From Old English to Standard English Language Variation Across Timeomer books by Penmis Freeborn FROM OLD ENGLISH Varieties of English ' TO STAN DARD EN G Li S H A Course Book in English Grammar A COURSE BOOK IN LANGUAGE VARIATION ACROSS TIME Dennis Freeborn M MACMILLAN—— Contents © Dennis Freeborn 1992 4 Preface ix Al rghts reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission Acknowledgements x Of this publication may be made without writen permission. ° No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied Texts and facsimiles ‘or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance ‘with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act Symbols xvi 1988 or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 1 The English language is brought to Britai 1 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WIP SHE. 4.1 How the English language came to Britain 1, 4.2. Roman Britain 7 Any person who does any unauthonsed actin relation to 1.3. Studying variety in language across time 10 this publication may be lable to criminal prosecution and 114 How has the English language changed? 10 erat clams for damages. 1.5 How can we learn about OE and later changes in the language? 1" First edition 1992 1.6 Changes of meaning - the semantic level 12 Published by 2 Old English 15 MACMILLAN EDUCATION LTD 24 Dialects and political boundaries 15 Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS 22 Written OE 7 ‘and London 23. Danish and Norwegian Vikings 24 Companies and representatives 24 The Battle of Brunanburh - OE poetry 27 ‘throughout the world 2.5 _ Effects on the English language 30 ISBN 0-333-53767-X hardcover 35 atin vocabulary In OF 3 ISBN 0-333-53768-8 paperback 27 OF grammar 3 ape 28 The Norman Conquest 38 ‘Acalaiogue record for this book is 29 The pronunciation of OE 42 fvailable from the British Library 2.40 The inflections of OE a Printed in Hong Kong 3 From Old English to Middle English 4B 3.1 The evidence for linguistic change 4a : 3.2 The Norman Conquest and the English language a4 3.3 The earliest surviving ME text 46 3.4 The book called Ormulum 50 3.5 The origins of present-day Standard English in ME 53 3.6 Evidence of changes in pronunciation 53 3.7 The Bestiary-the eagle 57 3.8 Anote on ME spelling 58 vomens SIE FFFFFFSFSFSSSSSSsFSFsFesesesSseF a aa *« 42 a3 44 45 5A 52 53 5a 61 62 Ke 7 7 72 74 at 82 83 84 85 86 a4 9.2 93 9.4 96 9.8 9.9 Middle English | - Southern and Kentish dialects The dialectal areas of ME How to describe dialect differences An example of a fourteenth century SW dialect, Grammar ASE, or Kentish, dialect ‘Middle English il - Northern dialects A fourteenth century Scots English dialect Another Northern dialect ~ York Northern and Midlands dialects compared Chaucer and the Northern dialect Middle English ill West Midlands dialects ANW Midlands dialect ASW Midlands dialect Middle English IV ~ East Midlands and London dialects The origins of present-day Standard English ASE Midlands dialect The London dialect - Chaucer The London dialect - Thomas Usk Early Modern English \~ the fifteenth century The beginnings of EMnE Early fifteenth century East Midlands dialect Late fifteenth century East Midlands dialect Late fifteenth century London English The medieval tales of King Arthur Late fifteenth century London dialect Early Modern English I~ the sixteenth century ‘The Lisle letters Formal prose in the 1530s. Acdifferent view on new words ‘English Dictionaries & other bookes written by learned men’ Changes in English pronunciation ~ the Great Vowel Shift Punctuation in sixteenth century texts ‘The development of the standard language Evidence for some sixteenth century varieties of English English at the end of the sixteenth century 59 59 63 64 65 66 n n 5 78 80 82 37 94 94 95 101 104 104 104 106 108 112 113 7 7 120 123 128 128 131 131 134 139 Contents 10 _ Early Modern English ill ~ the seventeenth century 40.1 More evidence for changes in pronunciation 10.2 Sir Thomas Browne 10.3 George Fox's journal 10.4 John Milton 10.5 Dorothy Osborne's letters 10.6 John Evelyn's diary 10.7 John Bunyan 40.8 John Aubrey 10.9 Christopher Cooper's The English Teacher 10.10 John Dryden 10.11 North Riding Yorkshire dialect in the 1680s 14 Modern English - the eighteenth century 41.1 Correcting, improving and ascertaining the language 11.2 The perfection of the language 41.3 ‘The Genius of the Language’ 14.4 Bishop Lowth's grammar 11.5 Literary styles in the eighteenth century 11.6 ‘The depraved language of the common People’ 14.7 Language and class 44.8 William Cobbett and the politics of language 12 Postscript -to the present day 12.1 Some developments in the language since the eighteenth century 122 The continuity of prescriptive judgements on language use 12.3 The grammar of spoken English today 12.4 From OE to Mn — comparing historical texts Eibliography Index 142 142 145 148 151 153, 156 160 165 166 172 77 180 180 184 185, 186 188 189 190 193 196 196 198 199 201 208 2mPreface Language change ‘The English language, like all living languages, 18 ym a continuous state of variation across lume. The language of one generation of speakers will differ slightly from another, and at any fone time there are “advanced! and ‘conservative’ forms, whether they belong to regional, educational of class dialeets, Change takes place at every level of language. New words are heeded in the vorabutary to refer to new things or concepts, while other words are dropped ‘when they no fonger have any use mn society. The meaning of words changes ~ brexomt once meant obedient, spi! mennt Kill, and Emght meant boy. A word-for-word translation of some Old English will probably not read like grammatical contemporary English, because word order and grammatical structure have also changed. Pronunciation m particular ts always being ‘nodified and varies widely from one regional or social group to another, Since the spelling of words in writing has been standardised, changes im pronunciation are not marked mm the spelling, the orthographiy of the language. Standard English ne variety of English today has a unique and special status ~ Standard English. Its prestige ts such that, for many people, it is synonymous with the English language. This book sets out 10 Sow what the origins of present-day Standard English were in the past. It 1s concemed principally with the forms of the language itself, and makes reference to the historical, social And political background in the establishment of Standard English in outline only. Levels of study It is helpful to consider three levels of study which may be followed according to students! needs, of to the amount of time available for study. At the first, observational level, features of the linguage can be simply noted and listed as interesting or different: at the second, descriptive level, such features are identified more specifically, using appropriate descriptive terms from a model of language; at the third, explanatory evel. they are placed in their relation to general processes of language change, and in their soctal, poliueal and historical context,Preface ae eee The ‘texts’ ‘The cote of the book 15 a series of 151 texts which exemplify the changes an the language from Old English to the establishment of Standard English. The texts have been selected for a ‘number of reasons. The Old English texts are almost all from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and 80 provide something of the historical context of the language a thousand years ago. Some texts have aspects of language stself as their subject. As we have no authentic records of the spoken language before the invention of sound recording, letters and diaries of the past are included, because they are likely to provide some evidence of informal uses of English in the past. Some literary texts have been chosen, but the series does not constitute a history of English literature, Activities ‘The ncuvities are designed 10 encourage students to find out for themselves — to consider possible reasons for what they observe, and so to study data at first hand and to consider hypotheses, rather than to accept the answers to problems of interpretation that others have given. The process of analysing the texts demonstrates how our knowledge of earlier English has been amnved at. The surviving corpus of Old and Middle English texts 1s all the evidence ‘we have about the language as ut was then. There are no grammar books, descriptions of pronunciation, spelling books or dictionaries of English before the sixteenth century. The tasks ‘im the activities are no more than suggestions, and teachers can omit, modify and add to them as they think useful, Facsimiles ‘The facsimiles are an essential part of the book, not just decorative additions to the ‘texts’ for they are the primary sources of our knowiedge of the language, and give students at least same ‘dea oF the development of spelling and writing conventions. Literary texts are generally printed with modem spelling and punctuation, and although editions of Old and Middle English retain the older spelting, hey usually add present-day punctuation. Commentaries Analytic commentaries are provided for some of the texts m the book. Each commentary is ‘case study’ based on the text itself, which provides some of the evidence for change m the language. The Text Commentary Book and Word Book ‘Two supplementary books in typescript published by the author are available for teachers and ‘advanced students. The Tear Commentary Book contains detailed explanatory analyses of the linguistic features of many of the texts. The Word Book provides a complete word list, in alphabetical order, for exch Old and Middle English text, The lists for the Old English texts give the base form of inflected words and a translation, so that you can refer to an Old Englis dictionary or grammar more easily. Those for the Middle English texts melude the derivation of each word. The Word Book also contains selected lists of words 1n present-day English which are derived from Old English, Old French, Old Norse or Celtic nd Preface Cassette tape : ssh, Midle English and Ei A cassee tape containing readings of some ofthe Old English, Mie Eng Modern Engh texts ao avalible fromm the autor, For dts of the eae ape and ‘pplementary books wn Denis esbor, PO Box 82, Easingwold, York YOO 3Y¥ Aims ( se of the established textbooks ‘The sims and layout othe Book ar therefore ferent fom th die Hor of Ealish or Old and Middle English, hh ae fisted in he iboraphy. The erpncal stay of English which sexempiled in Varieties of Enis (Marsan, 1986) Now applied to hstoncal ents. The essen method ithe same. Dennis Freeborn July 1991 Acknowledgements The autor and publishes wish 10 thank the flowing for penmison fo use copy bute Guardian News Services Li for an ext rm the Gnadion, 28889: : Newspaper Publishing ple for ltr to The Tidependen! by Dasiel Massey, 141.87, and Carol Chk, 25.1187 ce 1 if any have been ery effon as. been made to tice all he copyright holders, but if any Inaertenly overlooked the publisher wll be pleated fo make the necessary rangement thes oppo, xia Texts and facsimiles ‘The texts consist of extracts from the following sources: Chapter 1 Peterborough chronicle for Ap 443 Peterborough chronicle for ap 449 Peterborough chrome for aD 455 Peterborough chronicle for aD $19 Peterborough chronicle for aD 611 Peterborough and Parker chronicle for ap 614 St Luke's Gospel 15: 11-13 Chapter 2 8 Peterborough chronicle for aD 628 9 Peterborough chronicle for ab 595 10 Peterborough and Parker chronicle for ab 601 11 Cxdmon's hymn 12 Peterborough and Parker chronicle for nD 787 13 Peterborough chronicle for ap 793 14 Peterborough and Parker chronicle for ap 878 15. The Phoemux 16 ‘The Battle of Brunanburh ~ Parker and Peterborough chronicle for Ab 937 17 OE inscription, St Gregory's Minster, Kirkdale, N Yorks 18 Parker chronicle for 1066 19 Peterborough chronicle for 1066 Chapter 3 20. Short metrical chromicle (14th century) 21 Robert of Gloucester’ chronicle (c.1300) Peterborough chronicle for 1140 Peterborough chronicle for 1137 Onmutin G) (late 12th century) Ormutan Giy The Fox and the Wolf (early 13th century) Cursor Mundi (c.1300) ‘The Eagle, from the Besnuary (13th century) Tests and facsimiles Chapter 4 » 30 31 John of Trevisa on the English language (i) (1385) John of Trevisa on the English language (ii) Michael of Northgate, Ayenbite of Inwyt (i) (1340) Michael of Northgate, Avenbite of Inwyt (ii) Chapter 5 John Barbour. Bruce (i) (6.1375) John Barbour, Bruce (i) York prociamation (1415) York potters’ Pentecost Play’ (c.1470) The Lay Folks’ Catechism (1357) Jolin Wyclit’s version of The Lay Folks’ Catechism (c.1360) Geoffrey Chaucer, The Reeve's Tale (late l4th century) Chapter 6 40 4 2 8 4 45 46 Sir Gawayn and Pe Grene Kny3t @) (late 14th century) ‘Sir Gawayn and Pe Grene Kny3t (i) William Langland, Piers Plowman (i (1370) William Langland, Piers Plowman (i) William Langland, Piers Plowman (ii) William Langland, Piers Plowman (iv) Edited version of Text 45, Chapter 7 a 8 o 50 31 33 34 The Travels of Sir John Mandeville G) The Boke of Mawndevile (verse) The Travels of Sir John Mandeville (ii) Geoffrey Chaucer, The Tale of Metibeus’ Geoffrey Chaucer, The Parson's Tale’ Geoffrey Chaucer. ‘The Friars Tale’ (Harley MS) Geoffrey Chaucer, The Friars Tale’ (Hengwrt MS) Thomas Usk’s appeal (2) (1384) Thomas Usk’s appeal (i) Chapter 8 35 56 58 3° 60 61 62 63 6a 65 66 67 68 The Boke of Margery Kempe (i) (c.1420) The Boke of Margery Kempe (ii) The Boke of Margery Kempe ( The Boke of Margery Kempe (iv) Agnes Paston’s letter to William Paston (1440) ‘Margery Brews’ letter to John Paston (1477) Jolin of Trevisa (1385) William Caxton’s printing of John of Trevisa (1482) um Caxton on the diversity of English (1490) William Caxton's advertisement (1478) Sir Thomas Malory, The Tale of King Arthur (c.1460-70) George Cely’s lever to Richard Cely (1478) Richard Cely’s lewer to his family (1479) Memoranda by George Cely (1483)Tears and facsimiles Chapter 9 69 George Basset’s letter to Lord and Lady Lisle (1539) 70 Sir William Kingston's lewer to Lord Lisle (1533) 71 Lord Lisi, draft of a eter (1536) 72 Sir Thomas Elyot, The Gowernour (i) (1531) 73 Sir Thomas Elyot, The Gouernoue (i) 74 Sir Thomas Elyot, The Gouernour (ii) 75 George Pattenhiam on inkhorn terms (1589) 76 Richard Verstegan on the borrowing of words (1605) 77 John Hart, An Ordhographie (i) (1569), on spelling 78 John Hart, Au Orchographie (i), Hart's new alphabet 79 John Har, An Orthographie (ii), on punctuation 80 John Hart, An Orthographie (iv), on the best English 81 George Puttenham on the best English 82 William Shakespeare, The Life of Henry the Fift 83. Richard Verstegan on regional dialects (1605) 84 William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of King Lear Chapter 10 85. Word stress, from Shakespeare's plays 86 Sir Thomas Browne, Religio Medici (1642) 87. Sir Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errors (i), on the whale 88 Sir Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errors (ii, on the badger 89 The Journal of George Fox, on the name Quaker 90 George Fox, A Battle-Door for Teachers, on thou and you 91 The Journal of George Fox. on thee and thou (i) 92 The Journal of George Fox, on thee and thou (ii) 93 The Journal of George Fox, the steeplehouse 94 The Journal of George Fox, preaching in Yorkshire 95 John Milton, Areopagitica ( 96 John Milton, Arcopagunica (ii) 97 Dorothy Osborne’ letter to William Temple (1653) 98 Dorothy Osborne's fetter to William Temple 99 Dorothy Osborne's etter to William Temple 100 Martha Tempie, Life of Sir William Temple 101 Dorothy Temple to her father (c.1680) 102 John Evelyn's diary (1657) 103. The Publick intlligencer (1657) 104 John Evelyn's diary (1658), a whale in the Thames 105 Thomas Sprat, The History of she Royal Soctety 106 John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress 107 The language of The Pilgrim's Progress 108 John Aubrey, Brief Live 109 John Aubrey, Life of Richard Corbet 110 Christopher Cooper, The English Teacher (i) (1687) 111 Christopher Cooper, The English Teacher (i) 112 Chnstopher Cooper, The English Teacher (il) 113 Chnstopher Cooper, The English Teacher (iv) 114 Christopher Cooper on “barbarous dialects’ 115 Chnstopher Cooper on words with the same pronunciation 116 John Dryden's ieter to the Earl of Rochester (1683) 117 Sohn Dryden on Chaucer's verse () 118 John Dryden on Chaucer's verse (ii) 119 John Dryden on Chaucer's verse (ii) 120 John Dryden's version of part of Chaucer's prologue 121 Modern edition of Text 120 QV Texts and facsimiles Join Dryden, couplets from Aeneis William Shakespeare, The Tira Gentlemen of Verona George Meriton, A Yorkshire Dialogue (1683) Chapter 11 125. Jonathan Swift, The Tatler (1710) 126 James Beate, Theory of Language (1774) 127 Jonathan Swift, a proposal (1712) 128 Joseph Priestley, Rudiments of English Grammar (1769) 129. Robert Lowth, A Shore Introduction to English Grammar (i) (1762) 130. Robert Lowth, A Short Introduction to English Grammar Gi) 1B Robert Lowth, A Short Introduction to English Grammar (iii) 132 Thomas Heame, Remarks and Collections (1715) 133 Samuel Johnson, The Rambler (1750) 134 Various waters on the language of the common people 135 Petition to Parliament (1793) 135 _Peution to Parliament (1810) 135¢Peution to Parliament (1817) 136 Protest letter against enclosures (1799) 137 William Cobbett, The Political Register (1817) 138 William Cobbett, The Life and Adventures of Peter Porcupine (1796) 139 William Cobbett, A Grammar of he English Language (1817) Chapter 12 140 Dean Alford on the Queen's English (1863) 141 Avoiding the split infinitive (1989) 142. Transeripuon of contemporary spoken English conversation 143 ‘The Book of Genesis 3:1 ‘Texts 144-151 for contrastive study: "Your accent gives you away!’ St Matthew's Gospet 26: 69-75, xvSymbols 0O& Old English S subj in ctaus sac ME Mile English > predicate) EMnE Early Modem English © Sompiemen Mn Modem English © Sheet OF Ola French A adverbial ON Old Norse WW Word-for-word translation <> eg.,, refers to written leners of the alphabet m ‘masculine (gender) 1) eta ferl refers to the spoken f fers sound, using the symbols of the euler International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) nom nominative (ease) ace accusative gen genitive dat dave se singular (number) pl plural ‘The IPA symbols can be found in: 8 noun ove Freeborn, D., French, P. and Langford. D. i) hdjective Varienes of English 3 comunion (Macmillan, 1986) Chapter 4, pp. 75-6, neg negative Gimson, A.C. NP noun phrase, An Introduction 10 the Pronunciation of VP vert phrase English, 3rd edn PrepP prepositional phrase (Edward Amold, 1980) pp. 328-9, a 1.1 How the English language came to Britain English mm the 1990s s an international language. It1s spoken as a mother tongue by nearly 400 nillion people, in the British Isles, Canada, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. It isa second language for many others in, for example, India and Pakistan and some African states, where 1 is used as an official language in goverment and education, Many different regional and social varieties of English have developed and will continue to do s0, but there ts one variety which 1s not related to any one geographical region, but is used in writing, and generally also in educated speech. Educated English naturally tends tobe given the addtional prestige of government agencies, the profession, the political parties, the press the law court andthe ppt ~ any institution which must erp to addeess sel 0 public beyond the smallest dialectal community. I 1s coliied in dictionaries, grammars and guides to usage, snd it taught the school system at al Tevels fs Almost exelusiely the language of prnted matter, Because educated English is thus accorded implicit social and political sanction, comes 1 be refered 19 as STANDARD ENGLISH, (A Comprehensive Grammar ofthe English Language, R. Quirk eal, Longman, 1985, p.18) ‘This book tells in outline how present-day Standard English developed from the English of the 2a Four hundred yeurs ago, in the 1590s, English was spoken almost exclusively by the English in Engiand, and by some speakers in Wales. ireland and Scotland, and this had been so for hundreds of years, since the language was first brought to Britain an the fifth century. ‘To give you a first mpression of the changes im the language since it was brought to Brutain, here are two short texts in Old English (OE), with their word-for-word (WW) translations, which were written down in the ninth century. The first 1s the beginning of a description of the isiand of Britain, while the second tells how the Britons were conquered by the Romans in ab 47. The texts are printed with their original punctuation. The sign <7> was used in manuseript writing for and, like <&> today.Fram Old English to Standard English The English language is brought to Braain jitene roland Pelra hed mula lang. 4 aw hund byad-] hi rt CY )) mie pan rn Pi % © en Ede pen Been py lander byrcery- niitene igland is chta hund mita lang, 11a hund brad, 7 her sind on is iglande fif gepeode, englise, 7 brit- tise. 7 wilsc. 7 scyttise. 7 pyhtise. 7 boc leden. Erest weron bugend Pises andes brites. f-Britain island is eight hundred miles jong. & two hundred broad. & here are inthis asiand five languages, english. & brit- ash, de welsh, & sconish, & pictsh, & book fatin. First were inhabitants of-this land britons. ‘The scribe wrote five languages and then listed six. He had divided into two what should have been one language ~ Brito-Weish. The Old English words bristise and wilse teferred to the same people, Xvi, Her Claudius romana cing gewat mid here on brytene. 7 gland geeode. FE ciicpohis vans untapente mana nee 47 Here Claws romans’ king went with amy in britain sland overran. & BEG pics welsh ade sbjecro romans" empire ‘The following account (Texts 1~3) in OF from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells us why the 1, language was first brought to Britain inthe fifth century. AS __ The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle has survived in several manuscripts, and most of the extracts ‘and facsimiles of the original writing which follow in this chapter are taken from the copy known as the Pererborough Chronicle (see Section 3.3). Sometimes other manuscript versions are quoted, in particular the Parker Chronicle, because the differences between them provide some interesting evidence for changes in the language. {you compare the facsimiles with the printed reproduction of the texts, you will ind some ‘marked differences in letter shapes, and some OE letters which are no longer used. The OE. alphabet and modem conventions for printing are described in Section 2.2.4. bul in the ‘meantime you could work out for yourself what the differences are ee Activity 1.1 [aaa eS as area ‘The account in Text 1 from the Peterborough Chroncle was copred in the twelfth century from an earlier copy first wntten down in the ninth century. The WW translation is followed by a paraphrase in Modem English (MnE). Abbreviated words in the manuseript have been filled ‘ut, but the punctuation isthe onginal 6) Compare the WW raslton of Text the chrome for nb 443, with he tx ofthe Ol Ents {a}. List some OE words that are sil used in MaB (some willbe different n spelling). (B)Listsome OE words that havent sured i ME (©) Litany ers ofthe aps ta ae 0 we Mi {@) Comment on he pnetaton iy Readthe Mn ven an consid some ofthe reasons why the WW rslaton does noted tke presen day English ti) Reopen the sgn for este 3 and 3. TEXT 1 ~ Chronicle for a0 443 rome) heom futons | on bpiyepalay- co Seedon id pooh, bi Peron ean qome-sheom gulcumey hi feordodan wid tan huna cininge. 7 pasendon | begdon pidpeobray-achs hi to anglum, 7 angel cyn- gesting es ean eq nepdon nenne-Fortpan ™ I feopdodan ps: ean huna anmse-jpapendon hn warrglit, farryeloyn - 43. Here sen TD snow, | Rep ebelmsay hep lean asked against pies, butthey | Bagdon- there had-not none. because they fought against atila hhuns king. & then sent they to angles. & angle -peopies princes the same asked. £43. tn this yeorthe Bons set versa to Roms a ase he Romans or fess EEE ste Pen, bt tay hd one tae boca sy were war At, ofite Hops Then ne Boon son tothe Angles and ade he se est the pone ofthe ArsFrom Old English ro Standard English TEXT 2 - Chronicle for ap 449 cece. xlix. Her martia- ‘hus 7 ualentinus onfengon rice. 7 radon vi. wintra 770m Peora dagum geladode wyrtgeor angel cin hider. 7 hi Pa coman on Prim ceo- um hider to brytene. on pam stede heopwines fleot Se cyning wyrigeom get hheom land on sudan eas- tan dissum lande. widdan e hi sceoldon feohton wid pyhtas. Heo Pa fubton ‘wid pyhtas. 7 heofdon st- ge sa hwer swa heo co- mon. Hy da sendon to ‘angle heton sendon mara fultum. 7 heton heom sec- ean brytwalana nahtser- pe. 7 Pes landes cysta Hy da sona sendon hider mare weored Pam odrum to fultume. Da comon amen of Prim megdum germanie. Of ald seaxum, of anglum. of iotum. OF totum comon cantwara. 7 wiht= ara, Pet 1s seo meg® Pe nu ceardaP on wiht. 7 Pest cyn on ‘West sexum Pe man nu git het tna eyn. Of eald +7 su sexa. 7 west sexa. OF angle comon se a sy®0an stod westig. betwrx iutum + seaxum. east angla, mid- del angla. mearca. 7 calla ‘norPhymbra. Heora he- retogan weeron twegen gebrodra, hengest. 7 horsa Hep mayzaa, nup jualerranonpenson queef ppawdon-on pene! yon poopa daxitseladode Teme angel an hiden. ya-comas.on pyutm coo. cttndeeetn eee fede heoppind peor, Je opmars, py nn: teogtard lara eat tan Sipqum Lande pS¥an febu peeoldon grofron pd vga. Beopaguhron pSpylrap-yheopbon Soar tre eo co, mon by Sa.pendon vo atrsleharon pendon map puluum-jhewn heom qre_. San byycpalana nally [per lander oypra- Wye eat marie peoped fam ob w fulumneDacomon pa texvog: pyro mesa Spmame.-Opald peard oF arrytum-of tour. Og sot comon canrpapa jpthe — serene eapdahon prhe-}Poyn on PETE Tsxum feman nse har urna oynn Op eald Teaeutn coman eafe pugra- ap Styee-qpere pox Op arsle comon-red pyddan pod pellrs-beqpye tet ypeaxum. ca amsta-md — deLarryla mespcarjealla, nopphymbpa- Deopa he peresan pepon wpeyen Se bpet ie errsefe. bopra- The English language is brought vo Brian 499, Here martia- nus & valentinus took kingdom, & reigned 7 winters. in their days invited vortigern angle people hither. & they then came in three ships hither to britaan. at the place heopwinesflect, ‘The king vorugern gave them land in south cast ‘ofthis land, provided that they should fight against picts, They then fought against picts. & had victory wherever they came. ‘They then sent to anglen ordered send more help. & ordered them say bnions’ cowardice. & the land's goodness. ‘They then at-once sent hither ‘greater force to others as help. Then came these men from three natwons ‘germany. From old saxons. from angles. from utes. From utes came Kent-people. & wight-people. that is the race which now dwells in wight, & the race among, ‘west saxons that one now still calls jutes' race. From old axons came east saxons, &e south saxons, & west a vowel pronounced and calle sh dened from Lat, soda popully

~ cansonant pronounesd or ihe leer sled sho fam sane mame = now” repaced by ts onan o> ‘ko pronounced othe ter clled eth ~ derived from © ting and now rpc by <>. Thos wo ler fended fo be mtereangebl, ‘and did not separately represent the voiced or voiceless consonant.) These eter re usally retained in priming and writing OE today ‘Another non-Roman fer used in wring —

— pronounced /w/ and ealled wm from rune name, This leer s usualy PP Mpnining OF today but replaced by ws ot pa of he OF Sinha The consonant ww epesentd inthe cient OE wring By o “ine (doubl-v) and wa then epee by

; ce (eh fl oF fh Ne roman lever was writen <> (cled yogh) and pronounced fi oF depening ‘the soon a poeded or falowed tse Commentary tthe Ter Commentary Book, Section 121d). Modem reprints of OF usualy use eter , nat <> Zee and io were less commonly use and > Were no ye me ‘The OF alphabet therefore consisted of: Vowelleters: aweiouy snes) in Consonant eters: bed ren <>) () Ima pg) SPO w (writen

) x2) ication of pronunetauon, Some ere wa list ofthe letters of the OE alphbet witha be indeation of pr its OF reese mo sn ene oud, Dut pneton snag were sh doen OE hn Mn. Yu wl ne tthe sping of i se ound nM eh {fren fom hat OE. OF vowel es presiding ad sh OE vowels se Common 1 of te Ter Commons Bonk Sees 12 and 1.28), Lang vows ae cnt mk macnn mol re et stoug ms book long votes are only marked wien te informations necessary ‘ os “This ist will need some explanation from a teacher or tutor, but there 1s a more detaied nod ote pronuetaon and spling of OF in Commentary he Ter Cannel Bool Mak word with same sound (RP) ‘OE sound AIPA symbol) Letter OE word and MnE transtation Vowels <> bbringan bring Mw bang ‘dan ride ft machine rman schiten a hy it wi G * YF hive Wi German griin << elm elm fel go fedan feed fet German gegen ese ash det who “ cline clean Jeet French aire <> sace sack fal ‘Amenan English sock st goat i) car <0> fox fox bl fox fosgone feu Seonan wohnen <> fol fut Wo fuk fal fond fh fat camian earn eat - east east fel - —_coth earth seal - reost pest eal - 21From Old English to Standard English | ont Enis From Old nish Start Bnet | ws siateonth Letter OB word and OF souna Mn word with i Here the beginning of c's sermon mn A Tesumonie ay Amu. with 8 sntecn Mak translation IPA symbol ae Sou ceniuny translations and the is of “The Saxon Cartcters or Teter, that be most straunge <> piling br pa —, <> bard po bind | > sel al ni tal \ sol cou! i oa, hing neth thus in the Saxon tonge. that be mofie frannre, be bert tinge ech chur ypc abb. gpec Sr kuowen by other conrmon Ca- singe church nu shore fei & a3 ratkers fot ouer thers. 2 ging al en eondhices CDeip geyz or geong young il young a pedeye peomeh icopep or . | yee on Engliycen I~ bog bough NI - i ‘chee on Eng! Fe op es hheeg hedge a3) hedge ‘cen. opep copep ancop x or pucordeetharch ——_ thatch rrealepo . Fmeyye ppeoy sap feberorfederfeuther feather pelmovan piptgen.. anb min <= sendan send si send Sepprcen prhepehep Syyen. eosin choose ha | ‘Thatis, Elfricke abbot doth <> sceup sheep aw | fend frendiye faluration £08i ge aituh an amp sik sg ki geferth . Itis tolde me that pointathis figure, (whch 1s lke or teach otherwyfein my Englith The Greeke mrerrogarine ) a full beh bower i writynges, thé doth thy anker posnte, which im forse other élde ‘mona moon Joy thee. For he fayth playnly that three prickes,fet m triangle Wf <> sit gh i iris lawfull thing for a:prieft re a rani 1 it romarye , and my wrytynges Be roar " doth {peake agaynft thys.&c- we ser water wh water 2.2.5 A Testimonie of Antiquitie Eilfric abbot greets Sigeferth A small book ealled A Testimonie of Anniquitie was printed in London in 1567. ts purpose was friendly: tocme is said that to provide evidence, in a contemporary religious controversy. about the Church sacraments, I ‘thou saidest about me that I other reproduced, with a translation, a sermon ‘in the Saxon tongue by Alfie, who was Archbishop taught n English wri- of Canterbury in ap 995. He was a famous English preacher and grammarian, tings, than your anchorite (= religions hermit) at ‘The book 1 of imterest to students of language because the translation provides an thome with you teaches. because example of sixteenth century Early Modem English (EMnE) both in style and spelling and he clearly says that i Printing while the Old English sermon is reproduced in a type face that copies OE manuscript, is permutted. that mass priests lower forms. Just 2s and were two shapes of the sme letter, so there were two fortes well may wive. and my for is. and <> (not to be confused with ), which were sed int the eighteenth century | ‘wntings againstspeak this ‘These letter shapes derive from manusenipt writing, sper. ober=otbervise than =diferemly from 2? ee 3Si ype From Old English to Standard English © Activity 2.3 (ERR (9 Copy the list of letters sed inthe OE alphabet and compare the letter shapes inthe ‘rerhorough Chronicle facsimiles with the printed versions in the 1367 book Gi) Compare the modem and OE forms for similanties and differences, Dia | 2.3. Danish and Norwegian Vikings ‘The Anglo-Saxon Chromicle records an event Tos Anglo Sason records an event mn AD 787 which proved to be ‘an ominous portent TEXT 12 - Chronicle for av 787 Peterborough Chronicle Hep nam bpeolrpe cont: offan Sobtep-eadbupse-on Tween comory spepe-neperpu nopSmanna of hepa lande-thapese Peps papronad-7 he polde dpupan whey anger wine pyhe nyrve bparhepapon-yhine man of-ptoh fo Bec Papen facpeyran-papa derafepa manna peanyel jn rep land se Tohron. decleexv Hernan breohinecining offan dtr endburge on his dum conn ft scpn nostnahna a ce lane ielapar ora he wole rif fo Des Py he nyste het hi wore weron Parenti sip der nes li! pevohion, (Poteborongh Chromete) ase, res tune hhine man ofstoh pa, Bact wanna Pe angel eyn- ‘787. Here took breahicie king offa's daughter eadburh. & in his days came first 3 ships of-nonhmen from hortha land. & then the reeve there to rode. & he wished deive tothe king's manor besa he hnew-t what hey wee, & him one slew there. That Hewes ships dash mens that Angle people's Parker Chronicle h fp nom —___ beophepuc ornin goppan dohroveddbey Jon hipdagum Caomon gugx n-peapu hare ae pad srepolte dqopan he cron ee pre ipa | KE Pahon yhithe mon opploy mn padhéfenin feupus déryepd-mennd peingel crnmip tend xfpolran z+ Old English Bf Activity 24 ii a 4) Use the WW translation to write a version of this chromicte in MnE. 4ii). Compare the Peterborough Chronicle text with the facsimile of the Parker Chromcle version. What differences can you find between them? ee eal By the end of the eighth century the Angles, Saxons and Jutes had finally occupied and settled almost the whole of England. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle continued t0 record battles for supremacy between the kings of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, as in the following. ‘example in the anal dated ap 827 827 i this year there was an eclipse ofthe maon on Christmas mormng. And the same year Egbert conquered Meron, and al that 3s south ofthe Humber. and he was the ehh king to be ‘Ruler of atau the Fest to rae so great a kingdom was Ale, king of Sussex she second was Ceawlin, king fof Wessex: the third was /thelber, king of Kens the foutth was Riedwald, king of East Anglia; the Fin was Edwin king of Northumbria: he sixth was Oswald who reigned after hime the seventh was ‘Oswy, Oswalas brother; the eighth was Egbert king of Wessex. G.N. Garmonsway, Everyman Clases, 1972) (Translate —~ \ But by\ap 827-the three ships which the king's reeve had ridden to mect 1m a 787 had already been followed by greater numbers of Norsemen, who began to make annual ducks for plunder on the coasts and up the rivers of England and northern France. The Peterborough ‘hromcle annal for Ab 793 records the first Norwegian Viking attack on the monasteries of lisfarne and Jarrow on the NE coast TEXT 13 - Chronicle for 0 793 (EEA) ers etter par psi ‘can geares on 1. ides anuanum earmlice heBenra manna hhergung adiligode godes eynican. n lindisfarena ce Purh reaflac. 7 mansleht. piel eprepe pam peril — can seaper on-vr-t raqify capmicce Totem hergurry abdtlropde oder Cypucan-mnkendepfapend ee pupth peaplac .yman ftelrc- 793, & litle after that the same year on 6 ides january miserably of-heathen men ‘aid destroyed god's church. on lindisfarne ile by robbery. & murder, 793. and a Title after that sn the same year on 8th January God's church on the island ‘of Lindisfarne was miserably plundered and destroyed by the heathen. with great slaughter, Another chronicle annal ddeclxxxxiii Des ylean geares & lindisfarena ee, Push reaflae 7 lice haxdenra hergung adyligodan godes eyriean sn inslyh 24 25Frum Od English w Standard English —e Norsemen from Norway were soon to raid the NW coast of England, the north of Ireland, the westem islands and coast of Scotland, and the Isle of Man Danes began to attack the east coast of England in.Ab 835, By the middle of the ninth ‘century, large Danish armies regularly ravaged the land and-began to occupy and to settle Permanently in parts of the county. The most famous of the Saxon English kings, Alfred, King of Wessex, alter years of continuous war, negotiated treaties with the Danes, By the time of Alfred's death in Ap 899, at the end of the ninth century, only Wessex remained independent, ‘The rest of England, north and east ofthe old Roman road called Watling Street (fram London to Chester), was shared between the English and the Danes, and became known asthe Danelaw. Here 1s a typical entry inthe Anglo-Saxon Clronicle describing the ravages of the Damsh armies duning King Alfred's reign. TEXT 14~ Chronicle for ao 878 dceclxxvii. Her hiene beste! se here on mide winter ofer ‘welftan nit to exppanhamine. 7 geridan west seaxna land > gesetton. 7 mycel Pies folces ofer sw adriefdon. 7 Pars odres ‘Pone meestan die hi geridon butun Pam eynge zlfrede ¢. 7 he) litle werede yOelice cefter wudum for. 7 on morfestenum, 7 Pas on eastron wrohte selfred cyning lytle werede Beweore wt xPelinga ige, 7 of Pam geweorce wes winnende ‘wid Pone here. 7 sumer setena se del Pe Pier nest ‘Wass. Pa on Deve seofean wucan ofer easiron he gerad to cegbrihtes stane be easton sealwudu. 7 him comon Parr ongean sumorsiete calle. 7 willsete, 7 hamiun scyr se de Pe hire beheonan sie wars. 7 his gefegene weeron. 7 he for ym ane niht of Pam wicum to wglea. 7 Paes ymb ane niht to eBan dune, 7 Peer gefeat wid ealne here hriene geflymde. 7 him wfier rad 08 Pet geweorc. 9 parr st axl nit. 7 Pa sealde se here him gislas. and mycele adas, Pet hi of his ice woldon. 7 him eae geheton Pet heora cyng fulwihte onfon wolde. (Peterborough Chronicle) 878. Here (se sole-away the host in mid winter afer FE writs tc cipeatan & oon ea oceupied & much he fo oversea drove. & ofie other the most pa they subded excep the King ltd be) ‘ihm and witha tog woods went & i moor fatness & afier at easter built alfred king with-little company fortress at athel-ney. & from that fortress was fighting ‘against the host* . & of-somerset the part that there nearest was. then inthe seventh week afier easter he rode 10 egberistone by east of-selwood. & ta-him came there back ‘of-somerset-men all, & wiltshire. & hampshire the part that of-it on-this-side-of sea was. & of-him glad they-were. & he \went after one mght from those camps to ley, & fater after ‘one night to edington. & there fought against all the host & It put-to-flight. & (after rode up-to the fortress. & there Sal 14 nights. & then gave the host him hostages. and great cath. that they from his kingdom wished. & him also pronsed ‘that their king baptism receive would, “The OF word here (hast) was always used for the Viking ares a Ota English else here on midne winter ofer decelxxviii, Her hiene beste! se here on mi twoftan nto eppanhamme, » geridon wessesxn ond 7 geseton, 7 mcel Pas oles ofer se adrfdon 7 Pas Ores Pone miestan del hie geridon baton Pam eyninge ZElfrede 9 he lytle werede uniePelice wfter wudum for. 7/on morfeestenum, ‘sumursactna se dit! se Pier nichst waes. Pa on Puere seofodan ‘itn ese so are ohn wes 7 tea yrange ih of Pan he Ps GB activity 25 aaa @)_ Rete this concen MAE. sscutsunet Cetin Tome ofthe OF and MnE words Liste OF words tht have snto Mn and specify the changes 10 MnE words which denve fom OF sii) List the differences between the two chronicle versions and discuss the p« fin ‘ he temh century and were wan teks continued throughout the Fist bal of the tnt nw il he ant Sato Chance. Oo the, ie 937 he ana he for St pow celebra runanburh in Scotland (the exact site is not kno. Sf posm esiehatng the Bale of Brnenburh Seon ihe xa MEitelstan King of Westy, defeated she Norsemen aaeking rom Ireland 2.4 The Battle of Brunanburh - OE poetry / \ cs we ‘stresses, sss in OF. ‘The lines of OF posry divide sm two halting ete ma ress, Suess in OF vr ually on ae Hist slab of @ word sce Commentary to mary Ba Scum). Wors elon conaned mor than see yas so hae was along ta Sing ttm incr spseh which was explo w pot. There was no thyme er ulm, se sound overs ws hago Fr ori spec bu he v0 puns each lne wore inked by the alteration of vo ote ors each ie Thee Sows wore seed lene words ~ nouns aectves, verbs o avers — not fn Tzpronoure or repostans The Fllowng exter fom the poem The Phe 27 elFrom Old English ro Standard English TEXT 15 ~ The Phoenix [HEM] tte eetuenen pate for heonan eastdelum on wpelast londa firum gefrerge. nis se foldan sceat ofer middangearé-mongum gefere foldagendra ac he afyrred is Purh meotudes meaht ~ manfremmendum (EGA Bere ices thas frtenee ceast-lands mn noblest of-lands fo-men famous, not-is that of-earth region throughout world to-many accessible of-earth-possessors but t removed is through creators might from-evil-doers PEER [eve feat tat ar rom here sn caster fands 1s the noblest of lands famous among men. That region of earth 1s not accessible to many earthly rulers throughout the world but through the might of the Creator 181s far off from evil-doers. TEXT 16 ~ The Battle of Brunanburh, Chronicie for ap 937 serlosenc pace fp omblons nea foporerymm-onlake Lepen! Hive emaarhre Powe spe polls oFheomen snlay oy 28 aH Dewey Ryn Dihpachel fancynng foplanpyheth LG Lechsspa iy bpopopaiésomuto ehelmgcufaop leans 1a sGumymbebptnanbuph. . . Falesres ménry sani axes Suma ni | : gegen sume soppne | ary poop eater sre er : eaple: mecum amyl eanpan- nepsa® pel mane: on pal” byctheyobrcan dumb reso Old English eS deccexxxvii. Her epelstan cyning. corla dryhien. beoma beahgifa. 7 his broPor eac. eadmund wpeling. ealdor langne Ur, geslogon et swece. sweords ecgum. ymbe brannanburh, par leg secg menig. garum ageted. guma norPern, fer scild scoten. swilee scitise eac. weng wiges sed, wesseaxe ford, ondlongne deg. corad cistum. on last legdun. laPum Peodum. heowan here fleman. hindan Pearle, mecum mylen scearpan. ne wear war mate. on Ps cxglande wfer greta. flees gefylled. beforan pissum. sweordes cegum, pes Pe us secga® bec. ealde wBvitan sipPan eastan hider. engle 7 seaxe. up becoman.ofer brad brimu. brytene sohtan. ‘wlance wig smias. weealles ofercoman, corlas ar hwate, ead begeatan PEGG 227, Hew atetsan king, o-ers or. ofmen rng-giver. & his brother also. edmund prince. life long honour. ‘won in battle, of swords with-edges. by brunanbuth, there lay man many-a. by-spears killed. man northem. ‘over shield shot. also scots too. weary of-baitle sated. west saxons forth. throughout day. troops m-companies. on tail pursued. loathed people. hacked from-army fugitives. from-behind harshly. with-swords millstone sharp, not happened slaughter more. 1n this tsland. ever yet. of-folk felled. before this. of-sword wwith-edges. as to-us say books. ancient scholars. since from-east hither, angles & saxons. up came. over broad seas. britain sought. proud war smiths. welshmen overcame. eatls for-honour eager. country ‘conquered (i) Rewnte the extracts in lines of verse and mark the alliterating words. (The second and third extracts both begin with the second half-line of a Tine.) {ii) Use the WW translation to write an acceptable verston in MnE. You will need to add ‘words to the original and paraphrase some of i : = ‘The Peterborough Chromcle entry 18m complete contrast: Mdeece xxvii. Her aQelstan cyming laedde fyr- 4e to brunanbyrig, 3 Rdsse econ: Rep a¥elyran oyning Ladde pip. decobpeman bys. 937. Here athelstan king led troops to brunanburh, 29x x From 01 En Sur nse Fromeibbnih Samide A ped of 25 years of eae afer aa 958 was one ag FA 955 was ote aan broken when me tac Norsemen began 1 the 880s. Some eame rom Normandy eros the, Channel, whee Naren the Noman) ha also ssw om Bea so None anh king, Ct ene King ofA Eng the ie Oran as gee an 1012 hon he Engh Eva he Conor scan ng 2.5. Effects on the English language The setlement ofthe Norsemen and the occupation of the Da a Reston fe he occupation of the Danetaw had important effects on and Nawse (ON 1s the name now given to the language spoken by the Norsemen — ash and Norwegian Vikings. It was cognate with OE: thats hey both came from the same earlier Germanic language It seems likely hat the two languages were similar enough Yocabulay for OE speakers to understand common ON words, and vice vest. 50th the Enalish and Norsemen could communicate. An Iclandi saga says of th elev Conan there vas at that te the sume tongue in England as in Norway and Denmaik™ Bu ypeakers umplifed ther own language when talking to the other, and OF dialects spoken in the Buclaiin te became modified in ways which were diferent from the Wessex and Kentish Gini Presentday norte and East Anglian dle show ON features, parte n Many OE words therefore have a similar a similar cognate ON word, and ofien we cannot be sure whether a MnE reflex has come from OE, ON or from both. I Word ON or from both, Inthe OE wordlist in the Wor Buon ON coma ofan OE wo sen wets ow ed ae ON, sean that the OF word hes denved fom ON, which pro of te cose coma buen El Activity 2.7 aaa ere (i) Use the OF wordlist to look up those ON wor that are cognate with OE words spelt with (see Commentary i ofthe Tet Commentary Book, Section 12.6.3), Docs seem likey that an OE spenker would have recognised the ON sons? Lok up mie rd Boo stony the ME eds Pepin witha whch eave from ON, Does seem Tikly that the pronunciation of ON esky had chong denve rom ON. ly tha the pronunciation of ON esk> hd changed to (i) OF seyrte and ON skyra both have refexes OE sya ON sy bo have reflexes in Ma What as append othe meaning (iv) Make a seection of otter OE words from the Word Book or dit se et Jord Book oa ditonary that have ON cognates. Write down the ON cognate word and compare wih the OB, Doe the evidence suppor he lm th OF ad ON speakers could commune wi one another? * messes |: So one important su of Danish nd Norwegian setement in the Danelw on the English language. English and Norse speakers live contmuniies tay wens ee enough for contact to tke place, and someties within he sare steer, oe forty ee snirmarage A Inge number of proper mans of Scandinavian ongin en be leaned hg OE and early ME documents. In time, the communities merged and Norse was no k ir spoken, but the English dalcts spoken i fee pars ofthe ancl eo bees medion 30 Old English y " in¢pronuneration, In vocabulary pnd to some extent ii grammar, ‘The earliest evidence, owever, does not appear in-writig until much later, during thé ME period, because most late is yriten in the West Saxon dialect, which had become a standard. The long-ter€TTeeis vith us, i the present-day dialects and accents of East Anglia, the Midlands, northern England and southern Scotland, ‘Unlike the English, the Danes and Norwegians had not a this time developed a system of ing other than runes, and no evidence of the dialects of the Norse language spoken in the Danelaw 1s available, Norse must have been spoken throughout, but was gradually assimilated with English. ‘Some evidence of this assimilation can be seen in the porch of a small church in Kirkdale, North Yorkshire, called St Gregory's Minster. A sundial dating from about 1055 has been preserved, which has the Following inscription carved in stone. TEXT 17 ~ Inscription, St Gregory's Minster, Kirkdale, North Yorkshire ‘Transeription ‘ORM GAMALSUNA BOHTE SCS (= SANCTUS) GREGORIVS MINSTER DONNE HIT WES /EL TOBROCAN 7 TO FALAN 7 HE HIT LET MACAN NEWAN FROM GRUNDE XPE (= CHRISTE) 7 SCS GREGORIVS IN EADWARD_ DAGUM CNG (= CYNING) 7 IN TOSTi DAGUM EORL 7 HAWARD ME WROHTE 7 BRAND PRS (= PREOSTAS) ‘Translation ‘ORM GAMALSON BOUGHT ST GREGORY'S MINSTER WHEN IT WAS ALL BROKEN & FALLEN DOWN & HE CAUSED IT TO BE MADE ANEW FROM ‘THE GROUND TO CHRIST AND ST GREGORY IN KING EDWARD'S DAYS & INEARL TOST!'S DAYS & HAWARTH & BRAND PRIESTS MADE ME ‘Tost, oF Tostig, was Earl of Northumberland and brother to Harold Godwinson, who became King of England in 1066, on King Edward's death (see also ‘Texts 18 and 19 1 Section 2.8. Orm and Gamal are Norse names, but the fanguage 1s OE. y 2.5.1. OE and Scandinavian surnames ‘The name Orm Gamalson looks familiar to us as the usual way of referring to people by ther forename and sumame, as in Davie Williamson, This name no longer literally means David, ron of William, and there 1S nothing strange today about the name Maron Jonson, which ts tnlikely to mean Marion, son of John, But Orm Gamalsuna (Orm Gamaison) did mean Orm, son of Gamal, and this way of creating personal names, by adding -sunal-son as a patronymic suffix (name derived from the father), was in fact a Scandinavian custom, which was m time adopted throughout the country. ‘The Anglo-Saxon patronymic suffix was -mg, as in Alfred Aipelwulfing, Alfred, son of Athelwulf, and was used to name families or peoples as descendants from a common ancestor, 2.5.2 OE and Scandinavian place names These names were alse incorporated mto place names, as in Walsingham, Billingham and Kidlington, although the -ing suffix tended to be used in'a more general way as well, so must ‘ot always be taken literally to mean san of or the family of. Some place names consist of the patronymic alone, for example, Wokin Malling. The sulfixes that indicate place names in OE included -/yrst (copse, wood), -ham dwelling, fold), -wie (village), -1un (settlement) and -stede (place), as in present-day Wadhurst, Newnham, Norwich, Berwick, Heslington and Maplestead. ‘The detailed study of place names provides much of the historical evidence for the settlement of Danes and Norwegians in England, aaEEEEEEIEEEETIETELFrom Old English ro Standard English (73) a activity 2.5 SETS Use an atlas and atlas gazetcer of England to identify towns and villages with place names ‘ending in the Following Scandinavian suffixes: (a) -by (town, farm) (©) -thorpte) willage) {ec} -tinvaue (piece of land} (2) -toft «piece of land) {you find a sufficrent number, and mark them on a blank map, you should find good evidence of the extent of the Danelaw. ii || 2.6 Latin vocabulary in OE . A grt dea of ‘Lait! voesbulary ws apd into Enis fm he san coal cava, danne the Renaisins, oF real of army ee age sy enely sentir 1 be languages taper To Eis, fess oe wd on, with shorter Anglo-Saxon words in their use im formal speech and writing: But OF also contained words of Latin ongin, some of which are still common words in Mn, andare in io Way leamed or obscure. ——— "26.1 Latin words adopted before the settlement in England Some words of Latin ongin had already been adopted in the language brought over with the Angles and Saxons. This was because OE was u Germanic language, and the Germanic people Were an continuous contact with the Romans, There are no written records from this-pertod, so ‘he evidence for the erly adoption of Latin words lies n an analysis of own sound changes. In the following assignment, only words that have survived into MnE have been listed. Many OE words derived from Latin have not survived, for example, eye from Latin eulleas eather bottle), mese from mensa (table) and sige! trom sigillum (brooch). 