A4 A5 English Language Development PDF

A4 From Middle English to Early Modern English A4 From Middle English to Early Modern English The events that caused English to develop into Early Modern English are many and varied. There is some disagreement among scholars about when EModE might be said to begin and end. We have to rem...

A4 From Middle English to Early Modern English A4 From Middle English to Early Modern English The events that caused English to develop into Early Modern English are many and varied. There is some disagreement among scholars about when EModE might be said to begin and end. We have to remember that boundary dates between linguistic periods are in no way markers of overnight change, but simply serve to indicate the points at which the language noticeably beings to alter. A4 From Middle English to Early Modern English Early Modern English might be said to begin around 1500, while the changes that were to affect its development into Present Day English were beginning to be felt around 1700. Lines from Hamlet, written in Early Modern English by Shakespeare A4.1 External influences on pronunciation The Great Vowel Shift – significant changes to the way in which certain vowel sounds were pronounced One of the key developments of English that occurred between the Middle English and Early Modern English Occurred mainly between 1400 and 1750 Involved a gradual modification in the pronunciation of the long vowels A4.1 External influences on pronunciation The Great Vowel Shift The way in which people pronounced long vowel sounds altered and the long vowels in English were ‘raised’. The position of the tongue changed over time – gradually it moved closer to the roof of the mouth Had an impact on the pronunciation of words and on spelling Not every area of the country was affected in the same way A4.1 External influences on pronunciation The Great Vowel Shift An impact on spelling A4.1 External influences on pronunciation The causes the Great Vowel Shift A complex issue Have never been established There has been a considerable amount of disagreement between scholars A4.1 External influences on pronunciation Hypothesis for the causes the Great Vowel Shift William Labov & Peter Trudgill In terms of social groups the main driver of change in language was the middle classes The Great Vowel Shift may have been motivated by the merchant classes being influenced by varieties of English that they viewed as being prestigious, and which they then either consciously or subconsciously imitated A4.1 External influences on pronunciation ride - would have been pronounced /riːd/ in Middle English and /rəɪd/ in Early Modern English, before becoming /raɪd/ in Present Day English. A4.2 The translation of the Bible into English Middle English period French – the language of the Royal Court English – the language of the ordinary person Latin – the language of administration and religion Only the educated would have been able to read and understand Latin (Being educated largely meant being a member of the clergy) Church services were held entirely in Latin → Few people understood what was going on A4.2 The translation of the Bible into English John Wycliffe, an Oxford professor Produced an unauthorised translation of the Bible into English between 1380 – 1382 Distributed around the country by the Lollards, an organisation of itinerant priests →An increase in literacy among common people A4.2 The translation of the Bible into English John Wycliffe, an Oxford professor Not everyone was pleased by this development – not the Church →Wycliffe was put on trial by a Special Synod and found guilty of heresy. →The arrest and prosecution of all Lollards was ordered. → The translation was banned. A4.2 The translation of the Bible into English William Tyndale, 1525 Translating the Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek The invention of printing press → multiple copies could be produced at a low cost →The Church and Henry VIII were fearful – bought and destroyed the entire shipment A4.2 The translation of the Bible into English William Tyndale, 1525 Produced better translation – the Old Testament and the New Testament The influence of Tyndale’s Bible was tremendous – triggered the growth of literacy - gave us many words and phrases that we still use today The translation was still seen as heretical. In 1536 he was charged with heresy. A4.2 The translation of the Bible into English Great Bible, 1539 Henry had married his third wife, Jane Seymour, a follower of the new Protestant religion. → Henry VIII order the production of the first official English Bible and every church in England was instructed to buy one. A4.2 The translation of the Bible into English King James Bible, 1611 The Authorised Version → The idiomatic phrases still in use today – the apple of his eye, in the twinkling of an eye → Made English the language of religion in England → Impacts on literacy and on the development of a standard form of English A5 The process of standardisation A5 The process of standardisation The Early Modern Period is generally seen as a period in which English underwent a process of standardisation. Not mean that dialect variation was lost Standard English – concentrating on a written form of the language A5.1 Dialects and emerging standards Four varieties of English in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries that show elements of standardisation. Type 1: Central Midlands Standard Found in those texts produced by the Wycliffite movement The type that has most claim the title “literary standard” Died out towards the end of the fifteenth century A5.1 Dialects and emerging standards Type 2: Early London English In use up until the late 1300s Included characteristics of East Anglian dialect Type 3: London English In use from around 1380 to around 1425 Included elements of a Central Midlands dialect The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer A5.1 Dialects and emerging standards Type 4: Chancery Standard The spellings are much closer to Present Day English spellings. A5.1 Dialects and emerging standards Type 4: Chancery Standard Used in government documents from around 1430 Included characteristics of Midlands and Northern dialects Not only a regional dialect from the London area, but that is development was also affected by writers from elsewhere including their own dialect forms into this standard The spellings are much closer to Present Day English spellings. A5.2 Caxton and the impact of the printing press A key date in the development of a standard form of English is 1476, when William Caxton set up a printing press at Westminster Unlike his competitors, he chose to publish books in English → Established the legitimacy of English as a language of learning → Contributed to the development of English as a standard form A5.2 Caxton and the impact of the printing press Initially, printing press actually caused problems for the establishment of consistency in written English. The variety of different ways in which a word could be spelled was often useful for printers, who would add or subtract a letter in order to ensure that a line of type was justified on both margins. Initially, the compositors were foreign and had no training in English scribal techniques and were not familiar with the consistent spellings. A5.2 Caxton and the impact of the printing press During the sixteenth century consistency became commonplace for various reasons. Employed English compositors The spelling systems used by manuscript copyists were gradually transferred to the printing press A5.2 Caxton and the impact of the printing press The impact of the printing press More texts could be produced more quickly and for less cost - The rapid spread of ideas The spread of the fixed spellings developed by the printing press Note: ‘standard’ was not necessarily a regional dialect The choices could be made by printers.