bible ( 1661 )
  • Translating Committees in: Oxford, Cambridge & Westminster
  • Called the Authorized Version but never specifically approved to replace other Bibles
  • The book of Common Prayer (1559)
  • “A Proclamation for the Authorizing & Uniformity of the Book of Common Prayer so  to be used throughout the Realm”

 

 

  • 17th scholarly writing still mostly in Latin, Newton, Bacon
  • Some in favour of borrowing from Latin to enrich English
  • Many new loanwords: Greek & Latin technical vocabulary. Further borrowing from   French (comrade) also Spanish (armada, bravado), Italian (cupola, pizza)
  • Sir Thomas Elyot, definition of Neologisms.
  • Shakespeare’s character Holofernes in Loves Labor Lost is a satire of schoolmaster who is too keen on Latin terms.
  • Critics of Classical borrowings called them inkhorn terms, Thomas Wilson, Roger Ascham, Sir John Cheke ( translated New Testament using only English words)
  • Reviving of older English words; Edmund Spenser (1552-1559)
  • Compounding of English words: Arthur Golding (1578); attempts to produce English technical vocabulary: endsay (conclusion), saywhat (definition), dry mock ( irony )

 

 

Spelling reform:

-    John Cheke (1569) proposed removing silent letters

-    Sir Thomas Smith (1568) elimination of “c” & “q”, reintroduction of þ, use of Ө, vowel length marked with diacritics

-     John Hart (1569/1570) – elimination of “y”, “w”, “c”, capitals  letters ( in order to make English phonetic)

-     William Balloker (1580) - diacritics and new symbols

-     Public spelling standardized by mid 1700’s, influenced by printers, scribes of Chancery (16th century)

 

English Academy movement (17th-18th centuries)

§         to regulate excesses of the Renaissance

§         based on Académie Française ( created in 1635)

§         Proponents: scientist & philosopher Robert Hooke (1660), Daniel Defoe (1697), Joseph Addison (1711), Jonathan Swift (1712)  

§         Middle class use English as scholarly language during 18th century

§         Samuel Johnson – A Dictionary of the English language (1755); 40 000 entries; illustrative quotations; model for OED

 

 

ACT OF UNION (1707) England & Scotland united to form Great Britain

§         George I (r.1714-1727) Hanover Dynasty could not speak English

§         George II (1727- 1760) born in Germany. He never learnt to speak English properly.

 

American Revolution. Independence of American’s colonies (1783)

-         Separation of English speakers; beginning of several national Englishes

-         Noah Webster’s Plain & Comprehensive Grammar (1784) American Grammar, based on usage

-         1828 Noah Webster published his dictionary

 

 

Beginning of industrial revolution. à New words were needed

-         Ireland were incorporated to England in 1801

-         Queen Victoria (r. 1837 – 1901)

-         Consolidation of the British Empire