'y 2.9 SSS a EST] (0 Use the word list of Latin-denived words im the Word Book or a dictionary to find out the OE and original Lann forms of the following words. (i) Divide the words imo sets according to their meanings (For example, domestic, household Aamticles, et). Consider what these sets of adopted words might suggest about the Felationship between the Germanic tribes and the Romans, @ Acti bet inch pan purse bin Kettle peatse) Saturday bishop kiln pepper sickle buter kitchen Pillow street eat Tine pin tile chalk mite Pipe (musical) toll cheese mill + pu wall copper mint pitch (tar) wick cup ‘monger plum wine dish mortar (vessel) poppy fork mule pound Old English 2.6.2 Latin words adopted during the OE period % Otter Laun words were adopted int the language a diferent penods of the Anglo-Sixon seme, many as res of the conversion 10 Cstanty and ie esblishment of the Church. Latin. was the language of the Bible and church services, and of learning an scholarship. @ Activity 20 iia (Use the word lst of Laun-derived words inthe Word Book or a dichonary to find out the ‘OF and onginal Laun forms of the following words. . (ii) Divide the words into sets according to their meanings; for example, (a) religion and the Chureh (6) education and leaming {c)_ household and clothing (@ plants, herbs and trees Spoil s that do not fall into ‘You wil iso need an atonal eter. (0) for miscellaneous worth oo ain setseaily abbot —ecle——_—bter paes ain Gloster mire psalm aia tookin) miss tehuch) radish anchor coer” ser sabbath ee owt ot oe apostle reed sinter Schoo! ae cnp mussel sine Basan aeple yn aN beet fin fun soa box ferns! organ sponge Candle ever pal synod oa ts pe ise cet fon pine temple chalice er pla tie chest iy pone vere cy 2.7, OE grammar as are grouped into phrases, and Jc have 10 speak in sniencs to convey meanings. Words ae rope es pert seni witey Eglin ne ore ses mak panne Th fo pnncpal ways n which words rel 0 ops ad ees ie esr One's using an teed Word order. The ote schangng the form of word ether by adding ions (prefixes or: -$) or altering part of a word. ne OE i onder words ht clase was ore vanale than that of Mn and hee were smany mor inflections on nouns adjectey an wes 33‘bron Old English to Standard English 2.7.1 Word order ‘Today, the order of the elements in a declarative cl SP(C/OM(AY; that is, the subject comes frst, followed complements or objects, and iast the adverbials, OB, as the following examples illustrate. (Ea the OB versions of the Garden of Eden (Adam book of Genesis from the Old Testament.) ause (one making 2 statement) is by the predicator (or verb), then the if any. This pattem was already common in iples in this and the following section are from ‘and Eve) and the Flood (Noah) stories in the s PoA seo neddre ews 10 Pam wife the serpent said to the woman Ss Pp ° hi gehyrdon his stemne they heard his voice s Po Oo asp seo nieddre bepathte: meand ie set the serpent deceived me and I ate But there were also different orders of words. For ex came before the subject AP os AA Pa cwxp seo nieddre eft to pam wife then said the serpent after tothe woman AP os as Pic Pa gescah Peet wif pact et treaw wes god to ctenne then saw the woman that the tree was good to eat ample, afte a linking adverb the verb ‘oF the verb might sometimes come last in a subordinate clause: Ss P Ag SCP hi oneneowon Pa Piet hi nacode weeron they knew then that they naked were (OE word order im asking questions and forming the negative also differed from Mn: A PS OG S negP Hw1 forbead God cow Peet ge ne zeton? Why forbade God you that you not eat? (= Why did God forbid you to ear?) Other examples can be found i Im the OE texts im Chapters | and 2 by reading the WW tmanslations © Activity 2.11 [arene Uentify the clause elements and the order of the subjects and predicatos in the following Clauses (phrases are bracketed inthe first set), “ ‘Text 12 (Her) nam) (breohtric cining) ofan dohter eadburge) 7 tom his dagum) (comon) eres) (i, sespu nordmanna) (of hereDa lande) 7 @a)ise gore) (per 0) irad) 7 the) (wolde drifan) 10 Bes einiges tune) SS ola ey he) inyste) (hawt) (hi) (w2eron) Chine) (man) (ofsloh) (Pa) (Peet) (weron) (Pa erestan sexpu densera manna) (Pe)fangel eynnes land) (gesobton) ma "Set ‘iene beste] se here on midne winter ofer twelftan niht to cippanhamme O gendan wet seaxa tnd B gestion - nya Ps fles oe se adafon Pas ores Pe mstn da gran ban Pa yngeelrede hele were ysl ster was for on mores a 2.7.2 Number, case and gender - inflections on nouns and adjectives Number were are only a few inflections in MnE today which mark the grammatical functions of nouns. ‘We show te number oa moun, that, whee ts gua) ox pe (by ang ‘al 0r [zl in speech, and or in whiting, as in: cat /eats dog / dogs church /churches “There are a few irregular plurals that have survived from OE, like men, geese and mice, which show plural number by a change of vowel, and axen Case In MnE today, only the personal pronouns (except you and i) are inflected to show whether they are the subject or object mn a clause Mok. oF s ° s oP ° r it ie sean hit you (ss) her pu save hi he me he seah me she him hheo seah ine we saw you ph we sawon cow you ip) saw us ge sawon us they saw them hi savon agree with nouns in MnE, nor is the definite article (he), Adjectives are not inflected to agree with nu but they were in OE. The feature of the grammar that marks these functions is called ease, subject nominative ease (nom) direct object accusative ease (ace) indirect object dative ease (dat) tna prepositional phrase (Pep?) in OE, the noun ws nether the accusative or dave case, szcording to the propston , "ony eter Mn econ on nous the <> or <> in wnting show possession call the possessive or uenitive case (gen), This the only grammatical casein ME that Survives fom OE n nouns n OF, the genitive noun usualy pred he foun Head ofthe has, sie nthe fllowng examples 35From Old English 10 Standard Englisn sgodes cyrican (Text 13) sweorda ecgum (Text 16) sweordes ecgum (Text 16) God's church (by the) swords’ edges (by the) sword's edges Place names often began as gemitive + noun constructions: Cerdie's ford (nor identified) Etheling’s sle = Athelney Ypwine's fleet inver) = Ebbsfleet cortices ford (Text 4) ‘epelinga ige (Text 14) hheopwines fleot (Text 2) ses of measurement also contained a gentive, asin: iii seypu normanna (Text 12) x1. wucena (Text 18) xxx wintra (Text 6) Gender In MnE, we have selec the emt pronoun ese ot core roan he, seat coring oth se or ack ofthe referent ~ he is masculine tm), she is feminine (and fh neater oy Te Satur gender. In OF. nouns for ings hal tay oe ae ee TS led fone oon, might te mace, mine of ees Cea nae fmmin mona (mn) wists an wif trong) ea Cet tenes cal rma pede’ nouns nd actives OE nluig th equvslet of ME she, were marked omplex stem of inectons fr number ek and endo Here ae ev carpe wee ‘that sometimes the inflection 1s zero (@), like the Mn plural of sheep, or past tense The inflections are shown after a hyphen. " See as ore The 3 ships of-Norsemen 40 of-weeks 31 of-winter 1 years seo nadie evap ss nom the serpent sai * ‘ God ewe to ere nedan som Ged sid tothe serpent Pat wi. andwyrde ‘momo the. women answered God-@ ewzP to pam wif-e St ds n God said tothe woman * “ se brefn-0 eth Pa at stom om thenaven Now ten out he asende ut pone hrf 8 wom hesent out the raven hi gohysdon his stemm-e see they heard his vore “ “ ' ‘he genam hi in to Pam arc-e 5 tat m he took her into the ark * on heorabep-racap-an wrdongeopenede pl nom their both eyes, became opened oe . ofer Pare eran bradnyss@ gen over the earth's broadness (= surface) * ‘ ‘ ‘Pa weeter-u adruwodon i om the waters dried up " . heabad —obre seotan dag as wom Ihe wasted (an)other seven days Olt English Proper nouns were also inflected: celfred eynmg (Text 14) is subject and so nominative case; in the PrepP buran Pam cyng-e wlfed-e, except king Alfred (Text 14), all three words in the noun phrase (NP) are in the dauve case, following bran. 2.7.3 Verbs In Mn, there are different ways of forming the past tense and past participle of verbs. Mné regular verbs — OE weak verbs “The majonty of verbs are regular, and we add ft, f4/or Hin speech and usually) in wwnting tothe verb to form both the past tense and past participle OE ceyssan ~eyste—eyssed fyllan ~ fylde — fled enyttan ~enytte~ enytted ed — kissed fill filled ~ filled knit — knutted ~ kntted (Mn regular verbs derive from a set of OE verbs whose past tense was marked with ff or fain dental suffix, which are now called weak verbs. Mn€ irregular verbs ~ OE strong verbs ‘There 1s another set of common verbs in MnE whose past tense and past participle are marked by a change of vowel, while the partiiple has enther an suffix (not ) or none. These are called irregular verbs, Here are a few examples, to which you could add many more. MnE OE tide ~ rode - ridden ridan — rad ~tiden ‘choose — chose — chosen eeosan ~ ceas ~ coren drink — drank = drunk dnnean ~ drane — druncen ‘come ~ came ~ come cuman — com ~ cumen speak ~ spoke ~ spoken sprecan ~ sprac ~ sprecen Ww seen seon — seah ~ sewen Feallan ~ feoll-feallen fall ~ fell ~ fallen ‘The regular verbs in MnE derive from 2 much larger set of verbs in OE, marked by changes cof vowel, which linguists have called strong verbs. (This 1s an outline only — the verb systems in both OF and Mnf are more vaned than shown here.) Inflections for person and tense OE verbs were also marked by different suffixes 10 agree with their subject ~cither Ist, 2nd or 3rd person, and singular or plural number. In MnE, the only present tense inflection is , 10 agree withthe 3rd person singular subject: Hyou/wefthey drive hefshefit dnve-s In OE, this verb would have a variety of suffixes: hefheo/hit drift we/ge/hi drif-ap rede ——pudrifst In Mn, there are noadeitional suffixes to mark agreement inthe past tense eishefwe/youftey drove Jn OE, the past tense had some suffixes to mark agreement ve drat pudrite hefbeomi dat only some of the forms of inflection in OE verbs.) weige(hi drif-on (These examples illustra 37 a eeFrom Old English w Standard English Evidence of changes in word endings in OF (One of the important differences between OE and MnE 1s that MnE has lost most of the inflections of OE. We can observe the beginnings of this loss of word suffixes ftom evidence 23 ihe manuscripts. If you compare the spellings of the same words in the Anglo-Seron Chrome texts i Chapters 1 and 2, you will someumes find differences tn the vowel lence mark case in nouns and tense in verbs. Here arc some examples, where the text words swe fehlowed by the form with the ‘correct’ OE suffix (there are other differences in spelling i other words, but these are not diseussed here). Peterborough Parker Regular OE form Chronicle Chronicle Text 1 nefdon nefdan seféon = ne heefdon feordodan fyrdedon feordodon or fyrdedon cininge cyninge, cyninge bedon bedan badon Text2— coman ‘coon ‘comon Feohton feohtan feohtan (infintive) sendon sendan sendan (infiutive) Text bropor bropur bropor amstressed syllable, nor a ease ending) Text 4 onfengon onfengun onfengon nemnap nnemneb snemnap xadon sesadan nesodon Text 8 gefubion gefuhtun gefuhion ‘gePingodon BePingodan —_gePingodon Such spelling iregularities became frequent, so we can assume that the vowel sound of these Suffixes was no longer, for example, a clear /o/ oF /a/, but was ‘reduced to the vowel fa. This ihe commonest vowel in present-day English, the one we use in most unstressed syllables but we have never used a separate leter of the alphabet for i. The scribes of OE therefanc began to use vowel letiers in these unstressed syllables at random. Eventually letter ces come to 'be generally used, as discussed in Chapter 3 (see also Commentary’ | of the Tow Commentary Book, Secton |.1) “So.although 1n late OF times the West Saxon dialect had become a standard for writing, ang therefore did not reflect differences of pronunciation, seribes sometimes ims sper fiecause changes tn pronunciation were not matched by changes in the spelling. This is however, important evidence for us about the changes that were taking place in OE. 2.8 The Norman Conquest Wteo® Paks William of Normandy defeated King Harold at Hastings and became King William 1 of England. This event had the most profound effects on the country and onthe Janguage (see Chapter 3), and when we read English texts from the twelfih century onwards, we notice changes at every level of language ~ spelling and vocabulary, word form ant grannice To end this chapter, here are two further extracts from the Anglo-Savon Chronicle, one JED Stor andthe other much longer, describing the events of 1066. Ifyou ure able to sauy the longer Text 19 from the Peterborough Chronicte, you will understand litle of hog historians have to interpret onginal sources when writing history. The annal ts written an the simple narrative style of the chronicle, with cach event prefaced by and. Relerenoe vo individuals as he or him 1s sometimes rather confusing. Here 1s an outline of the events told in the chronicle. [i Od English Xing aie Cnr do 2 Dsante 5 an en i 156, He wooded ¢ William of Normandy also clasmed the English throne, Soest by King Har. ut Doe Wi ste xi ro. reared a fore ack oun Enlnd at efor th, King HO “ St ata nit ny i ogo ea a a ‘eat ar York. Tostig, the Earl of Northumberland, was King Gefeted the Norwegian at Stamford Bridge =a nt Halse bea sede Nove Hal. Ki Hal mae od ma Soutvards mil alert batt Stator Brie, bt hk my a ee the Bats oF Hastings Bake Wilms crowned Win 5000 afer, (@ Activity 2.122 i Rewrite the following texts in MnE and comment on the language. =, TEXT 18 ~ Chronicle for 1066 rb Her fred eadword King. harold er feng to On rie. 7 Hel it FE one dy hercom Wii gevann england tParker Comet fprssraqemnebegsfep F. Lous hepopdjepde eadsurd kong haputd col pens Pa was com dere. 7 flee 7 ewse 7 butere, for nan ne wies o Pe land, ‘Wreceemen sturuen of hungaet war sw me tilede. Pe erthe ne bar nan corm, for Pe land was al fordon. mid suilce deedes. 7 hi sweden opentice d eristslep + his hae lechen. Suile 7 mare Panne we cunnen swin, we Polenden ‘ix. wintre for ure sinnes, (From facsimile edition of the Peterborough Chronicle, Dorothy Whitlock (ed), Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger, 1954) Version in the former OE standard written form ene cann ne 1 ne mag tellan ealle Pa \wundor ne ealle Pa pinas Pe hie dydon wreecum mannum on Pissum lande. 7 aut heste- de Pa .xtx. wantra Pa hwile Pe Stephne cyning wees 7 efre hit wees wyrsa, a7 Pa wies com deore, 7 flese 7 cese 7 butere. for nan ne wies on Peem Lande, \wrecce menn sturfon of hunere. ‘wa hwaer svar man tilode, seo eorPe ne bier nan corn. for Past fordon. mid switcum dasdum. 7 hie ssedon opentice Pact Igan. swile 7 mare Panne we cunnon secgan, we Poladon xix, wins for ure sy From Old English to Mite English EG er nat hc pans that thy cused wretched nian tha (dine 19 wanes whe Stephen was king & ever was Worse & Wars. then was com dear. & flesh & cheese & bur fr none ne was in th an Wreched-men died of hunger : ie ro com, fr the land was Mime deeds they sald openly that chs tpt & hs ams. Such de more tan we can sy, we sfered 19 wanes Jnecannesnemarteilen alte pe under ne alle pe prnef ‘Stn duden. enon prfland-48lafte de pa.xpe pepe pile Scephne paf hang yeupere pafaueyfey unepfe- payafcom deqe:sfleeyceefe ghurere:fornanne pafofe Land. Jreccemen fturuen of hunger: lede peerchenebarnan comn-for pe Land pafi al for eis patertede shr feeden opentreeSypyft flep-phyf ha Techn Sunt yma fame peeunen fam pester PE (Ol) a Activity 35 aaa 6) Wt version of Text 23 jn ME. ney th Uae OF vernon word nite accompanying Hod Boo makes yo th cnges hat you can cbse nts angage Look partly tthe flown words or phrases: OF Chronicle OE Chronic NPs and PrepPs Verbs . © 1 renemegiein ——fnem len bi t tiedydon hidden we pa iessde Bit iasede hin ie ‘hi ‘Stephne wars ‘Stephne was: man me hires itwas an an comms com nan cm fan com rene wes nannies Gilepavundor ale ewunier enn tron rn falepapms” ——allePepmmes man ode ie cemiunde Pela frocoreneber — PeetPene ucobe— peane Per Tand was fordon ean was fodon 49From Old English to Standard English From Old English o Middle English on Chronicle OF ron NPs and PrepPs Verbs on e pet and Petand paxte wea Pasixinre he sedon Wi seen onPisumiande —onpistnd rst sep Cast leo tis ian hishaleehen We eunnonseegan We cummen sen forte sya Toraresines We olodon wepotee seem annum weece mn ‘ess nem sree men Ind wieum deur mn suloe dees cyaing king com cor) com (ere) fesse fee eyiceese cose es bute Cs Ci ofhungre oF hinge Laces CA oI NE il 3.4 The book called Ormulum Anosher eal text dating fom the ltewveh century san amportant source of norton shou the ste fhe langage. vas wren by a men eal Gr ta Dash naa sk we have sen in Section 2.5.1). Text 24 eonsnts of next rom te epoung othe ook, whe Onm explains why he has written it. penngors “wm TEXT 24 - Ormulum, late twelfth century (i) Piss boc iss nemmned Orrmulum, Forsbi Patt Orrm it wrohhte, Tec hafe wennd inntitl Ennglissh, Goddspelles hallshe fare. Affterr Patt litte witt lore, After that litle wit att me. Min Drihinin haFebp that me. My Lord has lenedd, lent = granted), ‘Annd wha-se wilenn shall Piss boc. Efft oPerr sipe writenn, Himm bidde tee Pat he't write rift. Swa-summ Piss boc himm twchePP. All Pwerrt-ut afferr Patt tiss. Uppo Piss firrste bisne, Wippall swille rime alls her iss set. WipPall Pe Fele wordess. Annd tatt he loke ‘wel Patt he. An bocstaff wnte wisgess. Esgivhner Par tt uppo Piss boe. Iss wentenn o Patt wise. Loke he wel Patt he't Wrote swa. Forr he ne mass ‘nohhitelless. Onn Ennglissh vwntenn rihit re word, Patt wile he wel to sope, this book 1s called Ormulum, Because Onm it wrought (= made. have tured into English. (The) gospel's holy ‘And whoever intend shall this book. Again another tme wate. Him ask I that he it copy ‘ight, In the same way (rat) this book him teaches, Entirely after (rhe way) that tas, According to this first example. With all such rhyme a here ts set (dow), With all the many words. And (/ ask) that he took well that he. A letier writes twice. Everywhere in this book. writen an that ‘way. (Let him) Look well that he it wrote so. For he must not else (= otherwise), In English write correctly the word, That (should) know he well for sure CT) ao Aciviy 35 ea \ <-e> withthe vowel a/, unless 1 comes pronounced. (Read Onm's text aloud, pronouncing every final before a word beginning with another vowel or , when its not Gi), How many syllables are there between each ull-stop"? (iiiy What do the “ull ops ma? a 3.4.1, Commentary on Text 24 1c, without exception, so the text 1s m verse and the metre ssed syllables (or off-beats and beats) alternate, ‘There are fifteen syllables to every lin tbsolutely regular, Single unstressed and sires flways with an initial and final unstressed syllable: x ypoxefo x box i xix do ox ds piss boc iss nemmned Orrmulum. Forspi Patt Orrm mt wrote, ‘and the stops im the text mark the end of each hall-tine and fine. 6 vy) a (i) Write out a version of Orm's text in MnE, {i}) Check the sources ofthe vocabulary (see the word list inthe Word Boot Eee OSU ell form: Hone os the text set out in met piss /boe iss /nemm-ned /Orr-mu/lum. Forr/pi Patt /Orem it /wrohh-t. Ice /hacfe /vennd innstill Eangltissh. Godd/spelles fhall-she Aare ‘Affiterr Patt Ait-le fwitt Patt me, Min (Drih-tn Maa-fePP /le-nedd. “Annd /wha-se /vilenn /shall Piss /boc. Eft /o-Perr/s-Pe /wri-tenn, | aan tte ce athe ee it, Seem is Moe io fe-heh All pwerrt-ut /aff-err fpatt it fss. Upp/o Piss fire-ste/bis-ne. Wipplall swille /rim(e) alls Mer iss /sett. WipP/all Pe fe-le wor-dess. ‘Anna /tatt he flo-ke fel Patt fhe, An /boc-stall write /owiessess Exghwhaor Peer /tt upp/o Piss /boe. Iss Avri-tenn /o Pat Jwise LLokie) fhe wel /Patt het /wro-te /swa. Fort fe ne masz nohit fell-es. Onn /Bnng-lissh /wri-tenn /rinht te /word. Pat /vit(e) he /wel to /s0-Pe. 3.4.2. Anote on Orm's spelling Je are wo important things to remember about On’ spelling: firstly, ts consistent; sa as anaenpt to rete the stem and elute each sound oa symbol, For example, he introduced three symbols for . 10 differentiate between the three sounds that st had come to represent (see Commentary 1 ofthe Text Commentary Book, Secon 27 ii) in the tens "Pill notice his use of for OE . for example, wiha-se, whas for fa sw, wars ia ni) and eas for and cu> i tbe Wort vor, wos, never {Use he word stn the Word Book to compare ine ME vrs sword an oe Ce aa eres an yo exlan any aiflrencss (6) The use of leer for the main vowel in neuere, wes, nes, erour, streve and Pe (Examine the pairs of rhyming words for any further proof of change {©} Thespeling cous forthe vowel nour ed oe cect 3 Pe. Gy Rewnte ne extn ME. (@) The spellings <> and forthe long vowels of 0, noe, so noe Pane an TEXT 27 ~ Cursor Mund. £1300 sto +f ane an ‘ Northern dialect {© The spatng and posible pronunciations of drole itis hymane won wi "Adam had psi mine hundre yere [Adam bad passed nine hundred years enc) A a ee An tae (a) The spelling ofthe vowels of hal, vera, walfvalle and leuere Forwroght wa his hak and spad Exhausted with his hoe and spade 55 Of himself he wex al sad, Of himself he waxed all weary. io Hers on apna Hel ene is ee Wit Seah his sun pusgat he spak Wi Seah his son this-way he spoke © observations that we make ‘ | im, he sald Pou most no Ba aren ow mast ow go cone eration hat we make aout anges ie language this sont ext canbe | ToBardispatleom tia Jo Pardie int {eame rom we would ind iconssentesnspling ad word ors Th ads ae ee | Til Cherubin pa Pe ye ward ‘To Cherub shat the gute guts. and word fom, There is only one copy he isi wit Ty ee Tantncwants and it nt the gina. Ir must have been wren sn copied inthe South or Srcheng eay | Yate wast egdenvard Yess knew Twine | 54 ss iceman _ sy{rom Old English ro Standart English Pat tat vncuth contre ware Pou wat pat I was newer pare. us he said I sal pe sai Howgate Pou sal tak Pe war ‘Toward Pe est end of Pis dale Find a grene gate Pou sale, ‘That that unknown country were ‘Thou knowest that I was never there, ‘Thus he said I shall to-thee say How thou shalt take the way. ‘Toward the east end of this dale Find a green path thou shat. ‘4 description ofthe language can be found in Commentary 6 of the Text Commentary Book.) ii | 3.6.3 Other features of The Fox and the Wolf and Cursor Mundi So far, we have discussed some of the evidence of cha ips, One important development, the Fruuetion of many unstressed suffixes to , pronounced /ol, was wey simply 2 sound change. zu los of inflections leads to and isa part of, a change in he ramen features of ME ‘grammar can be seen in these two texts, Grammatical changes ‘The following three examples of a construction that 1s found In OE, but which is no longer seen in ME, occur m The Fox and the Wolf A literal ranslavio Qn 1s also given; him wes wo to-him was woe him wes lop to-him was hatefal him were teuere to-him were more pleasing {The sno subject to the verb, In Mn, we have to supply one, the ‘dummy subject i, as nit prapohieleasins to hi. The ME hin 1s the old dative case so Maan oe to'add the Pn Ok ae ne same meaning. This ws called an impersonal consirecian Asim OE and most MnE dialects today. the double or malt iple negative was used: He nes meuere in none wise He ne hocld nouber wey ne strete This text also shows the develo pment of the indefinvte article afan from the OE numeral ‘an, which at first meant one only. Ex ‘amples of both uses occur, with variant spellings: Him were leuere meten one hen... one hen half an oundred wimmen half a hundred women he ofsei ane wal. hie saw a wall WiPinne pe walle wes om hous . ahouse Vocabulary AUe vocabulary of The Fox and the Wolfis dened from OE. However, there are changes of Unaware OF ie ken mile words which sometimes cause difficulty in reading ff ee en meaning serene an&e: For example, mere in both OF and ME meant fond iv ace Ton, ‘meaning survives in the MnE collocation meat and drink sea peabulry oF the northem text from Cursor Mundi contains a number of words erred rom ON and OF: fra, gare, tak land Pof from ON because Weta eee ‘m the area oF the Danish settlements, where OE and ON were gradually sesmaiiaea together, and contre, Fred and sir trom OF probably because 1 isa later text than The Fee secre Wolf and so there had been more time for French words to be assimilated into ie Tanguage and to be used writing. cps tePorant exampie of borrowing’ from ON does not occur in Text 27, but can be seon 1 the following lines from the same poem, ee From Old English to Middle English Bot Pou sal tak Pis pepins thre Pat I toke o Pat appel-tre, ‘And do pam vader his tong-rote. Pai sa til mant man be bote: ai sal be cedre, ciprese, and pine — ‘© pam sal man have medicen. But thou shalt take these pippins three ‘That [took from that apple-tree, ‘And put them under his tongue-root. ‘They shall to many men be remedy: ‘They shall be cedar, eypress and pine — From them shall men have medicine. eGR et et ae i wing’ from ON of distinctive forms of the: lura pm them an yem he caste ‘And many a louely look on Men shoide wedden afier hir estaat 3.7 The Bestiary - the eagle lect, Iris part of the desc on of the eagle from the only surviving manusci of @ Se fel ty the rears sane world ny the vse sf ota sei Knowle shows hat sone fh desertion tr sao he following description of the eagle's Might TEXT 28 - The Eagle, Bestiary Kipen | wille Pe eres kinde ‘Also Ie o boke rede: Show I wish the eagle's nature Activin book rad How he enews his youth eee How he comes out of old age Spe he mes ara Id When his limbs are weak wisted Spenus bec alo wrong When nisueak comply Seen Paar aancoe ‘When his flight is all weal Sipe his ge sal nstrong When bis ih : Here ware nee i Hearse ens hin wena ede pat ep A spring he seeks that flows poebingawwda Bet mea Porsactnehaeep a ‘Thereover he flies and up he goes ee ieee ‘Till that he the heaven secs Ce reer cor ‘Through clouds six and seven Dig skies sexe and seuene Trough cous sx and Til he come? to hevene Moerman He houep ne sonne Fe hovers nthe sn - 57 ways. meanFrom Old English to Standard English De sunne swideP al his Aigt ‘And oc it makep his egen brigt, His Febres falien for Pe hete And he dun mide to Pe wete Fallep in Pat welle grund Der he wurdep heil and sund And cumeP ut al newe ‘The sun scorches all his wings ‘And also 1t makes his eyes bright His feathers fall because of the heat ‘And he down then to the water, Falls inthe well bottom Where he becomes hie and sound And comes out all new 3.8 A note on ME spelling ‘When listing OE or ME words, only one representative spellin Words there were many spellings, according to the time 1218 usually given, but for many and the dislecwal-area in whieh the Tees cored. Examples can easily be found by looking m thé OED. For example, the OED lists these spellings for shield, from OE to Mn: ~ 58 scild ~ seyld ~ scold seld — sseld ~ sheld ~ cheld scheld ~ seeild ~ scheeld ~ cheeld ~ schuld scelde ~ schulde — schylde shilde schelde ~ sheeld schield ~ childe ~ scheild ~ shild ~ shylde ~ sheelde Schielde ~ sheild ~ shield 4. Middle English | - Southern and Kentish dialects —_ 4.1. The dialectal areas of ME 28 Res ee te a fe ia nf Ear wel nx lene rs So Soe este Ear iar ip ‘the dato Norte Enis aplen nso Sealand wer SS WesT MIDLAND SouTHER Map 4. Middle English dialectal areas 59From Old English to Standard English in the ME period, there was no single dialect or variety ofthe language whose spelling, Vocabulary and grammar were used for writing throughout the country ~ in other words thee Was to Standard English, After the Norman Conquest, the language ofthe Norman ruling class Of the English court in the twelfth century was Panstan French, which cared more prestige than Anglo-Norman and other varieties ~ remenler {Chaucer's ronical comment in the 1390s on the Prioress's French, learned in a nunnery wv east London: ‘And Frenss she spak ful faire and fetisly Alter the seole of Straford-a-the-Bowe ‘The language of instruction in English schools was French until the second half of the fourteenth century. John of Trevisa wrote in 1385: For lohan Comal, a mayster of gramere, chayngede Pe lore sn gramerscole and construccion of Freynsch sno Englysch, so Pat now, inal the gramerscoles of Engelond childem leveP Prensc, and ‘constr and lume? an Englyseh After 1362, English was used i the law courts and Parliament was opened sn English, instead of French, By the end of the fourteenth century, the educated language of London was beginning to become the standard form of writing throughout the country, although the establishment af ‘Repenised Standard English was not completed for several centuries. In ME, there were only Ailects, and writers or copyists used the forms of speech of their own region. Chaucer implied the lack of a standard and the diversity of forms of English at the end of his poem Troilus and Criseyde, written about 1385: Go, ltl bok, go tel myn tragedy ‘And for ther sso gretdiversite ‘mn Englissh and in wriyng of oure tonge, So prey 1 God that non myswite the, [Ne the mysmette for defaute of tongs 25 did John of Trevisa, also inthe sume year: per buP also of so meny people longages and tonges' (see Text 29), ‘The following sections give some other examples of the ‘diversity of tongues, taken from Wwntings from different parts of the country in the ME period. They show some of ihe ‘ations of spelling and form in the same words, Notice how there 1S inconsistency within a ialectal area, and even within the same manuscript sometumes. Its difficult to know whether some of the differences are simply variations in the spelling or inthe form and pronunciation of @ word. As always, spelling tended to temain the same even though the pronuneraticn ef « word had altered, CWIW translations follow cach text. References are to text and line numbers in Early: ‘Middle English Verse & Prose, Bennett snd Smithers, 1968.) 4.1.1. Ist person singular pronoun (Mné /) Also Te ito boke rede (EMidl) xIL2 As Tit im book read Forr Lee amm sennd off hefiness werd (Orm, EMid!) XII For Tam sent from heaven's land Weste Hic hit mistte ben forholen (EMI!) vi237 Knew Tit might be hidden (= Jf/ knew .) Gode Ponk now hit is Pus Pat the am to Criste vend. (S) vA159 God thank now it is thus ‘That Tam to Christ gone Middle English 1~ Southern and Kentish dialects = you will die) xv22 ‘Certes for Pi luf ham Hi spilt. (N) Certainly for thy love am T spilt, 4.1.2 3rd person singular feminine pronoun (Mné she) uned) First group Pan heom Puhte Pat heo hadde vo Petal oeome (SE ae wef eau) ‘Therefore to-them (it) seemed that she had ‘The owl overcome Ho was Pe gladur uor Pe rise (SE late twelfth century) 119 ‘She was the gladder for the branch ‘And in eche manere to alle guodnesse heo drous (SW thirteenth century) vuLi2 ‘And in every way to all goodness she drew He song so lude an so scharpe .._ (SE fate twelfth century) 197 ‘She sang so loud and so sharp .. He wente him to Pen inne vu Perhoe wonede inne (EMidl) He went (him) to the inn Where she dwelled (in) MLK.28 God woide hue were myn! (WMidl) vi Gv grant she were mine! - ha mei don wid God al Peta aur wule (Mid) xvuins "Shea do with Go al that she ver wishes Mie penne spo wyee neta iieenh oni) xviiss Now neared she no more st, our Lady: butshe spoke Tote sora tha served (the wine Second group Po hie segs hit nas nowth she ... (EMidl thirteenth century) When he saw it ne-was not she 1.197 thirteenth century) ui2ai « Leisande sche saide to Blaunchflour Laughing she said to Blaunchflour L61 She is my quene, leh hire chalenge (SE early fourteenth century) 116 She is my queen, {her claim ussee fole hire wolde teen and sew fleh (Pererborough Andre Landenisce ol He Chronicle, EMidl twelfth century) XVL262 ‘And the London(ish) folk her wished (10) take and she fled 61 60From Old English 1 Standard English Fro hirschalt Pou or seho fro Pe... (N ¢.1300) x1v.60 From her shalt thou or she from tice Hir luue seo haldes leieilike (N €.1300) xvas Hir love she holds true constantly Yo hat mayden Malkyn ¥ wene (N) xva7 She 1s called maiden Malkin I believe Ann ter sho barr Allmahhtig God (Orm, EMial late twelfth century) x49 ‘And there she bore Almighty God The variant spellings for she are evidence of a different evolution in different areas, Both the muti Consonant and the vowel varied, and the development from OE leo might have been snfluenced by OE seo (feminine the. that). Some early ME dialects, as a result of certain sound changes, had come to use the word he for three different pronouns, MnE he, she and they (OE he, heo and hilhie), which seems very confusing and ambiguous to us. For example: He ne shulde nousth Pe kyng see... (SE) He was not allowed to see the king He schal ben chosen quen wis honur (EMil) She will be chosen queen with honour Panne he com Penne he were bliPe For hom he brouhie fele sipe .. (EMid!) When he came then they were glad For to-them he brought many times... ‘The borrowing of the ON plural pronouns begining with has already been discussed in Section 3.6.3. Where there was a large Scandinavian population, in the North, all three forms they; them and thew replaced the older OE pronouns beginning with . In the South the OF forms remained for much longer. In the Midlands, zhey was used, but still with the ohjest and possessive pronouns hem and hire. ‘The forms for she and they" are therefore two of the clues vt dialect of a manuscript. The followin; ‘they and them in the dialects of ME, hich help to determine the ig Section gives some examples of the variant forms for 4.1.3 3rd person plural pronouns (Mné they, them) Hi holde piaiding supe stronge .. (SE) Lia ‘They held debate very strongly Analle ho pe druep hone... (SE) 166 And they all thee drive hence Pat pi dweole-song heo ne forlere. (SE) 1538 ‘That thy deceitful-song they (should) shun (All three forms hi, ho and heo in one manuserip) ‘And hie answerden and seyde (Kentish) XVILI8S And they answered and said Alle he am off one mode (EMi¢l) XILU2 All they are of one mind Nuste Ich under Criste whar heo bicumen weoren (WMit) X33 Ne-knew I under Cinst where they come were (= 1 didn't know where they had gone on earth) 62 Midate English ~Sonthern an Kenish dialects Po pat hit com to Pe time wana Pathoe shulden arisen ine... (S) 263 ‘When that it came to the time ‘That they should rise in ‘And bispeken how huy mrgten best don Pe lupere dede (SW) ViL38 ‘And plotted how they might best do the wicked deed for na lickre ne beoP ha (WMidl) XVIUL.66 for no more-like ne-are they And pilke Pat beP maidenes clene ; Pai mai hem wassche of Pe rene. (EMidl) ms ‘And the-same that be maidens pure ‘They may them(selves) wash in the stream, For many god wymman haf Pai don seam (N) xv.29 For (10) many good women have they done shame ‘Ared Pei taken hem bitwene —(EMid) 1.260 ‘plan they made them between ‘So hem charged Pat wrop Pai were (EMil) MmL178 So them burdened that angry they were And shen heom alle clane ... (WMidl) X64 ‘And slain them all completely Hil sende to Sir Maci Pat he Pun castel 3olde , Tohom and to Pe barome (SW) x127 ‘They sent to Sir Macs that he the castle (should) yield ‘To them and to the barons Godd walde 0 sum wise schawin ham to men (WMid!) XVIIL64 God wished in some way (to) show them to men J ns war don vd is ne | Paras ofa the wands yout) xavaei ‘esc wer pu onder is nose The os them tee yours oo 4.2. How to describe dialect differences ts are vanes of single language which amu comprebensble tas ‘fake daets om alk to and understand Scho An ananir 3 ism eStats as ta promncaon oe of nn © ic em a ites dapper aa he case wi Ke ies? erefore, we ean make BBs vemos of hv ay comma hfe een me ‘a famrly short list of features to look for when "describing the Sitferences between sinks. $id a compar ah Std Engh Tey of te enero Teele epugea pegs Sal whih dened fem he obese dao Loon aa era Fagen eenry nds orb imine chop maieral ns. ite nase iar tm fase bet sep Se a ee bcd same Goal 2 rset tat fhe man Ungusti feu dat nah ME Siecle ne ation 0 the contasing sounds ofthe ing: Te alpha symbols sedan ther elation 3 suns of Showa accent" We have (oe earful not fo assume that there a onoto-ore rl 63From Old English to Standard English between sound and letter. Some differences of spelling in ME texts do not reflect differences of| pronunciation, e.g., ; : ; <6s> ;

