Early Modern English 1500 1800 Introduction of the

Early Modern English 1500 -1800

Introduction of the Printing Press

First printing press in England 1476

Consequences of the printing press 1. Freezing of English spelling 2. Books in English are more available 3. Strengthening of the London dialect

Middle English Dialects

The increasing importance of the East Midland dialect • Geographically central • Largest and most densely populated area • Spoken in Oxford and Cambridge • Spoken in London

Borrowings The printing press made books more easily available for the new middle classes. Since the new middle classes did not speak Latin or French, they demanded books in English. Many Latin and Greek books were translated into English. The Latin and Greek translations introduced many Latin/Greek loan words into English.

Latin loan words: nouns allusion occurrence Frequency vacuum denunciation disability excursion expectation emotion

Latin loan words: verbs adapt alienate assassinate benefit emancipate eradicate erupt excavate exert harass exist extinguish

Latin loan words: adjectives appropriate agile conspicuous dexterous expensive external habitual jocular insane

Latin plural nouns climax appendix exterior delirium

Latin loan words: bare stems consultare > to consult exoticus > exotic conspicuus > conspicuous externus > external brevitas > brevity

Romance doublets Middle English Early Modern English chamber choir prove frail gender jealous spice strait strange treasure camera chorus probe fragile genus zealous species strict extraneous thesaurus

Greek loan words through Latin direct borrowings anachronism atmosphere system chaos crisis emphasis enthusiasm pneumonia scheme skeleton anonymous catastrophe criterion lexicon polemic tantalize

French loan words bizarre comrade duel essay mustache progress ticket admire density identity chocolate detail entrance explore probability surpass volunteer compute hospitality ramify

Italian loan words algebra design balcony violin volcano

Spanish / Portugese loan words alligator apricot barricade cocoa embargo hammock mango avocado hurricane mosquito potato tobacco chili maize tomato papaya

Word coinages blatant chirrup delve belt glance endear enshrine gloomy wary

Clippings van (<vanguard) rear (<arrear) fortnight (<fourteen-night)

Back formations difficult (<difficulty) unit (<unity)

Blends dumbfound (< dumb + confound) apathetic (< apathy + pathetic) splutter (< splash + sputter)

Spelling reforms In the 16 th and 17 th century, English scholars tried to reform the spelling of English.

[f. IS] <ghoti> [f] <gh> ‘rough’ [I] <o> ‘women’ [S] <ti> ‘lotion’

Pronunciation of English nonce words lape morantishly permaction phorin

Spelling in Old and Middle English Throughout the Middle Ages, the English spelling was not really standardized. Many regional differences.

English dictionaries 1604 Robert Cawdrey 1721 Nathaniel Bailey 1755 Samuel Johnson

Oxford English Dictionary

Robert Lowth A Short Introduction to English Grammar 1762

Double negation Two negatives in English destroy one another, or equivalent to an affirmative. (Robert Lowth 1762) He nevere yet no vileynye ne sayde In all his lyf unto no maner wight. He was verry, parfit gentil knight. (Chaucer: Canterbury Tales) I didn’t know nothin’ bout gettin’ no checks to (=for) nothin’, no so (=social) security or nothin’. ’ (African American English)

Dangling prepositions The Preposition is often separated from the Relative which it governs and joined the verb at the end of the Sentence … as, ‘Horace is an author, whom I am much delighted with. ’ … This is an Idiom which our language is strongly inclined to; it prevails in common conversations, and suits very well with the familiar style if writing; but the placing of the Preposition before the Relative is more graceful, as well as more perspicuous; and agrees much better with the solemn and elevated style. (Robert Lowth 1762)

Plural of chicken cicen-u or cicen-s? Those who say ‘chicken’ in the singular and ‘chickens’ in the plural are completely wrong. wegen des Wetters wegen dem Wetter

Grammatical innovations in English 1. This is strictly speaking not good English. 2. Hopefully, they will come. 3. The man who Peter met is my friend. 4. You and me, we should do this together. 5. Peter dreamed of a large cake.

Grammatical innovations in German 1. Wegen dem schlechten Wetter sind wir zu Hause geblieben. 2. Ich mach das nicht, weil dazu habe ich einfach keine Lust. 3. Wenn er doch bloß bald kommen würde. 4. Das ist mein Vater sein Auto. 5. Ich mach das nur wegen dir.

