How English Changed
- 2. • 1500-1700 : Migration to large cities gave a new vocabulary • Freedom of ideas needed names, e.g. “Humanism” & “Nature philosophy” got a major comeback • A Bible in English gave a wider discussion about a standardised language • Scientific texts, mostly in Latin and some in English gave a new Lat./Eng. Jargon • English spared to Wales, Scotland
- 3. • Now everybody spoke English – Church, Queen and people • Latin worked as a status divider in society – Latin became a University language • It was now used to explain new concepts and techniques rather than damnation and religious dogmas as the Church of England went with English Elizabeth I took an interest in both culture and language and though that the best way to unite a country was through language
- 4. • Debate between scholars regarding loan words vs. created words started during the 17th century. A never-ending discussion concerning whether to protect or advance a language started. • The first dictionary was about the ordinary people understanding the words that the educated scholars used. Not every word used in the English language • Scholars started writing ”higher” literature to go with their new scientific language. Not really research papers but literature to satify the learned
- 5. • Spelling changed more and more from Old English to the present • Still displaying variation (English is still not yet uniform) • Style came in more and more, e.g. Capital letters are being used more frequently • Grammar became more standardiced; The structure of the sentences changed, modern English has a subject-verb-object structure, old and middle english had a reversed structure: ferde he (he traveled)…Not that there was one way to actually spell something or say something
- 6. • The most dramatic change from old/middle english to modern english are the words that have been borrowed from Arabic, Turkish, Spanish, Italian and Chinese. Thank you colonialism and curious people • Other words have ceased to exist since we no longer need them. • Broadening started to happen, which is a process that describes how a word’s meaning is stretched; Holy day -> holiday • Narrowing also happened, which describes the opposite; Wife was used for all women, where as in in modern English it is only used for married women. Vocabulary
- 7. • New words were also invented, such as: education, animate and persist • – all from Shakespeare • Early forms of slang came: doxy for a woman of the street , prig – thief, fokkinge, krappe and bugger • All brought by sailors • Development of language goes hand in hand with political status as England wanted to measure up to Spain and France. • So naming things with English words rather than French or Latin became important
- 8. • Some sounds simply disappeared from the pronunciation of certain words; gnaw, Knight (the silant G and K) • Some words were changed through a shift of a sound within the word, frist -> first • The Great Vowel Shift – style even took over sounds as double vowel sounds becomes longer Feet (Fet) – became feet Boot (Bot) – boot http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/linguistics/pat hs.jsp
- 9. • The language we use today was overall completed during the 18th and 19th century • Internal changes within language slowed down and new external influences came from the colonies. • Linguists searched for stability, correctness and standardisation • The enlightenment brought new words such as: colonist, idealist • In post revolution literature Romanticism brought us words like: colonial, hysteria, phobia • Industrial Revolution needed machines, tools, and specific labour named. The most common new words were: • Steam engine, sewing machine, camera, mines lamp, stethoscope,
- 10. • Pidgin English becomes recognised as actual versions of the language during the second half of the 19th century • During the 20th century linguists started to study the varieties and established that: • Pidgin English is a trade language built around slang (vocabulary, broken grammar) • Creole English is a complete language like American English or Australian English (vocabulary, grammar, spelling) • The most common creole and pidgin variations are: • Jamaican & Hawaiian • Every since 1970 Linguists have moved from the study of standardisation and correctness to dialects/sociolects/pidgin/creole • These varieties have also come to fascinate writers as well and some of the best loved novels and films contains these varieties.
- 11. • Can you come to think of any books and films with a dialect/sociolect/pidgin/creole?