: ‘ etc. Remember that spelling tends to be conservative and does not necessarily keep up with changed pronunciation, Pronunctation (inferred from the spelling): Differences from OE and between dialects; for example: (a) Has the OE long vowel /a:/ shifted 10 /o:/ or not? (See Commentary 3 of the Text Commentary Book, Section 3.1.) (b) What vowel is used for the OE front rounded vowel /y/? For example, 1s Mnf hill (from OE hyll) spelt hill, hell or hut? (See Commentary 3 of the Text Commentary Bor Section 3.5.4.) (e} What vowels have developed from OE , and ? (See Commentary 3 of the Text Commentary Book, Sections 3.5.2 and 3.5.3,) ‘Word forms — pronouns: What are the forms of personal pronouns? Have the ON 3rd person plural forms beginning with been adopted? What isthe feminine singular pronoun? Word forms ~ inflections: (a) On nouns: What suffixes are used to mark the plural? (b) On verbs: What are the present tense sulfixes, and the forms of past tense (strong or ‘weak), past and present participles, and infinitive? (©) What are the forms of the common verb be’ Grammar: Examine word order within the phrase and the clause. (b) How are negatives and questions formed? (c) Find constructions that are no longer used in MnE. Vocabulary: Is the source of the words OB, ON, OF or another language, and in what proportion? We can now use this list, or pars of it, 10 examine some ME texts which provide examples of the different dialects, 4.3 An example of a fourteenth century SW dialect The following text, written in the 1380s by John of Trevisa, describes one man's view of the linguisue situation at that time. The complete work 1s a translation, wath Trevise's own additions, of a history called Polychromcon, wntten in Latin earlier in the century. John of ‘Trevisa was vicar of Berkeley neat Gloucester when he translated Polychromicon. ‘This work 1s a reminder to us of the historical ongins of English and its dialects. Trevisa's attitude 18 not unlike that of some people today in his talk of the apeyring or deterioration of the language, but the reasons he gives are different. He blames it on the fashion for speaking, French. He is whiting m the SW dialect of ME, although his use of the dialect 18 said to be “impure (mon ference to the Black Death of the 1340s.) TEXT 29 ~ John of Trevisa on the English language in 1385 (i) As hyt ys y-knowe hous meny maner people buP in Pis ylond Per bup also of so meny people longages and tonges. NoPeles walschmen and scottes Pat bub nost ymelled wip oper nacions holdeP wel nys here furste longage and speche Also englischmen Peys hy hadde fram Pe byzynnyng Pre maner speche souPeron norPeron and myddel speche in Pe myddel of Pe lond, as hy come of Pre maner People of Germania, noPeles by commysstion and mellyng furst wiP danes and afterward wip normans in menye Pe contray longage ys apeyred and some vse strange wlaffyng chyteryng harryng and garryng, grsbittyng. Middle English 1 Southern and Kentish dialects “This apeyrng of Pe bu tonge ys bycause of tweyPinges— on ys for hyde in sa echoefe veage and mancre ofl oper naions bu compeled foro lee here a eso foto contrs het lesson an ete Pnges a feyaseh, and hbeP supthe Pe normans come ust ito engelond tyme pat a bup ‘Also geil men children bu yaus for to speke freynsch fram ym Pat & a Bere cede and comme speke an ple wi? a child ys bruh, And aeesycth cn vol Tyke hamsylto get me and fondeP wi eet bysynes For spoke heynsch foro be more ytold Of = : el y= ‘smanere was moche se tofore e furste moreyn and ys spt somal y Pre aes wowPe ser of oure Lord a Pousond re hondred foue seore and iy, 18 beire Pe syde longages, norPeron and souPeron, Pan and souperon vndurstondep eyper ober. ureron Pan orn Ae ngage of Pe numbed peaych at sor nd speci at ork ys so scharp syne and trtyngandvaschape at we souperon men may Pa ong vane vadarsande, Y 'wowe Pat Pat ys bycause Pat a buP nys to strange men and aliens Pat speki wow at V5 to strang nd aliens Pat spekeP 4.5 ASE, or Kentish, dialect The singie manuscript of a book called Ayenbite of Inwyt, ‘the remorse of conscience’, is of great interest to students of language for two reasons, S author a renee to students of language fortwo reson, Fis} 5 author and ext dt re both Dis boc is Dan Michelis of Northgat 2 is of Nongate, ywwrte an English of his osene hatte tt ealed) Ayenbite of Inwyt and is of the 0 Canterbert own) hand, Pet -house of Saynt Austines of| Dis be sual = fuited, competed) me Peeve of Po 5 {= October 27 of ane broPer of the eloyste of Sauym Austin of Caterer ine yene of oure Lhordes beringe (= birth) 30. Mont Ausn of Canterbeny a the yeare ‘Thats, Michal of Norigte, « monk of St Auguste : 4 monk of 1 Augustine’, Camerbuy, finshed the Book, ‘rons Ion from French orginal ‘on October 27, 1340. * ed the book, Second reason is thatthe ook spelled consistently, and so provides god ev for the let of Kent atta ume, a sted ne folowingexmace eT Kentish ditect Now ich wll pat ye yy Peps bc syne Mid Engi of Kent Diss ynad vor ewede men om wor bers am alle inayere zen Now I wish that you know How itis went ‘That this book is written With English of Kent, ‘This book 1s made for tewd men ‘Them for to protect from all ‘manner sin FDIS] Nov e2rty21 0 now How it has come about ‘That this book has been wenten In the English of Kent This book ts made for common folk ‘To protect them from all Kinds of sin 66 Midate English 1 Southern and Kennsh dialects enbite of Inwyt 1s therefore unique in providing an example of a ME dialect in an origi ‘copy whose date, author and place of writing are exactly known. It is as close to a‘pure' dialect that we can get, remembering that the written form of language can never provide a really accurate account of how a dialect was spoken. ‘We finish this chapter with some short exemplary tales which illustrate the virwe of showing mercy and generosity. @ activity 43 ie (Rewrite Text 311m Mn. ii) Before reading the commentary on Text 31, examine the language under the headings provided in Section 4.2. Here are some questions to consider: fa) How far has the Kentish dialect of 1340 lost or changed the inflections of OE? (b) Which vowei seems to be more frequent in Kentish than in other ME dialects? fe) What ean you say about the pronunciation of Kentish from the evidence of the spellings uram, wor, Peruore, bevil,uol, zuo and mezeyse? TEXT 31 — Ayenbite of Inwyt, 1340 (i) Kentish dialect 'Efierward Saint Gregor telp Pet Saint Boniface uram Pet he wes child he wes 240 piteuous Pet he ya ofte his kerel and his serte to Pe pour uor God, Pas his oder him byeteofte Pruore, Panne bevil Pet Pet child yses manie poure Pet hedden sezeyse. He aspide Pet his modes nes nast Per. An haste he yam to Pe germere, tnd al Pet his moder hedde ygadered uor to pas Pet yer he hit ya to Pe poure. And Po his moder com and wysie Pe ike ded, hy wes al out of hare wytte. Pet child bed oure Lhorde, and Pet gemmier wes an haste al uo. Afterard Sant Gregory tls that Sin Boifae from that he was id he was so BEGG precast ne pave often his cont and is shi wo the poor for Go, though bis Mother him Deaton therefore. Then bofel thi he cil saw many poor hat had fhffenng He eed that hs moter ne-was not here In haste he ran he granary Shull at hs othe had athred fort ast he yer he gave tthe poo. And ‘thon his mother eame and eared the sme ded, she was a ou of her wit The Sn prayed our Lord. and he granary was steal ul EE 45.1. Commentary on Text 31 Grammar ‘The common basic structures of Mn were present in OE, so 11s not surprising that the grammar of ME causes us few problems in conveying meaning. However, as we read older English, we come across phrases and combinations of words that are definitely ‘old-fashioned’, and which we would not use today. Sometimes the order of words 1s no longer acceptable; sometimes words appear to be missing, or to be superfluous when compared with English taday; sometimes particular combinations of words are no longer used. In addition, as Michael fof Northgate was translating from French, 11 1s possible that some constructions are not ‘genuine ME, so we can observe differences, but not draw any firm conclusions from them. The following examples ilustrate these points uram pet he wes child from that he was child ‘of a determiner an the NP. e.2 [Mn requires fromr when or fram the nme that, and the adk child. ee 67From Old English to Standard English hie yaf ofte his kertel, the gave often his coat Je adverb often in Mn either precedes the verb, he often gave, or follows the object, he gave his coat often his moder him byete ofte he hit yat to Pe poure ‘The direct object, hint or it, now follows the verb in Mn: his mother beat him often and he gave tt 10 the poor his mother him beat often he gave to the poor anne bevil pet them befell that (A Mn clause rust contain a subject; here the ‘dummy subject’ i would be used, hence shen i befell tha, Pt hedden mezeyse that had suffering “This 1 perhaps not ungrammateal in MnE, but 18a phrase that would sound strange his moder nes nast Per his mother ne was not there ‘The OE negative ne preceded the verb. asin ne wees, was not. The emphatic nos nast came 10 RE used to reinforce the negative (it did not make it positive). in ME, the multiple negative form with ne before and na3r, or another negative word like never, after the vere une Sommonly used. In ume, the older ne was dropped, particularly in Standard English when it ‘developed later although the use ofthe multiple negative is still very common in most spoken dialects of English today. for to pasi Pet yer {in order) fo last the year Sra for ro ina structure like 7 want for to go 1s found in all ME texts, but 1 no longer ‘Standard English, although its still used in some dialects (see Section 4.4), Word structure A shor ext may not contain a sufficton variety of word forins v0 enable us 10 come to any Conclusions abour the range of inflections. For example, there are no plural nouns im thie eng A0.we cannot observe whether the -es or -en plurals were used. But the NP Per gernier chong the use of the older neuter OE pronoun Pier for Ma she, while the PrepP to pe germre hoe 3 dative case inflection eon the noun but the common fort Pe forthe determiner, The NP nore Lhorde also has the inflection -e on the noun to mark the dative case afier 1, 19 our Lond ‘There are no adjectives apart from possessive pronouns like his and oure, so there 18 no evidence here of the survival of inflections on adjectives, here's only one example of a present tense verb, lp. withthe 3rd person singular tnflection (cP. The past parueiple ygadered retains the prefix y- ftom the OF we, ‘The newer pronouns she, dey, dhem and their are not used. Even these limsted observations suggest that Kentish was « conservative dialect; thats, when compared to other dialects 1t has retained more features of the OE system of inficenone, gven though greatly reduced. These features are very similar to those of South Western texts, and can be compared with John of Trevis's. This fact is not surprising when we concider he eographical position of Kent, relatively cut off and distant from the Midlands and the North OF England, but accessible tothe rest of the South, Pronunciation and spelling ‘The vowel is much m evidence in Kentish texts, partly from the pronunciation of the poe) in words derived from OE words with fa, lke Per (er), wes (wees), hedden thefdon), Per (Par). dede (dade) and ted (bed), and parly from the shift of OE jy to Je) (eee Commentary 3 of the Text Commentary’ Book, Section 3.5.4), like kertel, sserte from Of eyrel, seyrte Miue English 1 - Southern and Kentish dialects ‘The following spellings: Kentish: ram wor Peruore —bevil_ uol zuo mezeyse MnE: from for therefore befell full so misease egst ha the consonants pronounced ff and ober dls wer os a he Depining of t word or roataale m Kenta and pronounced Ivf and fe This Ia voicing of fricative consonants is stil 3 feature of SW dialects in Devon, Somer Dr sae che and Hampi shang as angi Kent te Sorel lr of he Engl Distects PM, Annan, 1987, pp. ile3). This probly aso the case fo he ae ae ee imc Sb 0 ate sree fr hk ie ved an vols fom of he coseran be thin and then. ml BaAtivity 4. eee ae ) Witea version o Tex 32 in Mn, syomteenane 1 Uangte withered Boo or sevonay, wate ommenty on hee for changes ponunaven word ann and grammar from OF, and of ny spec Charani fhe Kent Sst the oath cory. TEXT 32 - Ayenbyte of Inwyt, 1340 (i) his preste ine his prechinge Pet God zede ie his spelle Pet God wolde yelde an oneal al Pet me yea wor him, Pe guode man, mide rede ois wy yea is cou ois rex, Pot wes riche, De rest is om Belch and ise ete to hist ae wes yone and lee mid ar alle Pe ress Ke tan hondred, Po Pe guode man yses Pel he Poste Pet Pet wes Pet word of Pe Godsplie Pete edd yo; nd him hi ween yoked eur his bissoppe aye Pane prest.Pise uorbisne sseweP wel Pel merc is guod chapuare, hide wexe Pe timliche guodes. slation of the French original, * The obscure English s the result of « mis (The French original of the text can be found in Fourteenth Century Verse & Prose, Kenneth Sisam (ed.), 1921, p. 213) 68 rrrvom Old English wo Standard English 6 aciviy ss ii ‘Text 21 by Robert of Gloucester was wntten about 1300. Use the text and the word list an the Word Book or a dicuonary to see whether you ca Features of he Soon 1 se whether you can find evidence for any ofthe following {i ‘The wounding oO fa 6 tha is, O8 is, OF word pet wih now spelt wth Gi) OF

now spel wah a>, although ening thesame and, (iii) OB now spelt ; the diphthong has 7 {id OF sen> now spelt the dpthong has ‘smoothed and become a single vowel (a) resent tense pla nd 3 person smut:

{b) Present paruciple: <-inde>. ® mee ” (©) Past parteple begins wh and has os ts fn (d)_ Infinitive has lost its final <-n>. Toss nal n> {9} ff atthe beginning of synble voiced. (vi) rd person pronoun forms sil begin eh ch iii || ‘he Kemish diet, although similar in sf a Beth di, mile ins features to other Sout dale, was diane bate to ier OE vowel nec lop wih evel pel <> Sections 34.3 and 34.4) "This made te vowel ce> much more Reguen ie Kenna tara a 5. Middle English Il - Northern dialects ee ‘The Northern diaieets of ME came from the Northumbnan dialects of OB. The present-day dialects of Scottand and the North of England are still markedly distnct from Standard English othe dislects Si other dialects m features of the grammar and vocabulary, and from RP ad Southern Secon pronueration | Tot Trevisa's comments in the fouricenth century onthe Northumbrian dialect a York (sce Tent 30) a8 scbarp sytiyng and frotyne and unselape’ can no doubt also be heard today {Gitiough indifferent words tha convey te same meaning) inthe South, say. where people are | MMtamilar with aceents tke Geordie, Glaswegran oF rural North Yorkshire, Equally, Norther Shakers may make similar disparaging remarks about Southern speech, Our reteon to other Rete and’ accomis ts of course, depenint upon our Tamifiaty with them. One retsons | the aecen i anoter’s Familiar speech and beauty 1s 19 the eof he Tistene er han 0 any objective standard. But.as we cannot reproduce the actual sound ofthe dialects of the past, we cant follow up this aspect of language study. The only evidence we have ofthe language at hat ume is Te form’ of manusenpts, s0 we have tO speculate about pronunciation an the abstract, recognising some of the main changes but not properly hearing them, Most of aur attention therefore has tobe on voesbulary and grammar 5.1 A fourteenth century Scots English dialect ‘The Bruce isa verse chronicle of the life and herore deeds of Robert Bruce (1274-1329), ten by John Barbour m about 1375 ~The Actes and Life ofthe Most Vieworos Conqueror. Jobert Bruce King of Seotland. Barbour was Archdeacon of Aberdeen and had studied and tight at Oxford and Pans. The following extract comes from Book . ‘TEXT 33 - John Barbour on freedom, Bruce, ¢.1375 (i) | Northern Scots) diatet "A fredome ts a noble thing Fredome mays man to haf king Fredome all solace to man gtfis | He levys at es yat frely levys ‘A noble art nay aiff mane es \ Naellys noch yat may him ples cont. 70 71From Old English to Standard English Gyff fredome failshe, for fre liking Is sharnyt our all oyer thing. [Nahe yat ay has levyt fre ‘May nacht knaw weill the propyste Ye angyr na ye wrechyt dome ‘Yat 1s cowplyt to foule thyrldome Bot eyff he had assaytt {Scots Tex Soc, Voll, M.P. MeDiarmid and J. A. C. Stevenson (ed), 1980, Book I. Once you have aesipered some unusalspeling, you wi ne uns spelings. you wl find shat hs None Seo sitet ss ch closer to Ma than Southern dats of England. Tat te os of the inflections of OF iano corpse nd hs gone far ast wl po. We can fev We et snpresent day standard spend it eads oreo les ike ME Ah freedom is a noble thing Freedom makes man to have liking (= free choice) Freedom all solace to man gives He lives at case that freely lives A noble heart may have no ease Nor else nought that may him please If freedom fails, for free liking Is yeamed over all other thing. Nor he that aye has lived free May not know well the property ‘The anger nor the wretched doom That s coupled to foul thraldom But if (= unless) he had assayed i 5.1.1 Commentary on Text 33 ‘The text is too short to illustrate more than a few features of this dialect ‘advanced! stage in its toss ofthe mflectional system of OE. ous atan Vocabulary ‘The derivation of the vocabulary ean be found in the word Ii found in the word list in the Word-Book for this te: Ina Norther east, we would expect to Find words drved fron ON, but etext contains only two, angyr and ay, as against seven from OF. Barbour was a scholar wnting a literary romance, so it 1s not surprising that he used words like propyrte and solace, - Spelling and pronunciation The mite of the ver is regular an igh ble ie hy The se an eighty ine thymang i coupes If you compan se of Cees contemporary vers, you wil sc a ary of Chater words enn fal <>, sone of whch have Yo be ronoured tte mare th ee some haps i what Chace wa rg wen be oped tt ce woul ye verse se Section 4.1). For example the il i pronounced i these tines fm Te of the Duchess as indicated: " ‘Tin ahsse lines om The Book For (nature /wold-e /nat sufffys-e {To noon /erthly Jereafture [Nat flong-e jtym-e’/to en/dure Wifthout-e /siep and /be in /sorw-e, Bat ay nt ot ay pronounced nd itis word beginning witha vowel so that non of the final following lines: © inal ™ ‘PPurely [Tor de/fautte) of /slep ‘That fby my frouthte) I fake) no /kep clided when 1 precedes a are pronounced 1m the Middle English Northern dialects PPasste) we Jover funtill fet; ‘That /wil not foc mot Jnedte) be left “The pronunciation of the final was all that was left of many of the former OE suffix inflections, and the fact that Chaucer could choose whether or not to pronounce them suggests tha: there was still vanation between speakers. Tn Barbours verse, there 1s scarcely any evidence ev inflectional system (see also Text 34). fen of this remnant of the OE cco ~ Scots writers had adopted the convention of using asa diaeritic letter to mark a long vowel. In haff the represents /a:/;n weill, the 1s Jet Not all uses of following a vowel mark this feature, however. In failshe, ar> marks the diphthong derived from OF failfir similarly, the pronoun thai, egh> = is written for <>. representing the consonant /f, as m false, ajo, and Sharnyt, farm ts wniten for <3> or used in other dialectal areas forthe sound /x/, asin _~ these doubled letters probably indicate unvoiced final consonants in haiff and gyi eye —_isused for (from OE

) in some function words like she and tha, ‘as well as an alternative for <> Word forms and inflections Nouns None of the nouns is plural but evidence of the plural inflection can ive found in Text 34, The -1mg suffix on liking marks a noun which derives from a verb, sometimes called a gerund. Verbs ‘The mfimitive has no flection, as singular inflection 1s spelt or , tics and mays, Past participle: this 18 spelt , prefix ge- has been fos n haiff, knaw and pless. Present tense: the 3rd person as in giffis and fevys. Other verbs have only /S/, as mt ‘as in 3harnyt, levyt and cowplyt, and the OE Grammar ‘The word order of verse 1s often more marked and less normal than that of prose, a 1m Fredome all solace to man gifts, 1a which the direct object al solace and adverbial 0 mar precede the verb, and so cannot be good evidence of normal spoken usage, “The relative pronoun 1s that, as mn Mn, but spelt yar. [El Activity 5.1 Aaa eae eS (Write a version of Text 34 in MnE. (i) Soe if any of the following lingurstic features of the Northem dialect of ME are to be Found in the text: {a) Vocabulary: comment on the OE, ON and OF words. (b) Words retaining the OE long vowel /a. {c) Spelling words with as a diacrtic fora long vowel (d)_ Spelling for //. (e) Spelling for OF . (Present participle inflection of verbs <-and>, (g) Past tense 3rd person singular/plural inflection of weak verbs <=1, (ih) Past participle inflection of verbs <> (or <-yi>). i) Plural inflection of nouns <1s> or <-ys>. GON form of 3rd person plural pronouns beginning with , en B 72From Old English to Standard English lish 10 Standard English Middle English I~ Northern dialects Northern (Scots) dialect Engynys alsua for to cast ‘Yat ordanyt & maid redy fast ‘And set ilk man syne tll his ward ‘And schyr Walter ye gud steward With armyt men suld rid about And se qubar yat yar war mast dout ‘And succour yar with his menge And quhen yat in sie degre Had maid yaum for defending On ye Rud Ewyn in ye dawing Ye inglis ost blew tll assail ‘Yan mycht men with ser appara Se yat gret ost cum sturdely Ye toun enweround yat in hy ‘The York ‘mystery plays’ consist of a cycle of 50 short episodes which tell the story of the ‘world uecording to medieval Christian tradition, from the Fall of the Angels and the Creation tothe Last Judgement. Each trade gild of the city was responsible forthe costs and production, ff a play, which was performed in procession on a pageant-wagon in the streets of Yorks. Some of the plays were obviously assigned to a gild whose occupation was reflected in the story. For ceximple, the bakers played The Last Supper, the shipwnghts The Building of the Ark, the fishers and mariners The Flood, and the vintners The Mariage at Cana, “The eycle was produced each year at the feast of Corpus Christ, from the late fourteenth ‘century into the early sixteenth century, Twelve ‘stations’ were set up in the streets and each pageant-wagon moved 1m procession from one station to another to perform its play. The procession of wagons began al 4.30 am and the last play was probably finished after midnight Banners were set up to mark the positions of the stations and a proclamation was made. j | ‘TEXT 34 - John Barbour on the siege of Berwick, Bruce, c.1375 (ii) 5.2 Another Northern dialect ~ York | ‘TEXT 35 - The York proclamation for the Corpus Christi plays, 1415 forfaiture of Paire wapen & inprisonment of Pasre bodys. And Pat men Pat brynges Furth pacentes, Pat Pat play at the places Pat is assigned Perfore, and nowere elles. of she payne of forfaiture to be raysed Pat 1s ordayned Perfore, Pat is to say x1... And pat all maner of erafimen Pat bryngeth furthe ther pageantez in order & course be ‘good players, well arayed & openly spekyng, vpon payn of lesing of s. to be paid 10 the chambre withoute any pardon, And that euery player that shall play be redy in his pagiaunt at convenyant tyme, that is to say at the mydhowre betwix ij & v of the Cloke in the momyng, & then all oPer pageantes fast folowyng ilkon after oPer as Per course 1s, without tartemg, (The York Plays, Richard Beadle (ed.), Edward Amold, 1982) Sa weill has yam defendit yar Yat leddrys to ye ground yai slang ‘And with stanys sa fast yar dan ‘Yar fayss yat fele yar left land ‘Sum dede sum hurt and sum swonand, EY Meese etes ordained (sep) & made ready fst And set each man next to his post, » ‘nd Sir Walter the good Stewan "With armed men sold = had) de abou And see where that there was most doubt ‘ | And suecour (= rng felp therewith his company. And when they im such state Of Activity? ii as Had made them = themselves) for defending On the Rood Even (= Eve ofthe Feast ofthe Exalation ofthe Cross, Sepember 13) «) Wte a verion ofthe prosiamation 11 ME. “The English host blew to atack, inthe daybreak |G Discuss the language and style of the proclamation | (a) The different functions of the word Pat. ‘Then might men with various gear ‘See that great host come resolutely (b) Verb inflections. ‘The town surrounded they in hse {e)_ Noun inflections attacked with so great will (4) Forms of personal pronoun. {e) ‘The soutees ofthe voeabulary ~ OE, ON or OF (see the word list in the Word Book ‘Yet them advanced fast on the town, (®) Spelling. (ell So well them (= themselves) defended there fo ~ Baty nian eure | Thar ee tbe gen ss rund hy sn | “The ony copy of Te York Plast sre ws west about 1470, a hs we | For all their might they set thereto ‘or use a dictionary). To death or else to wounds sore ‘And wath stones so fast they struck sand wh stones So at they sek ‘criginally the property of the corporation of the city. It was probably compiled from the Some dead some hurt and some swooning, ,-and so the language may vanous prompt copies belonging 10 each gild that performed a play therefore be that of the earlier part ofthe fifteenth century. “The dislect 1s Northern, but the scribes introduced a lot of modifications from the East Midlands dialect, the evidence for which 1s inthe variations of spelling of the same words. The tue of some East Midlands forms 1s evidence of the beginning of a standardised system of spelling (Scottish Text Soc, Vol. Il, M. P. McDiarmid and J. A. C. Stevenson (eds), 1980, Book XVI, £625) eee a ee El 75From Old English to Standard English ‘The plays are written in a variety of verse stanza pattems, with both rhyme and alliteration, so that they cannot be read as natural everyday speech, in spite ofthe liveliness of the dialogue. The following extract 1s from the potters’ ‘Pentecost Play’, which retells the story of the coming of the Holy Spint at Pentecost, or Whitsuntide, after the Ascension of Chnst. It fills out the story in the Acts of the Aposties, Chapter 2. The play does not attempt to portray the actual coming of the Spirit as 11s told in the Bible, White the day of Pentecost was running ts course they were all together in one place, when suddenly there came from the sky a nowe like tht of w strong driving wind, which filled the whole house where they were sting, And there appeared to them tongues like ames of fire, dispersed among ‘hem and resting on each one. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other tongues, asthe Spirit gave them the power of werance (The New English Bible, 1961) ‘The following four stanzas of the play span the coming of the Spirit, which 1s represented by the singing of the ancient hymn Vent Creator Spiritus (Come Creator Spirit. Two doctors! speak contemptuously of the claum of the apostles that Jesus was alive again, After the hyn, Mary and Peter celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit ‘TEXT 36 - The York potters’ ‘Pentecost Play’, ¢.1470 Idoctor Hark maisie Tor mahoundes peyne Howe Pat Pes mobbardis maddis nowe Per maistr Pat oure men hae slayne Fase gare Pame on his tifulls owe 1 doctor De turdayne sis he leis agayne Dat mater may Pet neucre avowe For as Pt herd his prechyng pleyne He was away Par wistenost howe 1 doctor ‘They wiste noght whenne he wente Perfore fully Pet faile ‘And sais Pam schall be sento Grete helpe thurgh his counsaille H doctor He myghte nowdir sende clothe nor clowie He was neuere but a wreeehe alway But samme oure men and make a schowte So schall we beste yone foolis laye I doctor Nay nay Pan will Pei dye for doute 1 rede we make nost mekill dray But warly wayte when Par come oute ‘And marre Pame Panne if Pat we may N doctor Now ceras Iassente Per tlle Yitt wolde I noght Pei wiste Sone carles pan schall we kill But Pei liffe als vs liste ‘Angelus tune cantare vem creator spiritus Angel then to sing Come Creator Spirit Honnoure and blisse be euer nowe With worschippe in pis worlde alwaye ‘To my souerayne sone Thu (Jesu) ure lorde allone Pat laste schall ay Nowe may we tnste his talis ar trewe cont Middle English = Northern dialects Yan art Barbs dumpbe for rialomndct epne fowe pur ped mobbazda wiasdis rows <2 HANDY pare onve me Banc fla ye safe rhavts pone on lid wifalhé evowe nn or theday nie pn Tre [opie spay doctor v burdapsie fine be offs sage str onter nduy per mene avowe | go A6 por brerde M16 prredhymir plepne Wn awap par wnpe noze Gowe ———— "Soctor TpRop waple next Wiheune Ge went S Boe gah peupat Bea Base Getve le ee epmecece TE 1) STON Tony alse nendir fonde dothenor G wats none foie tyrone sivagy we feignene ss a at a apihomes ‘ates hens pone foolis pay ote wes belts pone fae BD ay ty ye Rall ye aye for oones Fre espe ake nor mck Tc ome yaad svnpes Ee ot Ay Rey ane puree ofp pate wenn ~ cole aaa Dow ore japon wes all 1 wolde proper pot na oe codes ap etan pial we Putt Bu: yer info als nd figte . aburigelin crm? cpUEC exe Honnonve sand blgft Gs caer nowe We worthype in ye wer Seah aps ory forsee foie fljar : eee \e slloase yar Cape pare ay fRowe miny we crupte Gio cbs ay cece onnfuntte 9} Joctorr 7 76Fram Old English to Standard English Be dedis pat here 1s done Pis day ‘As lange as 3e his pase pursue De fende ne (= lie) fendis yow for to flay For his high hali gaste He ints here on zou lende ‘Mirthis and trewihe to taste And all misse to amende All mys to mende nowe haue we myghi Dis is the murthe oure maistir of mente T myght nost loke, so was it Tight A loued be Pat lorde Pat att vs lente Nowe hase he holden Pat he vs highte His holy goste here haue we hente Like to Pe sonne itt semed in sight ‘And sodenly Panne was it sente 1 Apostotus Hitt was sente for oure sele Hit giffis vs happe and hele Me thynke slike forse I fele Tmyght felle folke full feel (The York Plays, Leeds Medi al Drama Facstmiles) (4) Use the word list in the Word Book to write a MnE verston of the tex Gi) Examine and explain the metre, the ehyme scheme and the alliteration. [i on activity 5.5 RRR (Gif) Make a study of the language of the text m comparison with MnE, with reference to: (a) Spelling and probable pronunciation, (b) Word forms and inflections of nouns and verbs, (c) Sources of vocabulary, (a) Grammar, (iv) Examine the forms of personal pronoun. Why e they evidence of the Northern di leet? (v) Are the final spellings still pronounced as inflections? Use your reading of the poetic metre ofthe text as evidence, 5.3 Northern and Midlands dialects compared = John de Thoresby became Archbishop of York in 1352, He found many of his pansh priests ignorant and neglectful of their duues, and as one remedy for this he wrote a ‘Catechism’ in ‘Lan, setung out the baste doctrines of the faith. It was translated into English by a monk of St ‘Mary's Abbey in York in 1357. This version 1s called The ay Folk’s Catechism. An extended version was wntten a litle later by John Wyclif. He had been bom in the North Riding of Yorkshire, but because he had lived and worked for a long time i Oxford and Leicest his writings were ina shire, inety of the Midlands dialect. By comparing the two versions of Archbishop Thoresby's "Catechism’, we can therefore clearly see some of the differences between the dialects of the North and the Midlands, Midalte English = Northern dialects se $cd10 you Gere 16 done yr6 day Be Conse a0 Ze Grd pafe yniefng oe fenbe v ependie y Fore ay G6 Gray Goafiny ce 0d: Sr i create FP ipo ro mende now are woe oA myeihe eye Wierd nig y y m6" 14d Be Gord wd Cornet oo Gage fe Bode york eve Guashtte ie Ge Gere Gane wes Gente and foreee jenvee ome toys itt fodenfy_yonne ii). Which of them ts eloser to MaE i Activity 5.4 (3) Compare the following short extracts from The Lay Folk's Catechism and ist the fernscs at mark then 3 diferent ales wich va its word forms? (For typical markers of ME Northem, dialects sce Acuity 5.1, The verbs are and ware from the verb be are derived from ON.) ‘TEXT 37 ~ The Lay Folks* Catechism, 1357 ‘This er the sex thinges that Ihave spoken of, ‘That the lawe of halikirk Ties mast m “That ye er al halden to knawe and to kun (= 10 fear), If ye sal knawwe god alimighten and cum un to his blise: ‘And for to gif yhou better will for to kun tham, (Our fadie the ercebisshop grauntes of his grace Fourts dates of pardon ti al that kunnes tham, (Or dos their gode diligence for to kun tham .. For if ye kunnandly (= clearly) knaw this ilk sex thinges “Thorgh thaxm sal ye kun knawe god almighten, Wham, als saint fol sates n his godspel, Comandly for to kaawe swilk (= such) als hes. Tis endles fife and lastand bliss. “To whilk (= which) blisse he bring us that bought us. amen 79 78From Old English wo Stanelard Englih ‘TEXT 38 - John Wyclif's version of The Lay Folks* Catechism, ¢.1360 These be Pe sexe thyngys Paty haue spokyn of Pat Pe law of holy chirche lys most yn i Pey be holde to know and to kunne yf bey schal knowe god almysty and come to Pe blysse of heuyn, Midate English = Northern dialects ‘Aleyn answerde: Fol, wiltow swa? ‘Thanne wil Ibe byneth by my erown ‘And se how that the mele falles down Into the trogh. That sal be my despor. For, John, in faith I may been of youre sort, Tis as ille a millere as ar ye. Our Fadyr Pe archiepischop geauntys of hys grace Forty dayes of Pardoun. to alle Pat cunne hem and rehercys hem For yf ge cunayngly knowe Pese sexe thyngys; Pons hem 3eschull knowe god aimyay. ‘And as seynt lon seyP in hys gospel Kunnyngly to know god almysty ys endles lyf. and fastynge blysse. He bryngge vs Pero. Pat bowst vs ‘With hys herte blog on Pe eros Crist Iesu. Amen. (The Lay Folks’ Catechism, T. F, Simmons and H. E. Nolloth (eds), EETS OS 118, 1901) ‘And for to seue 3ow Pe better wy! for to cunne ham. | al B Accvity $5 ee aT Refer to the lst of northom features in Activity 5.1 and identify them mn Text 39. Some a efked for pronaneiaton and some for different inflections. There are also some dialect “differences of meaning, as listed in the following table. TS 5 Mak . forthern arn are 5.4 Chaucer and the Northern dialect | ae Se reatian falls falles OE feallan falls John highte that oon and ley highte that other | gas OF gan go Of oon town were they born that highte Strother | hem OE ham hope = believe Fer inthe non, Ikan noght tele where | hope OE ee him behoves = he mast | hofian ‘Chaucer makes their northem origins clear by marking their speech with some of the features, ‘yy bihoves ONillr inl bad that his readers would recognise. He wrote in the educated London dialect (sce Chapter 7), ile Oris s which differed from the Norther dialect an sts grammar and pronunciation, Here 1s an extract s OF man no from the tale. The northem wards are printed in bold type. Aleyn and Tohn have come to a mill | me OE sceal shalt and greet Symkyn, the miller. They mtend to supervise the grinding of their com, as millers sal OEswa ‘were notorious for cheatin therr customers | a ON sveinn sway : . i TEXT 39 - Chaucer's The Reeve's Tale vaeees oe svagien ‘Aleyn spak first: Al ay Symkyn in faith swerkes OE wyrean yore Taek eth How fares thy faire doghter and thy wy? wwanges OB wang ‘Aleyn welcome. quod Symkyn, by ty lyf of the dialogue between the miller and the two ‘clerkes’, Other words that give And Tonal, Howe now what do ye here? hi ony part of te ose By god, quod fon, Symond, ede has ma poee, say their dae ‘Hym bihoues serue hymself that has na swayn alswa OE alswa aso relishes fol cee ayn, fone OE bn bons Oure maunciple, I hope he wol be deed, bathe ON baPir bath ol ‘Swa werkes ay the wanges in his heed. fonne ? leone [And therfore is Tcome and eck Alayn OE gan 20g tuck “To grynde gure com and cari i heem agayn ON ille ON hei i (OF fang ON Tange jong sal be doon, quod Symkyn, by my f OE amine +a) none ‘What wol ye doon whil that it sn hande? OE WON re roe (deer) By god, right by the hopper wol J stande, OE sang Sout ‘Quod lohn, and se how the com gas in. OE sawol = knows, Yet saw Ineuere by my fader hyn OE wat fr witan wst= How that the hoper wagges tl and fra. OE hwa 80a 6. Middle English ill - West Midlands dialects eee lathe AngoSason wvasion nd stent of Botan the Angles ecu the Mins he Nort of England and what ws nw souhem Scotland, The general tenn Anglian ws wed 0 let of OF, but ss nonhem and southern vances were it two dialects to be recognisec wumbrian rand Meta ecath of odes ob reeogsed: Nonhuman noth fhe ver Huber) a Mere sh ca ee ME pend he Net Mind) ds sondern way, Te Js vas part ofthe Danelaw (see Section 2.3), but the West Midlands vas se neue oh Eat Mins hag erty une he ec of he Das Ol Ras speakers who settled there, As a resul sci 0 Eas ands stair ®rst, OF Merci became wo ME dialects: East Midlands Within what we call dst, hee are a a 8 dialect, these ae always ater varauons, o hat the more else amt the sotecho wring tt ae te modes we bse me amive at the concept of an individual person's own variety of ki ni sume sth cone of a language, an ioc “ann et tht hve ben chon ost the West dans det sre seen ilar to be called the ‘same dale: however they show differences which have led scholay to place one in the north and the other in the south of the West Midlands. sens 6.1 ANW Midlands dialect Spay cea ee hac 6.1.1 A note on the use of the letter <3> in the poem We think of MnE spelling as bes a We a8 eng regular and inconsistent 1 the relationship of et ws. This, However, hepan long before modern tunes, an dhe manuscript Sir Gua cand fe Grene Kny3t provides a good ex x and Pe rene Kit ood example of the use of « single Ieter to represent several The eer <3> was wed in th vk itr <> wa sd nhs oem reps see bess hal develo from wo sures fi om the OF Teter

tae Seton 224) ands secanly os eo Midate English West Midlands dialects {fil ~ forexample, yse-lydées, eve-lids; sederly, promptly: solden, yielded; eres, years 3et, yer. We use in MnE, Jol ~ similar to the sound in German ich, ig and usually followed by [Vin <3b>: for example, knyst, knight; hy3t height; lystly, lightly, lyst, fight. We use Mn, although the sound has now been lost in these words, Js! ~ similar to Scots loch flox/ oF German bach foax! after /a/ fo of ful: for example, urs, chroughe rast, reached; last, laughed; bo3es, boughs; Mase, fled: Wse, lave ‘Again, is used in MnE, and the sound has either changed to for has been lost. Iwi ~ developing sound change from OE /y/: for example, Pas, though (also, elsewhere: frge. arrow sage, sav broges, brows), Letter ts also used in the poem for this sound, as an blowe and lawe. Jsf. ~ <3>-and were both used for letter — letters and had been used in OF for the sound /ts/, which changed to /s/ and later to /z/. This French convention was ‘used in the poem for the sound /s/: for example, hedles, headless; resouns, reasons; thats, as, Jel ~ represented the voiced sound /2/ in <-es> noun and verb sufixes: for example. discoueres, lokkes, renkkes, bazes, cachche3, steppes, strydes, haldes, etc. However, Jetter- 1s also used in the text, as in houes, hiooves; bones, schonkes, sas, ete, ‘The poem 1s written in 101 stanzas which have a varying aumber of unrhymed ali lines followed by five short rhymed lines. Like all OE and ME verse, st was wntten to be read inoad to an audience. Although i was contemporary with Chaucer's writing, you will find i nore difficult to read than & comparable passage of Chaucer's, partly because some of the oeabulary 1s from a stock of words reserved for use in poetry, and partly because many words Of the West Midlands dialect came down into Mnf spoken dialects, but not into wnitten ‘Standard English. A Activity 6.1 ‘The story so far: during the New Year celebrations at King Arthur's court, a Green Knight rides in, carrying a battle-axe, and challenges any knight to stike him a blow with the axe, provided that he can give a return blow a year and a day fates. Gawain takes up the challenge. i) Read the stanza (Text 40) and see what you can understand without looking up the words, fil) Transtate the stanza using the word list in the Word Book, and note the number of words that have not survived into MnE and their source Before you read the commentary which follows: (ii) Describe the patterns of alliteration and rhyme. Gi) Describe some of the dialectal features and differences from MnE under the headings set fout in Sectton 4.2. ‘TEXT 40 - Sir Gawayn and pe Grene Knyst, late fourteenth century (i) ‘The grene kny31 vpon grounde grayPely hym dresses ‘A itil lut with Pe hede, Pe lere he discoueres His Longe louelyeh lakes he layd ouer his eroun Let the naked nee to Pe note schewe. Gauan gripped to his ax & gederes hit on hy3t e kay fot on Pe fold he before sete Let hit doun lystly lyst on Pe naked Pat pe schanp of Pe schalk schyndered Pe bones cont 83 of leer cr was theefoe se for al the anda) (Tor all the following sounds the Wowds eo Texts 10 | Per aak pages gece seade hit wwynne. Pat pe bit of Pe broun stel bot on Pe grounde. 82 |From Old English to Standard English Midite English 1 ~ West Midlands dialects Pe fayre hede fro Pe halce hit to Pe expe at fele hit foyned wyth her fete Pere hit forth roled, De blod brayd fro pe body Pat blykked on Pe grene & nawer faltered ne fel Pe freke neuer Pe helder Bot styply he start forth vpon styf schonkes & runyschly he rast out, Pere as renkkes stoden, Last to his lufly hed & lyft hit vp sone & syen bases to his blonk, Pe brydel he cachches, Steppes into stelbawe & strydes alofte & his hede by Pe here in his honde haldes & as sadly Pe segge lym in his sadel sette ‘As non vnhap had hym ayled, Pas hedles he were 1m stcdde, He brayde his bluk aboute at vely bodi Pat bledde Mont on of hym had doute Bi Pat his resouns were redde, {A detailed commentary on the spelling and pronunciation of Text 40 is given in Commentary 9 of the Text Commentary Book.) ‘That is, from two stanzas; we have: Singular Plural st person subject 1 object, me ei 2nd person subject Pou object Pe genitive " Masculine Feminine Neuter 3rd person subject hit pay ‘object hit , genitive his er Relative pronoun Of Activity 6.2 aoa aes ia een ES ell 6.1.2 Alliteration and rhyme The poem is evidence that the oral traditions of OE allterauve verse were unbroken (see Section 2.4). Each line divides imo two, witha short break, or eesura, inthe middle. There are usually four stresses in a line, two in the first half and ‘wo in the second, three of which alliterate together, but this could vary; for example: Gavan /geipped to his /ax & /gederes hit on fhyst Pe kay fot on Pe fold he beifore /sette Let hit doun Aystly ‘Aston Pe fnaked Pat Pe /Scharp of Pe /schalk ‘schyndered Pe /bones & /schrank Purs Pe /schyire rece & /seade hit in wynne. at Pe Abit of Pe foroun ste) Moot on Pe /erounde. Each stanza ends with a group of rhyming lines. The first short line was called the "bob which rhymed with two alternate lines of the following four, called the ‘wheel’ ~ ababa: in stedde, He brayde his bluk aboute Pat valy bodi Pat bledde Mont on of hym had doute Bi Pat his resouns were rede. 6.1.3 Grammar Pronoun forms (One stanza of the poem will obviously not include all the pronouns. Text 40 gives us: 3rd person sg: —_heshym/hishit 3rd person pl: * her (= their) rel. pronoun: Pat From Text al, we can add Ist person sg: time 2nd person sg: Pou/pe 3rd person sg: his (= 1s) pl Pay Complete the chart above by identifying the remanning pronouns from the following lines of the poem (all the pronouns are in bold type. ‘Scho (= she) made hym so gret chere Pat wats so fayr of face Ho ( = she) commes to Pe cortyn & at Pe knst totes (= peeps) Sir Gawyn her welcumed worPy on fyrst ‘And ho hym 3eides (= replies) agayn ful serne (= eager) of hir wordes, ‘Setteg hir sofly by his syde & swyPely (= very much) ho tases (= laughs) He aye 30 ar cum to weld = se a8 yow kes Pa hore tari sere) as wre en fo have at yowre wl & wee Where 1s now your sourguydrye (= pride) & your conquestes? Where schuld I wale (= find) Pe, quop Gauan, where 1s Py place? Bot se schal be in yowre bed, bume (= knight), at Pyn ese 1 schal gif hym of my gyft Pys giseme (= hartle-axe) ryche (= splendid) “To wone (= remain) any quyie in pis won (= place), hit wats not myn emde (= errand) .. ‘And we ar in is valay verayly oure one (= on our own): Here ar no renkes (= men) vs to rydde, rele as vus likes ((if] pleases A comloker knyst neuer Kryst made hem Post ({if] seemed to them). [And sypen (= afterwards) on a stif stange (= pole) stoutly hem hanges them) . As fortune wolde fulsun (= help) hom ( hetr true love) hor lyues (= lives) han auntered How ledes (= knights) for her lele ut rave risked) aD 84 85From Old English 10 Standard English Noun inflections Plural nouns inthe text are: lokkes bones fete schonkes renkkes_resouns, With the exception of fere, which still retains its OF vowel change to mark plural, these nouns are marked by the oF suffix. This derives from the former OE strong masculine <<-is> plural (see Commentary 2 of the Text Commentary Book, Section 2.1), and 1s now the regular MnE plural suffix. its probable that a final no longer marks a suffix such as the former dative case inflection of OE (see Section 2.7.3), Verb inflections Refer to Commentary 2 of the Text Commentary Book, Sections 2.44 and 2.5, or to an OF ‘grammar book to see the range of inflections on OE weak nd strong verbs. We know that a prinetpal feature of ME ts the progressive change and eventual loss of many OE inflections and also that one marker of ME dialects is the variety of verb inflections. Text 40 provides some information about verb inflections in the NW Midlands dialect, as listed below. Where t does not, other words from the poem are listed in brackets, Present tense ist person sg: 1 (bere, crave, telle, ask) 2nd person sg: Pow ‘rede, hattes, hopes, deles) 3rd person sg: hefhofhit dresses, gederes discoueres, bo3e3, cachches, steppes, strydes, haley plural: we/se/Pay (fallen; helden = hurn: 3elden) Past tense Ist person sg: i (lakkked; se = saw; chewed = gor) 2nd person sg: Pou (gef = gave; fayled: kyssedes 3rd person sg: he/ho/hit Strong verbs bor, fel, fet, schrank, start Weak verbs: biykKed, faltered, foyned, gripped, roled, schyndered biedde, brayde/brayd, hit, layd, lag If, rag, seade, sette plural: we/se/Pay _ stoden tmaden) Infinitive schewe (tak, gif, prayse) Imperative (if = give; kysse; lepe: lach = serze) Present participle (sykande = sighing; wresande = denouncin Past participle lut Cayled, payed, hunted, slay) ‘Several of these inflections are familiar 10 us in Mn, and itis clear that i of OF inflections has gone further than in others dialect the loss Inflections in ME ‘The loss of most of the OE inflections is called tevelling, and the reduction m the varity of the ‘remaining mnflections is called regularisation, Both developments took place more quickly inthe North of England, as well as in those Midlands dialects that were closer ta the North thatt others ‘The effect of the Viking settlement in the Danetaw was not only an influx of Seandinavian words, but also the kinds of simplification that are known to take place when people speaking simi Janguages communicate together, or when a pidgin language begins to be spoken. Because Norther and North Midlands dialects were more ‘advaneed! in their loss of {grammatical inflections they tend to resemble MnE more closely in their grammar. The barrier to the easy reading of Sir Gawayn and Pe Grene kny3t is due o us vocabulary, with its large number of ON, OF and dialect words that have not survived in Standard English and not ts gram Midd English West Midlands dates © Activity 6.3 DRG eee ‘Text 4s the net stanza ofthe poem and tls what happened when Gawain wok up the Green Knight's challenge to strike a blow with the axe. Rewrite tin MnE and make analysis of is language TEXT 41 ~ Sir Gawayn and pe Grene Knyst (i) For Pe hede in his honde he haldes vp euen ‘Toward Pe derrest on Pe dece hve dresses Pe face Shit lyfe vp Pe yse-lyddes & toked ful brode ‘& meled Pus much wit his muthe, as 3e may now here Loke, Gawan, Pou be grayPe to go as Pou hettes & layte as telly tl Pou me, lude, fynde, As pou hats hette in Ps halle, herande Pise knystes. Ta pe grene chapel Pou chose, I charge Pe, to forte Such a dunt as Pou hats dalt ~ disserued Pou habbes ~ “To be zederly solden on Nw seres morn. . De knyst of Pe grene chapel men knowen me mony: Forpi me for to fynde if Pou fraystes, fayles Pou neuer. Perfore com, oper recreaunt be calde Pe behoues. ‘With a runisch rout Pe raynes he tomes, Halled out at Pe hal dor, his hed in his hande, Pat Pe fyr of Pe fiynt flase fro fle houes. ‘To quat kyth he becom knwwe non Pere, Neuer more Pen Pay wyste fram quePen he wats wonnen, ‘What Penne? De kyng & Gawen Pare ‘At Pat grene Pay lage & grenne set breued wars hit ful bare ‘A meniay! among Po mene. EEE |) 6.2 ASW Midlands dialect Piers Plowman s one ofthe ost famous poems in ME, It must have been 2 very popular ‘work because over 50 manuscripts have survived. The poem logory ofthe Chan fs, and of the corruption of the contemporary Chur and society, wnitten in the Form of a se ‘dreams or ‘visions’ hitts) ‘Ac on a May momyng on Malueme hulles Me biful for to slepe ‘And merueylousliche me mette (= dreamed), as y may tlle (Cutext Prologue, lines 6-7,.9) Piers Plowman, a humble poor labourer, stands for the idea! life of honest work and obedience on au i ept what SShaacterm the ssy, and ay mot aways be denied wh the thor. For example, his aoa 86From Old English ro Standard English A touey lay flere = fee) mi ce) m ymene yelothed am doun re eastel nd ealde me by tame And syd Wile, slepesto? (C-text I, lines 4-6) Ryht with Pat ran Repentaunce and rehersede (= Ad made Wito wepe waersitsisayen en steme =e (C-text VI, lines 1-2) or William Langland: | haue iyued in Jonde, quod ¥. my name 1s Longe Wille (Betext XY, tines 152-3) Chis nickname is Long Will, he must have been a tall man, and unfit for hard physical work: amo wayke f= 00 we) to wore wih pl or Wi Ando long (= oo tal), lowe to soup ty on) ‘owurehe asa werkemn eny while io duyien 10 last ene) (C-text V, lines 23-5) He lived in London, in Comhi there 1s no other evidence), an ath Kit and Calote (peshaps his wi the country: te (perhaps his wife and daughter, although ‘Thus y awakede, woet god (= God knows), whan y Fs awakede, wot god = Go now), whan y wonede (= ved) Comet (C-text V, lines 1-2) ‘And so y leue yn London and opetond (= in she country) bothe. (Crest V, line 44) «and riht with Pat y wakede ‘And calde Kitte my wyf and Calote my doubter. (C-text XX, lines 471-2) He was sent to university (scale): When y song was, many ser hennes My fader and my frendes foende (C-text V, line 36) nn ye ey a i eh ¢ as ably completed. It ts a fine fourteenth century example of the tra F text itsel Sa result, t litors of me ver choices. from t BB Actvity 6.4 ii a eae eT) Rownte Text 2 in Mn, This frm the Pk 1 from the Prologue of Per Plowman wbih he srcam of a eld ul ofthe word of eonenpaay soo. nn NE 88 | \ Midale English i ~ West Midlands dialects ‘TEXT 42 - Piers Plowman, ¢.1370 (i) In a somor sesoun whan softe was Pe sonne YY shope me into shroudes as y a shep were In abite as an heremite vnholy of werkes, ‘Wente forth im Pe world wondres to here ‘And say many sellies and selkouthe thynges. ‘Ae ona May momyng on Maluere hulles ‘Me biful for to slepe, for werynesse of-walked ‘And in a launde as y lay, lened y and siepte ‘And merueylousliche me mette, as y may tlle ‘Al Pe weithe of the worid and Pe wo bothe Wynkyng, as hit were, witerliche y sigh hit; Of treuthe and tricherye, tresoun and gyle, Alyy say slepynge, as y shal elle Estward y beheld aftir Pe sonne ‘And say a tour —as y trowed, Treuthe was there-yrne, ‘Westward y waytede in a while aftr ‘And seigh a depe dale ~ Deth, as y leue, ‘Woned in tho wones, and wikked spins. ‘A fair feld ful of folk fond y Per bytwene ‘Of alle manere men, Pe mene and Pe pore, ‘Worchyng and wandryng as pis world ascuth (C-1est, Derek Pearsall {ed.), Edward Arnold, 1978) A | ml Gl Activity 65 aE Describe some of the linguistic features of this ME dialect from the evidence provided in Text 42. under the following headings: Spelling convention i). Evidence of pronuncration changes from OE. (il) Pronoun forms. {iv) Noun and verb inflections. (v) Grammaucal structures and word order. wi) Sources of vocabulary. aT =! “The printed text 1s editeds that 1s, 18 based on one of the C-text manuseripts but uses ther manusenpt readings or makes changes where the manuscript dacs not make good sense, Abbreviations ae also filled out and modern punctuation added. We are therefore not reading exactly what is in a manusenpt Tenvtitber also that the manuscripts used by the editor are copies, not the orginal. Consequently, any observations we make about either Langlands dialect or the SW Miclanis finlect in general would need to be verified from other evidence. Refer to Section 4.2 on how dinfpseribe dialect differences, and use the data mn the Word Book which groups the words of ‘Peat 42 {a) according to their pronunciation in OE and (b) by word class and source, (A sore deuited description of the language of Text 42 ean be Found im Commentary 10 of the Text Commentary Book.) 89From Old English to Standard English 6.2.1 Commentary on Text 42 Vocabulary ‘There are relatwvely few words of French ongin, and even fewer from ON. The south and west of England had not been settled by Danes and Norwegians, so the scateity of ON words 15 understandable. The proportion of French words in one short text cannot. of course, be used to come to any useful conclusions, We need a fot more evidence to be able to comment. but the text does perhaps demonstrate the solid core of OE vocabulary which 1s the basis of our language. Wrath and Patience OF the ME manuscripts that have come down to us, a large proportion are an the form of sermons or homilies which set out the ideals of the Church and the Christian life. A typical example ts contained in "The Parson's Tale’ sn Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, i which the first prominent theme 1s sin and repentance for sin, or penitence: Seint Ambrose seith that penitence 1s the plenynge of man for the gilt that he hath doon and namoore to doon any thyng for which hym oghte to pleyne. ‘The second theme is the Seven Deadly Sins, those sins which were thought to be the most offensive and serious: Now is it bchouely thing to telle whiche ben dedly synnes, that 1s to seyn chieftaynes of synnes .. Now ben they clepid chieftaynes for as muche as they ben chief and sprynge of alle othere synnes. ‘The Seven Deadly Sins were pride, envy, wrath, sloth, covetousness, gluttony and just Chaucer's Parson defines wrath tanger. oF we) ‘This synne of ire, after the diseryuyng of seint Augustyn, is wikKed wil to ben auenged by word or by ded, In Piers Plowman, the dieauner vividly personifies each of the Seven Deadly Sins as men ‘or women seeking repentance. In'Text 43, Wrath appears. TEXT 43 ~ Piers Plowman, ¢.1370 (ii) Now awake Wrape wip two white eigen ‘And neuelynge wip Pe nove and his nekke hangyng Jam Wrabe quod he. 1 was som tyme a frere And the couentes gardyner for to graffen impes, On lymitours and listres iesynges | ymped ‘Til Pei beere eves of lowe speche lordes to plese And sipen Pei blosmede brood in boure to here shriftes And now is fallen Perot a fruyt ~Pat folk han wel leuere Shewen hire shriftes to hem Pan shryue hem to hir persons. ‘And now persons han parceyued Pat freres parte wiP hem Thise possessioners preche and depraue freres And freres fynleP hem in defaute as folk bereP witnesse ‘That whan Per preche Pe peple in many places aboute 1 Wrabe walke wip hem and wisse hem of my bokes. Pus Pei speken of spirtualte, Pat cier despisep ooPer Til Pei be bobe beggers and by my spiritualte libben| Orellis al che and ryden aboute; I WraPe reste neuere ‘That I ne moste folwe Pis folk, for swich is my grace. (Betext, G. Kane and E:T. Donaldson (eds), Athlone Press, 1975, Vol.t, Passus V, pp. 135-50) (sty) aT “Translate Text 43 into Mn. using the word list m the Word Book. a = OD Activity 67 the word lit an the (i) Rewrte Text 44 (whieh 1s a continuation of Text 43) in MnE using fae receding texts. Ce eek y of ets 43 and 4 inte syle the commentnes on reseding ext TEXT 44 - Piers Plowman, ¢.1370 (ii) jue an aunte to nonne and an abbesse boPe. bee luo swowe or swat Pans ty ep. TThaue be cooi in hr kichene and the couent serued Manye smones wip hem and wip monkes boPe Iwas Pe proresse potager and oer pouere ladies ; nd ahem jot nya ~Pat dame ane was bast ‘And Dame Clarice a kny3tes dougfer ~ a a cokewold was hir sire ‘and Dame Pemee a proeses fle — prorese wos she nevere For she hadde child in chirte tyme, al oure chapitre 1 wiste Of wikked wordes I Wrape hire wortes made Tipo ln! and Pou int topen ou at ones ‘And eiber hinte ooPer under Pe cheke. Fic et ha cs by Crs eer had Kld oo ia aa (we) 1 90From Old English to Standard English Here 1 8 fesimile of an entract fom one of he C tare he ft i, gestion pu to Pace by Acta Vc Lie) Tey sc alegoncal eaters the poom, Pes Plowman skins how fo ve gd nd rex Passus Seton) goes on to deserie the feof Dowel = that hw todo wel Ty text 1s from Passus XV, beginning at line 274, * TEXT 45 ~ Piers Plowman, ¢.1370 (iv) Chia pfist pancnneeques, Achie utb ackene(fe ang mplee fpechesand men of on Usd ye Ublucthe Wile We lester ome ges place nd pat 1d chayrte: dytummprorte chef of alle Ve es ee me ee kien spacenceosille peyeles to fy . HgTe AND pancnoveplece mos i an So prehful videos aeaniablee ree Suns epalle ued concertos grub lauSabings ee ya men jeen oF picefiee yr to ye Wodsed ensic Arig Wham pe S200 Jun to yo Sepoparhe ne Seat im faye, a CHP POL pANcTs MUD yar y prente bi pepo nae bre ayn birt felbe folc of ye pdicoparne falley ma jepage Fey Pe pore Ofy HleOce ans prene be pipe efor . lah itiey 101 Bo have a lonamiee of Wis Lose br lewwe be PAE UGE t01e He YaSIee dF yredyfial mage he afBey ‘Transcription ‘What is parfit pacience + quod Actiua una, (Question) Mekenesse and mylde speche + and men af on wil Pe whiche wile loue lede » to oure lordes place “rower ‘And Pat is charite chaumpron + chef of all vertues ‘And Pat is pore pacience » alle pereles to suffre ‘wheber pouerte and pacience + plece more god al od al myst Question) an so rhfu richesse «and resonablel to spende (Question) Se qursesille quod concience « oncience «quik lnudabimus eum swer Palk men reden of richesse + nth to Pe worldes ende “ ? And whan he drou him to Pe deth + that he ne drat hym sare. Pan eny pore pacient and Pat preus bi reson (Cotton MS Vespasian B XVI. 64v) ‘he pred modem edition cont ion containing the same extract conte from several Ce ‘manuscripts. Modern punctuation has been added, as 1s usual, ted Sal Cent Middle English 0 — West Midlands daects TEXT 46 - Edited version of Text 45 "what is parit pactence? quod Actua Vita. "Mecknesse and myide speche and men of 0 will, ‘The whiche wil loue fat to our lordes place, ‘And Pat 1s chante, chaumpion, chief ofall vertues, ‘And Pat 1s pore pacient, alle perelles to soffre. Where (= wheter) pouerte and pacience plese more god aimyhty ‘Then rifufullyche rychesse and resonableyche to spene?” 