English or Latin? But why not all in English, a tung of it self both depe in conceit, and frank in deliverie? I do not think that anie language, be it whatsoever, is better able to utter all arguments, either with more pith, or greater planesse, then our English tung is, if the English utterer be as skillful in the matter, which he is to utter, as the foren utterer is. [Robert Mulcaster 1582]

English or Latin? I do write in my naturall English toungue, bycause though I make the learned my judges, which understand Latin, yet I meane good to the unlearne, which understand English, and he that understands Latin very well, can understand English farre better, if he will confesse the trueth, though he thinks he have the habite and can Latin it exceedingly well. [Robert Mulcaster 1582]

Latin loan words Some seeke so far for outlandish English, that they forget altogether their mothers tongue. And I dare sweare this, if some of their mothers were aliue, thei were not able to tell what they say: … The vnlearned or foolish phantasticall, that smelles but of learning … wil so Latin their tongues, that the simple can not but wonder at their talke, and thinke surely they speake by some reuelation.

Latin loan words I know them that thinke Rhetorique to stande whole vpon darke wordes, and hee that can catche an ynke horne terme by the taile, him they coumpt to be a fine Englishman, and a good Rhetorician. [Thomas Wilson 17 th century]

Latin loan words And though for my part I use those words (i. e. Latin loans) as little as any, yet I know no reason why I should not use them, and I finde it a fault in my selfe that I do not use them: for it is in deed the ready way to inrich our tongue, and make it copious, and it is the way which all tongues have taken to enrich them selves… [George Pettie]

Word coinages – ‘Caucerisms’ Latin English word coinage lunatic crucified parable prophet muscles triangle conclusion definition irony mooned crossed biword foresayer fleshstrings threlike endsay saywhat dry mock [Sir John Cheke] [Arthur Golding] [Robert Recorde]

Word coinages blatant chirrup delve belt glance endear wary gloomy

Clippings van (<vanguard) rear (<arrear) fortnight (<fourteen-night)

Blends dumbfound (<dumb + confound) apathetic (< apathy + pathetic) splutter (< splash + sputter)

Back formations difficult (<difficulty) unit (<unity)

Language Change: Progress or Decay

Language Change: Progress or Decay The standard of speech and pronunciation in England has declined so much … that one is almost ashamed to let foreigners hear it. [The Guardian]

Language Change: Progress or Decay Through sheer laziness and sloppiness of mind, we are in danger of losing our past subjunctive. [Daily Telegraph]

Language Change: Progress or Decay We seem to be moving … towards a social and linguistic situation in which nobody says or writes anything more than an approximation to what he or she means. [Kingsley Amis: The laments about language in general]

Language Change: Progress or Decay We go out of our ways to promulgate incessantly … the very ugliest sounds and worst possible grammars. [Evening Standard]

Language change is decay The history of all the Aryan languages [i. e. Indo-European languages] is nothing but a gradual process of decay. [Max Müller 1868]

Language change is progress In the evolution of languages the discarding of old flexions goes hand in hand with the development of simpler and more regular expedients that are rather less liable than the old ones to produce misunderstandings. [Otto Jesperson 1922]

Language change is neither progress nor decay Progress in the absolute sense is impossible, just as it is in morality or politics. It is simply that different states exist, succeeding each other, each dominated by certain general laws imposed by the equilibrium of the forces with which they are confronted. So it is with language. [Joseph Vendryès 1923]

William Shakespeare 1564 -1616

William Shakespear Julius Caesar 1599

Julius Caesar – Act 2 BRUTUS Lucius, who's that knocks? Re-enter LUCIUS with LIGARIUS LUCIUS He is a sick man that would speak with you. BRUTUS Caius Ligarius, that Metellus spake of. Boy, stand aside. Caius Ligarius! how? LIGARIUS Vouchsafe good morrow from a feeble tongue.

Julius Caesar – Act 2 BRUTUS O, what a time have you chose out, brave Caius, To wear a kerchief! Would you were not sick! LIGARIUS I am not sick, if Brutus have in hand Any exploit worthy the name of honour. BRUTUS Such an exploit have I in hand, Ligarius, Had you a healthful ear to hear of it.

Julius Caesar – Act 2 LIGARIUS By all the gods that Romans bow before, I here discard my sickness! Soul of Rome! Brave son, derived from honourable loins! Thou, like an exorcist, hast conjured up My mortified spirit. Now bid me run, And I will strive with things impossible; Yea, get the better of them. What's to do?

