CROWLEY’S EXERCISES

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

“Elocution” is how speak properly in a public speech with the objective of influencing or convincing the audience. Elocution lessons are the ones where this is taught and they exist in Spanish.

2. What do “polyglossia” and “monoglossia” mean?

            More than one language or just one language.

3. What kind of English does Puttenham recommend?

            The language of the court.

4. What does “copious” mean? Look up the pronuntiation.

            Abundant, in a big quantity.  /`koʊpiəs/

5. What does “trope” mean?

            A rhetorical figure.

6. Why does Crowley call the standardization process a war?

            Because different dialects tend to “compete” between them in order to survive in their number of speakers.   

7. What does “encomium” mean?

A warm, glowing praise or a formal expression of praise.

8. Who wrote the “Proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue?

            Jonathan Swyft.

9. Do Johnson and Swift agree that the English language has degenerated?

            Yes, Johnson said that languages tended to degradation and Swyft proposed a reform in language.

10. Swift proposes an academy. Who else?

Daniel Defoe.

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

            The Whigs and the Tories are political parties, and the Whigs were against an academy because Tories were in favour of it.

12. What does Sheridan mean by “the genius of the people”?

            A metaphysical spirit that is characteristic of English people.

13. What reason does Swift give for “the decay of Latin”?

            He said that all languages decay and that in the case of Latin, the reason was that Roman Empire was a tyranny so it didn’t need orators.

14. What does “suffer” mean?

            The possibility that future readers couldn’t understand what writers of this time wrote.

15. Who was the first person, involved in German cultural nationalism, to make the link between language and nation?

Herder. He united nationalism to language.

16. What was Sheridan’s solution to the problem of divergence in pronunciation?

            Priest had to be taught proper English so they could spread the language among the people who assisted to their ceremonies.

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

            Languages could be sweet or hard, or fit or not fit to philosophy. I agree with it because different languages had had different social evolutions so their usage and circumstances differ from one to another.  

18. In which novel did Defoe capture the “colonial fantasy”?

In Robinson Crusoe.

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

Tradesmen.

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

            It will facilitate economical and social relationships.

21. What kind of English is deemed to be “proper” English?

            The one spoken by upper and middle classes.

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

            In classes, children were put in rows when they did spelling exercises. The ones who better did it were moved to the frontal ranks so felt very proud.

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

            Because this way they could teach proper English to their children as they were brought up, being the male ones more important.

24. Why did Locke warn against children talking to servants?

            Because he believed that children will pick up bad habits in language if talking with them.

25. What was the difference between the mistakes made by the working classes and those made by the gentry according to Sheridan?

            The first were structural, the way they spoke whether the second were occasional, non-structural.