3o, quis es ile? (= who ts he) quod Pacience, ‘quik krudamnus eum (= fetus praise him) Thogh men rede of rychesse rihte to the worldes ende Liste neuere renke Pat riche was, Pat whan he rekene sholde ‘Then when he drow to Pe deth, that he ne dradd ym sarrore ‘Then eny pore pacient, and Pat proue y be resoun. (C-text. Derek Pearsall (ed.), Edward Amold, 1978) OD Activity 6.3 (i) Write out some lines from the manuscript of Text 45 that are not transcribed here. {di) Compare the transeription with the edited version printed as Text 46. Comment on the differences and the choices that the editor made wn producing this text (iii) Does the text need modern punctuation? OB Activity 69 es ‘Examie one or more of the texts inthis chapter for evidence that they are wrtten in the West Midlands diaieets, Typical markers of ME West Midlands dialects include: (GE tong vowel /a:/ has shifted and is now spelt . ii), OE vowel /y/ remains but is spelt , as an hull for ME il. (iii) Saffix <-ed> sometimes 'devorced’ and spelt <-et>, {iv) Pronouns: 3rd person fermimine ha or heo. 31d person plural possessive fre. (9) Serbs: 3id person plural present tense suffix <-eP> Present participle sufix <-ende>. 93 92Sa 7. Middle English IV - East Midlands and London dialects a 7.1 The origins of present-day Standard English conglomeration of different dialects that we call ‘Middle English, there is no one recognise evens tat pope were evel dung te mac for stad np. pnseaon and grammar, This naturally rarsed the question of which dialect or variety of the I use for the standard, eines ° ‘The Standards that speech variety of a Ianguage community which legotimised as the obligatory ‘norm for soctal intercourse on the strength of the interests of dominant frees nt 1 soctey. (Soctolinguisnes, Norbert Ditmas, 1976) tas echo made by ep peel isting howe wh presge or pone tn tt soe ‘his te edt pes the vanaf he langue te Cone one toe A Snr guage snot ener mal ng osmosis ae tan gna mt apo sh even se agg es Sc nsec o's sandr wl es inde pou rs Putnam pbs ok hed ook le The tof Engh Pose In it, he gave advice to poets on their choice of language. ‘rte af English Poe tess be hat of educate, ele el not common people, neither shale fallow te speach of cafes man, orotate enor sg hough he Watanabe owe se he ee Realme. But he shal follow geerly te ber brought vp son, nil and gracious eine. 2h yp son, coulybehavured ‘The recommended dialect was therefore Souther, not Northern or Wester: she wl seach fhe Coun, nth of Landon nthe shires yng myles, and not much aboue. Sing tous London with (A longer extract from Puttenham's book 1s given in Text 81.) 94 Midate English 1 East Midlands and London dialects ‘This defines the literary language already in use in the sixteenth century, and clearly doscribes 1 as the prestigious language of the educated classes of London and the South-East. Londos was the centre of goverment, trade and commerce, and so the language of the ‘dominunt forces’ in society would carry prestige, and others would seck to copy it This 18 a simplified explanation of a complex stae of affairs, but it heips to explain why the educated London dialect formed the basis of the standard language as u developed. If the centre of government and commerce had been York, no doubt the Northem dialect would have formed the basis for Standard English today. "The London dialect in the late fourteenth century derived from a mixture of ME dialects, bat was strongly influenced by the East Midlands dialect in particular. London naturally attracted large numbers of men and women and their families from other areas of the country to fine work, bringing their own dialectal speech with them. Historians have identified @ considzrable migration of people from the East Midlands to London from the late thirteenth century to the mid-fourteenth century, some of whom must have become the ‘dominant social ‘lass’ whose language carried prestige and was imitated by others. But because people from ther parts of the country also migrated to London. there are also features of Southern and Kentish mn the London dialect. ‘So present-day Standard English denwves 1n us ongins from the East Midlands dialect of ME, and this explains why 1t 1s comparatively easy to read Chaucer's English of the late fourteenth century, as well as other East Midlands texts. t will not be necessary therefore 10 ‘examine the texis in this chapter in the detail given to those already described. You can apply the same prinesples of analysis to them, if you wish. 7.2. ASE Midlands dialect ‘The Travels of Sir John Mandeville was one of the most popuiar books wrten in te fourteenth century, with over 300 manuscripts having survived, bur is title 1s musteading, The fonginal book was written in French in the 1350s by a doctor of Litge called Jehan de Bourgogne. He probably never travelled outside France and based the stones on other men's travel wntings, filling them out from his own imagination. It 1s believed that he adopted the fame Sir John Mandeville and) wrote a preface claiming to be an Englishman born an St ‘Albans, although the facts are not known for sure. The text in English ts a translation from the French by an unknown English writer using 2 SE Midlands dialect. it cannot be a translation by the French author, because 1 1s sometimes an inaccurate rendering. "another version was written in verse form, The verse was onginally in a NE Midlands Giateet, but the only surviving manuscript is ina "modernised version’ of the fifteenth century. Ir gives us some idea of the standard literary language that had evolved at that time, and the syle hat writers were beginning to use. Unfortunately, part of the manuscript that corresponds to Test 47 is missing, but enough remains for comparison. ‘TEXT 47 - The Travels of Sir John Mandeville (i) SE Midlands dialect ‘Now schall I seye sou sewyngly (= in what follows) of contrees and yles pat ben begonde the contrees Pat I haue spoken of. Wherfore I seye 30u, tn passynge be the lond of Cathaye toward the high Ynde, and toward Bacharye, ‘men passen be a kyngdom Pat men clepen Caldithe, Pat a full fair contre. ‘And Pere groweth a maner of fruyt, as Pough it weren gowrdes; and whan Pei ben rype, men kutten hem ato, and men fynden withinne a tytyll best, in flesch, in bon, and blode as Pough 1 were a Iytll lomb, withouten wolle, ‘And men cten bothe the frut and the best: and Pat is a gret mervueylle ‘Of pat frute [ haue eten, allpough it were wondirfull: but Pat I knowe wel pat god is merueyllous in his werkes. 95From Old English 10 Standard English TEXT 48 - The Boke of Mawndevile Midite English 1V ~ East Midlands and London datects ¢ < ¢ iye fon 16 «Tha berth apart lee ste eB tpn eee Ee OF ‘And who Pat cleueth an appul atwyn (= apart, i 10) tprbard spare 2 the Bar a A litile beest he fyndith thereyn, of ors \erehevous the jo 1a Cond DnB Otbloode and bone an eof es 2 coe the ear four nop And welle shapen atte folle (= ar full, m every detail) contre that Fe wot ene, core’ af In al thinge saufe (= save, except that) it hath noo walle aGoute fiat thep depespn fe Cord(hepe endytts . And men and women Pere meest and leest (= most and least, greatest and lowliest) here mapaiytsere 6 onty Eten of Pat frute so with Pat bees thegveee vener oF enfin he ‘fe (ondon (The Metrcal Version of Mandeville's Travels. M. C, Seymour ted,), BETS 269, 1973) £6 39eBpH eke of nf thon a matel 1 money seeped gut oft 5 is tees ce) Re vo : : KAN] Hane 3 fiber Gre geete otf > fo tps ee J tome ponte Fe ter that o neat ue < sernst 19 4 firong: contre i Sen ae effew G. Lee Seo ic ne SIG co 4 Ge [Rrs08e b2s see pose pncvpys gpnit eipuitel car Ben forefeve ch : tron tom of te Hn t Spouse oN Oe ee ame a ere 8 a page m facsimile from one of the Mandeville manusenpts, together wi : sanserpion of he Botton pat fhe second column, Abbrevitns i the Ong ae ile! su ther mp2 2 Hot, " mBcents ieee Gere Enaie 2 8 Ge ehee Janene! Bort ic TEXT 49 ~ The Travels of Sir John Mandeville (i) | pe it fhansdpeh m that 16 the -vede fe Har Transcription Searerr fowpe ag to the cere of co} Nota de ter shove that the (on85 catpn wpenorearose 2 stron Shel to cont AG 14 aang pels havenys hau) ES Palete fent§ew homteG.Guewot he grew ite ben then for there lth $ tS G5 tno Bacde for Se(eres imeche hevene toun get RP wvenee fet eer ryches = rocks) n the entre oF the 2 it wns. thet arym there hhauene / Toward the est 1eccions of the fonttess BE 2 he Lond effat re isthe rede se (= Red Sea) that rennyth 1016 right tothe ete of cos Tene the CosSMhepe sO ayiepuce avi igh te we nne a tani = Constantine) the Noble The of the Eyng of pores mu creas Seer Tenth vsomets but not ite holdpn of the wre Hat Seosipte but ijn brede for desenys te Cane of tai ce the COMETS seat Ghichew ager ple af! — pene mon Gut pay callyd: Nundynen (= Numidia) arn Cathian a of wmsepe othe of col ‘ae fos ae ‘hevolk tat wonyae recontrasacfigeep — get Sete thar ten = han) men bu hy ary blake of color forthe cue BH Activity 7.2 fret ete thats there 5 day’s journeys = ¢.100 miles, 3 day's journeys = c.60 mites “Transcribe some of the first column of the facsimile. (Bodley version of Mandevile's Travels, EETS OS 253, 1963p. 33: fesimil from Bodlean MS E Musaeo 116 f. 15") 96 :9Fram Old English o Sundard English 7.3 The London dialect - Chaucer 7.3.1 Chaucer's prose writing Geoffrey Chaucer was bom in the 1340s and died in }400. H knowled 1400, He was acknowledged in his own day as the greatest contemporary wnter, not only in poetry but also im the arts of rhetoric and Philosophy. The following wibute to Chaucer after his death 1s from a poem by Thomas Alas my worthy mayster honorable ‘Tays landes very tresonur and eychesse Det by thy deth uth harme parable ‘nto vs don; hr vengeable duresse Despoyled hath this land of the swemesse OF rethorik, For voto Tullius, ‘Was nere man so lyk amonges vs Also, who was hier in philosophy ‘To Aristotle 1p our tonge but tho? ‘The steppes of Vege in poesie ‘Thow filwedist eek, men wot wel enow Chaucer wrote nthe London dct ofthe ME ot histme; hatte lirary fr nguage based onthe speech of the ested eas The dl ofthe muss of onary people ling London most have ben a elifferent from Chawer, bth form and pronunciation 'spresontay Cockney 1 om edveted RP and Standard English ‘The Canterbury Tle 1s Chaers best-known work, bt some of te tales are much more tye tan ers Mt of se ve ni uy a ie oles ese will eter popula since ther content tnd ie are now out of fashion. The is prose te “spose e ol by Chavo sel: ates his come se on marae omnes The Tle of i Tope hasbeen rope bythe Hot Namoore of this for goddes dignytec.. Chaucer agrees to tell "The Tale of Melibeus: I wol yow telle a ltel thyng in prose ‘That oghte like yow as I suppose Orellis cestes ye be to daungerous. tis a moral tale vertuous .. ‘The tale is a translation from a French prose work which 1s itself based on a Laun original Here are the opening paragraphs. TEXT 50 ~ Chaucer's 'The Tale of Melibeus’ ‘yong man whom called Melibeusmyghy and ete biga vp on is wi called was Prudence doghcn which Pealled was Sophie |ypon a day titel he for is sports went the ees hyn to pleye is wi ea his dog, hath he a ith his hous of which the doves weren fst yeh of hk olde Tos, an spied, & ston adres othe wales o his hous, and by wyndowes en ene, beter is wi, & wounded his ogher with jue mortal Woundes nye sony places this to Sey ni fee, i andes hres hirnose, and ine trou and letter hiefor deed & wenton sey Whan Melibusretoued wasn his hs eigh al his see Iya mad man rentynge hs lates, gan spe an enye | Prdenc hin vy as ferforth she dont sought ym of bys sreyne foro sytem Yr thy he an to eye wepeneuee lenge he moore (Transcribed from a facsimile of the Hengwrt manuscript of The Canterbury Tales.) 98 Mice English 1V ~ East Midlands and London datects Commentary on Text 50 (a) whilom meant formerly; its used here rather like the formula once upon a te () nat forthy meant nevertheless. {e) The verb gan ina clause like he gan wepe or he gan ro wepe was used in ME as an auxiliary Verb, to mdieate past time, as in he wep ‘The second prose tale has already been referred to in Chapter 6 ~ "The Parson's Tale’. It is a translation of two treatises in Latin, the first on penstence and the second on the Seven Deadly Sins. The following text is the commentary on gluttony in the second treatise TEXT 51 ~ Chaucer's 'The Parson's Tale’ ‘Afier auance comth glotonye which ss expres eck agayn the comandement of god. Glotonye 1s vimesurable appent 10 ete or to drynke, or elles to doon ynogh to (= to -give way fo, to go some way towards) the vamesurable appetit and desordeynee Coueitise to eten oF to drynke. This synne corrumped al this world as 1s wel shewed in the syane of Adam and of Eu... He thal 1s vsaunt to this synne of glotonye, he ne ray no synne withstonde. He moot been in seruage of alle vices, for its the deueles hhoord ther he hideth hym and resteth. “This synne hath manye speces. The Firste is dronkenesse that i the horrible sepulture of mannes resoun, and therfore whan a man 1s dronken he hath fost his resoun — and this 1s deedly synne. But soothly whan that a man 1s nat wont to strong drynke and parauenture ne knoweth nat the strengthe of the drytke or hath feblesse in his heed or hath trauailed thurgh which he drynketh the moore, al be he sodeynly ‘caught with drynke, itis no deedly synne but venyal. The seconde spece of glotonye fs thatthe spirit of a man wexeth al trouble, for dronkenesse bireueth hym the discrecioun of his wit. The thridde spece of glotonye ts whan a man deuoureth his ‘mete and hath no rightful manere of etynge. The fourthe is whan, thungh the grete hhabundance of his mete, the humours mn his bady been destempred, The fifthe is foryetelnesse by to muchel drynkynge, for which somtyme a man foryeteth er the ‘morwe what he dide at euen or on the nyght biforn.. “Thise been the fyue fyngres of the deueles hand by whiche he draweth folk to syane, (The Canterbury Tales, N. F. Blake (ed.), Edward Amold, 1980 pp. 642-3) O Aciviy 73 i ae (Examine Texts 50 and 51 for evidence of those features of Chaucer's London dialect that mark it as different from other ME dialects (see Section 4. (ii) Use the following checklist to describe some of the differences in the word forms and ‘grammatical structures of Chaucer's English which contrast with Mn. Nouns (a) What are the noun inflections for plural? Are all plural nouns inflected? b) What are the Forms of the personal pronouns, ist, 2nd and 3rd person, singular and plural? (c) Isthe use of the definite and indefinte articles the same as in Mn? {d) What relative pronouns ate used? Is the relative pronoun sometimes deleted? Verbs {a)_ Is the infinitive flected? (b) What are the inflections for present tense, ist, 2nd and 3rd person, singular and plural? (c) Examine forms of the past tense for evidence of strong and weak verbs and their ME form. (a). Distinguish verbs that use fave from those that use be in forming the perfect tense. ee 99From Old English o Standard English (e) Are there any examples of passive voice? (Look for any impersonal constructions using me or him {g) Look for do meaning to cause to happen ~ that 1s, ss causative use ~ and _guimenigan used as auxiliary verbs to form a past tense, Prepositions (2) Are any prepositions used after their noun phrase complements, rather than before, as 1s now normal? Grammar 2) Look for marked changes of normal word order inthe clause ~ SPCA. (b)_ Is the subject omitted? Or any other expected efement of the clause? (c) Whats the usual form of the negative, single or multiple? (@) Is do used in forming the interrogatve? (ii) Use the fst of lexical words from Texts 50 and 51 1n the Word Book to comment on the sources of the vocabulary and any changes of meaning that have since developed, i || 7.3.2 Chaucer's verse Here isthe transcription ofthe opening ofthe prologue wo : ¢ opening of the prologue to and the Beginning. of “The Frias Tale’ about a summoner in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. It : f ie Camterbury Tle. Ws accompanied by another version of the text from another manuscript. mpame By anothe ‘TEXT 52 ~ Chaucer's "The Friar's Tale’ ‘ransription Alternative version “This worthy Iymytour is noble ere “Ths worthy Iymtour/ this noble rere he made sway a ouryngeeheere He made aiwey a manere louryng cheere upon te sompnor, but fr honeste Vp onthe Some but fr honesce Novileyns word 3110 him sak he No vleyns words et hy pa he Rurnming rym Beaten od he god sue sow good yf ume quod god yee yo night go Sean her touch ao mot he Yetmbcer ited /alsomott ee inselemater gait Inscolematere/ ret ditlee 2 el ing night wel say Yehanseyd much thy ye Butdimenghtss we ntonty eway Butdame heraswe yuenby he ye Usneedep noust but fortospeke of gime Vsnedth att speken / bo ane And ee aucontes in poddes ae And lee Autores /on goes tame ‘opreching and io seo of clege ‘Toprsiyng/ and scale of clegye But like fois companye Buti ike otis compataye Twilsowofavomprourisica game wal yw / a Somnaur iele game (English Literary Manuscripts, H. Kelliher (The Canterbury Tales: ;.H. Kelliher (The Canterbury Tales: A Facsimile and and 8. Brown, The British Library, 1986) Transcription of the Henguwrt MS, Paul G. Ruggters (ed.), 1979) © Activity 7.4 =a TT Compare the 1wo version ofthe ext and discuss the di i ext and asco the ifferences and any itfcuis which editor of the texts would have to resolve. » cient Neha ae as El] 100 Midlte English 1V = East Midlands and London diatects 7.3.3 Using Chaucer's rhymes as evidence of change in pronunciation Changes and variations in the pronunciation of a language are inevitable, but they are much ‘more difficult 10 study than changes in vocabulary and spelling, for example. Until the Invention of sound recording, the evidence for change m pronunciation has been indirect, through writen texts, One useful source of evidence is rhyme in verse. ir wo words thyme, we presume that they contain the same sounds. We can then Jook up the derivations of the words and compare the spellings and probable pronunciations. There are three possibilities: (i) The words (OE, ON or OF) from which the rhyming pair derive also rhymed, and thet pronunciation has not changed significantly; for example. wy /inyght from OE wilifenilt (iiy The words (OE, ON or OF) from which the rhyming pair derive also riymed, but the pronunciation of both words has changed; therefore, an identical sound change has taken place, as in breethfheeth from OE brepfee?. iii) The words (OE, ON or OF) from which the rhyming pair derive did not rhyme; therefore ine oF more sound changes have taken place to cause the words to fall together’ and rhyme sn Chaucer's English, as in brisilst from OE breosthlystan “The comparison of Chaucer's shying pairs with their MnE reflexes (if any) will produce, in many of them, evidence of continuing sound change. As an example, we can list the rhymes ff the opening 162 lines of Chaucer's prologue to The Canterbury Tales. compare them with their OE, ON or OF derivations, and see what changes in pronunciation we can discover im the ME and Mn pairs. (Note that we have to select a reasonable number of pairs in order 10 produce a sufficient variety of words.) “The principal changes are in the vowels, but you will find some consonant developments too. There ure also some interesting changes in the sleess pattern of some words from ME to Mn, so that identical words no longer rhyme in present-day English, The toss of inflections will affect the contrast between some OF words and their ME reflexes. Baciviy?s ia List the rhyming words in the opening lines of Chaucer's prologue to The Canterbury Tales. Either: {@) Seicct some of the pats that show evidence of change and deseribe the differences, Or (for a more systematic desenption): (ii). Group the parrs into sets according to the rhyming vowel and see if you can discover any ‘patterns of change in prontunciation oF stress, (The list of rhyming words, with their etymologies and MaE reflexes, and a full desenpuive ‘commentary, is given in Commentary 11 of the Text Commentary Book.) i ELE I SUL Sia ROS ET 7.4 The London dialect - Thomas Usk From the late fourteenth century onwards, we begin to find many more examples of everyday language surviving in leters and public documents than we do for earlier English, Literary language draws on the ordinary language of its ttme, but in a special way, and we cannot be sure thatthe literature of period tells us how people actually spoke, In Chaucer's day, London was, from time to tm, the scene of violence and demonstration 18 the streets, and the following text describes one such series of incidents mn the 1380s, Thomas Usk {vas involved with what tumed out to be the wrong side in the political factions of his day, for he {yas unsuccessful inthe appeal from which Texts 53 und 54 are taken. and was later executed. "The appeal is ‘an example of the London English of a fairly well-educated man’, The original spelling s retained, but the punctuation is modern. ee eaeFrom Old English to Standard English TEXT 53 - Thomas Usk's appeal, 1384 (i) I Thomas Vsk .. knowleched thes wordes & wrote hem with myn owne honde .. ‘Also, that day that Sir Nichol Brembre was chose mair, non after mete kom John Northampton to John Mores hows, & thider kom Richard Norbury & William Essex, & ther t was accorded thatthe mair, John Northampton, sholde sende after the persones that thill tyme wer in the comun conseil of craftes. and after the wardeyns of craftes, so that the1 sholde kome to the goldsmithes halle on the morwe after, & ther the mair sholde speke wath hem, to loke & ordeigne how thilk eleccion of Sir Nichol Brembre myght be letied; & nad it be for drede of our lord the kyng, I wot ‘wei cue man sholde haue be in others top. And than sente he Richard Norbury, Robert Rysby, & me, Thomas Vsk, to the Neyte, to the duk of lancastre, to enforme hym in thys wyse: Sir, today, ther we wolden haue go to the eleccion of the mair in sgoddes peas & the kynges, ther kom jn an orrible companye of eriers, no man not whiche, & ther, with oute any vsage but be strength, chosen Sir Nichol Brembre marr, ‘yemn our maner of eleccion to forn thys vsed; wher fore we preye yow yf we myght hhaue the kynges writ 10 go to a Newe eleccion.’ And the duk seide: ‘Nay, certes, writ shul ye non haue, ause yow amonges yowr selue. & her of I appete John Northampton, John More, Richard Norbury, & William Essex, (A Book of London English 1384-1425, R. W. Chambers and Marjorie Daunt (eds), OUP, 1931, pp. 28-9) ae _ Bhchiy 7) aaa (Use the word list in the Word Book to write a version of Text 53 in MnE, (Gi) List some of the lexical and grammatical features of Usk’s language that mark its “ifferences from MnE. REET |= | O stviy 77 TT] Repeat Activity 7.6 for Text 54. TEXT 54 ~ Thomas Usk's appeal, 1384 (i Also, atte Goldsmithes halle, when al the people was assembled, the mair, John Northampton, reherced as euel as he koude of the eleccion on the day to forn, & seyde that truly: Sirs, thus be ye shape for to be ouer ronne, & that, quod he, "Ine! ‘noght soefire; at vs rather al be ded atones than soefre such a vylenye.’ & than the ‘comues, ypon these wordes, wer stered, & seiden truly they wolde go to a nother eleccion, & noght soefire thys wrong, to be ded al ther for attones n on tyme; and than be the mair, John Northampton, was euery man boden gon hom, & Kome fast a yein strong in to Chepe wath al her erafies, & wene ther wer a boute a xxx erafies, & ‘in Chepe they sholden haue sembled to go 10 a newe eleccion, &, truly, had noght the aldermen kome to trete, & maked that John Northampton bad the poeple gon hoom, they wolde haue go to a Newe eleccion, & in that hete haue slayn hym that wolde hhave ietted it, yf they had myght; and ther of I appele John Northampton, W, Midate English 1V East Midlands and London dialects Cl 6 acy 7s ae a s written in the East Examine one of more of the texts in this chapter for evidence that they are written 1 Ul Midlards or London dialect, Some of the features that mark the East Midlands and London ME dialect 4) OF long /ai/ has rounded to /oi/ and is now spelt oF . Gi), OF short fe) writen 1s now /a/ and wntten . iif) OB has smoothed and is now spelt . {iv) OE /y/ has unrounded to if spelt , but there are mconsistenetes inthe London di and some words onginally with OE /y/ use Kentish /e/ or Southern fu. () Pronouns: 3rd person plural: East Midlands he, here or ent: London they, hr or hem. vip Verbs: 3rd person singular present tense suffix <-eb>, 3rd person plural present tense suffix <-en>. Past participle suffix <-en> 1s retained, but the prefix 1s fost in general in the East Midlands dialect; this 1s not consistent in the London dialect, which sometimes feta retin cy > an dope the suiix , are reproduced, but modem punctuation has been added, ‘TEXT 61 - John Trevisa, 1385 TEXT 62 ~ Caxton's version, 1482 As its -knowe how meny manere peple beep in Pisilond Pere beep also so many dyuers longages and tonges: nopeles walsche men and scottes Pat beep noust rmedled wip oPer naciouns hoidep wel nyh hir firsie longage and speche Also englische men Pey Pei hadde from be bygynnynge Pre maner speche rnorPeme sowPerne and middel speche sn Pe myddel of Pe lond, as Pey come of Pre manere peple of Germania, nopeies by comyxtioun and mellynge As itis knowen hiow many maner peple bben inthis Hond ther ben also langages and tonges. Netheles walshmen and scottes that ben not medled with other nacions kepe neygh ‘yet theyr first langage and Speche / also englysshmen though they had fro the begynnyng thre maner speches ‘Souther northern and myddel speche in the miei of the londe as they come ‘of thre maner of people of Germania. Netheles by commyxtion and medlyng firste wip danes and afterward wiP nonmans in meay Pe contray longage is apayred and som vse straunge ‘wiafferynge chiterynge harrynge and srynge grisbitynge. ‘This apayrynge of Pe burPe tonge 1s bycause of twere Pinges; 000 is for children in scole agenst Pe vsage and rmanere of alle oPere naciouns bee? ‘compelled for to leue hire owne Tangage and for to construe hir lessouns and here Pynges a frensche, and so Pey haueP se Pe normans come first nto engetond. ‘Aso gent men children beep r-taust tospeke frensche from Pe tyme Pat Pey ie) -rokked in hore cradel and xeunnep speke and playe wi a childes troche; and vplondisshe men wil ikne hy self to gontil men and fondeP wib stoet besynesse for to speke frensce for tobe ttle of is manere was moche |-vsed 10 for firste deth and is sipPe sumde! ‘-chaunged, For lon Comvaile, a rmaister of grammer, chaunged Pe lore 1m gramer scole, and construccioun of fiensche into englische: and Richard Peneriche lemed Pe manere techynge of fhym and opere men of Penerich; so Pat ‘now, Pe gere of oure Lorde a Powsand pre hundied and foure score and fyue, inalle Pe gramere scoles of engelond children leueP frensche and construe and lerneP an englische Also gentil men haueP now moche tleft for to teche here children frensche. Hit semeP a greet wonder hous cenglische, Pat is Pe burpe tonge of englissh men and her owne langage and tonge, ys so dyuerse of sown in Pis ‘oon ilond, and Pe langage of normandie is eomiynge of anoper londe and haP on manere soun among alle men Pat spekeP hit anst in engelond. ‘also of Pe forsaide saxon tonge Pats -deled a pre and is abide scarsliche wi fewe vplondisshe men is treet wonder; for men of Pe est wiP ten of Pe west ast were vndir Pe same partie of heuene, acordeP more sn sownynge of speche Pan men of Pe nor? ‘wi men of Pe souP. Early Modern English 1 he ffeenth century first with danes and afterward with rnormans In many thynges the countreye langage ws appayred /ffor somme use straunge wiaffyng / chytenng harryng ‘garryng and grisbytyne J this appayryng of the langage cometh fof two thynges / One is by cause that cchildsen that gon to scale lerne 10 spoke first englysshe / & than ben Ccompellid to constrewe her lessons in Frenssh and that have ben used syn the rnormans come m to Englond / ‘Also gentilmens childeren ben tered id taught from theyr yongthe to speke frenssh, And uplondyssh men will ccounterfete and likene hem self to gentilmen and arm besy to speke frensshe for to be more sette by. ‘This maner was moche used to fore the ‘prete deth. But syth itis somdele ‘chaunged For sir Johan comuay! a ‘mayster of gramer chaunged the techyng tn pramer scole and construction of Frenssh in to englysshe. and other Scoolmaysters use the same way now in the yere of oure lord / M.iiC.ls.x the fix yere of kyng Rychard the secund and leve all frenssh in scoles tnd use al construction in enghssh. ‘And also gentilmen have moche lefte to teche theye children to speke frenssh Hit semeth a grete wonder that Englyssmen have so grete dywersyte m theyr owne langage in sowne and in spekyng of it whiche ts all in one ‘ylond. And the langage of Normandye is comen oute of another lond / and hhath one maner soune among al men that speketh tin englond ... the forsayd tong whiche is din thre as grete wonder / For ‘men of the este with the men of the ‘west acorde better in sownyng of they speche than men of the north with men ‘of the south / 108 109From Old English ro Standard English ‘Therfor 1 is that men of mereij that ben of myddel englond as 1 were partyners with the endes understande better the side langages northern & sothem than norther & southern understande eyther other Desfore 11s Pat meri, pat beeP men cof mytddel engelond, st were parteners of Pe endes, vnderstondep bette Pe sie langages,norPeme and souerne, Pan norPeme and soupeme vaderstondeP eiPer ober Ale longage of Pe nosPumbres and speciale at srk 880 scharp specially at yor ws so ship sytyng sling and fotynge and vnschape Pat froyng and unshape that we sothem ‘ve souPeme mon may Patlongage vanePe men may unneth understand th vaderstonde. I rowe Pat Pat langage I suppose the cause be bycause Pat Pey bee? nyh to straunge they be nygh to the men and aliens Pat spekeP strongliche. ‘straungely. (7) Activity 8.4 SRE ERE (i) Describe the changes that Caxton has made to the rude and old Englyssh’ of the fourteenth century text (i) Comment on the differences between the fourteenth century text in this version and in Texts 29 and 30. Do they suggest significant differences in the pronunciation oF grammar of the language, or simply of spelling conventions? eT | 8.4.2 Caxton on ‘dyuersite & chaunge of langage’ A standard form of a language develops ma nation or society only at a particular ume of its evolution, when the need becomes evident and pressing. We define the ME period partly by the fact that there was no one dialect that was aecepted or used throughout the country as a standard in writing. The snvenuion of printing was one factor, in the complex enteraction of pplitical and economic changes in England by the end of the fifteenth century, which led an lume to the acceptance of the educated London dialect asthe basis of Standard English, One of Caxton's problems as printer clearly illustrated in a famous story that he tells am the preface to his translation of a French version of Virgil's Latin poem Tiie Aeneid, called Eneydos. A revolution in communications was brought about by the printing of books. A book might be bought and read anywhere in the country, but which dialect of English should 1 printer use? For example, there were at least two words for egg, one derived from OE, the ‘other from ON, The story 1s about the difficulty of asking for eggs for breakfast, but for Caxton it illustrates the problem of choosing a language m translation: ‘Loo what sholde & man im thyse dayes now wryte, egges or eyren?” This 1s just one of the problems that had to be overcome in the establishment of an agreed standard literary form of English ever the next 200 years TEXT 63 ~ Caxton on the diversity of English, 1490 (Caxton hus decided to translate Eneydes) ‘And whan I sawe the fayr & straunge termes therin /I doubted that « sholde not please some gentylmen whiche late blamed me, sayeng that m my translacyons 1 had fuer curyous termes whiche coude not be vnderstande of comyn peple / and desited me to vse olde and homely termes in my translacyons. and fayn wolde I satstye ‘cuery man / and s0 to doo, toke an olde boke and redde therin / and certaynly the ‘englysshe was so rude and brood that { coude not wele vnderstande it, And also my lorde abbot of westmynster ded do shewe to me late, certayn euydences weylon on ‘olde englysshe, for to reduce 1 1n-t0 our englysshe now vsid / And certaynly’ was Alle the langages of the northumbres & I Early Modern English 1 the pteenth venury svreton i suche wyse that 1 Was more lyke to dutche dan englysshe: Teoude not reduce ne brynge it to be vnderstonden / And certaynly our langage now vsed varyeth ferre from that whiche was vsed aad spoken whan T was borne / For we englysshe men / ben borne vader the domynacyon of the mone, whiche 1s neuer stedfaste / but ‘cuer wauerynge / wexynge one season /and waneth & dyscreaseth another season / ‘And that comya englysshe tha 1s spoken 1n one shyre varyeth from a nother. fn $0 ‘moche that my dayes happened that cerayn marchauntes were ma shippe tm tamyse (= she river Thames), for to have sayled over the see into zetande (= Holland) and for lacke of wynde, thet taryed atte forlond (= Foreland), and wente to lande for to refreshe them; And one of theym named sheffelde (= Sheffield), a mercer, cam 19-10 fan hows and exed for mete (= food): and specyally he axyd afier cegys: And the goode wy answverde, that she eoude speke no frenshe. Ad the marehaunt was angny forhe also coude speke no fenshe, but wolde have hadde epges and she vnderstode hhym not / And thenne af laste a nother saya that he wolde haue eyren / then the goo ‘wy sayd that she vnderstod hym wel / Loo, what sholde a man in thyse dayes now ‘wtyle, egges or eyren / certaynly ut is harde to playse euery man by cause of ddyuerante & chaunge of langage .. but in my ludgemente / the comyn termes that be ddayli vsed, ben Iyghter (= easier) to be vnderstonde than the olde and auncyent cenglysshe / ou were to exinine Caton’ language m dtl, you would find that he dd ot devise a conten regular spline stems and that many of his deesons abou pling and eStore ead sted ore language ote 8D rane omy aot example of Conon’ printing. Tt an adverse, dating fom avout tie craton sinan of ie Sau Orna (a oda 2 book of chsh serviees San the older nan for Salsbuy) TEXT 64 - Caxton’s advertisement, 1478 FBeie ple orp man Givituel or temyorel to bbe ony Spee ot aya id dhe vornemoraci of Galifburi wie eprpntin ater dy Gone o€ this puelit lectee wobiche Ton tel anit col corvect late bore come trend, netie: in ta dy almondtepe at tle reed pale and be (hal hane dhe good dyepe .*.° Fryplion Get edule tri plese ony man ypiniul or tempore o bye ony pyes of to and thre comemorais of pry ater te ore ofthis pres ete whiche Sone ad ul correct, ate hy eome to wesimo ester into the atmonesje athe eed pale and be shal fave thm good chepe BENT appli tet cedula itFrom Old English Standard Englise ("| a ceiviy 5.5 Sanaa SRE) (i) Examine Caxton’s texts (Texts 63 and 64) for evidence of his consistency of choice in spelling and word form, (i), Rewrte Text 63 in Mn, Gi) Describe those features of Caxton's English by which we would describe was ‘achat in ‘comparison with MnE. (iv) Comment on Caxton's style. PRE ee a te aca = 8.5 The medieval tales of King Arthur In 1485, Caxton published a ‘noble and joyous book entytled Le Morte Darthur®, He describes an these words: 8 book ofthe noble hystoryes of the say Kynge Arthur and of cereyn of his knyghtes afer copye unto me delyvered. Whyche copye Syr Thomas Malorye dy take oue of cereyn bookes of frensshe and reduced it mo Englysshe. We know that Sir Thomas Malory made his translations and adaptations from French while he .was in prison, He wrote the following at the end of one of the books making up the collection, ‘And T pray you ll tht redyth this tal so pray for hym that this wrote, that God send hym good delyveraunee sone and hastely, Amen Malory died in pnison in 1471. CCaxton’s printed book was the only known source of Malory's version of the legends of King Arthur until 1934, when a manuscript was found in the Fellows’ Library of Winchester College. It1s not Malory’s own hand, but more authentic than Caxton's book, which has many iterations, emendations and omussions, Here is the opening of the fourth story, "The War with the Five Kings’, inthe first of the books, The Tale of King Arthur. TEXT 65 ~ Sir Thomas Malory, ¢, 1460-70 © aftr thes questis of Syr Gawayne Syr S ‘Torand kynge Pellynore Than hit befell that Mely/ ‘on felle in dotage on the damesell that kynge Pellynore brought to courte and she was /one of the damesels / of the Lady of the Jake that hyght Nenyve But Merlion wolde nat lett her have no reste but /all wayes / he wolde be wyth. her And ever she made Mflerlion} good chere tylle sche had lemed of hym all maner of thyng, that sche desyred and he was assoted uppon hir that he rmyghit nat be from hir / So on a tyme be tolde to kynge Arthure that he scholde nat endure longe but forall his crafts he scholde be putte mo the erthe quyk / and so he tolde the kyng many thyngis that scholde be falle but aliwayes he wamed the Kyng to kepe well his swer ff dde and the scawberde * scholde be stolyn by a woman frome hhym that he moste trusted // Also he tolde kyng Arthure that he scholde mysse hym . And yett had ye levie than all ‘youre londis have me agayne // A sayde the kyng syn ye knowe of youre evil adventure purvey for hit and putt hit a way by youre craufts that mysse adventure / Nay seyde Mferlion} hit woll not be ‘the scribe omitted: for he told hym how the swerde and the scawberde (Facsimile from BM Add MS 59678 f. 45, and also in English Literary Manuscripts, Hilton Kelliher and Sally Brown, The British Library, 1986) Early Moder English 1~ he feet century cau & fd aftat thes quetislof Sy semaine Sia ia att thes My Faw vey fo lle Rah gery Don fale mborage on HRs Soom efit Ernge getty Bromgetey © aot and GHG teje Darmeofels oP eRe Raby of eRe fake ta Bagge ening Bar jee oe May ns : re, Drie ae roaped Horwmehe Be Sorts des ood edete tpl flops Gad Crotted off Gee * (Snad a Ja.radrafaiad Wrprecd Gs 4 Lup (rte Sebpped asd Garwaagatad Wry 4 d ie et Soon dignity Neeser da festa maby 2x ‘ereatf fe frijote Ga putes ejovantipe do an) he totSe ie P riuje wndany jpaipad eeu feof Be Be oll . De aberpayed Yo.coosrinsed tee Fang ete Pape eG Shed ee Earodavds (jotthe obj bip at rornat Prone vjyon tree nope gael, AE he toler Eymsp ities hay fe gobo mile dpe lid gait fad go Cee tefavne all seNjnivie G Shien 0 dein Going Lact fe ae, 1 etaead ee beret 2 “fi pte pened londutane ine agaron — dfliyde sie Boog fh Poste of-youua adil adwenttune purbsy for fie and pe ietyte 1 3 hae fe adsese sicacdely Op yoni & Lajads eapifleades Gre Wed aot o> Bi Activity 8.6 a) rcp srib, while he etwas ‘tetas ines of the Femi were writen bythe prepa serie, hile et ea tye nang lee ferent. Dos the second senibes Spang dior om that fhe ee 8.6 Late fifteenth century London dialect written m the 1470s and 1480s, tury after Thomas Usk's, and 3 13 112Fram Old English ro Standard English ‘The collection contains lewters by 40 different people, but most are from two generations of the Cely family. father and sons. Like the Paston letters, they show that there was as yet a0) standardised written English, The spelling 1s not good evidence for the pronunci spoken English, partly because we do not know the sounds given to particular letters, because the spelling of the different writers 1s so irregular. Individual writers show many inconsistencies of speli - ‘The following three texts consist of fuesimiles and transcriptions, followed by versions in MnE spelling and punctuation. TEXT 66 ~ George Cely in Calais to Richard Cely in London, 12 March 1478 Bae itee sm 3d ee GC. P 2p espe Zclee Ee SR — See fee ea Legis at Imes ae ee BD w MBS CroGrsrmo—s ia Rode al ae 68. BZ panos bay pee nil LEP or ae rnp lapel jas mnsceglatee ate momen IY te a ay jas ho cee oF aap . q> cheep nas pas ore Se eed sete ELS: "4 Ff SYK OF 7 3 ‘Transcription Ryght rewerent and whorshypfTullfladyeaffye all dew recomen on many words, but they had clearly leamed a system of spelling, Variations occurred because there were no dictionaries or spelling books to refer to until later in the sixteenth century. 