Julius Caesar – Act 2 BRUTUS A piece of work that will make sick men whole. LIGARIUS But are not some whole that we must make sick? BRUTUS That must we also. What it is, my Caius, I shall unfold to thee, as we are going To whom it must be done.

Julius Caesar – Act 2 LIGARIUS Set on your foot, And with a heart new-fired I follow you, To do I know not what: but it sufficeth That Brutus leads me on. BRUTUS Follow me, then. Exeunt

Morphosyntactic changes Old English had extensive inflectional morphology and relatively flexible word order. Middle English had very little inflectional morphology and a rather rigid word order.

Inversion in Present Day English 1. Negative inversion Under no circumstances would I do that. 2. Locative inversion Behind the barn stood an old oak tree.

The rise of the dummy auxiliary ‘do’ Negative sentences 1. I haven’t eaten yet. 2. She isn’t coming. 3. I cannot come. 4. You must not do that. 5. He does not speak to me.

The rise of the dummy auxiliary ‘do’ Yes-no Questions 1. Have you eaten lunch? 2. Is she coming? 3. Can I come in? 4. May I speak to her? 5. Does she speak English?

The rise of the dummy auxiliary ‘do’ WH Questions 1. What have you eaten? 2. When is she coming? 3. Where can I sleep? 4. What must she do? 5. What did she say?

The rise of analytical verb forms • Future will leave • Present Perfect have gone • Progressive is sleeping

The rise of SVO Though SVO had become the dominant word order in Middle English, it was not yet as rigid as in Modern English.

thou - you Old English Middle English Early Modern English SG þū PL yē thou (familiar) ye (polite) ye (you = OBJ) ye ye (you = OBJ)

Possessive marker Peter’(i)s = Peter his • John Browne his meadow • Ann Harris her lot

Possessive clitic 1. The queen’s crown 2. The Queen of England’s crown 1. Peter’s car 2. Peter and Mary’s car

Relative pronoun a. the book that fell from the table. b. c. d. the book that I read the book that I gave him the book that I talked about

Subject relatives a. Who’s that knocks? b. I have a brother is condemn’d to die. (Shakespeare) c. d. There was a farmer had a dog. There was a ball of fire shot up through the seats in front of me. There’s something keeps upsetting him. There‘s a lot of people don‘t know him. e. f.

‘Which’ and ‘who’ relatives • As a relative pronoun ‘which’ emerged in the 14 th century • ‘Whose’ and ‘whom’ emerged in EME; later ‘who’ was formed by analogy. Accessibility hierarchy SUBJ > DO > OBL > GEN

Comparative forms of the adjectives (1) (2) happy – happier –happiest difficult – more difficult –most difficult (1) (2) in the calmest and most stillest night. against the envy of less happier lands. (Shakespeare)

The rise of the dummy auxiliary ‘do’ (1) (2) Say you so? I know not. Causative ‘do’ (1) He did them build a castle. ‘He caused them to build a castle. ’

The rise of the dummy auxiliary ‘do’ I doubt it not. (Shakespeare) I do not doubt you. (Shakespeare) Why look you so upon me? (Shakespeare) Why do you look on me? (Shakespeare)

The rise of the dummy auxiliary ‘do’ (1) *I do not can go. (2) *She does not may leave. (3) *Is Peter may go home?

Lexical diffusion SUBJ VERB not Verb 1 Verb 2 Verb 3 Verb 4 … I know not SUBJ do not VERB Verb 1 Verb 2 Verb 3 Verb 4 … I do not know

S-shaped development time

The psychological mechanisms of language change Hypothesis: Grammatical change involves the change of grammatical rules. 3+4=7

Change of rules 1. NEG SUBJ VERB not 2. NEG SUBJ do not VERB

What motivated the development of the ‘do’ pattern? In negative sentences, ‘do’ reinforced the negative meaning of the sentence.

The development of ‘do’ in questions What is she doing? Where can I find this book? When did Peter see Mary?

Why auxiliaries and modals were not involved in the change 1. If the sentence includes a modal or auxiliary, there is an <WH AUX S V O> pattern even without ‘do’. 2. Modals and auxiliaries are the most frequent verbs. Frequently used linguistic structures are so deeply entrenched in mental grammar that they do not change easily.