9.1 The Lisle letters ‘These letters were wrtten 10 and by Lord Lisle, his family, friends and staff, when he was Governor of Calais for King Henry VIL, from 1533 10 1540. The French town was at that time tan English possession. The letters provide examples of a wide range of correspondence, both formal and informal, and are therefore first-hand evidence of the state of the language then. Here 1s an example of a leter by a 14-year-old boy. George Bassett was Lady Lisie's son by her first mariage. and as part of his education he was ‘put to service’ in the household of Sir Francis Bryan, The letter 1s ‘purely formal: the boy has nothing to say and he says 1 an the upproved Tudor manner’ (Muriel St Clare Byrne, editor of The Lisle Leners). lS chiy 1 Describe ‘the approved Tudor manner’ of writing a formal letter, which the following letter iMustrates, i 117roo: Old English to Standart English TEXT 69 - George Bassett to his parents Lord and Lady Lisle, 1 July 1539 Xe Gomera Ble mat nny praaftrine ante (Angler yedoe Bide remap Fond *} rerSimenide ime osike ys Bepaeagrgee Bowe ys 1 WG Gore of ye Cresta dase foe Ee deals on ab yw yore By Bey rae Wan mo str very fader Be <7 Loregerudd arp pe Bamrne. fprah mene) befirGye ye erks Banhape & Ge me Gels eel NinKin Belt ffl Sar Gt) pomp gms rene “Pe Lasreflierpe nie Barep Berge Toe’ wi gost! Conge/ o> p fponnt ete ob Bond? ffeoe vee Boemee as Foie sepe of Poly ape Ryht honorable and my most dere and singler goode larde and ladye / in my most humble man{ner] I recGmaunde me unto yow besechynge to have yor dailye blessynge / and to here of yo* goode ‘and prospus helth/ fore the conservatione of whiche /I praye dailye unto almyphty godde. I cerifye youe by theys my rude ffett}res that my Marster and my Ladye be in goode helthe / to whome Iam myche bounde, ffurthotmore I beseche yo! lordeshipe and ladishipe to have me hertlye recmadyde tunto my Brothet and Systers. And thus I praye godde to conserve ‘yo lordshipe and ladishipe eve" in goode / longe / and Drosperus helthe w* hono’. ffrom Woburn the firste daye of Julye By yor humble and owne Son George Bassette (The Lisle Lerers, Vol. 3 No. $49, Muriel St Clare Byrne (ed.)) George Bassett's formal ‘duty leter to nis parents does not tell us much about him, except that be can wnte very competently in beautiful handwriting, He uses the strike or virgule (/) as a. mark of punctuation, and the occasional full-stop, then called a prick. There are some conventional abbreviations, similar to those you will have noticed m the Cely and Paston leurs. One that was commonly used both in handwriting and printing was the tilde (~) over the vowel preceding one of the nasal consonants or , especially if the consonant was double. Another was sometimes writing post-vocalic as a supersenipt. Additional writing and spelling conventions can be observed in later texts, The next letter is from Sir William Kingston, who was a member of the King’s Privy Council and Constable of the Tower at the ume. It 1s an interesung example of an educated ‘man’s style of wnting which, at first glance, would be unacceptable today in its presentation because there 1s no punctuation. It mentions the names of several birds used in hawking, oF falconry, Early Modern English It te sistenth eontury ‘TEXT 70 - Sir William Kingston to Lord Lisle, 26 September 1533 Aidey forbes fis Bovey at 4 Fos 0 NF ale he off om fore es Pra ae fale lee ae ZF Ga oe a arn pe fe om eee % apts CL Ff DE pee ag et, woe nee am ering tne mi ow. me Ps saaee ae get “nals ee enget om iy lord to advertyse you of newes here be nonne 3it for now thay be bow! the pesse (= peace) in the marches of scotland & with goddes grace allshalbe well & as 3u the kynges grace hathe hard now word from my lord of Wynchester & so the kkyng hawkes evry day with goshawkes (= gashawks) & other hawkes that ys to say layners (= Zanners) sparhawkes (= sparrowhawks) and merlions ‘merlins) both affore . none & after yf the wether serve I pray you my lord y! ther be hony gerfawwken (= perfalcon) or yerkyn (= jerkin) to help *me to both yf it may be & for lak of bothe to have wun & to send me ‘worde of the charges ther of & then your fordshyp dose meche Tor me 1 & my wyfe both ryght hartely recdmaunde hus. unto my gud lady & we thanke my lady for my token fora ‘cam 0 me in the church of the blake freres (= friars) & my wyt ‘vase desposed to have offerd it to saynt loy (= S¢ Eligus) (that hyr horse shuld not halt & he never went up ryght syne (= since) betsee}ehe your lordshyp to have me in your reymembrance 10 master porter Semy iady 8 10 master mershall & my lady (Whe Lisle Leners, Vol. | No, $2, Munel St Clare Byme (ed.)) 18 119From Old English ro Standard English Early Modern English It — the sistenth century @ Activity 92 ii (i) Rewnte the letter using today’s spelling and punctuation, Is it fully grammatical? (Gi). What did the following phrases mean in 1533: 10 advernyse you of newes, yf the wether serve? (ii) Examine the spelling of the words in the letter and discuss any that seem unusual to you, Is the spelling significantly regular or inconsistent? How many words have more than ‘one spelling? Ene |= On 17 January 1536, Sir Thomas Audley wrote to Lord Lisle, Govemor of Calass, for a post (called a ‘Spear’) in the Retinue on behalf of Robert Whethill. Whethill's father Richard hhad been Mayor of Caisis and still lived there. He was constantly at loggerheads with Lord Lisle, who had to reply very diplomatically to Audley’ letter. Here 1s Lord Lisle's response, wnatten on the back of Audiey's Jeter. It would have been conve and tidied up before being Sent, and isan interesting example ofthe fist daft of a letter. TEXT 71 ~ Draft of Lord Lisle’s reply to a letter, 1536 Ryght honotabyll aft my most humbylyst wyse I cosfiend me vnto you & have reseyvyd yor yentyll let in the favor of R whethyll cs'ayng the next speris rome within myn offyce her hit shall plesse yo" good lordshype that ther 1s not the ‘ustist s/vlt in yo" hovse nother in yngland that shall gladlyer do yo cémandment & plessur then 1 wold w owght desemylassion as euf devryng my lyfe shall aper toward ‘you & yo's thys whethill & his father orderyd me opynily at lantern gate w word & ‘covntenans that I nev" sofferyd so muche of no degre sens I whas xv yer old notwstandyng I woll at yo cdmandement forget all (The Lisle Letters, Vol. 3 No. 633a, Muriel St Clare Byrne (ed.)) El Activity 9.3 (aan aaa Pie (@)_ Rewnte the draft with modem spelling and punctuation, filling out the abbreviated words. Gi) Comment on the grammar of mast humbylyst, hit and swy yer old TT © | 9.2. Formal prose in the 1530s An example of formal writen lnguage contemporary withthe Lisle letersi Sir Thomas lho Te be named the Governor ned London in 153. is geeation was: ‘noth moste noble & victorious prince ings Henry they yng of Eng Tan and Frame defender of thee faye an lode ‘of etande, RD == Elyot's purpose was ‘to deseribe in our vulgare tunge/the fourme of a uste publike wealet = for weale or weal, now an archate word, we would use welfare or prospery. He named it The Gouernour “Yor as moch as this present boke treateth of the education of them/that hereafter may be demed worthy 10 be gouernors of the publike weale’, He wrote it in English, but in common with all educated men he regarded Latin and Greek as the essential languages of education and learning, as the following short extracts show. ‘The fitst chapter of the book deals with: ‘The significacion of a publike wweale / and why itis called in taun Respublica TEXT 72 — Sir Thomas Elyot's The Gouernour, 1531 (i) A publike weale is a body lyuyngrcdpacte, puviyne ormade of fondry aftates anc degrees of weale. men /whicbe is vifpofed by the ozdre of ce quitesand gouerned by the rule and modes ration of reafon. Inthe latin tonge bits called Refunbticar of the whicbe the worde epups Resath diners fignifications z dvtbe nat only betoken that tbat is called 2 thynger whicbe io dittincte from a perfone but alfe fignifiet aftate condition /fubftance sand phbes rofite, Jn our olde vulgare/pfitcis called. weale: Zind itis called a weltby contrayer wherinis all thyng that is profitable :Zind beisawelthy man, thatis riche in money and fubttance. ‘fpublike(as Darre faitb)is birinted of people : whiche in latin is cale Ted Populus. wherfore bit femeth thacimen bau ben loge abufed incalling Rempustict ¢ cémune weale. And they which vo fuppofe it fo to becalled for that/ that euery thinge fbulde be to all menin comune.witbout oie ferepance of any aftate 0: conditiowbe ther to moued moze by fenfuslite than by any good reafon or inclinatid to bumanite. And that fhallfoneappere vnto them that wyll be fatiffied either with autoutero2 with nge turall ordre and-erample, Fyakk the ppre c trewe fignification of the wordes publike ¢ cOmuneavbiche be boro wed of the latin tonge foz the infufficiécie of ourowne ligage {bal fufficiétly declare the blyndencs of them /whiche baue bitberto bolden and maynteyned the fayde opintés. 121From Old English to Standard English Blyot refers to ‘the insufficiencie of our owne langage’ when defining the words publike and comnnme 'whiche be borowed of the latin tonge’. Elyot's commune is MaE common and is used in the sense of the word commoner as rable. We now know that both words hid bbeen taken from OF during the ME period, but therr source un publics and commun. ‘and Elyot, ike other scholarly wrters of the period, Englished many Latta and Greek words in ‘order fo express his meaning. Sir Thomas Elyot sets out a programme of education for young noblemen in which learning Latin begins before the age of seven. TEXT 73 ~ Sir Thomas Elyot's The Gouernour, 1531 (ii) ‘The ordre of leraynge th a noble man shulde be trayned in before he come 10 thaige of seuen yeres.’Cap.v, . But'there canbe nothyng more conuenientthan by litle and litle to trayhe and'egercife them it {pekyn, of latyne : infourmyng them to know. £ tet names th locincof all tbyngee that meth infygbte7and to name all the parte of they2 rhe parnes Its clear that in Elyot’s day, just as toda, strong feelings could be aroused over accent 8nd pronunciation. In the following text, he 18 recommending the kind of nurse and serving ‘woman that a young nobleman under seven should have. TEXT 74 ~ Sir Thomas Elyot's The Gouernour, 1531 (iii) bit {ball be expedient /that 3 no» ‘ble mannes fonne in bis infancie baue with bym continually onely fuchg/as may accue ftome bym by litle andllitle to fpeake pure and elegant latin. Semblably the nourifes cotber women aboute bym if it bepoftie Dlesto do the fame: 02 at the lefte way tbat they fpeke none engliffe but that, whiche is clesher polite, perfectly, and articulately pronounced/omittinge no lettre o: fillabler 36 foliffbe women often times do of awane tonneffewberby otuers noble menvand géo wilmennes chyldzen (a8 J 00 at this oaye hnowe) baue attained corrupte and foule Peonuntigtion, ‘These texts from The Gouerour are not only of interest with regard to their subject ‘matter and style, but also to observe those features of grammar and lexis which clearly Elyor’s language as still archaic 1n terms of MnE, although 1 is much closer to our Star English than the earlier texts we have studied, Early Modern English I~ the sixteenth century (SD coin Ea Explain the few alternative spellings i the texts: hit, iaunflatine/latyne, onelyyonly, pronounceel/pronuntiation, saith/sayde, shal/shall. significactons/signification, ther/there, thingeAhyng/hyng, which/whiche. (ii). Compare Elyot's system of punctuation with present-day conventions. (ii) Use a dictionary to sdentify some of the words that were borrowed from French, Laun or Greck during the sixteenth century. iy) What was the meaning of the following words inthe 1530s: vulgare, astates, equite, divers, betoken, abused, discrepance, sensualite? (¥) Do any verb inflections differ from those in Standard English today? (i) How do the grammatical features of the following phrases or word sequences differ from Standard English today: body lyuyng; all thing; of the whiche, them whiche, they which them that, that that; do suppose; whiche be borrowed? 9.3 A different view on new words Sir Thomas Elyot expressed a scholar's view on the superionty of the resources of Latin and Greck, from which hundreds of words were ‘Englished. These words were disparagingly referred to as ‘inkhom terms’ — words coming from the schtolar’s horn of ink and therefore pedantic ~ and there was a lot of controversy over this. For example, George Puttenham called the introduction of Latin and Greck words ‘corruption’ of language, the result of the ‘pecutsh affectation of clerks and scholers’, Because 1t introduced polysyllabic words into English. TEXT 75 - George Puttenham’s The Arte of English Poesie, 1589 but now I muft recantandcon- ‘fefle that our Normanc Englifh which hath growen fince #ilians the Conquerour doth adimit any of the auncient feete , by rea fon of the many polyfllables eucn to fixe and feanen in one word, which weat this day vfe in our moft ordinarie language : and which corruption hath bene occafioned chiefly by the peeuih af- fe€tation not ofthe Normans them {elues, but of clerks and {cho- Jers or fecrctarics long fince,who not content with the vfual Nor- mancor Saxon word, would conuert the very Latineand Greeke ‘word into vulgar French,as ¢o fay ianumerable for innombrable, reuocable,irrcuocable,irradiation,depopulatié & fich like, which are not naturall Normans nor yet French, but altered Latinesand without any imitation atall: which therefore were long timede- fpifed for inkchorne termes,and now be reputed the belk & moft lelicat ofany other. ‘auncient feete means the verse rhythms of the classieal Latin and Greek poets. A foor is a nit of rhythm, peeuish 1s here used as an adjective of dislike: any quality of the abject referred to" (OED). -xpressing rather the speakers feeling than 122 123From Old English to Standard English But there were those who did not accept Sir Thomas Elyors view on ‘the insufficiencie of ur own langage’, and who disliked any borrowing from other languages, not just the creation ‘of inkhom terms’. Richard Verstezan described them sn 1608, TEXT 76 ~ Richard Verstegan's A Restitution of Decayed Intelligence, 1605 Since the tyme of Chaucer,more Latin & French, hath bin mingied with our toung then left out of it, but of late wee haue falne to fach borowing of woords from, Latin, French , and other toungs, that it had bin beyond all {tay and limit, which albeit fome of vs do lyke wel and thin‘ our coung thereby much bettred, yet do ftrangers therefore carry the farre leffe opinion thereof, ome faying thatit is of it felFno lan guage atall, bur the cum of mahy languages, others that it is moft barren, and that wee are dayly faine to borrow woords for it (as though ityet lacked ma- king out of other languages to patche it vp withall, and that yf wee were put to repay our Comowed . fpeech back agamn, to the languages that may lay gaage-bor- claime vnto it; wee should bee left litle better then dumb,or farfly able to {peak any thing that thould bee fencible. 9.4 ‘English Dictionaries & other bookes written by learned men' During the sixteenth century, the first dictionaries, spelling books and grammars of English \were published. The writers were responding to a growing sense that the language needed an agreed form of spelling, grammar and vocabulary. People saw that the letters of the alphabet were too few to match the sounds of English, and that the spelling of many words did not ‘mateh thetr pronunciation. A common description of the language was that i was ‘corrupted. One of the earliest books that advocated a reform of English spelling was John Hart's An Orthographic, published in 1569. inthe following extract, he 1s justifying the need for his new spelling system, ‘the new maner’ _726.O™— Early Mexdern English 1) the siteenth century TEXT 77 - John Hart's An Orthographie, 1569 (i) WUbich is bppon the confiveration of the feuerall voices of the (peach , and the vfe oftheir feuerall markes fo: them, whitch tue calletters, wat tn the moderne ¢ pree fent maner of tweiting (altwell of certame other languages as of our Cnglith)there fg fuch confution and difozder, as it may be accounted rather a kinde of cipbing, o2fuch adarke binde of twziting, as the belt and reabieff wit that cuer bath bene, could, 0 that ts 02 thalbe, cart oz may, by the only gife ofreafon, attaine tothe rear by and perfite reading thereof, twithout a long and tedious labour, foz that itis biz fit and iwz0rg fhapen fo2 the propostion of the voice, athereas the netv maner beres after ( thoughe tt feme at the firlt berp fraunge, hard and bnpofitabie) by the teabdinig only therof, will proue it felfe fic, eatie arb delectable, and that for twhatfor euer Cnglith may be twzitté in that oder, (]) sctvity 9 5 aaa Discuss what an ideat alphabetic system of spelling should be like and give some examples of ‘what Hart calls ‘confusion and disorder’ in our present system, which 1s largely unchanged since Har's ime in its essentials. For example: (How many letters are there in the Roman alphabet used today’? Gi) How many contrasuive sounds (phonemes) are there m English today? (iii) What are some of the ways in which the mismatch between phonemes (Han's voices) and letters (Hans markes) has been dealt with in our spelling system? iv) Which of them had developed in ME before the sixteenth century? i © 125rom Old English ro Standard English Hart's argument begins with the ‘fue differing simple soundes or voyees’ ~ that 1s, the five vowels . They should each represent one sound, but ‘they haue bene and are abused tm divers soundes’. He illustrates their proper pronunciation with this sentence: ‘The pratling Hosteler hath dressed, curried, and rubbed our horses well and adds: ‘none of the five vowels is missounded, but kept mn their proper and auncient soundes, As you read the sentence, remember two things. Firstly, the present-day RP and Southern pronunciation of curried and rubbed, wath the short vowel /a/, did not exist then. The vowel ‘was uj. Secondly, the in horses was pronounced, Hart pointed out two spelling conventions which are still part of the modern English system, but which he did not use sn his reformed spelling, The first was the use of a final to mark a preceding long vowel, as in MnE hate/hat and sitesit. The second was the use of double consonants to mark a preceding short vowel, as in MnE matagimating and robbing! robing. He preferred to use a dot under the letter to mark a iong vowel [eaue also all double consonants; hauing a mark for the tong vowell, there ss therby suffictent knowledge giuen that euerye unmarked vowell is that ‘The interest of Han’s book for us s not so much in the reformed alphabet that he invented, but the authentic evidence it mdirectly provides about changes in the pronunciation of English, Hore is 2 facsimile of the opening of the first wo pages of the second part of the book, 's printed in Hat's new spelling, followed by a transcription into MnE spelling, ‘TEXT 78 - John Hart's An Orthographie, 1569 (ii) Anexersia ov dat biG igsed sbuer-in ides cards bon derefto» de confonants ar mad berdinficuments oy de mowbibaiG snsgomited in de premitysfor dat said wt maG sbi deenlepny. dis tit abuts haa dr a de join exrsityr on de sinanrsmmentsude ike de Sam titdbuilG de hen mans 2 AES: and mani lends foxndin de = dipbiiangs ch y and aus. ict i Ld ot fake i to wre dein de candleik ards bee desound gv de mil on iy ig bi aswel dlouédin oor spiGr as dato de dipliong ined ovde rsud: and so fir ei élom obser weston for ders sions. co / hierbei iu me perier dat our sngd sounding tnd ins of let tertmen peso ring bl mason su gn serten perfer and general SbcKing .oo [bruer-in Si ninfl biviuled Tate boa ioe forte e/ adsihennat ben at mae su Sink dis sner ovine writing Forage for exdahenfse Fang 1m mel age i bevecnded de urciting, and ine le viding ay bx buy os dout not bed! snand os Sal tank, on Luby el brit. xo/ ana nat-tid-stenn sing tei ba cevin Ss min manor oY ses ting for oar Fingh, ex men nit det /Latin Sill bison nex kters no mer den de Agziker /hebrin, neder wld ot wrest tans twianoy ans Srang asin a dex lure be buen axci-uld rest fingliS.cv fared sera _gladtiRoer ft big Spite wid nes tangy soul 1 Big areting ub mes hand. ict ran eld det ms Pines pen cde bf kl derber = deen de noner tude perfet pronansision, o¥ 40 si Sranp SpiG : bu wrestmg JinghS, 1s me (Gg is sed) sq Jor enrs Bang wd yd sam amarkgorUéers ov de woes baie nid fan in 1G ident an-uerreeard tn Sip ber-ures~ tng bucns deni ix brad s den ag a dns Speking.co/ for sui karsexite m super fi e= tert for derivasion or difrenss and 80 furs, Aedisordring and konfoundings oy snt-sier= ting: hontrarstude lancer de porfhsan der» fd age abrezon: baer bet Suld bi o= edient totude promunsission, ast bir ladim sand ni fkres and 50 or dimini® x, $i Saul ansalgesovteim kémanid 0 / Early Modern English It— the sisteenth contury Version with MnE spelling ‘An exercise of that which is said: wherem 1s de ‘eared, how the rest of the consonants are made by thiinstruments of the mouth: which ‘was omitted in the premisses, for that ‘we did not much abuse them. Chapter vi. n this tle above-wntten, I const- der of the <1> in exereise, & of the , in utle, which the common man, and many learned, do sound in the diphthongs , and : yet 1 would not think it meet to write them, in those sand like words, where the sound of the vowei on- ly, may be as well allowed in our speech, as that of the diphthong used of the rude: and so far Tallow ‘observation for denvations. ~ / Whereby you may perceive, that our single sounding and use of let- ters, may in process of time, bring our whole nation to one certain, perfet and general speaking. ~ {Where she must be ruled by the learned from lume to time. ~ / And T can not blame any man to think this manner of new weutng strange, for To confess ats strange to my self, though before Thave ended the writing, and you the reading of this book, 1 doubt not but you and I shall think ur labours well bestowed. ~ / And not- ding that I have devised this new manner of wri- ting for our /English, 1 mean not that /Latin should be written in these letters, no more then the iGreck or Hebrew, neither would I weite ¢any ‘man of any strange nation in these leters, but when as T would write /English. ~/ And as | would gladly counterfeit his speech with my tongue, so would This writing with my hand. ~/ Yet who could let me tse my pen the best I could, thereby 1" attaia the sooner to the perfect pronunciation, of a= fy strange speech: but writing /English, we may (as s said) use for every strange word, the same marks or letters of the voices which we do find in speech, without any other regard to show by wn tng whence the word is borrowed, then as we do in speaking. ~ / For such curiosity in superfluous let- ters, for derivation or for difference, and so forth, 1s the disordering and confounding, of any wn- lung: contrary to the law of the perfection there~ of, and against all reason: whereby, 1t should be o- bedient unto the pronunciation, as to her lady ‘and mistress: and so, add or diminish as she shall tn success of time command. ~ 126 127From Ola English to Standard English [7] activity. REE ‘demtify the sound changes that Hart describes in this extract from his book. ere re reroll In Text 78, John Hart refers to some of his objections to the current spelling system: © Superfluous letters — some of the leters of the Roman alphabet are redundant and ‘could be dropped. © Derivation — he rejects the argument that the onginal spelling of words borrowed from other languages should be retained because it shows their denwvation, He advocates the use of English spelling conventions once a word is assimilated. © Difference — he aiso rejects the use of different spelling for words that are pronounced alike. I'there is no confusion when we speak them, then there can be none when we write them, )) co Activity 9.7 ieREammmmerememremmeTaS Give some examples of each of these three ‘abuses’ of spelling in present-day English, (Eee || 9.5. Changes in English pronunciation ~ the Great Vowel Shift Between the time of Chaucer in the late fourteenth century and Shakespeare im the late sixteenth century, all the long vowels in English spoken mn the Midlands and South of England shifted their pronunciation. We don't know why it happened, and no similar shift 1s known to have taken place at other times. I nas therefore been called the Great Vowel Shift. John Hart's reference to the vowel in exercise ~ that it was being pronounced as a diphthong by some speakers ~ is contemporary evidence of the shift taking piace, ‘The shift was not complete in 1569, and there was variation between regional and socral dialect speakers, but in time all the long vowels were either raised or became diphthongs. In spite of Hart and other reformers up 10 the present day, our spelling system has never been tered 10 fit the changed pronunciations. Consequently, the sound of the short vowels, represented by the letters <1> , has remained more or less the same, while the soutnds of the long vowels no longer match the leters Here 1s a simplified list of the changes (there are a lot of irregulanties and variations which make this topic very complex to study in detail) Short vowels, ME vowel Letter MnE word ‘MnE pronuneiation fi <> think wi del <> pen fel Ja) <> add fee} of common fo} fal <> ut fo} oF IN 128 Early Modern English t~ the siteenth cenury Long vowels before and after the Great Vowel Shift ME vowel Letter MnE word ‘MnE pronunciation fit <> find Jay fe wwe, geese fit fe} <2 speak fit bal <> ludy fe: or fet! Poi) <0> ak [of 0 four Joi) <0> <0a> do, goose fut buy cow, house aul Notice that there were two pairs of contrasting tong front and back vowels, e:/ and /e:), fox! and /o:/. This ean be seen in the facsimile of the letters in an ‘amended of ortography’ by another spelling reformer, William Bullokar, sn 1580, These vowels were represented in traditional spelling (but not consistently) by the digraphs , , and respectively. Bullokar provides a separate Ieter for each of the four sounds ‘Arbenonaes of the letters arcojbing to this amendment of optographp, opparcinshis Cable, bp thesohich pemap nemethe Aetters tn the titten Copies 3 re aut yt, gentle Reader, the bfeof this amended opty fa Hitveame ii cicanr at tugenae glomai, ttig SBbich, anpather bande map cafilpbe Framed ith this optograpbp calucmng pou that he fame bands, being Syitten Soith ehe pen, Doe excell thee plate Which Spsrten hands, and ehe Court hand alfa, pou map at anp time Hezatter at the bonte of the Szinter ofthis foopke,faha(er ello the uuthoy of this ‘Sooie) vefireth to be Doane Sithatifora time, fap igure op letter be not ‘bis prefecete, toy thecbarge isnot fmali, chat baingetpall hinges topertecnes intueh cles, Mercatter(tp the grace of God ‘nb poor go excepting ofthis greater char= 05 Calle Santo tye al pee fecting bereot 129Fvom Old English ro Standard English Examples of words with long vowels in the two pages of Han's new spelling have been sorted into sets below, using Hart's subscript ‘prick’ to mark a long vowel as one eriterion {aithough i ss not printed consistently). Only one possible ME spelling 1s given as an exampie. ‘The column of Har’s spellings does not reproduce his new letters for . und (A more detailed description of the Great Vowel Shift, and the evidence for i as shown in Har’s An Orthographic, is given im Commentary 13 of the Text Commentary Book.) ‘Changes to long vowels and diphthongs from ME to MnE, Only one possible ME spelling 1s given as an example. The column of Harts spellings does not reproduce his new leters for . , - ‘Source (OE/OF) ME. Hart'sspelling Mn, 1 OF oma fi ‘ame fis time fait OF exercise fs) exercisen fs/ exercise /aif 3 OE me sev sme fe! OE ratdan fay eden es! OE spic fe spechhe fe: 4 OE specan /e/ sn es] OF percenvre/e/_percenven fe:/ OE meg fey/ ma far may jer! 5 <> ‘OF blames fay blamen Dblam = /a:/ blame fe! OE histidige /ws/ Ia lagi lady feu OE macode fay made /a:! made fet? 6 OE anlic ‘onli 9:1 only /:/ or fu) OB an fa:) on ef one want or (won 7 OE don jo:) don /o:) do Mus} OE bo Jor! bok Jor! book ‘moath/muth /us/ mouth = /ou/ mouth av) arejure fus/ our = ou our fav! (7) ea ceivity 9.2 TEE Use the preceding list of words. which gives their pronunciation in ME, the sixteenth century (ftom John Han’s book) and in Mn. to answer the questions. 2) What evidence 1s there of a shifi, by the 1560s, m the pronunciation of long vowels, according to Hart's evidence? Gi) Have any vowels not yet begun to shift? ii) List some words from the text which show that the pronunciation of shon vowels was not changing, el 130 Early Modern English It the steer century 9.6 Punctuation in sixteenth century texts The facsimiles of wnitten and printed texts that you have already read will have shown some obvious differences from present-day conventions im punctuation. A useful summary. af onventions in the 1560s is provided by John Har. TEXT 79 - John Hart's An Orthographie (ii) ‘it lat, to be reabye to enter fito mp ele maner of toxiting, 3 tofll buefive ‘nite of distnaion o: pointing » tobich (ivell cbferued) mape peloe the matter, | shah the renpter to the fenfes, as tell td theete a8¢o the earc. soz it (hetweth bs oto to retts tien § fentence continweth, aan taper t enideth : hotw to bnseritande Swarts Britten, andis not edefull to the fettence : that fome tranflatour 0 ‘incl tmpiter of a iworke, doth avde more ‘Shan the Author Did at firt trite: and ale Mo what Cintenceis afking : and that 1 Awontozing : their number is tenen, twbote, figures foloto, the fic marked thus , the Gseches call comma , foz tobich he Latines anb other bulgates aue bfeD affrikethus / 9; thas, ¢ called ftinci~ {um, andigin reaning the MhostetE rett, nearethetimeot a Crachet tn muicke, altwapes Gignifping the fentence bnifint+ Shed inbich ine cammantp nofne marke thus » for thatthe ofc thereofts (0 often tobefenc, $ foybgare to gine yon anpo- ‘ther example therof. ‘Thetecondmarkedthus : $Grékes call colon, twhich the iatines interpecte artus_membrorum 93 internodium, which is the (pace, o2 the bone, Hethe: Contig fal eet a ope a 786 & Sant blero pices ray A great part therof,: as of ant And the lal of thele ther te a pricks thus . to guile the cre of a full and pesfite fentence, asthe bead anb ete ave theerteeeme endes of a bodp, tobich patch the Greckesand iLatines intthmanp 0+ ther nations vac tfe : Hart goes on to speak of the parenthesis (). the interrogatiue ? and the admiratiue ! 9.7 The development of the standard language Jn Chapters 4 to 7. we saw that there was no ME standard language, but a number of iterrelated dialects of the language. English today consists of interrelated dialects, spread throughout the world, but m England people now tend to regard the Standard English dialect as ‘he English language’, and look on the other regional and social dialects as substandard or inferior. Hence they talk of 'good English’ or ‘correct English’, and devalue the status of the regional dialects. ‘This point of view 1s not new: we have seen evidence of concem over the differences between the dialects at least as far back as the fourteenth century, in John of Trevisa's discussion of the language (see Texts 29 and 30). Both Chaucer n the 1380s and Caxton in the 1480s refer to the ‘diversity’ of the English language. 131From Old English 9 Standard English A wnitten standard was the first to develop. Educated men and women wrote in the standard but continued to speak in the dialect of their region. John Aubrey, writing inthe mid- seventeenth century, says of Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618): Old Sir Thomas Malett, one of the Justices of the King’s bench sempore Caroli fet Il, knew Sir Waiter, and I have heard him say, that notwithstanding his so great Mastership in Style and his conversation with the teamedest and politest persons, yet he spake brond Devonshire to his dying day. Aubrey implies that this was unusual, and that gentlemen in his time did not speak in regional dialects at court, There 1s also the hint thatthe dialect does not somehow fit with leaming and polite benaviour, ‘Standard vocabulary and grammar eventually spread to spoken English as well as writen, We have already noted in Chapter 8 how, by the end of the fifteenth century, there 1s Tess and less evidence in printed books and in manuscnpis of the range of dialects of English, Regional ill flourished, but the evidence for them 1s much more difficult to find, There are no written records of colloquial speech as authentic as sound recording makes possible for present-day English. The language of informal letters or the dialogue of characters ‘i prose drama 1s probably the nearest we can get to everyday speech of the time. 9.7.1 The best and most perfite English’ John Hart in An Orthographie msisted that writing should represent speech: ‘we must be ruled by our speech’. But he also recognised the problem that the diversity of dialects posed in using his new alphabet to write English as st sounded ~ whose dialect do you choose? Gf Activity 19 iia) Read the following paragraph from Har'’s book and discuss his solution to the problem of choice of dialect. TEXT 80 ~ John Hart's An Orthographie (iv) Early Medern English I~ the siteonth cennury 9.7.2. "The vsuall speach of the Court’ George Puttenham's advice to writers about choosing the best variety of English was briefly quoted in Section 7.1. Here 1s a longer extract which illustrates Puttenham's awareness of the tinge of available regional and social varieties before Standard English was a fully accepted, snd defined variety. TEXT 81 ~ George Puttenham's The Arte of English Poesie, 1589 But aftera fpeach is fully fafhioned to thecommon vnderftanding,& accepted by confent of awhole countrey & natid,itis called a language, & receaucth none allow- edalteration but by extraordinary occafions by little & little,as it ‘wereinfenfibly bringing in of many corruptids that creepe along with the time: This part in our maker or Poct muft be heedy- Yy looked vnto, that ie! benaturall , pure, and the moft vfuall of alt hiscountrey sand for the fame purpofe rather that which is(po kenin the kings Court,orin the good townes and Cities within theland, then in the marches and frontiers , or in port tovynes, whereftraungers haunt for traffike fake’ ot yee in Vii twhereSchollersvle much peeuih afeAation of word rimatiuc languages , or finally, in any vplandith village or Cor- Fer ofa lteilmeswhercis no reore but poote rufticall or vici~ uill people: neither thall he follow the fpeach ofacraftes man or carterrr other oftheinferiour ort , though he be inhabitant or bred.in the belt towne and Citic in this Realme, for fitch perfons. doe abule good fpeaches by ftrange accents or ill hapen foundes, and falfe ortographie . But hefhall follow gencrally the better brought vp fort ,fach as the Greekes call [eberientez| meh ciuill Potwithiaw Ding,be fhoato Haue a fmsong opition of ime, that fhouleehinke by the premiies, ‘Ament anp thing doulne be punted ts ‘Lonoon in the mance of ortherne 0 ‘Galefferne fpearhes: but if anp one tere mined at Petocattel bypon ine» of Booman in Comnetwale, to teste mp print bismunve there, toboconls intty blame him forbis Dathographie, to ferue bys fnepgbbours according to theie mother Sheacb, pea, though be twzate fo toons ‘an, to tobomfoener it tere, be conlp be no mane offended to fi Bis toyting fo, than if be were prefent to beare bint (peake: ano there ts noBoubt,but hat the ‘Text 80 is clear evidence of the advocacy of educated London speech as the best and most Englith tpeach , twbich the learned fort nthe ruled Latin, togither toith thote ‘whichare acquainted thith the oulgars ‘Btalian, french, and Spam doe Vle,s ‘tha (peach tobich encrp reafonable Engs {ih man, totl the neaett be can , frame Distongue therebnto:butfuch as bane ne fonder ee byte mz na tence: gp inceabing no cet? taintiebotoenerp letter Myoulne be four: bed, cant mene come to the KnotbleDge and ‘ble, of that befF and motte perfite ‘Crglith: tobich by Gods grace 3 will the fnerett 3 can follot leauing manye ant ‘Bichbome terme (tobich 3 cout ofe) bis ante 3 regarve for tobofc fake 3 bacit. (w) perfite’, spoken by ‘cuery reasonable English man’ 132 -andalfo their learned clarkes do for the moft part c and gracioully behauoured and bred,Our maker therfore at thefe dayes thall not follow Piers plowmunnor Goser not Lydgate nor yet Chancer, for their language is now out of vfe with vseneither Mall hetakethe termes of Northern-men,fach as they vfein day iy ealke,whether chey benoblemen or gentlemen, or of their belE kes all isamatter norin effet any fpeach vled beyond the Hiner of Tren though, noman can deny but that theirsis the pu rerEnglith Saxon atthis day ,yetitsnot fo Courtly nor fo cur- rantas our Southerne Englith is, no moreis the far Welternemis fpesesyethall therfore tae the fal fpeach ofthe Coure and that of London and the fhires lying about London within ic. myles,andnot much aboue. I fay not thisbuc that ineuery thyre England there be gentlemenand others that fpealcebut fpecial- Jy writeas good Southerneas we of Middlefex or Surrey do; but ‘not the common people of cuery hire, to whom thegentemen, feend,but herein weare already ruled by th’Englifh Di@ionaries and other books written by learned men ,and therefore it necdeth none o- ther direétionin that behalfe.From Old English 10 Standard English Activity 910 aaa i) Describe the assumptions about language that are evident inthe text. Comment particularly on the following: (a) His use of the word corrupuons to describe changes m a language. (b) The reference to a language that 1s natural, pure and the most vsuall (c) His contrasting of good townes and Cities with other places (d)_ His references to she mfervour sort of men and women. {e) The attitude mplied in any speach vsed beyond the riuer of Trem. Gi) Are Puttenham's atutudes still eurrent today? TEER [|| Pattenham was expressing a point of view that is probably common in all societies. There 1s evidence earlier m the sixteenth century in the books on spelling and grammar, which Puttenham mentions, that ‘diversity’ im the language worried writers and scholars. The implications of this point of view are, however, more serious, because 11s not limited simply’ to specifying a choice of language for writers: © Vaneties ofthe language are marked by social class and education. Social classes speak differently and ean be recogmsed by their speech. Written and spoken English have prestige varieties, @ Once a written standard language becomes the norm for speech in the educated class, the division between that class and regional dialect speakers is complete. Such differences of language are a part of every society. Standardisation of language 1s 3 necessary development in a society, but brings with it social consequences. ‘This development of a standard 1s, therefore, the background to our continuing study of the development of EMnE in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, 9.8 Evidence for some sixteenth century varieties of English 9.8.1. National dialects ‘The dialogue of characters in plays eannot be taken as completely authentic evidence of the spoken language, but may indicate the more obvious dialectal sof speach. In Shakespeare's The Life of Henry the Fift, there are comic episodes involving four captains ~ Gower, Fluellen, Mackmorce and lamy. Their names give them away as an Englishman, 2 Welshman, an Irishman and a Scotsman. Bf Activity 9.11 Describe the dialectal features of the characters’ speech which 1s indicated by the spelling, vocabulary and syntax of the dialogue in Text 82 iii ||! 134, Earle Modern English I~ thessteenth century TEXT 82 - Shakespeare's The Life of Henry the Fift Few Gove lied tense ns ay ee ee are not according to the Dilciplines of War the Con- See otimighiertaris eihace si laren ue bi ity Gon ern Sami Sa i The Dae of fr, vom te Oe cc Secs Sagi aes os says en 2 aes oer hae wile tt att See caanpiied Was Beer Me dias le hse Ener Makmornice, and Catein Jam, sv, tnes et dh So pn Cpt Jeg cen veo Ge I, soy pv mrss eames re ot ins 2a mre rs a ean te ties nee kre dota erage @ Eye, 1SE th re eure al ma sumtin We se ipadls ims is se tie i oi eit Gin the Miss ? have the Pionrs se ore? eae eet Sea a eee ae te Ree pe Cet oleiarh en ihie: ER cre rel te Sel i To haem pia ae wie ea are, | ela tm ise es aks Seema Pu caer nani t Ne Per rem og Ie cular Some ii Cp i Eee eee Sete ey sna ek pt taba aiigies ial coven art, cath nem srl Eesti ewe Tig lee ert pe Seas fem iio ong ied ale Foca glo ioc a ween aieh ches mea a fife ete bere fe sg cer hr ee Soya cree facts entee micai sa ete i ee to ee Eee aye a Peas SP re teh A ee el ae ma? 135From Old English to Standard English Early Modern English It ~ the stseenth century 9.8.2 Using thou/thee and yelyou In OE, there were both singular and plural forms of the 2nd person pronoun, PrlpeiPin and gcleawfeower. This was at-First a simple contrast of number ~ Pu was used 10 address one possessive. However. 11 developed into means of marking the relationship between the speaker and the listener which the I los and so 11s difficult for us to respond to the social connotations of vhee/thouthine and yelyoulyour im ME and EMnE. writing ‘The pronoun ye/voiryour came to be spoken to's single person to mark a relationship that was either formal or one of supertonity of rank, and shou/thee/thine of informality and inuimacy. A master or mistress used thow to a servant, but the servant replied with ye. 1 remained conventional to address God as shou, as in the Church of England's Book of Common Praver. from the 1540s. The 1611 translation of the Bible preserved the contrasting use of tow and you as singular and plural, which remained familiar 10 readers and church goers until the 1960s (when the New English Bible began to be used), long afler thou had ceased to be used in speech, (Note thatthe distinction between ye as subject and you as object became confused during the sixteenth century, so that they were virually interchangeable. You can find plenty of ‘examples in Shakespeare. ‘The choice between using show or you was part of a quite complex way of charting the course of a relationship, and if we are not aware of this, then we miss something important in, for example, Shakespeare's plays, as the extract from The Tragedie of King Lear (see Text 84} shows. Section 10.3.2 shows how the Quaker George Fox used sow ina way that appeared to snsult others, ‘This social meaning of row and ye had been established well before the sixteenth century. Here 1s an example from the 1390s in Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale’. Arcite, in prison, addresses the gods Mars and Juno at first with chow as individuals and then with youre as & pare. Immediately, he goes on to address his absent love Emelye, whom he has seen but not yet met, with ye. He ts the suppliant and she is far above him in his estimation, so show would not be appropriate, as it would mark an established inumacy, Alas thow felle Mars, allas luno, Thus hath youre ire oure lynage al fordo lines 1561-2 Ye sieen me with youre eyen. Emelye, Ye been the cause wherfore that I dye lines 1569-70 Elsewhere in The Canterbury Tales, the Host addresses the Cook with thow Now tel on, gentit Roger, by thy name But yet I praye thee be nat wrooth for game lines 4345-6 but uses ye to the Monk, his social superior: Now telleth ye, sire monk, ifthat ye konne .. fine 3114 In English today, we have only one 2nd person pronoun, youlyour, which 1s used 10 ~,address both one and more than one person, and carries no connoiations of power or mumacy. )'The former singular forms shoufthee/thine are archaic. 9.8.3 Regional dialects By the end of the sixteenth century, the educated language of London was clearly established as the standard for writing m England, so that there is Title evidence of the regional dialects apart from occasional references. Here is another extract from Richard Verstegan's A Restitution of Decayed Intelligence (see Text 76) which gives us ust a Title information about regional dialects, He #8 discussing “alteration and varietie' in related languages like Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, and is saymg that they do not borrow ‘from any e3 ‘ihe word extranagant here meant outsile she boundaries, that ws foreign), 136 ‘TEXT 83 ~ Richard Verstegan's A Restitution of Decayed Intelligence, 1605 - This isa thing that eafely may happen in 0 {patious a toung as this, itheeing ipoken in {6 many different countries and regions, when wee fee that in fome feueral partes of England it telf, both the names of things and pro- nountiations: of woords are fomwhat different, and that among the countrey people that neuer borrow any woords out of the Latin or French, and of this different pronountiation one example in fteed of many shal fuffife,as this: for pronouncing according as one would fay at London, 3 woutn eat moze cheefepf Bhan ét/the northern man faith, Bp fad eat mare cheefe gin ap havetyatid the wefterne man faith: hav eat moze cheefcan chav it, Lo heer three different pronountia- tions in our own countrey in one thing,& heerof many the lyke examples might be alleaged. @ Actviy!) ii aan ‘demtify and describe the differences between the three dialectal sentences quoted in Text 83. (wy There 1s little evidence of contemporary regional dialect in Shakespeare's plays, but an example can be found in The Tragedie of King Lear. Edgar, the Duke of Gloucester's son, banished by King Lear, disguises himself as a madman ~ a Tom a Bedlam. The speech be assumes is often meonsequential but not obviously dialectal, for example: Away, the fowle fiend followes me, thorough the sharpe hhathome blowes the cold wind, goe to thy cold bed and warme thee, but at one point, defending his blinded father, his speech becomes clearly dialectal for one short episode. his son, and cannot see him. from the folio of 1685. In the following extract, Gloster does not recognise Edgar ‘The Steward believes Edgar to be a beggar. The facsimile 1s tak 137From Old English 10 Standard English TEXT 84 ~ Shakespeare's The Tragedie of King Lear (A detailed description can be found in Commentary 14 of the Text Commentary Book.) 138 Glow, Now good Sir, what are you? £dg. Amoft poor man, madetame to fortunes blows Who, by the Artof known, and feeling forrows, ‘Am pregnantto good pitty. Give me your hand, Plelead you to fome biding. Glow. Hearty thanks ‘The bounty, and the beni ‘Foboot, and boot. mn of Heaven Enter Steward. Sees. A proclaim’d prize : moft happy: ‘That eyelefs head of thine, was firt fram'd flefh Toraife my fortunes. Thou old, unhappy traitor, Briefly chy felfremember : the Sword is out That mutt deftroy thee. Glou, Now let thy friendly band Pot ftrength enough to’, Srew. Wherefore,bold Peazant, Darft thow fapport a publith’d traitor? hence, Left chat th'inteCtion of his fortune take Like hold on thee. Let gohis Arm, Edg. Chill not let go Zit, Without vorther cafion, Stew. Let go, Slave, orthou dy'ft. Edg. Good Gentleman go your gate, and let poor volk pals: and’chud ha'been zivagged out of my life, ’twould ha’been 20 long as "tis, by a vorenight. Nay, come not nearthold man: keepout che vor'ye, or ice try whither your Coftard, of my Ballow be the harder chill be plaan with you. : Stew. Out Dunghil. Ede, Child pick your teeth Zit: come, no matter vor your foyns. Stor. Slavethou haft lain me: viilain, take my porte; Hever thou wile thrive, bury my body, And give the Lezters which thou fine’ft about me, To Edmud Earl of Gleper = {eee him out Upon the Englith party. Ob untimely death, death, Eg. know thee well. A ferviceable Villain, As duteous to the vices of thy Miftris, Asbadnefs would defire. Glou, What, is he dead ? Edg, Sit youdown Father: reft you. Early Modern En ih he sixteenth century. (J) eo Activicy 9.13 SSRIs aa (@ Which of Richard Verstegan’s exampies of dialect im Text 83 does Edgar's speech resemble? (ii) The scene of the play is sot in Kent, The words ice try stand for J sal try. Sal for shall and _gate for way are both northem forms. Is Shakespeare accurately reproducing a regionat dialect? (ili) Describe the differences im Edgar’s language, when he is talking to Gloster and the Steward, which mark was a dialect. Gv) Explain the changing use of the 2nd person pronouns thoujthee/thine and yefvoufyour (wy 9.9 English at the end of the sixteenth century Reading texis from the sixteenth century onwards. we find fewer and fewer features of vocabulary and grammar that are arehae and unfamiliar, and at becomes more difficult to specify exactly what differences there are between older and contemporary English. This 1s specially so if the spelling of older texts 1s modernised. Facsimiles or exact reproductions rake the language look more unfamiliar than wt really 1s, But 3 1s worth trying to sum up the frincipal differences between English in 1600 sand Standard English today. Most of them have already been described in relation to the printed texts, 9.9.1 Spelling and punctuation (OF and ME

was no longer i use. except im the conventional abbreviations For the and that, <§> and , ‘ and were still used for both vowel /u/ and consonant /v/, determined by their position in the written or printed word. Similarly, long and shor continued to be wrtten according to their position in the word. Letter was not yet an general use for the consonant, only as a vanant of letter Lowers and were generally interchangeable for the vowel fi “The redundant final was still added 10 many words, long after the unstressed vowel of ad disappeared. ‘The comma <>, colon <> and full stop (prick) <> were used, with question and exclamation marks . , The virgule or strike was no longer in general use by 1600. ‘The apostrophe <'> to mark the possessive had not yet appeared. 9.9.2 Pronunciation ‘The raising or diphthongisation of long vowels in the South and Midlands (the Great Vowel Shift) had taken place, but was not yet complete. For some time. until after the sixteenth ceentury, there were no words with the long back vowel fa) words were generally pronounced irl, words /e:/, words /ui/ and ‘yords /o:/ but there was considerable irregularity and varration between dialects. Many words spelt with’ and were pronounced with either a long or a short vowel in different dialects, This diversity led to a growing demand for regularity and standardisaton 139From Old English o Standard English 9.9.3 Vocabulary ‘The adoption of large numbers of Laun words into the wntten language had been made easy because of the previous adoption of hundreds of French words. At the same time, a number of new prefixes and suffixes were also adopted into the language and used with English words; for example: circum. non- sable -ant/-ent co- nucy -ate dis. re age vss enfem- seme -al sretan inter sub- -anee ase caney/ency let Words were also adopted from other languages, some through travel and exploration, others from foreign literature and culture. For example, the following list contains a very small selection of words adopted before 1600 from Latin, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, Low German, Scandinavian, Scots Gaelic, Persian and Arabic. Many were adopted indirectly, vi another language. Greck words were often adopted through their use in Latin, for in "T) Activity 9.14 RE] Find the source of the following words from an etymological dictionary. ‘almanac carnival medium serviewe ‘armada chorus milliner silt arsenic ceapher pickle slogan batten (vb) galleon plaid taffeta bog genius redeem traffic bonnet Jasmine shythm vacuum buoy lemon serag wagon em 9.9.4 Grammar In general terms, the grammar of sixteenth century English 1s Jew features mark 1 as an earlier form. the same as that of ME; only a Personal pronouns Bath 2nd person pronouns were stil in use, howtheethythine and yelyoulyour (see Section 9.8.2). and the neuter pronoun his: “The unstressed form was written for he, 36 an Shakespeare's The Life of Henry he Fit when Mistress Quickly describes Falstaff's death: a made a finer end, ahd went away and it had beene any Christome Childe: a parted eu'n ust betweene Twelue and One ... and a babeld of greene fields... so a eryed out, God, God, God, three or foure times .. so a bad me lay more Clothes on his feet Relative pronouns That and which were most common. Which was used with a human subject ~ Our Father which art mn heaven «but whojivhom began tobe used in the late sixteenth century 140 Early Modern English I~ the isteenth century Verbs {nthe verb phrase, the modal system was established, with the verbs willhwaud, shallshould, ‘canfeouthe~coude, darefdurst, maylmight-mought and motelmust. “The passive was fully mn use, Perfect aspect was expressed with have, and also with be when the verb was intransitive, 48 in [am come. Some complex verb phrases were recorded but they were still to develop in general se, “The 3rd person singular present tense was marked by both <-cth> (the southem form) and <> (the northern form); for example: Beaute doth varnish Age, as ifnew bore, ‘And giues the Crutch the Cradles infance. (Os the Sunne that maketh all hinges shine. but eventually became standard. The King James Bible of 1611 kept the old-fashioned ‘<-oth> suffix, aS the translation was based on the early siateenth century translations of ‘Tyndale and Coverdale. Pocts continued 10 use both forms, because they provided different ‘metrical and syllabic pattems, There 1s evidence in William Bullokars’ Boke at Large that both the <-eth> and <-s> suffixes were acceptable ‘And, s, for, eth, may chaaged be to yield som vers his grace truly. Interrogatives and negatives ‘The inversion of subject and verb in the simple present and past for the sterrogative was stil ‘common ~ dinowest thou?. came he? ~ but the Mn form with do had also come into use ~ dost thou know?, did he come? ‘Similarly, the negative nor was still used with inversion ~7 know nor — but was now also sed with do ~f do nor kno 111s at about this time that the multiple negative ceased to be standard usage, although it sand still is normal usage inthe dialects There and it “The filling of the subject slot na clause with the ‘dummy’ shere oF it had been established welt tefore the beginning of the century, as in the following extract from Chaucer: With vs ther was a doctour of phisiks In al this world ne was ther noon hym fi ts nat honeste, it may noght auance For to decten with no swich poral. and this Jed to the loss of the OE and ME impersonal verb constructions without a subject, sch as: ‘Me thynketh st acordant to resoun ‘A yeman he hadde and seruantz namo ‘AC that tyme for hyn liste ryde so. which were replaced with fr semis to me .. and lt pleased hint to ride so. Nouns “The plural with <-s> or <-es> was the regular form, and most <-en> forms like eyren (eggs) nd shoon (shoes) had gone. a10. Early Modern English Ill - the seventeenth century In Chapters 7 10 9, we followed the establishment of educated London English as a standard language. Although all varieties of seventeenth and wventieth century writing are clearly contrasted in style, the underlying grammatical differences between seventeenth century and present-day English are relauvely small, so there are fewer developments in the grammar to record. As the spelling of words becomes more and more regular, the look of the printed page becomes more familiar, although we still find less conformity to a standard spelling and punctuation in handwating. The vocabulary 4s, of course, always losing and gaining words ‘according to the needs of communication. ‘The remaining chapters of the book therefore consist of a series of texts that provide some typical examples of tho uses of the language ordinary uses, leters and diuics for example, and examples of literary prose, both collogural and rhetorical, together with a section on some of the evidence for changes in pronunciation during the century. 10.1 More evidence for changes in pronunciation All living languages are 1m a constant state of change m their vocabulary and grammar, A standard language, however, changes more slowly, because new forms tend to be resisted, and the very fact of it being standard means that 1s regarded as fixed and unchangeable. ‘At the same time as the establishment of a standard in vocabulary and grammar, social standards of pronunciation are also set up, and the speech of those with prestige or authoray 1s imitated by others. In this way, there 1s a pofanisation of opinion in attitudes to language use. which 1s derived from differences of social class. In the seventeenth century, rural and artisan speech was referred to as barbarous, meaning uncultured oF unpolished as against polite or civilised. In England today, if a man or woman 1s said to have ‘a good accent’, we would understand what 1 meant, although we might find it hard to describe objectively. It is commonly asserted that such speech ‘has no accent’, but to say of someone that ‘she speaks with an accent is to imply a non-standard or regional way of speaking. ‘The evidence for pronunciation 1s not as easy to interpret as that for vocabulary, spelling and grammar, in spite of a series of books on spelling and pronunciation an the seventeenth ‘century, because, unlike today, there was no Intemational Phoneuc Alphabet (IPA) to provide an agreed reference for the relationship of sounds to letters. We shall study some of this tevidenee in Section 10.9 Early Modern English the sevemeenth century Other evidence comes from a study of the ehymes in poetry (see an earlier example from Chaucer in the late fourteenth century in Section 7.3.3); some Of the rhymes in John Dryden's verse, wniten atthe end of the seventeenth century, are examined in Section 10.10.3, 10.1.1 Occasional spellings in handwritten sources Another indirect source of knowledge about changing pronunciation 1s in the spelling of ‘wnitlen manuseripis. Printers n the seventeenth century tended 10 regutarise spelling more and ‘more, even though there were still variations and no fixed standard of spelling had been eitablished. In letters. however, even educated writers sometimes used ‘phonetic’ spellings, and these provide some clues to their pronunciation. The concept of a ‘spelling mistake’ had not yet been established, In what follows, we consider a small selection of ‘occasional spellings’ which are ‘evidence of differences in pronunciation, The range of differences in dialectal pronuncration ‘would have been much greater then than now, People moved from all parts of the country mio London and their variewes of dialectal accent were im competition with each other for acceptability. Sometumes 1t was the ‘vulgar’ speech that eventually became the soctal standard, “The following activity is designed to show the kind of evidence that scholars draw upon in building up their knowledge of changes in the language. The words do not come from any one particular dialect. The ME source, the spelling found in a written seventeenth century source and the MnE reflex are given for each word. @ Activity 10.1 aay ‘What changes in the pronunctation of the vowels do the spellings of each group show? ME Written form MnE reflex ev cadet credyll cradle take teke uke bed fi ‘semed symed seemed siepel stypytle steeple ke fet discrete diserate discreet retrete rotrate retreat oil pou) soinen zine Join puisun/poisoun pyson poison ryjoissen regis rejoice fe sa defiled/detyted defoyled defiled Jen! Is: certein sarien certain detbe dant dearth divert divart diver lemen Jarne learn mere marey ‘mercy persoun parson person/parson i ||| Although consonants are more stable than vowels, there have been a number of changes fer which there s evidence in written fetter. 142 143From Old English 1 Standard English Early Modera English Ill dhe seventeenth century "]] @ Accvity 10.2 aRaEReRenmaR Describe any changes of pronunciation inthe consonants indicated by the spelling in the following words. ME Written word MnE reflex doughter dafter daughter boght oft bought fasoun fessychen fashion instruccion instroeshen instruction sssufissue shu issue suspecious suspishious suspicious seute/siute sheute sort morsel mosselle morsel persoun passon Person/parson portion posshene portion scusiche skasely scarcely excepie excep. excey ofien offen often wwastcotte (16th C) wascote waistcoat linnene lynand linen los loste loss: syns synst since vermine varment vermin (Data from Studies in English Rhymes from Surrey to Pope, H.C. Wyld, 1923) 3) EEE |= 10.1.2. Evidence of change from musical settings Sir Walter Raleigh's poem What Is Our Life? was set to muste by Orlando Gibbons in 1612. ‘The first two lines are “ % Orande Cibons mn 16 ‘What 1s our life? a play of passion, Our nncth the musie of division ‘The muse sets pasion to cree Syllables om separate note, pashan. and dso to our Lisson. the pronunciation ofthe ist wo spades ofeach word ust have sen and Joni with Secondary stress onthe Fin sllble fons well a primary sires. te today’s pronunciation. ’pafan/ and fvisan, This low of secondary sess any wore ark one ofthe ferences teen sistent and seventeenth cery pron snd Yay 10.1.3 Evidence of change from verse Hundreds of lines of verse were wrtten in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries by William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson and other dramausis, using the tambic pentameter line which 1 its regular form consisted of ten syllables of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables, as in Raleigh's poem and in these lines of Shakespeare: What say / you, ean / you loue /the Gen /tleman’? ‘This night /you shall / behold / him at / our Feast ‘This eves us the patteming of stressed syllables in words of two or more syllables, and shows wheter the distouon of stress has ince changed. For example, the word proportion tn these thought King Henry had resembled thee, In Courage, Courtship, and Proportion: ‘must have four syllables to complete the line: In Cour- / age Court-/ ship and / propor-/ti- on and reinforces the musical evidence about the pronunciation of passion and division. 21 ("Ham activity 1.3 RRR What isthe stress patter of the italicised words inthe following lines from Shakespeare, and present-day speech? ‘TEXT 85 - Shakespeare 1... Ido conmure thee, ‘Who art the Table wherein all my thoughts Are visibly Character‘, Ay, and peruersly, she persewers s Goe to thy Ladies praue and call hers thence, Or atthe least, in hers, sepulcher thine 4 Madam: if your heart be so obdurate: Vouchsafe me yet your Picture for my loue, 3. Nephew, what meanes this passtonate discourse? 6 She beares a Dukes Reuenewes on her back, ‘And in her heart she scores our Pouerte: 7. Pernimous Protector, dangerous Peere 8. Away: Though parting be a fretfull corasiue, 11s applyed to a deathfull wound. 9 Close vp his eyes, and draw the Curtaine close, And let vs all to Meditation. 10 Is for him you do enue me so? 10.2 Sir Thomas Browne 10.2.1. Religio Medici Sir Thomas Browne (1605-82), after studying medicine on the Continent, practised as a Physician in Norwich for the rest of his life, but he 1s remembered today as a writer. His first book Religie Medici (the faith of a doctor’) had been waiten as'a private Exereise directed to ‘myself, but a pirated edition had been published ‘in a most depraved Copy’. so he decided to publish his own version. ‘The book explores the tension that existed then between religious faith and new scientific ideas. This conflict had been expressed earlier by John Donne in 1611 an Am Anatomy of the World And new Philosophy calls all in doubt, ‘The Element of fire 1s quite put out; ‘The Sun is lost, and th’earth, and no mans wit Can well direct him where to looke for 1. “Tis all in pevces, all coherence gone; Al just supply, and all Relation. mt, ‘The following short extract from Religro Medics expresses Sir Thomas Browne's religious faith, TEXT 86 ~ Sir Thomas Browne's Religio Medici, 1642 As for those wingy Mysteries in Divinity, and aury subtlenes sn Religion, which have tunhing’d the brauns of better heads, they never stretched the Pia Mater ‘membrane mn the brain) of mine. Methinks there be not possibilities enough in Religion for an active faith; the deepest Mysteries ours contains have not only been 145From Old English wo Standard English Early Modern English I~ the seventeenth century itustrated, but maintained, by Syllogssm (=a lagcal argument consisting of 80 propositions and a conclston) and the rae of Reason ove to lose miy seit in inystery, to parse my Reason to an O alin! Tis my Solitary recreation to pose my apprehension with thse mvolved Enigmas and riddles ofthe Trimty. with Incamanons, and Resurrection. | ean answer all the Objections of Satan and my rebellious weason with that odd resolution I learned of Tertulian, Certun est qt impesbite est (= Lan for Iris cern because ris possi) ‘Students of literature value Browne's wrnings for their style rather than for their content and style 1s of interest to students of language too. in showing how a writer exploits and expands the resources ofthe language of the ume, 10.2.2 Vulgar Errors Sir Thomas Browne's learning 1s illustrated in the volumes of Pseudadosia Epulemica, or Enquiries into very many recerved tenents and commonly presumed truths, which are more popularly known as Vulgar Errors ~ vulgar in the sense of common. He examines a varity of beliefs that were commonly held in the light of authority (what had been written about the subject), rational thought and experience. The outcome is often, to a modem reader, quaint and amusing, but the book gives us valuable insights into the ‘world view" of the early seventeenth century, which was stil largely a late medieval view sn spite of the beginnings of scienti experiment at that time, ‘The following extract shows the alternation of direct observation and appeal to antiquarian ‘uthorities (now fong since forgotten), which he applies to the problem ‘what 1s Sperma-ceti?” ‘Substance found in whales and used both in medicine and the manufacture of candles. Notice also his literal acceptance of the Old Testament account of Jonal and the whale. As @ point of ‘minor mterest. he uses the phrases sixty foor and ro pound, which today ate arguably non- standard (for the OE origins ofthis construction see Section 2.7.3). TEXT 87 ~ Sir Thomas Browne's Vulgar Errors (i) What Sperma-Ceut is, men might justly doubt, since the learned Hofinanmns i his work of Thiny years, saith plainly, Neser quid sit (Latin for J do nt know what t 's), And therefore need not wonder at the vanety of opmions; while some conceived it to be los marts (Latin for a flower of the sea), and many. a bituminous substance Floating upon the sea, ‘That 1 was not the spawn of the Whale, according to vulgar concen, or nominal Appellation (= name given without reference 10 fact) Phylosophers have a doubted, not easily conceiving the Seminal humour (= sperm, fiumour Animals, should be inflamable: or ofa floating nature. ‘That st proceedeth from a Whale, beside the relation of Clusius, und other learned observers, was indubitably determined, not many years since by a Sperma-Cett ‘Whale, cast upon our coast of Norfolk. Which, o lead on further inquiry, we ‘omit to inform. ft contained no less then sixty foot in length, the head somewhat peculiar. witha large promiency over the mouth; teeth only i the lower Jaw, Fecewed into fleshly sockets inthe upper. The Weight of the largest about two pound: No gristly substances inthe mouth, commonly called Whale-bones; Only two short Finns seated forwardly on the back: the eyes but small, the pizell large, and prominent, A lesser Whale of this kind above twenty yeurs ago, was east upon the same shore, ‘The discription of this Whale seems onntied by Gesner, Rondeletts, and the first Ezitions of Aldrovandus; but describeth the latin impression of Parews, n the Exouicks of Clusis, and the natural history of Nirembergius: but more amply in Teons and figures of Jolinstonus Out of the head of this Whale, having been dead divers days, and under putrifction, owed streams of oy! and Sperma-Ceti; which was carefully taken up and preserved by the Coasters. But upon breaking up, the Magazin of Sperma-Cett, was found in the hnead lying in folds and courses, wn the bigness of goose eggs, encompassed with large Aakie substances, as large as a mans head, in form of hony-combs, very white and full bod flu) of a [| (There 18 a complete list of the vocabulary of Text 88, and commentary on the activa, ‘Commentary 15 in the Text Commentary Book.) of oy! .. And this many conceive to have been the fish which swallowed Jonas. Although forthe fargeness of the mouth, and frequency in those seas, xt may. possibly be the Lamia. Some part of the Sperma-Ceu found on the shore was pure, and needed litle {depuration (= purifying): a great part mxed with fetid oyl, needing good preparation, ‘and frequent expression, to bring 1 toa Mlakie consistency. And not only the head, but ‘other parts contained it. For the earnous parts being roasted, the oy! dropped out, an ‘axungious (= greasy, ike fard) and thieker parts subsiding; the oyl it self contained ‘also much in i, and stil after many years some is obtained from 1 (A full analysis of the texts given m Commentary 15 in the Text Commentary Book.) © Activity 104 ia) (Discuss how the vocabulary and grammatical structures that Browne uses in Text 87 tend to make the style of his wating formal and unlike ordinary speech, (i) Identify those parts of the text in which Browne appeals to either authonty, reason or experience. 1 was a ‘vulgar error’ of the times that a badgers legs were longer on one side than the ciher, and Browne discusses this als. TEXT 88 ~ Sir Thomas Browne's Vulgar Errors (ii) ‘That a Brock or badger hath the legs on one side shorter then of the other, though an ‘opinion perhaps not very ancient, is yet very general; received not only by Theorsis, and unexperienced believers, but assented unto by most who have the opportunity 10 behold and hunt them daily. And for my own part, upon indifferent enquiry, I cannot discover this difference, although the regardable side be defined, and the brevity by ‘most imputed unto the let. ‘Again, It seems no easte affront unto reason, and generally repugnant unto the course of Nature: for if we survey the total set of Animals. we may in therr legs, oF Organs of progression, observe an equality of length, and panty of Numeration: that Js, not any to have an odd legg, or the supporters and movers of one side not exactly answered by the other, Perfect and viviparous quadrupeds, so standing in their Position of proneness, that the opposite points of Neighbour-legs consist m the same plane; and a line descending from their Navel intersects at right angles the axis of the Eanh Discuss the distribution of words of OE, French and Latin derivation in Text 87 oF 88, and their effect upon the formality and style of the writing, 146From Old English to Standard English 10.3, George Fox's journal George Fox (1624-91) was the son of a Leicestershire weaver. He experienced a religious conversion, an intense spiritual conviction of ‘the Inner Light of Christ’ and left home sn 1643 to become a preacher and the founder of the Society of Friends, or Quakers. At this time, however, failure to conform to the doctrines and practice of the Church meant eivil penalties and often persecution. He was imprisoned many tumes, and it was during his long stay in Worcester jail between 1673 and 1674 that he dictated an account of his experiences to his Fellow pnsoner Thomas Lower, who was Fox's son-in-law. Fox's journal is not only a moving account of is life but also, for students of language, an insight imto everyday spoken language of the late seventeenth century, ast was taken down from Fox's spoken narrative. ‘Some extracts follow in which Fox speaks of some of his many clashes with individuals and institutions 10.3.1 The origin of the name ‘Quaker’ ‘The name ‘Quaker’ was onginally a term of abuse, but st has since been adopted by the Friends and its onginal connotations lost. Fox and his followers called themselves Children of the Light, Friends of Truth or simply Friends. George Fox explains in his journal how the name Quaker came about ~ this was Justice Bennett of Darby y! first called Us Quakers because wee bid y" tremble att ye Word of God & this was m ye year 1650. Fox referred to this ina letter addressed to Justice Bennett and reproduced in his journal TEXT 89 ~ The Journal of George Fox, 1650 Collonelt Bennett that called the servants of the Lord Quaters GE. paper to him: Collonell bennett of darhe 1650 .. thou wast the fist man in the nation that gave the people of god the name quaker ‘And Called them quakers, when thou Examinest George in thy house att Derbey (which they had never the name before) now A Justice to wrong name people, what ‘may the brutish peuple due, if such A ane A Justice of peace give names to men, but thou art Lifted upp proud and haughty and soe turnest Agaunst the Just fone given upp to mishame the saints, and to make lyes for others to beeleve. ‘Thus saith the LORD, The heaven 1s my throne, and the earth 1s my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, sath the LORD: but to this man will look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at ‘my word. (Isaiah 66: 1-2) (The Journal of George Fox, Norman Penney (ed,), Cambridge UP, 1911) ‘The spelling and punctuation of the written journal are typical of the time in their lack of conformity to the developing printed standard, but if a transcription 1s made using present-day spelling and punctuation, it becomes easter to examine the features of vocabulary and grammar that mark the narrative style. ‘Transcription, ‘Thou wast the first man in the natton that gave the people of God the name ‘Quaker ‘and called them ‘Quakers’, when thou examine(d)st George (Fox) mn thy house at Derby (which they had never the name before). Now, a Justice to wrong namie people! What ‘may the brutish people do, if such a one ~a Justice of Peace ~ give names to men? But thou ar lifted up proud and haughty, and so turnest against the just. (Thou art) one given up to misname the saints, and to make lies for others to believe 8 ea Early Modern English l= the seventeenth century There can be no doubt that this 1s a record of speech, with its exclamation ‘naw A Justice to ‘wrong name people’, and the verb wrong name, but is only marked difference from MinE is the 1s¢ of thou in addressing the Justice, which Fox insisted upon, 10.3.2 Saying thou to people ‘The use of thee/thoufthine became old-fashioned and out of date in polite society during the seventeenth century. For example, in Section 10.5, you will see that Dorothy Osbome always uses you when writing t0 her future husband, in the 1650s. The grammarian John Wallis im 1653 considered that the use of show was ‘usually contemptuous, or famitiarly caressing’ and that ‘custom’ required the plural you when addressing one person. George Fox took a different view and published a pamphlet m 1660 called: ‘A Battle-Door for Teachers and Professors to Learn Singular and Plural; You to many and Thow 0 One: Singular One, Thou: Plurat Many, You He believed that the use of thon to address one person was a mark of equality between people, \whereas it had long been used to mark soctal superionty or inferiority. TEXT 90 - George Fox's A Battle-Door for Teachers, 1660 For all you Doctors, Teachers, Schollars, and School-masters, that teach people in your Hebrew, Greek, Latine, and English Grammars, Plural and Singular; that ‘Thou to one, and You to many, and when they learn ut, they must not practice it: what ‘good doth your teaching do them? for he isa Novice, and an Ideot, and a fool called by You, that practises st; Plurai, You to many; and Singular, Thou 10 one. Now People, What good doth all your giving money to these Schoolmasters, ‘Teachers, and Doctors, to teach your children Singular and Plural. in their Accidence, and Grammars? .. I'your childe practice that which he hath leamed at School, ‘which you have paid for, he 1s called a Clown, and unmannerly, and ill bred Ol Activity 10.6 Eee ee TS (i) Rewnte the following two extracts from Fox's joumal using present-day spelling and punctuation, (Text 91 describes events at Patrington in the East Riding of Yorkshire; “Text 92 describes what happened when Fox was brought before a JP.) ‘ii Why was the woman ‘something strange’ and why did the JP ask whether Fox was not "Mased or fonde"? (ii) Explain Fox’s use of the word meate when referring to milk and eream, (iv) Explain the use of letter in the words ye and y. ‘TEXT 91 - The Journal of George Fox, 1651 (i) ‘And afterwards I passed away through ye Country & att night came to an Inn: & there was a rude Company of people & I askt ye woman if shee had any Meate to bringe mee some: & shee was somethinge strange because I saide thee & thou to her: soe I askt her if shee had any mike but shee denyed it: & [askt her if shee had any ccreame & shee denyed y* also though I did not greatly like such meate but onely 10 try her, and there stoode a churn mn her house: & a tle boy put his hande Ent ye churne & pulled it daune: & threw all ye creame In ye floore before my eyes: & soe It ‘manifested ye woman to bee a lyar: & soe 1 walkt out of her house after ye Lord God hhad manifested her deceite & perversenesse: & came to a stacke of hay: & lay in ye hay stacke all might: beinge but 3 days before ye ume cated Christmas m snowe & 149From Old English 0 Standard English TEXT 92 ~ The Journal of George Fox, 1652 (il) -~ & before I was brought in before him ye garde saide It was well if ye Justice was ot drunke before wee came to him for hee used to bee drunke very early: & when | fas brought before him because I did not putt off my hatt & saide thou to him hee askt ye man whether I was not Mased or fonde: & hee saide noe: Itt was my principle: & soe I wamed him to repent & come to ye light y‘ Christ had enlightened him withall yt with 1 hee might sce all his evill words & acitons y! hee had donne & acted & his ungodly ways hee had walked in & ungodly words hee had spoaken ... 10.3.3 The steeplehouse ‘The use of a particular word may ease offence when ss connotations are not share For George Fos the Chureh ment the pete of Gods he wetused to use the Word fo the lng sn which religious worship took plas. Thi, ike much of Fox's preaching, hs axe of Me and thou, ad his pele retusa trove his hat before a maga, caused offence, Here 8 one of many references to this is jou In Fox's view a pofessr one who pees be religious but is not truly so, , pe TEXT 93 ~ The Journal of George Fox, 1652 (ili) ‘And when I was at Oram before in ye steeplehouse there came a professor & gave ‘me a push in ye brest in ye steepichouse & bid me gett out of ye Church: alaek pore rman saide I dost thou cal ye steepiehouse ye Church: ye Church 1s ye people whome God has purchased with his bloode: & not ye house. 10.3.4 George Fox persecuted Fox's journal is full of accounts of violent attacks on Fox and his followers for thei faith and preaching. The following extract 1s typical, Barlby 1s about 12 miles south af York and Tickhill 1 ahout sre miles south of Doncaster. TEXT 94 ~ The Journal of George Fox, 1652 (iv) then we went away to Balby about a mile off: & the rude people layde waite & stoned us doune the lane but blessed be ye Lorde wee did not receive much hurte: & then ye next first day (= Fox's term for Sunday) 1 went to Tickill & there ye freinds (= members of the Soctety of Friends) of y side gathered togeather & there was 2 meetinge (= Quaker term for a religious service). ‘And I went out of ye meetinge to ye steeplehouse & ye preist & most of ye heads of ye parish was port uppe Into ye chancell & soe I went uppe to y & when I began to speake they fell upon mee & ye Clarke uppe with his bible as I was speakinge & hit mee in ye face y* my face gusht out with bloode y I bleade exceedingely m ye steeplehouse & soe ye people eryed letts have him out of ye Church as they caled ‘& when they had mee out they exceedingely beate mee & threw me doune & threw ‘mee over a hedge: & after dragged mee through a house Into ye street stoneinge & bbeatinge mee: & they got my hatt from mee which I never gott againe. Soe when invas gott upon my leges I dectared to y ye worde of life & showed to y™ ye fruites of there teachers & howe they dishonored Christianity. And soe after a while I gott Into ye mectinge agane amongst freinds & ye preist & People comeinge by ye house | went foorth with freinds Into ye Yarde & there | spoake to ye preist & people: & the preist scoffed at us & caled us Quakers: but ye Lords power was soe over y all: & ye worde of life was declared in soe much power .& dreade to y™ y‘ ye preist fell a remblinge himselfe y* one saide unto him looke hhowe ye preist trembles & shakes hee 1s tumed a Qualker alse, Early Modern English IM ~ the seventeenth century [ff Activity 107 Dia Examine the grammatical structure of the narrative 1m Text 94 and describe those features that mark the text as written down from dictation, m contrast to, for example, Sir Thomas Browne's prose in Section 10.2. (A description of the grammar and vocabulary ean be found in Commentary 16 in the Text Commentary Book.) 10.4 John Milton George Fox gave offence to the religious and evil authorities both during the Commonwealth ander Oliver Cromwell in the 1650s and the Restoration of Charles if after 1660. John Milton 1608-74), on the other hand, devoted years of political aetvity to the Puritan cause in the 1640s and 1650s, wring books and pamphlets on behalf of, for example, religious fibery against bishops), domestic liberty (for divorce) and eavil liberty (aganst censorship). One of his best-known pamphlets was Areopagiica (the Areopagus was the highest court of Ancient Athens), ‘A Speech of Mr John Milton for the Liberty of Vnlicenc'd Print, ‘0 the Parlanant of Engkind, Printed in the Yeare 1644. I ealled a speech although sn fact t ‘vas printed, and uses the rhetorical mode! of Greek and Latin oratory ~as if it were writen to be spoken. lis style 1s n complete contrast to the artless narrauve of George Fox. vil TEXT 95 — John Milton's Areopagitica (i) ; beafur’d,Lords and Commonsathere canno greater telti- mony appear, then when your prudent fpirit acknowledges and o- beyesthie voice of reafon from what quarter foever it be heard fpez~ king ; and renders ye as willing to repeal any AG‘ of your ownfet- ting forth, as any fet forth by your Predeceffors. If yebe thus refolv'd, a it were injury to thinke ye werenot, T Know not what thonld withhold me from prefenting ye with a fit inflance wherein to thew both that love of truth which ye eminent ly profeffe, and that uprightnefle of your judgement which is not ‘Wont to be partiall to yout felves; by judging over again ehat Onder which ye have ordain’d toregulate Printing. That ne'Beok, pamphlet or paper fall be henceforth Printed, umleffethe[ame be fit approv'd andli- cenc't by fuck,or at lealt one of fuch as fhall be thereto appointed. Tdeny not, but thatit is of greateft concernment in the Chureh and Commonwealth, tohavea vigilant eye how Bookes demeane themfelves.as Well a8 menjand thereafter to confine,imprifon,and do Gharpelt jatice on them as malefactors: For Books are not abfolate- ly dead things, but doe contain a potencie of lifein them to be as a- tive as that foule was whole progeny they are; nay they do preferve a6 in a violl the purelt e fficacie and extraétion of that living intelleé& itn bred them, ‘T know they areas ively, and as vigorouly prodee @ive,as thofe fabulous Dragons teethyand being (own up and down, may chance tofpring up armed men. And yet on the other band’un- late watinefe be usdyas good almolt ills Manas Ills good Books who killsa Man kills reafonable creature, Gods Images but hee who deftroyes a good Booke, killoreafonit fete, kills the Image of God, asie were in the eye. Many a manlives aburden tothe Earthy but « good Booke isthe pretiouslife-blood of amalter{pirit, imbal- md and trestur’d up on purpofe to life beyond life. 151 150From Old English to Standard English "]) Ma Activity 10.5 SR Using the following checklist, comment on the stage of development in spelling and gra i.c0 in spelling and grammar by the 1640s, as illustrated in this text, and contrast with the sixteenth century texts of Chapter 9. Spelting and punctuation The distribution of the leters and , and and . {i The use of <> he apeling of estoy. inure iil) What does the spelling in assur'd, treasur'd, etc., amply about pronuneration? (iv) What was the probable pronunciation of armed? Bly show romsneation (¥) Comment on these spellings: (2) Bookes and Books, Booke and Book (b) Dragons teedh and Gods Image. () testimony, nyjury, etc, but potenete and efficacie, Grammar (Comment on the grammar of: a) ye, (b) TAnow now deny nor. tc) doe contarnido preserve. (a) who kills a Man kills a reasonable creature (c) that order which ye have ordain‘dfwhose progeny they arefhee who destroyes. (ii) What is the infection of the 3rd person singular present tense of verbs? aE || | ‘The second text fom Areopagiica is often quoted as an example ofthe high syle of ‘hetoncal whiting, and for Millon vision of an approaching Golden Ave in England Is Content and imagery deve lagly from the older medieval world we ‘The ‘spins andthe ‘al and rational faculties refer Yo the belie that the human body contained bath a ‘vegetable soul, which conducted unconscious vial bodily processes, and ton soo, whic eonrlld understanding and reason ‘The comparison ofthe Nain to an eagle depedson an ancient ‘vulgar err which Sir ‘Thoms Browne di no infact dscuse, Medieval descrptons of animals el and legendary, were collected in books alld bestares, and he desertion of the eagle n'a thitconth century bestiary can be found in Section 3.7. - TEXT 96 — John Milton's Areopagitica (i) __ Forasina body, when the blood is fret, the fpr pure and igorous, sot nly to vita, but co rational fculies and thofe fx {he aentet, and the perteltoperationsof wit and asletyie argue fn what good plight and conflation the body is, fo when the ehorfloefeof the peoples (oiprightly up, asthatit base only ‘wherewith to guard wellits own reelom and faery, bat ofpate, aadto bellow upon the folideft and fblimel poinrsof cootrorer- fie, and new invention, tt betokasus notdegenerated, noc droo- gos fill dec, bu etog of the olf wd wand dlink ton to outlive thle pangs and wax young again, eae {25 glans wes of Trahodelpcous venue. etardto Be cove gieatand honourabein hele attr ages. Methinks Teen syed pble dpa Nason oul betel ese smansfterNeep » and haking heranvincible locks = Methinks Yes hherssanEsolemuiog ler mighty yout, andiodling ber undszh'd cyesat the fall midday beat purging anduntesling het long abu fedfighe st the fountaio 1 felfot heav ly radiances. while the ‘whole nlf of umorous andfockingbirdsy with Rafe alo tat ove the ewilight fatter about, atmz'd at what (he means, andi theirenvious gabble would propnoftica year offs and eile. Early Modern English 1 ~ the seventeenth century (Tl ea sccivity 10.2 a Discuss the style and rhetoric of this extract. (A stylistic analysts ean be found in Commentary 17 of the Text Commentary Book.) iii ai (eM) 10.5 Dorothy Osborne's letters Dorothy Osborne (1627-95) met William Temple in 1648 (1628-99). They marned in 1654, alter much opposition from their families m the intervening years, during which they wrote niany letters to each other. Most of Dorothy's letters to William from 1652 to 1654 have survived, They give a lively and personal picture of the life and manners of the umes, and Contain a moving portrait of her constancy at a ume when other suitors were urged upon both of them by their families. I was not fashionable to marry for love, and marriages for men and women in landed wealthy families were more often than not arranged for them, as this paragraph wetten by William Temple's sister explains. ‘St.WT went imediately into England with the hopes of being soon happy in seing the end fof soe long a persuit, though against the consent of most of her friends, & dissatisfaction of some of his, t haveing occasion’d his refusall ofa very great fortune when his famely ‘was most in Want of it a she had done of many considerable offers of great estates & Famelies. (The Letters of Dorothy Osborne to William Temple, G..C. Moore Smith (ed.), OUP, 1928) Dorothy believed that letters should be ‘as free and easy as one’s discourse’ so they provide us with an authentic account of mid-seventeenth century informal English, as if we \wore overhearing her speak. ‘At the time of the following Teter, family home, Chicksands, in Essex. Temple's diary for Fri Squire carried Jane to London to goe for Guamsey’ "Your fellow servant’ refers to Dorothy's servant, her companion and friend Jane Wright William Temple ws also a ‘servant of Dorothy's because he ss in love with her, so he calted Jane ‘fellow servant. Jane delivered the letter to Temple on her way to Guemsey. iam Temple was in London and Dorothy was at her yy 18 March 1653 records: 'R TEXT 97 - Dorothy Osborne's letter to William Temple, 17 March 1653 s ‘Your fellow servant upon the news you sent her is goeing to Looke out her Captain. In Earnest now shee 1s goeing to sea, but ‘is to Guarnesey to her Freinds there. her {gocing is soe sudden that 1 have not ume to say much to you, but that I Longe to hneare what you have done, & that I shall hate my selfe as Longe as 1 live iff cause ‘ny disorder between your father and you, but if my name can doe you any service, 1 shall not scruple to trust you with that, since I make none to trust you with my hear. she will dirrect you how you may sendc to mee, and for god sake though this bee @ short Letter iet not yours bee soe, tis very late & Tam able to hold open my Byes noe longer, good might, if I were not sure to meet you againe by and by, I would nat Leave you soe soone, Your @ Activity 10.10 i ‘Tempie if he Comment on the way that Dorothy makes a definite promise to marry Wil wishes i 152,From Old English 1 Standard English The following text ws the fast page of a letter 1 ‘market of the landed gentry in seventeenth century society. provides evidence of the marriage TEXT 98 - Dorothy Osborne's letter to William Temple, 25 March 1653 My Pye bad fae s fe my, Lor, « pare feeants) gist + Pak agent 154 lor dune rathes tfer, “ /. © pplesey fone, see Early Modern English Il - te seventeenth century @ Activity 10.11 Discuss the conventions of punctuation used by Dorothy Osborne in her letters. a ©) ‘The next fetter is complete, Dorathy asked William 10 send her copies of the diary he was compiling: her reference to ‘your frst Chapter is evidence to the fact. An qgue was a malarial type of fever, with alternate ‘ts’ of high temperature and shivering. TEXT 99 - Dorothy Osborne's letter to William Temple, 30 April 1653 sr Tam sory my last letter frighted you soe, twas now part of my intention it should. but Tam more sory to see by your first Chapter that your humor 1s not alway's soe good as Lcould wisi it, "twas the only thing Tever desyrd wee might differ in and (aherfore) | think it is deny'd mee. whitest [read the discription on't I could not believe but yt I had writ my self, 11 was soe much my owe, I pitty you in Eamest ‘much more then I doe my self, and yet I may deserve yours when I shall have told ‘you, that besyél’s all that you speake of have gotten an Ague that with two Fitts has ‘made mee soe very weak that I doubted Extreamly yesterday whether I should be able to sil up today to write to you. but you must not bee troubled at ths, tha’s the way 10 kill mee indeed, besydes if 1s imposible I should keep it long for heer 1s my Eldest Brother and my Cousen Molle & wo or three more of them that have great understanding in Agues and they doe so tutor & goverme mec that lam neither o exte ‘drink nor sleep without theire leave, and sure my Obedience derserv's they should ‘cure mee of else they are great Tyrants to very litle purpose. You cannot rmagin how Cruel they ate to mee and yet will perswade mee us for my good, | know they mean it soe and therfore say nothing but submt, and sigh to to think those are not heer that ‘would bee kinder to mee. but you were Cruell your self when you seem'd to prohendle | might Oblige you to make good your last offer’, Alasse if | could purchase the Empire of the world at that rate I should think 1t much too deare .. for {god sake write mige all that you heare or can think of that | may have something 10 Enteriaine my self withall, Thave a scurvy head that will not let mee write longer Tam Your * Dorothy and William were informally engaged to each other. and he had offered to release her from the engagement. i Activity 10.12 iia Identify any lexical and grammatical features ofthe letters which show the language to be of Henry Osbome, Dorothy's brother, kept a diary, im which the following entry occurs in 1654: Dee 25, Munday. Being Christmasse day my sister was marred, William Temple's sister Martha (later Lady Giffard) wrote a Life of Sir William Temple; her account gives us a little more information about Dorothy Osbome's marriage with William “Temple. (William Temple was in Ireland in early 1654.) 