New consonant phonemes Bilabial Labiodental Stop Interdental p b Alveolar Alveola Velar -palatal t d Affricate Fricative Nasal f v m Lateral Retroflex Glide w T D s z n l r k g t. S d. Z S Z Î y h

‘Silent consonant’ 1. Compensentory lengthening [s. ICt] > [sit] ‘sight’ 2. half, palm, folk, talk

‘Silent consonant’ 3. castle, hasten, wrestle, handsome 4. know, knife, knee, knight, gnaw

‘Silent consonant’ 5. wrong, wrinkle, wrist 6. British American [ka] [kar] ‘car’ [bi@] [bi@r] ‘beer’

Spelling pronunciations 1. anthem, throne, author, orthography 2. habit, hectic, history, horror, human

Re-spelling based on Latin source French loans: faut, assaut, facon, vaut Respelled: fault, assault, falcon, vault

Early Modern English 1500 -1800

Morphosyntactic changes Old English had extensive inflectional morphology and relatively flexible word order. Middle English had very little inflectional morphology and a rather rigid word order.

The rise of the dummy auxiliary ‘do’ I doubt it not. (Shakespeare) I do not doubt you. (Shakespeare) Why look you so upon me? (Shakespeare) Why do you look on me? (Shakespeare)

The Great English Vowel Shift Middle English 1550 1450 1650

The Great English Vowel Shift A: B: Is Tat Ti t. Sild y. E h. Ir nam@ Is an @ god and h. Ol. I nam@ son@ Se w. Il be Tre yer. Iz Ov ad. Z@ w. Il Se sp. Eke to me y. E Se sp. Ek. T w. Und@r lud@ A: B: Iz D{t D@I t. S@Ild y. E h@r n{m Iz {n @ gud and h. Ol. I nam sun Si w. Il bi Tri yirz @v {d. Z w. Il Si sp. Ek tu mi y. E Si speks w@nd@r l@Ud

The Great English Vowel Shift A: B: Is Tat Ti t. Sild y. E h. Ir nam@ Is an @ god and h. Ol. I nam@ son@ Se w. Il be Tre yer. Iz Ov ad. Z@ w. Il Se sp. Eke to me y. E Se sp. Ek. T w. Und@r lud@ A: B: Iz D{t D@I t. S@Ild y. E h@r n{m Iz {n @ gud and h. Ol. I nam sun Si w. Il bi Tri yirz @v {d. Z w. Il Si sp. Ek tu mi y. E Si speks w@nd@r l@Ud

The Great English Vowel Shift Sound changes [a] [i] [o] [e] [E] [u] > > > Dialect differences advanced (B) [n{m] [speks] [nam] [sp. Ek] [{] [@I] [u] [i] [e] [@U] conservative (A)

The Great English Vowel Shift i u @I @U e o E { a

The Great English Vowel Shift 1550 -1650 A: B: Iz D{t D@I t. S@Ild ye h@r n{m Iz {n @ gud {nd h. Ol. I n{m sun Si w. Il bi Tri y. Irz @v {d. Z w. Il Si spek tu mi ye Si speks w@nd@r l@Ud

The Great English Vowel Shift 1650 -1750 A: B: Iz D{t D@I t. Sa. Ild ye h@r nem Iz {n @ gud {nd hol. I nem sun Si w. Il bi Tri y. Irz @v ed. Z w. Il Si spik tu mi ye Si spiks w@nd@rf. Ul. I la. Ud

The Great English Vowel Shift 1650 -1750 A: B: Iz D{t D@I t. Sa. Ild ye h@r nem Iz {n @ gud {nd hol. I nem sun Si w. Il bi Tri y. Irz @v ed. Z w. Il Si spik tu mi ye Si spiks w@nd@rf. Ul. I la. Ud

The Great English Vowel Shift Sound changes [@I] [{] [O] [{] [@U] > > > [a. I] [e] [o] [e] [a. U]

The Great English Vowel Shift i u e @I @U a. I a. U E o O { a

The Great English Vowel Shift i u e @I @U a. I a. U E o O { a

The Great English Vowel Shift is a Chain Shift. A chain shift consists of a series of interrelated changes that are motivated by the pressure to restore a symmatrical system of speech sounds.

Changes of short vowels • In unstressed syllables [@] was lost. • ME [a] became [{] in EME. • [U] was converted to [ö] unless it was followed by [S] [l] [T] (e. g. run, mud, cut vs. full, pull, bush, butcher)