155,From Old English w Standard English TEXT 100 ~ Martha Temple's Life of Sir William Temple He sid there sx mnths, & my ume MP Osbome came to be en by the is of Fae & 9 WT wentimdiely mo England wth he hope of bmg ssn py meng tend sos ona pesut, hgh agua he cone of ast afer tends, & dsatsfacton of sone of hs tavemg scott die stealer ‘ery rat ortane when his Faely was most wan ase had Soe ot ma Conideabl offers of great Eas & Famatier Bat he mifonmars see see stent eee. Te wek bel hey wero mre she se ey iter ws litle hopes" o he fe and nothing the Decos eG ke pene ae sill pox could have sav her. He was happy when he say secure his kindnere haverng greater tyes then that of her beauty though that Loss was too great to leave him whol sensible Hesa her constantly we she ws I & mae ese after. They past y¢ year at the House of one of their Friends in the Country, where at the end oft she was rough toed ofa son & the begmning hc seth sede a visitt to his Father and Famely, y‘ were then in Ireiand. “The plural form of the word was used as a singular. seven th 1680s. alter Sir William Temps retirement, they had only two children living, even others having died in infancy. One of these two, also called Dorothy, died of small pox 1m 1684. The following letter from Dorot tn 10 Mowing letter from Dorothy to her father has survived, although the date is not TEXT 101 ~ Dorothy Temple's letter to her father, ¢.1680 Sit I defer writing oyu could you tha had eave al things, whic have Jost aw dnc: ut thought never have done given you thanks fr tem = thy have made me soe vey happy inn ew close and ny ft fat ome dose adm hen save al in bt jt mt och sk ey desea and now if Papa was eae I shoul think nel pe Uhape shouldnt be burt there was neat Nel gus doe hese Novem who asst ina get chee, wih ed foal yard ong wh Some benef ye how bs cmon Bote an ee gi eae makes me belie sa come o someting at att stay whic Tent ou ut he wil case all he fare ads wl petion for hi we are gta of he ‘workmen now. ad our howse i et snstanyou come whieh Jou plese, an sea wil met wah nobody more glad to see you then vam ‘your most obedient and dutiful daughter, D. Temple (Letters from Dorothy Osborne to Sir William Temple, E. A. Parry (ed.), 278, Dent nd.) 10.6 John Evelyn's diary John Evelyn (1620-1706) raeled widely on the Continent nd hada great vary oneness ~ he published books dn engraving, Hee-growing, gardenng, navigation and conmete, ad architecture, but is now best known for his diary, which covers most of his life. . Dung’ the Civil Wars ofthe 640s, Evelyn was 8 royalist sympathy, Aer the execution of King Chaves in 161, Comenveth wasp wh Over Come ler med Lard Poet Oe of te any ordnance o elton posed bythe Pann ‘egmeabotished the eeebation of Christmas and other Chute festivals. On Christmas Day Tain Evelyn ont with swe to te chapel of Exeter House ihe Sr ‘whet the Earl of Rutland lived. He recorded in his ry wht happened nn Fondo 66 Early Modern English I~ the seventeenth century TEXT 102 ~ John Evelyn's diary for 25 December 1657 I went with my Wife &c: to Lond: to celebrate Chirstmas day. Mr. Gunning preaching in Excester Chapell on 7: Micha 2. Sermon Ended, as he was giving us the holy Sacrament, The Chapell was surrounded with Souldiers: All the Communicants sand Assembly surpriz’d & kept Prisoners by them, some in the house, others cared ‘away: It fell to my share to be confined to a roome in the house, where yet were permitied to Dine with the master of it, the Countesse of Dorset, Lady Hatton & some others of quality who mvited me: In the aftemoone came Colonel Whaly, Goffe & others from Whitehall 0 examine us one by one, & some they committed to the Martial (= Marshal, utle of a semior Arny officer), some to Prison, some Committed: ‘When I came before them they tooke my name & aboad, examind me, why contrary to an Ordinance made that none should any longer observe the superstitious time of the Nativry (s0 esteenyd by them} I durst offend, & particularly be at Common prayers, which they told me was but the Masse in English, & particularly pray for Charles stuard, for which we had no Seripture: [told them we did not pray for Cha: ‘Steward but for all Christian Kings, Princes & Governors: They teplied, in so doing, wwe prated for the K. of Spaine too, who was their Enemie, & a Papist, with other frivolous & insnarimg questions, with much threatening, & finding no colour to detaine me longer, with much pitty of my Ignorance, they dismiss'd me: These were ‘men of high flight, and above Ordinances: & spake spitefull things of our B: Lords ‘nativity: so I got home late the next day blessed be God: These wretched miscreants, held their muskets against us as we came up to recerve the Sacred Elements, as if they \would have shot us at the Altar, but yet suffering us to finish the Office of Communion, as perhaps not in their Instructions what they should do in case they found us in that Action: (The Diary of John Evelyn, Vol. I, ES. de Beer (ed.), OUP. 1955) ‘The object of the raids on churches was political as well as religious, as the authorities were afraid of royalist plots against the govemment. A newspaper, The Publick Intelligencer, printed an account on 28 December 1657. TEXT 103 - The Publick Intelligencer, 28 December 1657 ‘This being the day commonly called Christmas, and divers ofthe old Clergymen ‘being assembled with people of their own congregating in private to uphold a superstitious observation of the day, contrary to Ordinances of Parliament abolishing the observation of that and other the like Festivals, and against an express Order of his Highness and his Privy-Council, made this last week; for this cause, as also in regard of the ill Consequences that may extend to the Publick by the Assemblings of ill-affected persons at this season of the year wherein disorderly people are wont to ssume unto themselves too great alibeity, t was judged necessary to suppress the ‘said meetings, and it was accordingly performed by some of the Soldiery employed to that end; who at Westminster apprehended one Mr Thiss cross”, he being with divers people met together in private; In Fleet street they found another meeting of the same nature, where one Dr Wilde was Preacher: And at Exeterchouse im the Strand they ound the grand Assembly, which some (for the magnttude of it) have been pleased 10 term the Church of England; 1 being (as they say) to be found no where else in so _preat and so compact a Body, of which Congregation one Mr Gunning was the principal Preacher, who together with Dr Wilde, and divers other persons, were secured, to give an account of their doings: Some have since been released, the rest retmain in custody at the White-Hart in the Strand, til it shall be known who they are: fas a Doctor of Divimty and a priest “The paper's version of Thurcross. Timothy Thureross a 157From Old English ro Standard English |] BB Activity 10.13 SERRE Compare te language of ely account of he events with tht of nts with that of the newspaper. (A sylsie analysis ean be ound in Connentry 18 inthe Text Conentos Bnt ia |= ‘The following entry in Evelyn's diary describes a whale that was stranded in the Thames Estuary. Itss an interesting contrast to Sir Thomas Browne's account in Text 87, TEXT 104 — John Evelyn's diary for 2 and 3 June 1658 2 An extraordinary stone of hale & rane, cold season as wi eere 6 moneths. 3. arge Whate taken, tvint my Land bu Greensich, which drew an infinite Concourse tose by foe rom Ln al pas rat high water, it would have destroyed all § boates: but lying now in shallow wat sncompassd wi oats, ater a long Confit was killed withthe harping yrone, & struck in¥ head, out of which spouted blood and water, by two tunnells like Smoake {rom & chimny: & after an horrid grone wt rin quite on shore & died: The length was 58 fot: 16 in beigh, black skin like Concheleather, very small eyes, peat tle ‘small finns & but 2: a piked (= pomted) snout, & a mouth'so wide & divers men ‘might have stood upright nt: No tecth at al, bat sucked the slime onely as thro a grate made of y bone we we call Whale bons: The thoate yet s0 arrow, as woud sot have admit th least of fishes: The exteames of the Cetacgus bones hang dlowewards, from § upper jaw, & was hay towards the Ends, & bottome withinside: ilo it prodigious, but in nothing more wonderful then that Anumal of so greate a bulk, should be nourished onely by slime, thd those getes: 2) The bones making grate ya b) The Tongue .§ finn: d Bye: ~~ ‘ “Bi 2)one of § bones making the NS rte ta) F§ Tunnels nd which shutting § mouth, the water 1 forced upward, teas 30 foot, lke a black thick nist Bi Activity 10.14 aT aE Compare John Evelyn's deserption of the whale with that of Sir Thomas Browne's, which was wauten less than 20 years earlier. Discuss the differences in content and style ~ the choices of vocabulary and grammatical structure TET 10.6.1 The Royal Society and prose style er. wind northerly on Thames & The Royal Sosy of London forthe Improving of Natural Kaos of Naural Knowledge sully called jst The Royal Soviy, wos funded m 1662 under the patronage of King Chase Ih oe ea here tsiored tothe throne sn 1660: Evelyn Wasa founder member ofthe recy, whee nee Ime regularly 10 present and aseuse scientific papers The post iohe Diodes were Early Modern English I~ the seventeenth century member, and two verses of poem called Annus Mirabilis ~ The Year of Wonders 1666 contain ‘what he called an “Apostrophe to the Royal Society’. (An apostrophe 1s a term in rhetoric ‘which means 'afigute in which a weuer suddenly stops in his discourse, and wus wo address some other person or thing) ‘This | fore-e, from your auspicious care, Who great in search of God and nature grow: ‘Who best your wise Creators prase declare, Since best to praise his works is bes to know. ‘O truly Royal! who behold the Law, ‘And rule of beings im your Makers mind, ‘And thence, like Limbecks, rich Ideas draw, To ft the levelld use of humane kind. Evelyn's diary entry on the whale shows his interest an the detailed scientific observation of satural phenomena, expressed obliquely in Dryden's poem as ‘the Law and Rule of beings in your Makers mind Members of The Royall Society like John Evelyn and John Dryden were dedicated 10 new \ways of scientific thinking and experiment, and the style of writing that they began to adopt in the 1660s also changed, The following statement, about the prose style bemg developed by ‘members of the society in thetr scientific papers, was weuten by Thomas Sprat, Secretary of ‘The Royal Society, m 1667, TEXT 105~ Thomas Sprat's The History of The Royal Society, 1667 And, in few words, I dare fay; that of all the Studies of men, nothing may be fooner obtain’d, than this vicious abundance of Phrafé, this trick of A¢eta- phors, this volubility of Tongue, which makes fo great a noife in the World, They have therefore been moft rigorous in put- ting in execution,the only Remedy, that can be found for this extravagance : andthathasbeen, a conftant | Refolution, to reject all the amplifications, digrefli- ‘ons, and fwellings of ftyle: toreturo back to thg rimitive purity, and fhortnefs, when men deliver’d fo many things , almoft inan equal number of words. They have exacted from all their members, aclofe, naked , natural way of fpeaking ; pofitive exprefli- ‘ons; clear fenfes 5 a native eafinels: bringing all things | asnear the Mathematical plainnefs, asthey can: and preferring the language of Artizans, Countrymen, and Merchants, before that, of Wits, or Scholars. 158 159From Od English Standard Enis 10.7 John Bunyan John Bunyan (1628-88) was the son of a Bedfordshire brass-worker: he Followed his father's trade after learning to read and write an the village school at Elstow, He served in the Parliamentary army during the Civil War m the 1640s, and jomed a non-conformist church in Bedford in 1653 and preached there. His first writings sere against George Fox and the Quakers. He too came into conflict with the authorities im 1660 for preaching without a licence, and spent 12 years in Bedford jal, during which time he wrote nine books. In 1672, he returned to the same church and was again imprisoned for a short time in 1676, when’ he Finished the first part of The Pilgrim's Progress. The book was published in 1678, and a second part mn 1686. The Pilgrim's Progress 18 an allegory, in which personifications of abstract qualities are the characters. The story 1s in the form of a dream, in which the narrator tells of Chnstun’s, Progress ‘from this World to that which 1s to come’ The following text, reproduced in facsimile, s from the first edition of the book published 'n 1678, Christian's religious doubts have caused him to lose hope and fall into despair In the terms of the allegory, he and his companion Hopeful have been caught by Giant Despair and thrown into the dungeon of Doubiing Castle, Bunyan’s use of the language brings us close to hearing the colloquial, everyday speech of the 1670s. 11s ‘the language of artisans. countrymen and merchants’ not of wits and scholars’, that Thomas Sprat commended, ‘The text shows us that spelling in printed books was by now standardised in a form that hhas hardly changed since. There are only a few unfamiliar conventions, like the use of long <, the caputalising of some nouns and adjectives, and the use of italics to highlight certain words, TEXT 106 - John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress Early Modern English I~ the seventeenth century Now there was not far from the place where they lay,a Caffle,called Doubt- ing Caftle, the owner whereof was Giant Defpair, and it was in his grounds they now were fleeping ; wherefore he getting up in the morn- ing early, and walking up and down He finds in his Fields, caught Chriftian and them in bis Hopeful afleep in his grounds. Then a candy jog With a grim and furly voice he bid theme them awake,and asked them whence Doubting they were? and what they did in his Caftle. rounds? Theytold him, they were Biigrims, and that they had loft their way. Then faid the Grant, You have this night trefpafled on me, by trampling in, and lying on my grounds, and therefore you mutt go along with me. So they were forced to go, becaufe he was ftronger then they. They alfo had but little to fay, for they knew theméelves in a fault. The Giant therefore drove them be- ‘TheGriew- forehim,and put them into his Caftle, sth F intoa very dark Dungeon, nafty and oy ftinking to the {pirit of thefe two men: Here then they lay, from Wed- PL 88.18, nefday morning till Saturday night, cont 161Fram Old English to Sandan English without one bit of bread, or drop of drink, or any light, or any to ask how they did. They were therefore here in evil cafe,and were far from friends and acquaintance. Now in this place, Chriftian had double forrow, becaufe “twas through his unadvifed hafte that they were brought into this diftrefs, Well, on Saturday about midnight they began to pray, and continued in Prayer till almoft break of day. Now a little before it was day, good Chriftian, as one half amazed, brake out in this paffionate Speech, What a fool, quoth he, am I thus to lie in a ftinking Dungeon, when I, may A Key in as well walk at liberty? J have a pian Key in my bofom, called Promife,that 00% °@" will, I am perfuaded, open any Lock mife, opens in Doubting Caftle. Then {aid Hopeful, ary Lock That’s good News; good Brother in Doubt. pluck it out of thy bofom and try: '"8 Cafe. Then Chriftian pulled it out of his bofom, and began to try at the Dun- gion door, whofe bolt (as he turned the Key) gave back, and the door flew open with eafe, and Chriftian and Hopeful both came out. Then he went to the outward door that leads into the Cafle yard, and with his Key Early Monern English IH ~ the seventeenth century opened the door alfo. After he went to the Jron Gate, for that muft be opened too, but that Lock went damnable hard, yet the Key did open it; then they thruft open the Gate to make their efcape with {peed, but that Gate, as it opened, made fuch a creaking, that it waked Giant De- Jpair, who haftily rifing to purfue his Prifoners, felt his Limbs to fail, fothat he could by no means go after them. Then they went on, and came to the Kings high way again, and fo were fafe, becaufe they were out of his Jurifdiaion. EX] Activity 10.15 [gaa aaa aioe aia) Discuss some of the evidence of informal and colloquial language in Bunyan’s tex. ie © | Bunyan was not a scholar of the universities in Latin and Greck. His own use of the language was influenced by his reading of the King James Bible of 1611, but at the same time, as we have seen. it reflects popular everyday usage. We can therefore use The Pilgrmm’s Progress with reasonable confidence 2s evidence of ordinary language use an the 1670s. ‘Although there has been little change i the basic grammatical patterns of the since the seventeenth century, there are many superficial features, part of the ii ‘of that period, that date 1, A lis of selected quotauons from The Pilgrin’s Pr iMustrate this, but you could extend this scwvity yourself by examin seventeenth century iext. follows to suitable 163 162From Old English t Standard English TEXT 107 John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress 1 4 his reason was, for tha the Valley was altogether without Honour: but he could not be silent long, because that his trouble mereased © So the other told him, that by that he was gone some distance from the Gate, he would come at the House of the Interpreter. ‘ove) shall miserably come to ruine: except (the which yet I see not) some way of escape ean be found all is not worth to be compared with alittle of that that Iam secking to enjoy. ‘10 be bestowed at the ime appointed, on them that diligently seek Grd person singular present tense inflections) ‘by reason of a burden that lieth hard upon me: ‘The shame that attends Religion, lies also as a block in thet way: Why came you not in at the Gate which standeth at the beginning of the way? How stands it between God and your Soul now? (perfective aspect) ~ bul the ground is good when they are once got in atthe Gate, ‘thought so: and it happened unto thee as to other weak men, ‘So when he was come in, and set down, they gave him something to drink; ‘There was great talk presently after you was gone out ineganves) ‘Then said Pliable, Don't revile; My Brother, I did not put the question to thee, for that I doubled of the truth of our belief my self. Well then, did you not know about ten years ago, one Temporary? Nay, methinks T care not what I meet with inthe way .. Why came you not in atthe Gate which standeth atthe beginning of the way? (nterroganves) But my good Companion, do you know the way ..? ddost thou see this narrow way? ‘Wherefore dost thou ery? But now we are by our selves, what do you think of such men’? .. how many, think you, must there be? Know you not that ts written... ‘Whence came you, and whither do you go? (colloguatisms) Oh, did he light upon you? Know him! Yes, he dwelt in Graceless thought should a been killed there If this Meadow lieth along by our way side, lets go over imo it But did you tell them of your own sorrow? Yes, over, and over, and over. the remembrance of which will suck by me as long as I live. Joseph was hard put to at by her .. . bul iis ordinary for those .. 0 give him the slip, and return again to me. He said it was a pitiful low sneaking business for a Man to mind Religion «let us fie down here and take one Nap. { beshrow him for his counsel; .. and he wot not what to do. ‘Who can tell how joyful this Man was, when he had gotten his Roll again ‘The Shepherds had them to another place, w a bottom, where was a door in the side of an Hil He went on thus, even untill he came at a bottom .. ..ovt of the mouth of which there came in an abundant manner Smouk, and Coals Of fire, with hideous noises, ‘8 And did you presently fall under the power of this conviction? Fh Butis there no hopes for such a Man as this? «They was then asked, IFthey knew the Prisoner at the Bar? Early Modern English I~ he seventeenth centiry 9 a. but get it off my self I cannot. bl abhor thy self for hearkrning unto him 10 (punctuation) a The hearing of this ts enough to ravish ones heart, b-ALotthat often falls from bad mens mouths upon good mens Names Bh Activity 10.16 aaa Heatify any features of the language of these quotations that mark i as belonging to the seventeenth century. (Some are included as 2 contrast 10 others and may not show such features.) 10.8 John Aubrey John Aubrey lived from 1626 10 1697. He was an antiquary, archeologist and biographer, but ‘enly one book of stories and folklore, Miscellanies, was published 1n his lifeume in 1696. He finished none of his many other books and deposited all his manuscripts an the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford in 1693, mcluding a collection of ‘lives’ of sixteenth and seventeenth century notable men and women entitled Brief Lives. ‘The 426 ‘lives’ range m length from two to 23 000 words, so any published version is an dited selection, Aubrey himself wrote hope, hereafter it may be an Incitement to some Ingentose and publick-spirited young, ‘Man, to polish and complet, what I have delivered rough hewn. Some of the ‘lives’ are wn no more than note form, but the longer ones are examples of ‘wnting that give the impression of spoken narrative ~a record of his unselfeonscious gossip with his friends’. Consequently, they provide an example of standard educated English of the ‘eventeenth century mn us informal and collogutal syle TEXT 108 ~ John Aubrey’s Brief Lives Mr Gore. He 1s a filing peevish fellow. ‘Thomas Willis, M.D. was middle stature: darke brindle haute (Like a red pig) stammered much, William Sanderson dyed at Whitehall (I was then there): went out like a spent candle: died before Dr. Holder could come to him with the Sacrament. William Outram was a tall spare leane pale consumptive man; wasted himself much, 1 presume, by frequent preaching. Mrs, Abigail Sloper bore at Broad Chalke, near Salisbury, A.D. 1648, Pride; lechery: ungrateful to her father; married; runne distracted; recovered. Richard Stokes, M.D. His father was Fellow of Eaton College. He was bred there and at King's College. Scholar to Mr. W. Oughatred for Mathematiques (Algebra). He made himselfe mad with it, but became sober again, but I feare like a crackt-glas Became a Roman-catholique: married unhappily at Liege, dog and cat. etc. Became a Sott. Dyed in Newgate, Prisoner for debt April 1681 Thomas Fuller was of middle stature; strong sett; curled haure; a very working head, in so much that, walking and meditaung before dinner, he would eate-up a penny Teafe, rot knowing that he did il, His naturall memonie was very great, to which he added the ‘Art of Memorie: he would repeat to you forwards and backwards all the signes from Ludgate to Charing-crosse, (Aubrey's Brief Lives, 3rd edn, Oliver Lawson Dick (ed.), Secker and Warburg. 1958) 165 164Fram Old English to Standard English eee ‘The ‘ives’ were anecdotal, cach one a collection of facts and stories that Aubrey had gathered about his subject ~ “he was sometimes inaccurate, wt is true, but he was never Untruthful. The following example 1s from Aubrey's Life of Richard Corbet (1582-1635), who Was Bishop firstly of Oxford and then of Norwich. It is typical of the amusing stories that Aubrey remembered and recorded about his subjects TEXT 109 - John Aubrey's Life of Richard Corbet +» His conversation was extreme pleasant, Dr. Stubbins was one of his Cronies: he ‘was a jolly fatt Dr. and a very good house-keeper; parson 1n Oxfordshire. As Dr. Corbet and he were riding in Lob Lane in wett weather (tis an extrdordinary deepe, 4inty lane) the coach fell; and Dr. Corbet saya that Dr. Stubbins was up to the elbowes ‘in mud, he was up to the elbowes in Stubbins. He was made Bishop of Oxford, and I have heard that he had an admirable, grave and venerable aspect. ‘One time, as he was Confirming, the country-people pressing in to see the Ceremonie, sayd he, Bear off there, or le confirm yee with my Staffe. Another time, being to tay his hand on the head of a man very bald, he turns to his chaplaine, Lushington, and sayd, Some Dust, Lushingion (to keepe his hand from slipping). ‘There was a man with a great venerable Beard: sayd the Bishop, You, behind the Beard. His Chaplain, Dr. Lushington, was a very learned and ingentose (= mielligent) ‘man, and they loved one another. The Bishop sometimes would take the key of the \wine-cellar, and he and his Chaplaine would goe and lock themselves in, and be merry. Then first he layes downe his Episcopall hat = There Iyes the Doctor. Then he putts off his gowne ~ There ives the Bishop. Then ‘was Here's ta thee, Corbet, and Here's to thee, Lushington . ‘The last words he sayd were, Good night, Lushingron, 10.9 Christopher Cooper's The English Teacher Chstopher Cooper, Master of the Grammar School of Bishop-Stortford mm Hartfordsire’, published The English Teacher or The Discovery of the Art of Teaching and Learning the English Tongue in 1687, He has been deseribed as the best phoneticran and one ofthe faest recorders of pronuntation that England (and indeed modern Europe) produced before the runeteenth century, the obscure schoolmaster of a country town’ (English Prommctarion 1500-1700, B. 5, Dobson, 1968), An examination of Christopher Cooper’ book wil therclore Provide good evidence ofthe pronunciation of English in his time Cooper's deserption of the relationship of letters to sounds 1, Tike that ohoepists of the sixteenth and seventeenth century, not always easy to Follow. because there ‘was no phonetic alphabet at that tue to act 38a reference forthe sounds. His first concern was the speling ofthe vowels and consonants, to which he relates the variety of sounds represent, He made no proposals for spelling reform, but aumed at waching the spelling » Im genera use a hat time. Thote wis sill a clear distinction of quantity between shor! and long vowels with the same quality, as in OE and ME, but this had become complicated as result of the Great Vowel Shift (see Section 9.5), which was not fully complete until about the end of the seventeenth century. A’ the shift ofthe long vowels took place inthe South of England, and not i the North, the educated speech of London and the Home Counties - the emeruine standard language ~ was affected by it. This mean thatthe same vowel letter now represented {differen sounds Early Modern English IN ~ the seventeenth century Bf Activity 10.17 is Examine the following lists in tra (Texts 110-115), taken from Cooper's The English Teacher. Discuss the evidence they show of: a) Cooper's pronunetation in the 1680s and any change from ME as a result of either the shift of the long vowels or other causes {b) Later changes that have taken place in the pronunciation of any of the words {A description with the etymologies of an extended vocabulary can be found in Commentary 19 of the Text Commentary Book.) oa = | 10.9.1 ‘Of the Vowel a! Cooper described the letter as having three sounds: a short, a long and a slender, In the TPA today, they would be writen fa, /a:/ or je), and /e:/ respectively. TEXT 110 ~ Christopher Cooper's The English Teacher, 1687 (i) a fhort a long a flender Bar Barge Bare blab blah blazon cap carking cape car carp care cat caft cafe dah dart date " Sake gah ep gale eran grant grange land lance dane math mas! nafon pat path pate tar tart tares 167From Old English 10 Standard English Cooper distinguished as different the vowels in certain pairs of words which today are identical homophones in RP and other dialects. These words, however, have remained Gifferent in pants of the North and East Anglia, for example, pe with a pure vowel /pesn/ and ‘paw with a diphthong Jpetn/ (see Accents af English. 1. Chapter 3 Section 1.C, Wells. CUP, 1982), although the contrast 1s not the same as that in Cooper's speech. He describes the difference inthe following way (Coopers ‘u guttural’ was the short vowel /9}. TEXT 111 ~ Christopher Cooper's The English Teacher, 1687 (ii) nounced gently hath the fouid of « pure, as in cam "tur where a onely is written 4 guttural is founded after its as Bain Hail Maid bane hale made main lay'n pain mane lane pane plain fpaid tail Plane Spade tale 10.9.2 ‘Of the Vowel e’ ‘The purpose of the digraph was to distinguish the more open of the two long front vowels /e:/ from the closer vowel /e:/, usually spelt (see Section 9.5), Here 1s the ‘evidence from Cooper's book (his long e” was the vowel /e:) Tha Sound which is taken for the long ¢ as exprest by putting a after 1 as men, mean, 10.9.3 ‘Of the Vowel 0", TEXT 112 - Christopher Cooper's The English Teacher, 1687 (i 9 oa ow in thefe following is founded 0», A-board ac-con-tred af-ford be hows boar born bourn In all others this found is wi Boar. b, > 5 poe inne prove, floup, con-courfe wig courfe courfes court cour-ti-er court-fhip fourfe force ee move PONT Stowrfe vourt-liongfs bould feard Sworn tomb two wa-couth who rigren 00; as look, roof. But are better 5 lnk nat forth, Early Modern English I~ the seventeenth century 10.9.4 ‘Improper diphthongs’ Cooper differentisted diphthongs in pronunciation from digraphs nm writing. He did not, however, use the word digraph but the phrase improper diphthong for pairs of teters that represented only one sound. In the following extract, 'e shor’ meant /e/,"¢ long" fe: ‘ce’ fi:,'0'fex/ anda selection from Cooper’ lists of words 1s printed here. /Only a TEXT 113 ~ Christopher Cooper's The English Teacher, 1687 (iv) (OF the improper Diphthongs ea, 0a, 20. 1e. In which one Vowel alone is pronounced; to which may be added 1, as tis commonly taken, Rule {. Of ea. Eas put I, For e short. 2, For e long. 3 For ee. 4 for a and a, teyshort(=/e) te) long (=/e:) tee) (= ad) 1a) (= fe), bread break dear lean dearth clean biearey'd seream earth leat car-wig swear ready sea near (a) (=tai} ‘road wear weary hearth 10.9.5. 'Barbarous speaking’ ‘The pronunetation of rural and urban dialects has always been regarded as mfenor by those who consider themselves to be in a superior soctal class. Cooper, as a teacher, shows this in his chapter ‘Of Barbarous Speaking’, im which he implies that a person’s pronunciation will Aetermine his spelling (7) am Activity 10.1 REE (Read the 1wo pages ‘OF Barbarous Dialects’ in Text 114 (Gi) Are any of the "barbarous' pronunciations to be heard today an (a) RP or (b) any of our regional dialect (iii) Does this provide any evidence that some features of RP, the socially prestigious accent of English today, have denved from regional accens? iii El TEXT 114— Christopher Cooper's The English Teacher, 1687 (v) HH: that would write more exaétly,muft avoid a Barba- ‘rous Pronunciation 3 and confider for facility, or thorow miflakemany words are not founded after the beft diale& : Such as A E. 1 Ex-tr aile-tree In-poffable,im po und, end fe , ent, 16 ie NO 169 168Fram Olt English S nda English B. Bi Bitho; Baa pele c Chimly, Chim Chorles, Charles” D. Dud, did Dander, dandruffe, dandraffe N. Nother, neicher o. Onmaf, almoft Wats, Oats Op, up Was, one. PB 2uarem, qual F K Frankancenft, —incenfe Firmity, feamenty Fat, foo Fam, few G. L. Lat, let 5 Gurgians, eurgions, ese, Tice prudgings ; gem me, gin me, give me 5 Eout, gov, gave} érift, graft, graft 5 its get. H. M. Hurdurd, hundred bowfomever, howe Moaghtymed, nights ever, howloevers Marazle, miracle 5 Hild,held ; haakee mace, mice; cher, handkerchief. R v. Reddih, Raddith —_Vitles,ViGuals. Ww Widt, sud}, Sextayess fads woulds th) for (f) be- mull, will 5 fore (u) ds Shure, wath, with 5 Shugar, Bc. mune, wath me, Stomp, Stamp; with me 3 skin-merfcummers wbutter, hotter 5 Sree, (courge. ° whuther, whether 5 ferwpe-lous, (crapu- sifted, wortted 5 tous 5 bet, thut 3 warry, weary; Sarviet, fervices ° svont, will not. T. nr Torrable, vertible ; Yerb, herb ; Tander, tinder ; ' yertb, earths Tora, fhreth 5 Yau, you 5 etry there, thare 5 yeu, os Truth towel; wee gon te 170 Early Adern English I~ se seventeenth century 10.9.6 ‘Words that have the same pronunciation’ Other lists 1» Cooper's book are useful in a study of changing pronunciation. For example, there are several pages of Words that have the same pronunciation, but different signification ‘and manner of writing’. Most of them are pronounced alike today, although not necessarily with the same vowels as in the seventeenth century. For example, seas and seize are homophones today. /si:z/, but would have been pronounced /se:z/ or /se:2/ in Coopers time, the Final rarsing to /:/ not yet having taken place. Some of the words confirm changes since ME, For example, the pairing of rest/wrest, nghtwright and ringhering shows the loss of from the OE and ME mitial consonant ‘group to be complete. John Har's A Orthographic written in the sixteenth century Svowed that was sill pronounced. Here area few ofthe pairs that have remained homophones: altaralter cchewes/chuse finn assent/ascent dearfeer lessonflessen bare/bear hhaueare pawr/pare/pear Others show that at least one word mn each pair or group has changed since the 1680s, for ‘example, the pronunciation of are, one, the -ur of censure, gesture and tenure, the ot of oil and fom, and the ea of flea, heard, least, rear, reason, shear and wear: ‘TEXT 115 ~ Christopher Cooper's The English Teacher, 1687 (vi) are/aurfhewfere Tineftoin anv rmile/moil (= hard labour) bileyboit netherfnesther ccenser/censorfcensure ownvone ‘coat/quote pastos/pasture comming/eummin piek't her/picture coo!'d/eould pouripower ccouzhing/eoftin rate cea'dfeard ransins/reasons doe/dafdow (= dough) share/shear Aea/flay ‘shoo tsioeyshew (slow) fitffight (= did fight) stood/stud Jester/gesture renorftenure hhardieardhend toftwoltoe ieyisteoil warkwear/ware Jevkingjerking woo/wor Killin vyealye leastflest, 10.9.7 Words spelt with ‘The study of sound changes 1s complex. Here, we consider briefly ene particular change, m which two sets of words with different vowels in ME and MnE fell toxether for a tm From the evidence of the preceding list, boil, oil. loi nd moll had the same pronunciation as bile, isle, Hine and mile, This can be checked in the poetry of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, in which many similar paurs of words consistently rhyme together (see Section 10.103 on John Dryden). However, this did not mean that their pronunciation at that ume was either fbail/ or Ail ‘The verb boil, fike many other words spelt with the digraph, eame from French and was pronounced /butl/ in ME, although st was usually spelt with ‘The diphthong was ‘enrounded’ during the seventeenth century and changed! to /a 1From Old English to Standard English ‘We saw evidence in John Hart's An Orthographie of the shift of the long vowel /i:/ to the diphthong /o1/. which was almost the same in sound as /at/ by the 1560s. As a result, words formerly with rf and fov/ fell together, and both were pronounced with the diphthong /ai. fier about 1700, the first element of the diphthong shifted further to its present-day Pronunciation /ai/ in words like Bile. Why, then, do we pronounce boil (and similar words) today as foorl/ and not fbatl?? ‘The reason 1s that. in ME, there was a second set of words spelt with , for example, choice and noise, with a diphthong pronounced /o1/, not /ov. Evidence from the orthoepists suggests that /o/ words were also pronounced! /o¥/ by some speakers. Eventually, helped by the spelling, all words spelt with came to be pronounced Joy, so that bile, by then pronounced /batl/, ceased to thyme with boil, pronounced /bott 10.10 John Dryden John Dryden (1631~1700), one of the great wnters in the English literary tradition, was a poet, dramatist and critic. He was largely responsible for the ‘cherished superstition that prepositions ‘must. im spite of the mcurable English instinct for putting them late. ... be kept true to their ‘name & placed before the word they gover (H. W. Fowler, 1926). Dryden ‘went through all his prefaces contriving away the final prepositions that he had been guilty of im his first editions’ (ibid). This is icidental, however, (0 his recognised eminence as a prose writer, and it hhas been said that Modern English prose begins with Drycdlen. 10.10.1, Dryden as letter writer This first example of his writing reveals the problems of being dependent on patronage at that sume. TEXT 116 — John Dryden's letter to Lawrence Hyde, Earl of Rochester, August 1683 My Lord know not whether my Lord Sunderland has interceded with your Lordship, for half 1 yeare of my salary: But I have two other Advocates, my extreame wants, even almost to arresting, & my ill health, which cannot be Fepaird without immediate Fetreing into the Country. A quarters allowance ty but the Jesuttes powder 10 my disease: the fit will tum a fortnight hence. If Idurst 1 wou'd plead a fttle ment, & some hazards of my life from the Common Enemyes, my refuseing advantages offerd by them, & neglecting my beneficial studyes for the King's service: But | onely thinke I merit not to sterve. I never applyd my selfe 10 any Interest contrary to your Lordship's: and, on some suasions, perhaps not known to you, have not been unserviceable to the memory & reputation of My Lord your father, After this, My Lord, my conscience assures me I may write boldly, though I cannot speake to you. 1 have three Sonns growing to mans estate, | breed them all up to learning beyond my fortune; but they are too hopefull to be neglecied though I want. Be pleasd to looke (on me with an eye of compassion; some small employment wou'd render my condition easy. The King 18 not unsatisfyed of me, the Duke has often promis'd me his assistance; & your Lordship 1s the Condutt through which their Favours passe Either in the Cusiomes, or the Appeates of the Excise, or some other way; meanes cannot be wanting if you please to have the will. Tis enough for one Age to have neglected Mr Cowley, and sterv'd Mr Butler; but neither of them had the happiness to live tll your Lordship's Ministry. In the meane time be pleasd to give me a gracious and speedy answer to my present request of halfe a yeares pension for my ecessityes. Lam goeing to write somewhat by his Majesiyes command, & cannot ‘tite into the Country for my health and studies, vill secure my family from want ‘You have many petitions of this nature, & cannot satisfy all, bt | hope from your ‘goodness to be made an Exception to your generall rules; because Tam. with all sincerity, Your Lordship’s most obedient Humble Servant John Dryden Ro thcenury BF Activity 10.19 aaa ear List any features of spelling, punctuation, vocabulary or grammar in Text 116 that are not now standard and comment on their number in proportion to the whole leter. aa 10.10.2. Dryden on Chaucer Dryden admired Chaucer's poetry, but some aspects of his assessment of Chaucer throw as Clear alight on Dryden himself, and the way he a his contemporaries thought about ianguage land writing, as it does on Chaucer. His summary of Chaucer’ achievement 1s well known: “Tis sufficient to say according to the Proverb, that here is God's Plenty. ‘TEXT 117 — John Dryden on Chaucer's verse (i) ‘The verse of Chaucer. I confess, 1s not harmonious to us... They who livd with him, and some time after him, thought it Musical .. There 1s the rude Sweetness of Scorch tune in it, which ts natural and pleasing, though not perfect. In the following text, Dryden criticises the editor of an earlier late sixteenth century printed edition of Chaucer. ‘TEXT 118 - John Dryden on Chaucer's verse (ii) «= for he would make us believe the Fault is in our Ears, and that there were really “Ten Syllables in a Verse where we find but Nine: But this Opinion is not worth confuling; ‘tis so gross and obvious an Errour, that Common Sense ... must convince the Reader, that Equality of Numbers in every Verse which we call Heroick, was either not known, of not always practis’d in Chaucer's Age. It were an easte Matter to produce some thousands of his Verses, which are lame for want of half a Foot, and sometimes a whole one. and which no Pronunciation ean make otherwise... Chancer, confess, 18 a rough Diamond, and must first be polish'd ere he shines. 's : wersifying some of the Canterbury tales, Dryden's ‘polishing’ of Chaucer was done by reversifying some o making his choice from those tales ‘as savour nothing of Immodesty’. In his preface to the fables, he quotes from Chaucers’s prologue, where the narrator ‘thus excuses the Ribaldry, which 1s very gross... Dryden then goes on to discuss Chaucer's language. ‘TEXT 119 - John Dryden on Chaucer's verse (ii) ‘You have here a Specimen of Chaucer's Language, which s s obsolete, that his Sense 1s scare to be understood: and you have likewise more than one Example of his unequal Numbers, which were mention‘d before. Yet many of his verses consist of “Ten Syllables, and the Words not much behind our present English aE 133From Old English to Standart English The following texts consist of the same extract from Chaucer's prologue 10 The early printed version as an moder edition Canterbury Tales, Firstly as quoted by Dryden in 1700 from ‘example of Chaucer's ‘obsolete language and rough versiti based on the manuserpts, TEXT 120 John Dryden's version of Chaucer's prologue to The Canterbury Tales But first, { pray you, of your courtesy, ‘That ye ne arrete st nought my villany, ‘Though that I piaunly speak in this mattere To tellen you her words, and eke her chere: Ne though I speak her words properly, For this ye knowen as well as 1 Who shal tellen a tale after a man He mote rehearse as nye, as ever He can: Evenich word of it been in his charge, All speke he, never so rudely, ne large. Orelse he mote tellen his tale untrue, Or feine things, or find words new: He may not spare, altho he were his brother, He mote as well say o words as another, (Christ spake himself full broad in holy Writ, And well I wote no Villany isi Eke Plato saith, who so can him rede, ‘The words mote been Cousin to the dede. TEXT 121 ~ Modern Edition of Text 120 Bur first I pray yow of youre curtersye ‘That ye n'aretie st noghi my vileynye ‘Though that I pleynly speke in this mateere To telle yow hir wordes and hir cheere Ne thoah I speke hir wordes proprely. For this ye knowen af so wel us I ‘Whoso shal tele a tale after man He moot reherce as ny ag euere he kan Euerich a word if it be an his charge Al speke he neuer so rudeliche and large, Ores he moot tell his tale vntrewe Or feyne thyng or fynde wordes newe. He may nat spare althogh he were his brother He moot as wel seye 0 word as another, Crist spak hymself ful brode in hooly writ ‘And wel ye woot no vileynye is it. Eck Plato seith, whoso that kan hym rede, ‘The wordes moote be cosyn to the dede. (Tl mac (Gi) Read Section 5.4. which briefly describes the pronunciation of Chaucer's verse. {ily Discuss the possible reasons for Dryden's eriticism of Chaucer's ‘unequal Numbers’ that 1s, his belief that many of Chaucer’ lines have fewer than the ten syllables that verses, his elie syllables that (Gv) What was ‘obsolete for Dryden in Chaucer's vocabulary and grammar’? y 10.20 (eS ESE {@) Study the two versions of Chaucer's prologue and comment on the differences between them. urls Monlern English I] ~ the seeemeenth cenury 10.10.3. Dryden and rhymes ‘When you read poetry from the sixteenth (0 the exghteenth centuries, you will often find pairs cf words that should rhyme, but do not do so mn present-day pronunciation, We have already Tnoked at rhymes in our study of the language, 2s evidence of chat stucture of words up to the end of the fourteenth century (see Section 7.3.3 on Chaucer's 1m the pronunciation and rhymes). ILis therefore mteresting (0 examine a few examples from the endl of the seventeenth eentury and to relate them to What we have learned about pronunciation from the two crthoepists, John Hart in the sixteenth century (see Chapter 9) and Chnstopher Cooper in the seventeenth century (see Sectton 10.9. ‘These rhymes from John Dryden's translation of Virgil’s Latun Aenets occur many other ‘umes an the translation, and thus are not smgle examples that might be explained as fy eye thymes, TEXT 122 ~ John Dryden's Aeners appear Sea Year Wind <0 more than Madmen! you your selves shall bear ‘The guilt of Blood and Sacrilegious War: vii g21 Loaded with Gold, he sent his Darling, far From Noise and Tumults, and destructive Wa Committed tothe faithless Tyrant's Care, m173 She seem'd a Virgin of the Spartan Blood: With such Array Harpalice bestrode Her Thracian Courser, and outst'd the rapid Flood 1440 His Father Hyrtacus of Noble Blood; His Mother was a Huntress of the Wood: . The Brambles drink his Blood: And his tom Limbs are left, the Vulture's Food, VIII 855 Resume your ancient Care: and if the God Your Site, and you, resolve on Foreign Blood: VIIsi6 His knocking Knees are bent beneath the Load: And shiv'ring Cold congeals his vital Blood. X11 1308 Maids, Matrons, Widows, mix their common Moan Orphans their Sires, and Sires lament their Sons x1329 Acestes, fird with just Disdam, to see ‘The Palm usurp'd without a Vietory: Reproci’d Enrellus thus vsi3 The Pastor pleas'd with his dire Victory Beholds the satiate Flames in Sheets ascend the Sky: x 573 the Coast was free From Foreign or Domestick Enemy Hi 168 He heav‘d it at a Lift: and poizd on high, Ran stagg'ring on, against his Enemy, XI 1304 EEL Activity 10.21 |e aaaaan eieree PETES) (i) Study the pairs of rhymes in Text 122 and discuss their probable pronunciations. (di) How can we explain the fact that several words appear to have two pronunciations? I sem od tf th ey could apse sym with ther fee Ma a igh Mn uth vowel of igh was ulln te proses a cag: a Dyes ae Fam fn vowel reo eo and ponancaens ae “hi expla the flowing wonpla im Stakspecs Te Tr Getonen of Yeon 3 cenury eater The dilogue between Proxy, gntaman of Veto an Speeds clowntiscn The word Ay (is) So ly mea oh 2B Early Modern English IY ~ the seventeenth century ‘TEXT 123 - Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona PROTHEUS But what said she? SPEED (ods, then saves) PROTHEUS —_Nodtl, why that’s noddy. SPEED ‘You mistooke Sir; T say she did nod; and you aske me if she did nod and I say I PROTHEUS And that set together 1s noddy. []) mo Activity 10.22 Aaa espns gu oF x13 =— nace |= | 10.11 North Riding Yorkshire dialect in the 1680s ltovas said in an earlier chapter that from the late fifteenth century 1 becomes increasingly rare to find texts that provide evidence of regional forms other than those of the educated London dialect. which became established as the standard. Once the grammar and vocabulary of \sritten English were standardised, other dialects were recorded only in texts writen for the purpose of presenting dialects as different During the seventeenth century, there was a revival of interest on antiquarian studies and of language, two of the many topics discussed by members of The Royal Saciety. Writings on Janguage included descriptions of the Saxon language of the past and of contemporary dialects. ‘One form that this interest an dialect took can be seen in George Meniton's A Yorkshire Dialogue, published in York in 1683. Menton was a lawyer, practising im the North Riding town of Northallerton, Meruon’s dialogue 1s a lively representation of a Yorkshire farming family, written in verse couplets, and 1s deliberately full of proverbial sayings. Its therefore only indirect evidence of the authentic spoken North Riding English of the time, but nevertheless gives us plenty of examples of dialectal and traditional vocabulary and grammar. The spelling of written English in the seventeenth century had remained virtually unchanged, in spite of the efforts of spelling reformers like John Hart in the sixteenth century, and took no account of the shifls of pronunciation that bad taken place since the fourteenth century. Consequently, the spelling of Standard English did not accurately indicate the ‘polite™ scent of the lite seventeenth and early eighteenth centunes. But when writing in dialect, t i (and still 1S) usual to spell many of the words ‘as they were spoken’, so that features of falectal pronunciation were shown as well as the vocabulary and grammar. In the following short extract, the two young women i the family, Tibb the daughter and Nan the mece, talk about there sweethearts, There are no ‘stage directions’. so their movements have to be snferred from the dialogue. [ll on accivicy 10.23 ae List some of the probable dialectal pronunciations that the spellings m Text 124 suggest. fii) In what ways does the grammar of the dialect differ from the Standard English ofthe late seventeenth century? = © 77Frum Old English to Standard Englch TEXT 124 George Meriton's A Yorkshire Dialogue, 1683, (The extract begins at line 155 of the original. The Yorkshire dialectal pronunctation of the 1s spelt im the Dialogue asth.) A York-shire DIALOGUE, In its pure Natural DIALECT: As itis now commonly Spoken in the North parts of YorkShire Being a Miscellaneous discourse, oF Hotchpotch of several Country Affaires, begun by a Daughter and her Mother, and continued by the Father, Son, Uncle, Neese, and Land-Lord F, = Father, M. = Mother, D. = Daughter, N.= Niece. What ails our Tibb, that she urles seay ith Newke, Shee's nut Rect, she leauks an Awd furrand Leauke. D. Father. Ive gitten cawd, I can scarce tawke, ‘And my Snurles are seay sayr stopt, I can nut snawke, N, How duz my Cozen Tibb Naunt I mun nut stay, Thard she gat a Cawd the other day, M. Ey wallaneerin, wilta gang and see, Shee's aboun ith Chawmber, Thou may Clim upth Stee. Shee's on a dovening now gang defily Nan, ‘And mack as litte din as ee'r Thou can. N. Your mains flaid, there's an awd saying you knawe ‘That there's no Caron will kill a Crawe: If she be nut as dead as a deaur Naile, He mack her flyer and semper like Flesh Cael, What Tibb I see, Thou is mut yet quite dead, Leauke at me woman, and had up thy head. D.AliNun stceke'dh widerboard, and mack i darke, My Neen are vatra sayr, they stoun and warke ‘They are seay Gummy and Furr'd up someume. 1 can nut leauke at'th Leet, nor see a sume. N. Come come, I can mack Thee Leetsome and blythe, Here will be thy awd Sweet-heart here Belive. He tell’s me seay I say him but last night (0 Tibb he 1s as fine as onny Kneet, Nay Nan Thou dus but jest there's neay sike He woes another Lasse and gave her a Ring. N. Away away great feaul tack thou neay Care, He swears that hee'l love thee for evermare. And sayes as ever he whopes his Saul to seave, Hee! gither wed to Thee, oF tull his greave ... (A Yorkshire Dialogue, A.C. Cawley (ed.). Yorkshire Dialect Society, reprint Il, 1959) 178 Early Modern English I~ the seventeenth century ‘What ails our Tibb, that she crouches” so in the Nook, ‘She's not Right, she looks an Old fashioned Look, Father, Ive gotten (a) cold, I can searce tal, ‘And my Nostrils are so sore stopped (up), I can not male, N. How does my Cousin Tibb Aunt must not stay, heard she got a Cold the other day, M. By alas, wilt thou go and see, ‘She's above in the Chawmber, Thou may Climb up the Ladder. She's in 8 doze now go gently Nan, ‘And make as little din as ever Thou can. N. You're very worned, there's an old saying you know ‘That there's no Camion will kill a Crow: If she be not as dead as a door Nail, TH] make her laugh and simper like Meat Broth, ‘What Tibb I sce, Thou 1s not yet quite dead, Look at me woman, and hold up thy head. D. Ah Nan shut the window-board (= shutter), and make 1t dark, My Eyes are very sore, they smart and ache. ‘They are so Gummy and Furr'd up sometime. T ean not look at the Light, nor see a thing. N. Come come, I can make Thee Lightsome and blithe, Here will be thy old Sweet-heart here Soon. He tells me so I saw him but last might O Tibi he ws as fine as any Knight D. Nay Nan Thou dost but est there's no such thing, He woos another Lass and gave her a Ri N. Away away great fool take thou no Care, He swears that bell love thee for evermore. And says as ever he hopes his Soul to save, Helll esther wed to Thee, or till his grave (= die). “arles cannot be accurately translated into one Standard English word. A contemporary gloss (684) on the word was: ‘To Vrie, is to draw ones self up on a heap’; a later one (1808) Was: to be pinched with cold (A deseriptive analysis can be found in Commentary 20 in the Tex? Commentary Book.) 179re 11. Modern English - the eighteenth century SEER A standard language 1s achieved when writers use prescribed and agreed forms of the vocabulary and grammar, regardless of the dialectal variety of the language that each one may speak. As a result, regional and class dialects, which are themselves no less rule-governed and systematic than an agreed standard, tend to be regarded as inferior. This chapter presents some of the evidence about attitudes towards, and beliefs about, the standard language and the dialects an the eighteenth century. The linguistic changes that have taken place from the eqghiconth century to the presen day are relauvely few and will be discussed inthe next chapter. 11.1 Correcting, improving and ascertaining the language 11.1.1 ‘The continual Corruption of our English Tongue’ DDunng te eighteenth century. many pamphlets, aces and grammar books were published on the top ofconecing. improving snd i posible, Fixing the tnguage ina peseced form One sord that recurred ime and tune agin refer tothe slate ofthe English tnguage rs orrption. You wil id iin te lowing est, which an exact frm atc ween by Sonathan Swift (1667-1748) sn 1710 in the journal Te Tater. The complete ance took the form ofa supposed leer wniten to lsaaeBicersaf a pseudonym for Jonathan Swi TEXT 125 - The Tatler, 26 September 1710 ‘The following Letter has laid before me many great and manifest Evils in the World of Letters which I had overlooked; but they open to me a very buste Scene, and it will requue no small Cae and Appiction i amend Errors which ae become 3 univer To lsaae Bickerstaff Esq sik, ‘There are some Abuses among us of great Consequence, the Reformation of which is properly your Province, tho’, as far as Ihave been conversant in your Papers, you hhave not yet considered them. These are, the deplorable Ignorance that for some Years hath reigned among our English Writers, the great depravity of our Taste, and the continual Corruption of our Style 2 -Mesderm English ~ the eighteenth century ‘These two Evils, Ignorance and Want of Taste, have produced a Third; I mean, the continual Corruption of our English Tongue, which, without some timely Remedy, will suffer more by the false Refinements of twenty Years past, than it hath been improved in the foregoing Hundred... But instead of giving you a List of the late Refinements crept into our Language, 1 here send you the Copy of a Letier I received some Time ago from a most accomplished person inthis Way of Writing, upon which I shall make some Remarks. Tas n these Terms. SIR, 1 Cowdn' get the Things you sent for all abous Town, 1 shds to fa’ come down my self, and then /'d ha bro ‘un; but [han't don’ and L believe I can’t do‘, that’s Poze... Tom begins to gi’mself Airs because he's going with the Plempo's... "Tis said, the French King will bamboo: us agen, which causes many Speculations: ‘The Jacks, and others of that Kidney, are very uppish, and alert upon’ as you may see by their Phi Will Hazzard has got the Hips, having lost to the Tune of Five hundid Pound, hd he understands Play very well, rio body berter. He has promis me upon Rep, to leave ‘ff Play; but, you know ‘tis a Weakness he's too apt to ‘give io, thd he has as much Wit as any Man, no body ‘ore. He has lain incog ever since.... The Mobb's very quiet with us now... [believe you thot I banter‘d you im my Last like a Country Pur... sha'n't leave Town this Month, 8. This Letter is in every Point an admirable Pattern of the present polite Way of Writing; nor is tof less Authority for beng an Epistle .. The first Thing that strikes your Eye ts the Breaks at the End of almost every Sentence; of which I know not the Use, only that itis a Refinement, and very frequently pracused. Then you will observe the Abbroviations and Blisions, by which Consonants of mosi abdurate Sound ae joined together, without one softening Vowel to intervene; and all this only to make one Syllable of two, directly contrary to the Example of the Greeks and Romans; altogether of the Gothick Strain, and a natural Tendency towards relapsing ‘nto barbaruy, which delights in Monosyllables, and uniting of Mute Consonants; as i 1s observable in all the Northern Languages. And this is still more visible im the next refinement, which consists m pronouncing the first Syllable in a Word that has many, and dismissing the rest: such as Phizz, Hipps, Mobb, Pozz, Rep, and many more: ‘when we are already overloaded with Monosyllables, which are the disgrace of our Language . ‘The Third Refinement observable in the Letter I send you, consists n the Choice ‘of certain Words invented by some Pretty Fellows; such as Banter, Bamboozle, Counnry Put, and Kidney, as its there applied; some of which are now struggling for the Vogue, and others are in Possession of it.I have done my utmost for some Years past to stop the Progress of Mobb and Banter, but have been plainly bore down by Numbers, and betrayed by those who promised to assist me. Tn the last Place, you are to take Notice of certain choice Phrases scattered through the Letter; some of them tolerable enough, till they were worn to Rags by servile Imutators. You might easily find them, though they were ina different Print, and therefore I need not disturb them. ‘These are the false Refinements in our Style which you ought to correct: Fist, by ‘Argument and fair Means; but if those fail, I think you are to make Use of your ‘Authority as Censor, and by an Annual Judex Expurgaroris expunge all Words and Phrases that are offensive 10 good Sense, and condemn those barbarous Mutilations of ‘cont a 81From Old English 1 Standard English Vowels and Syllables. In this last Pomt, the usual pretence is, that they spell as they speak: A Noble Standard for a Language! to depend upon the Caprice of every Coxcomb, who, because Words are the Cloathing of our Thoughts, cuts them out, and shapes them as he pieases, and changes them ofiner than his Dress ... And upon this, Head I should be glad you would bestow some Advice upon several young Readers in ‘our Churches, who coming up from the University, Full fraught with Admuration of ‘our Town Politeness, will needs correct the Style of their Prayer Books. In reading the Absolution, they are very careful to say pardons and absolves; and in the Prayer for the Royal Family, must be endue ‘um, enrich ‘um, prosper wn, and bring ‘tan. Then intherr Sermons they use all the modern Terms of Art, Sham, Banter, Mob, Bubble, Bully, Curing, Shufling, and Palming 1 should be glad to see you the Instrument of introducing into our Style that ‘Simplicity which 1s the best andl truest omament of most Things in Life Jam, with great Respect, sik, Your, &e. @ Activity 111 Eas tame Discuss what the word corruption unplies as a metaphor of language. Is it a plausible and acceptable concept? (di) List the features of contemporary language use that Swift objected to. (ii) Discuss Swift's argument and his own use of language, for example, his irony connotations of words like Ervors, Evils, Abuses, deplorable, Depravity, Corruption, suffer, Barbary, Disgrace, betrayed, Murilanons, Coxcomb, (iv) Are there any significant differences between Swifi’s punctuation and present-day conventions? (The dots in the second Letter ..), quoted within the main fetter addressed to ‘Isaac Bickerstaff, are part of the punctuation which Swift objected to tthe Breaks at the End of almost every Sentence). Elsewhere (... they mark omissions from the original longer text) ii ess ||| ‘Some of the contracted or colloquial forms that Swift disliked were: banter ‘humorous ridicule (n), to make fun of (vb) {ongin unknown, regarded by Swift as slang) Hippshhip _ hypochondria, depression incog. incognito, concealed identity Jacks lads, chaps ‘Mobb/mob orginally shortened from mobile, from Laun mobile vulgus, the movable or excitable crowd, hence the rabble Phizz physiognomy, face Plenipos plenipotentiary, representative Put fool, lout, bumpkin (origin not known) Poa, positive, certain Rep ephtaion ‘The Absolution in The Book of Common Prayer. which Swift referred to, contains the words she pandoneth and absolveth, ‘You can sec that what Swift disliked was certain new colloquial words and phrases, and Modern English ~ he eighteenth century the Corruption of our English Tongue an evaunve metaphor tht pled worsng and Shan. ifthe aye dsthed to hear cold act everyone's use of Engh, bah wale nd ris aude of condemnation, focusing on reltvely vil aapets of ontemporry usage, as taken uptime and tne again throughout the egheomh century, id hx comtnued tthe preset day. is important ro study af asses effects, One obvious effets hat horstndard varieties of te language fend fo become sgmatned as swstondard, while Sandra Enishi thought ofa the English language, aber han te prestige deco he tiguage Me language an speech of educted men and women ofthe south-east expetly in London, Oxtondand Cambridge, vas, as We have aleay aberved, the source of Stand Enlist Ts as John Harts ‘best and most parte Engish (Se Secon 9.71) and Geosse Poteau spec o the Cour, and that of London and the shies ying about Lan fee Suction 9.72) The follownng text rom he |77Os Hlusates the essen of this cho TEXT 126 - James Beattie’s Theory of Language, 1774 Are, then, all provincial accents equally ood? By no means. Of accent, as well-as €F fpelling, fyntax, and idiom, there is a fiandard in every polite nation. “And, in all thefe particulars, the example of approved authors, and the praétice of thofe, who, by thelr-rank, education, and way of life, have had the belt opportunities to know men and manners, and domeftick and forcign litera- ture, ought undoubtedly .to give the law. Now it is inthe metropalis of a kingdom, and in the moft famous {choos of learning, where the greateft refort may be expected of perfons adorned with all ufeful and elegant accomplithments, The language, therefore, of ‘the moft learned and polite perfons in London, and the neighbouring Univerfities of Oxford and Cambridge, ought to be ac- couinted the ftandard of the Englith tongue, efpecially in accent and pronunciation : fyne tax, Spelling, and idiom, having been af- certained by ‘the pra€tice’ of good authors, and the content of former ages. @ Activity 11.2 i scuss your response {0 James Beattic's assertions. Does his argument hioid good for the present day? fashionable features of pronunciawion ~ all par of spoken usage rather than wntten, He = specifically condemned these as features of Siyle, that 1s, of deliberate chorees of words and hin |= Structures from the resources of the language. But atthe same tune, he refered i seneea! 183 182From Old Enish Standard English 11.1.2 Fixing the language Swifts concem about the sate ofthe language. 8 sw, was so great that he published a seriou proposs for establishing some sor of academy’ to regulate and mantan the standards af the English language, similar othe Académie Fangs which a been setup tn France 1634, The ngumens used were smart those expressed in The Talr ance of 1710, but Sit also mtoduced the dea of ascertain the language (tun, alin eran) 3 at would not be subject ofrther change Here are some extra rom Swlfs proposal TEXT 127 ~ A Proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue; ina Letter to the Most Honourable Robert, Earl of Oxford, and Mortimer, Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain, 1712 My Lon; Ido here, in the Name of all the Learned and Po- Tice Perfons of the Nation, com- plain to Your Lonpsure, as Fit Muifer, hae our Language 1s exe tremely imperettsthae ts daily Im provements are by no means in proportion co its daly Corruptions, that che Pretenders to polih and refine 1, have chiefly muleiplied Abus and abides 5 an, ‘ha am many Inftances, 1c offends againft every Part of Gramman ‘ane Nec T fee no abe flute Necelley why any Language fhould be. perpswlly” changing ixmg our Language for ever, afer fat ateators a6 made 2 hall be thought requifve. For 1 am of Opinion, thac x 1s berer a Language fhould not be wholly perfeét, chan thar x fhould be per~ ecly changing. and we mut ve over atone Time, or at engi IM change for he wore BUT where fy, thae I would have our Langusgey afer 1 1s duly corre€halways tolaft; Ido nor mean chart thould never be enlarged: Pro- vided, thae no Word which a So- cicy hall gue. 2 Sanion ‘o, be afterwards anuquated and Heare that fome Method fiould —whatever-new ones they Thal find be thought on for sfertamg and —oceafion for ["])) Accivity 11.3 (Rane Comment on the possibility and desabity of ascerann a langage, and Swit that a language need not be ‘perpetually ct mee a ae EY | 11.2. The perfection of the language Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-84) published his Dietwonary in 1755. In the preface r p icnonary sn In the preface to the dictionary he refers to the idea of fixing the language. He himself is sceptical of the possibility of success, although he'believes in the idea of the perfection and decay of a languay ‘Those who have been persuaded to think well of wy design, will requ that t should fix our language. and put a stop to those alterations which ume and chance have hitherto been sufere 10 ‘make in without opposition. With his consequence Iwill confess that Ih ‘which neither reason nor experience ean justi re ndulged expectation ~lnsis he goverment ve mat nny to degen: we ve ng peed ou bgles for our linguage Movdera English — he eighteen century ‘Swift thought that the century from the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's eign in 1558 to the Civil Wars in 1642 was a kind of Golden Age of improvement in the language, although he dil not believe that it had yer reached a state of perfection. The belief that languages could be improved and brought to a state of perfection was common talthough we may not believe it today). Confusion between language and language use causes the one to be identified with the biber, and a period of grea writers 1s called a period of greatness for the language. We have already seen Swift identifying and associaung a style that he disliked with corruption of the language. 11.2.1 The Augustan Age and Classical perfection ‘Some writers thought that the ‘slate of perfection’ would be achieved some time in the future, but Iter eighteenth century grammarians placed w in the early and mid-eighteenth century language of wruers like Addison, Steele, Pope and Swift himself. This period is known as the ‘Augustan Age’ (from the period of the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus. 27 8c 10 ab 14, ‘when great wnters like Virgil, Horace and Ovid flourished). The language and literature of Classical Rome and Greece were still the foundation of education mn the eighteenth century. Writers copied the forms of Classical literature, like the epic, the ode, and dramatic tragedy, ‘while the Latin and Greek languages were models of perfection in their unchangeable state, ‘which wnters hoped English could attam, The influence of the sound of Latin and Greek helps toexplain Swift's dislike of ‘Norther’ consonant clusters (see Text 125). “The vernacular Latin language of the first century had, of course, continued to change, so that after various centuries is several dialects had evolved into French, lalian, Spanish and the oer Romance languages. But Classical Latin was fixed and ascertained, because ts vocabulary and grammar Were derived from the literature of us greatest period. This state seemed to be in complete contrast to contemporary English, and so, followmg Swift, many ‘ther writers and grammarians sought to improve the language. Somewhere, n the past or the future, lay the perfected English language. 11.3 ‘The Genius of the Language’ “There are few references to the language of ordinary people by ewhteenth century writers on Jnguage — the grammanians ~ it is beneath a grammarin’s attempt’ (Anseim Bayly in 172). But even writers whom they admired were not necessarily taken as models of zood English ‘ether, Authors’ writings were subjected to detailed scrutiny for supposed errors. Grammanins sometimes spoke of ‘the Gentus of the Language’ or ‘the Idiom of the Tongue’ as a criterion for judgement, the word genius meaning someumes character or spirit, or simply grammar. But, fw practice, this concept meant little more than the intuition of the grammarian; what he thought or felt sounded right, expressed in the Latin phrase Ipse divit (he himself says). ‘Sometimes this reliance on personal opinion was clearly stat to commute to took upon not o be English ‘willbe easily discovered that Ihave paid no regard to authonty have censured even our best penmien, where they have departed from what I cancewe tobe the ion ofthe tongue. or whex nave though they violate grammar without necessity. To jue by the rule of Ipse dist w the way to perpetuate eror ison, and other writers of the highest x rn by Swift, Ten yeful impropriety as one must think must to be foreigners. om the wrong use of prepositions) reputation; some of them. inde ‘every English ea, un almost dace the vader to suppose the we Robert Baker. 1770) (Reflections on the English Lamas [Notice that Baker condemns /pse cis: when applied to ‘the best penmen’. but not when applied twhimself, 185 1 EEEFrom Old English o Standart English Often, appeals were made to Reason, or Analogy (a similar form to be found elsewhere 1m the language): To doubatut eases regard ought 10 beh “Whether he will oF no supply the eli {in our decisions to the analogy ofthe language. Of and “Whether he will or nots only the later thats analogieal~. when you You Find it necessary to use the adver wo, ‘Whether be will will na. (Philosophy of Rhetone, George Campbell, 1776) Grammarians were not always consistent in their arguments, however, They recognised th: the evidence for the vocabulary and grammar of a language must be dened from what people ually wrote and spoke, referted to sometumes as Custom: Reason perms that we give way to Custom, though contrary to Reason, Analog: 1 not the Mistress ‘of Language. She preseribes only the Laws of Custom, (Are of Speaking, 1708) ‘This point of view ts argued in greater detail inthe following text TEXT 128 - Joseph Priestley's Rudiments of English Grammar, 1769 It must be allowed, thatthe custom of speaking is the original, and only just standard of any language. We see, in all grammars, that this is sufficient to establish a rule, ‘even contrary (0 the strongest analogies of the Ianguage with iself. Must not this custom, therefore, be allowed to have some weight, in favour of those forms of speech, to which our best writers and speakers seem evidently prone: Forms which are contrary to no analogy of the language with itself, and which have been disapproved by grammanans, only from certain abstract and arbitrary considerations, and when their decisions were not prompted by the genius of the language: which discovers itself in nothing more than in the general propensity of those who use 1 to certain modes of construction? I think, however, that I have not, in any case. seemed {o favour what our grammarians will call an uregularny, but where the genius of the Tanguage, and not only singie examples, but the general practice of those who write 1H, and the almost universal custom of all who speak 11, have obliged me to do so. also think I have seemed to favour those irregulanties, no more than the degree of the roponsity ! have first mentioned, when unchecked by a regard 10 arblrary rules. in ‘those who use the forms of speech I refer to. will authorize me, BL Activity 11.4 Sea aia ARETE] Discuss Joseph Prestiey’s assessment of the relatve values of custont, analogy. the genus of the language and the disapproval of grammarians 1a deciding the forms of a standard language. 11.4 Bishop Lowth’s grammar One in particular of the many grammar books of the eighteenth century had a lasting influence on later grammars which were published for use in schools in the late eighteenth century and throughout the nineteenth century = Robert Lowth’s A Short Introduction to English Grammar, 1762. Lowth's attitude was prescipnive — that ts, he prescribed or laid down what he himself Considered to be correct usage, as illustrated in the following: Grammar is ¢ Ant of rightly expressing our thoughts by Words ete ‘The principal design of Grammar of any Language 19 teach us 10 ex ropnely tn that Language, and tobe able 10 judge of every pease and form of construction. whethee a bright 1 EEE! Modern English = the eighteenth contry highest rank, or eminent authors, 1s subject to Lowth’s prescriptive judgement TEXT 129 - Robert Lowth's A Short Introduction to English Grammar, 1762 (i) Je is ricw about fifty years fre Doktor Swift made a pub lic remonfrrance, addrefed 10 she Earl of Oxford, ther Lord Treas Surery. of the imperfe State of aur Language ; alledging in pars ticular, * shat in many inflances it « offended again every part 9 « Cormar bi mip wi Inwed 10 bave been a good judge of this matter. He was binfelf very attentive t0 this part, bith in Bis. cwn writings, and in bis remarks upon thafe of bis friends : be is one. of our moft corrett, and perbaps. our very bef profe writer In- deed the juftnefe of this. complaine, tas far as Tecan find, bath never been cneffioned ; ‘and yet no effec sual method bath hitherto been taken to redrofi the grievance of which be complains. But let us confer, bow, and in what cetent, we are to underfland this charge brought againf she Englith Language Dees it mnean, thot he Englith Lexgunge ai i ston by the polite part of the eee nat Be oe ‘writings of our soft approved au- ter eines afeee age every part of Grammar? Thus Sar, 1 am afraid, the charge is trie. “Te folowing wats a enanple of Lowi’ presptve method os stated sn hi Book, sn ‘hich es tting the use of wil an shal, ogetner wth shor extrac from his preface TEXT 130 - Robert Lowth's A Short introduction to English Grammar, 1762 (i) Will the Fale 7 ch Be ie Perfon Gingslar and plural promiles fides ficsing what is right, 2 betivetes inthe cond an tied ee ie be further explamed by Peefons only fortells: fall on the pomeing out what 1s wrong. Till contrary, in the fet Perfon Gimply not take upon me t0 fay, schetber we forecls5 in the fecond and third bave any Grammer hit fuffciently Perfons comarands or threatens. forlorn the frf parts bus the las ne and Pose make the eT ter metbed ‘bere called in, as fb Tb Be ee deat Servient 10 the former, may perbaps 4 feud in hit cafe tbe of te ative Modes min, amg evs, would, feould, the St two the more wfeful and effeétual snanner of inflruBlion, ‘The Prepofiion 12 peed ‘heer keh oi Have and be through Modes and Times are placed only before the Pevfeét and Pallive Par- Lciples reedively = the ref only before the Verb ith in is Primary Ferm 187sh Standart English ‘Wentify the inconsistency between Lowth's prescription and his actual use of will ot shall ee =)! ee 8 aciviy 115 iii) Lowth’s book was intended for those who were already well educated. This can be Inferred from part of the preface: ‘ Grammatical Study of our own Language makes no part of the ordinary method of instruction ‘which we pass tha! in our childhood ‘The use of the first person we implies that h Grey is readers, like him, will have studied Lau inde ish literature, act not followed by most of the population atthe time. TEXT 131 - Robert Lowth's A Short introduction to English Grammar, 1762 (ii) and at school = the ancient or learned languages. This, however, did not 1n his opinion Provide them with a knowledge of English grammar, even though they lived in palite society ‘Much practice inthe polite world, and a generat acquaintance with the best authors, ‘are good helps, but alone will hardly be sufficient: we have writers, who have ‘enjoyed these advantages in their full extent, and yet cannot be recommended a ‘models of an accurat serve the purpose; that reuding of ancient authors entical knowledge of anctent languages. and much ‘In a word, it was calculated for the use of the Leamer even of the lowest class* ‘Those, who would enter more deeply into this Subject, will find it fully and accurately handled, with the greatest acuteness of investigation, perspieuity of eexpliciation, and elegance of method. n a Treause intitled HERMES, by JAMES HARRIS Esq; the most beautiful and perfect example of Analysis that has been exhibited since the days of Aristotle “class sn this extract does not mean soctal class, but grade or standard of achievement, 11.5. Literary styles in the eighteenth century style. Much less then will what is commonly ealled Learning, The style of weiing of Lowth and other grammarians 1s very ‘formal’ its vocabulary and Structure are unlike that of everyday language. Here are two short contrasting examples of eighteenth century writing, the frst from a diary and so informal or ‘ordinary’ prose, and second from a literary journai. Literary prose adopts its own fashionable choices from the the Janguage at different periods, while ordinary language in speech and writing continues generally unremarked. TEXT 132 ~ Thomas Hearne's Remarks and Collections, 1715 MAY 28 (Sat.), This being the Duke of Brunswick, commonly called King George's Birth Whi was little taken notce of (unless by way of ridicule) by other honest People, who for K. James Id. who is the undoubted King of these Kingdoms, & ‘tis heart \wish’d by them that he may be restored, ‘This Day I saw one Ward with Dr. Charlett, who, it seems, ‘Things. He 1s a clergy Man, I must inquire about him, ay, some oF the Bells were jambled in Oxford, by the care of some of the th printed several 'sh, Fanatical Crew; but as I did not observe the Day inthe least my self, soit Modern English ~ he eighteenth century TEXT 133 - Samuel Johnson, The Rambler, July 1750 ‘The advantages of mediocrity Health and vigour, and a happy constitution of the corporeal frame, are of absolute necessity to the enjoyment of the comforts, and to the performance ofthe duties of life, and requisite in yet a greater measure to the accomplishment of any thing illustrious or distinguished: yet even these, if we can judge by their apparent consequences, are sometimes not very beneficial to those on whom they are most liberally bestowed. They that frequent the chambers of the sick, will generally find the sharpest pains, and most stubbom maladies among them whom confidence of the force of nature formerly betrayed to negligence and irregularity; and that superfluty of strength, which was at once their boast and their snare, has often, in the latter part of fife, no other effect than than it continues them long in impotence and anguish. [7] am aceiviey 11.6 ROE th the two wy and syotax in Texts 132 and 133 which disting Discuss the features of vocabula styles of wating. 11.6. ‘The depraved language of the common People’ ‘The standard language recognised by eighteenth century grammarians was that variety used by what they called ‘the Learned and Polite Persons of the Nation’ (Swift) — polite inthe sense of polished, refined, elegant, well-bred. By definition, the language of the common people was inferior. This had far-reaching social consequences, as we shall see tater in the chapter. Here is, some of the evidence on the language of common people, which also explains why we know ‘much Tess about the regional. social and spoken varieties of exghteenth century English. except what we ean infer Irom novels, plays, letters and other indirect sources — and they were not worth the attention of scholars, TEXT 134 On the language of common people «= themselves and Families (from the Monthly Review) .. a very bad Expression, though very common. It1s mere Shopkeepers cant and will always be found contemptible in the Ears of persons of any Taste (Reflections on the English Language, Robert Baker, 1770) on most an end for most commonly). an expression that would almost disgrace the mouth of a hackney-coachman, (Remarks on the English Language, Robert Baker, 1779) though sometimes it may be difficult, if not impossible to reduce common speech torule, and indeed itis beneath a grammarian's attempt. (Plain and Complete Grammar, Anselm Bayly, 1772) No absolute monarch hath it more in his power to nobititate a person of obscure birth, ‘than i¢1s in the power of goad use to ennoble words of low or dubious extraction: such, for mstance, as have either anisen, nobody knows how, like fib. banter, bigot, fop, ‘ippant, among the rabble, or like flimsy, sprung from the cant of the manufacturers. (Philosophy of Rhetonc, George Campbell. 1776) cont 189 188Fram Old English o Standard Eng Nor are all words which are not found in the vocabulary, to be lamented as omissions, Of the laborious and mercantile part of the people, the diction isin great measure casual and mutable; many of their terms are formed for some temporary or local convenience, and though current at certain umes and places, are in others utterly unknown. This fugitive eant, which is always ina state of increase or decay, cannot be regarded as any part of the durable materials ofa language, and therefore must be suffered to penish with other things unworthy of preservation (Wicnonary, Samuel Johnson, 1755) ‘My Amimadversions will extend to such Phrases only as People in decent Life inadvertently adopt... Punty and Politeness of Expression .. is the only exter Distinction which remains between a gentleman and a valet: a lady and a Mantua- maker (= dress-miaker) (Aristarchus, Philip Withers, 1788) ‘Such comments as these clearly show that the divisions of eighteenth century society were ‘marked by language as much as by birth, rank, weaith and education, 11.7 Language and class ‘The evidence of the following quotations suggests that if the language of the common people was regarded as inferior by the educated upper classes m the eighleenth century. then their ideas and thoughts would be similarly devalued, ‘The best Expressions grow low and degenrate, when profun'd by the populace, and applied 10 mean things. The use they make of them, snfecuing them with a mean and abject dea, eaase ‘we cannot use them without sullying and defiling those things, which are signified by ther, ‘Butts no hard matter to discern between the depraved Language of common People, the noble refin'd expressions of the Gentry, nd nose condition and mens have advanced them above the oer. {Arr of Speaking, rendered ino English from the French of Messieurs du Por Royal 1676, 2nd edn, 1708) Langunge was regarded as ‘the dress of thought’, or, 10 use another simple metaphor, ‘the ‘mirror of thought It was believed that there was a direct relationship between good language ‘and good thinking. On the one hand was the dominant socal class, the Gentry, whose language and way of life were vanously described as polite, eivilized, elegant, noble, refined, tasteful and pure. On the other hand were ‘the laborious and mei part of the people’, shopkeepers snd hackney-coachmen, the rabble, whose language was vulgar, barbarous, contemptible, ow, degenerate, profane, mean, abject and depraved, This view was reinforced by a theory of language that was called "Universal Grammar. ‘The following quotations illustrate a belief in the direct connection between language and the ‘mind, or soul, and in the superior value of abstract thought over the senses, They are taken from Hermes: or a Philosophical Inquiry Concerning Language and Universal Grammar published in 1751 by James Haris, the author who was commended by Bishop Lowth (sce Text 131): “Tis a phrase often apply'd roa mun, when speaking, hat he speaks his MIND: as much as to say, that his Speech or Discoutse ws a publishing of same Energie or Motion of his Sou ‘The VULGAR merged in Sense from ther earliest Infancy, and never once dreaming any thing to be worthy of pursuit, but what pampers their Appetite, or fils their Purse. imagine nothing tobe real, but what may be tasted, oF rowched. 1a Modern English ~ she eighteenth century For students of language today, the differences between Standard English and regional diclects are viewed as linguistically superficial and unimportant, The same meanings can be conveyed as easily in one as in the other, although we cannot, in everyday fife, ignore the social connotations of regionsi and non-standard specch, which are still very powerful in conveying and maintaining aunudes In the eighteenth century, the linguistic differences between refined and common speech ‘were held to match fundamental differences un intellect and morality, The gulf between the two ‘was reinforced by the fact that education was i the ‘leaned languages’ Latin and Greek. The clessteal Greek fanguage and literature in particular were judged to be the most ‘perfect’ Now the Language of these Greeks was sul like themselves; ‘twas conformable to their transcendent ‘and universal Genus, “Twere to be wished that those amongst us, who either wnte or read, with a view to employ their liberal lesute were to be wished, I sy, that the bral Gf hey have any relish or leers) would inspect the finshed Models of Grecian Literature (Hermes, James Hares, 1751) ‘As st was believed that the contrasts between the refined language of the classically educated class and the vulgar language of the common people mirrored equal differences in imellectual capabilities, and also in virtue or morality, such beliefs had socral and political consequences. “The most devastating aspect of T8th century assessments of language was us philosophical justification of this notion of vulgarity (The Polities of Language 1791-1819, Olea Sith, OUP, 1984) ‘These social and political consequences can be demonstrated. The yeurs of the long wars with France (1793-1815) following the French Revolution of 1789 were marked by the pelitical oppression of popular movements for reform. Ideas about language were used 10 protect the government from criticism. For example, the notion of vulgariy of language became an excuse to dismiss a series of petitions to Parliament calling for the reform of the veting system. If the language of the labouring classes’ was by definition inferior, incapable of ‘eapressing coherent thotigh, und also of dubious moral value, then it was impossible for them touse language properly in order to argue their own case Liberty of speech and freedom of discussion i this House form an essential part of te constttion but i necessary that persons coming forward as petitioners, should address the House 1m decent and respectful language, (Parliamentary Debates x8%.779) Here are short extracts from three petitions presented to Parliament. The first was presented by “tradesmen and artificers, unpossessed of frechold land’ in Sheffield in 1793 and was rejected: the second, by ‘twelve frecholders’ from Reading in 1810, was accepted: the third was presented by non-voiers from Yorkshire m 1817. At that time, only men who owned freehold Jand had the vote. ‘TEXT 135a — Petition to Parliament, 1793 ‘Your petitioners are lovers of peace, of liberty, and justice. They are m general tradesmen and artificers, unpossessed of freehold land, and consequently have no voice in choosing members to sit 1m parliament; ~ but though they may not be Freeholders, they are men, and do not think themselves fairly used in being excluded the ights of citizens .. (Parliamentary Debates xx%.776) See 1From Old English to Standard English ‘Modern English =the eighteenth century TEXT 135b ~ Petition to Parliament, 1810 ‘The petitioners cannot conceive it possible that his Majesty's present incapable and B Activity 113 arbitrary ministers should be still permitted to carry on the government of the country, ater tng ted our esac mes expediton an having sewn 9 : se he lee of ie Tet 136 in Stand Engh compares ge an cnet wih "ft usar of ned pts andin atc upon itr a he Rerigas nr ofme ten 196 ishandcompar nesaieanicnsenst subject ° Penne PENIS i TEXT 135¢— Petition to Parliament, 1817 Te pstioners aes fal an immovable conviction, cnvcton which hey believe to be universal throughout the kingdom. that the House doth not, in any 11.8 William Cobbett and the politics of language conto oat es. ereso tenon ta, when he peopl ave cease¢ so be represented, the ‘constitution 1s subverted: that taxation without William Cobbett (1763-1835) was the son of a farmer from Farnham. Surrey, and self- representation 1s slavery educated, From 1785 to 1791, he served in a foot regiment in Canada, and left the army after (Partamenary Debs 29. 81-2, quate a Oia Sith pt) tring an lingo bring ein oes ta foremberiement He spe he est of se ring oul an fang, snd same ap MP in 832 ah psig ofthe Reform Be oh i Cobbett began a weekly newspaper, The Political Register, in 1802 a8 2 Tory but soon EG Activity 11.7 —eae a sear S| tecame convoned 10 the radial ease of soci and Parliamentary reform, and wrote and tlted The Polical Register until his death wn 1835, campaigning against soctal myusice and government corruption Tn Section 11,7, we saw how the concept of vulgarity of language was used to deny the value of the meaning und content of pettions to Parliament. Cobbett referred to this im an edition of The Political Register which was wntten in America, where he had gone afer the Suspension of habeas corpus in England (Discuss the charge that the language ofthe first peution was ‘indecent and disrespectful’, and compare it with another comment made atthe time: I suspect thatthe objection to the roughness of the language was not the real cause why this petition was apposed, ii) Discuss the view expressed in Parliament at the time that the language of the second pettion ‘though firm as it ought to be, was respectful’ iii) The Tory mister George Canning said of the third petition ‘if such language were tolerated, thee was an end ofthe House of Commons, and ofthe present system oF TEXT 137 - William Cobbett's The Political Register, 29 November 1817 goverment. What ts objectionable in the language? “The present projec. to communicate to all uneducated Reformers, « knowledge of Granmar. The people, you know, were accused of presenting petitions ror i | grammatically correct. And those petitions were rejected, the petitioners being ‘ignorant though some of them were afterwards put nto prison, for being "better informed’. ‘The grammar and spelling of these extracts are perfecly 'corret’. In contrast, consider th rast, consider the No doubt remains in my mind, that there was more talent discovered, and more following example of a letler of protest against the enclosure of common tand, written potest knowledge, by the leaders amongst the Reformers than have ever been anonymously by ‘the Combin’d of the Pansh of Cheshunt to their focal landowner. It uses non- shown, at any period of time, by the Members ofthe two houses of parliament, standard spelling, punctuation and grammar, which clearly would have provided Parliament “There was only one thing in which any of you were deficient, and that was sn the with an excuse for its dismissal ‘mere art of so arranging the words in your Resolutions and Petitions as to make these ‘compositions what is called grammatically correct. Hence, men of a hundredth part of TEXT 136 ~ Letter to Oliver Cromwell Esquire, of Cheshunt Park, 27 February 1799 the mind of some of the authors of the Petitions were enabled to cavil at them on this ‘Whe right these lines to you who are the Combin'd ofthe Parish of Cheshunt inthe | account, ato infer from this inorrecness, that the Petitioners were a set of poor Defence of our Parrish rights which you unlawfully are about to disinherit us of ignorant creatures, who knew nothing of what they were talking; a set of the ‘Lower: Resolutions 1s maid by the aforesaid Combind that if you intend of inclosing Our | Grasses, who ought never to raise ther reading above that of children's books, Commend Commond feids Lammas Meads Marches &c Whe Resolve before that | Chastmas Carols, and the like. bloudy and untawful acts finished to have your hears loud if you proceede nthe For my par, Ihave always held a mere knowiedge ofthe rules of grammar very resaid bloudy act Whe like horse Teaches will cry give, ge until whe have split cheap. Iisa study, which demands hardly any powers of mind. To possess the bloud of every one that wishes to rob the Inosent unborn. It shall not be in your knowledge of those rules 1s a pitiful qualification power to say tam safe from the hands of my Enemy for Whe lke birds of pray ill | Grammar isto literary composition what a Hinch-pi sto waggon. Its a poor prvely lie wn wait to spl the bloud of the aforesaid Chancters whose names and pitiful thing in self; it bears no part of the weight; adds not in the least to the celeity; aati tans cant scr we nd atl goon wt See a aver conenptble sez orneh of ledge iin te ee eine ging toe eat powers of ern he Sere ea on wn san of ge ess ls se (Quin Te Mingo hE Wing Clas. Tampon, gin 195, proper ffs The gammarian om wom aman of ens ams Ns ns He e240) with which he writes; but, still the pens are necessary, and so is the grammar. places of abode are as prutrfied sores in our Nostrils. Whe declair that thou shall not say Tam safe when thou goest to thy bed for beware that thou liftest not thine eyes up) 1m the most mist of flames See 193From Ole English ro Standard English ‘Modern English ~ the eighteenth century Cobbett's wntings, like Tom Paine's The Rights of Man in 1792 and The Age of Reason in 1794, were practical proof that the language of men of humble class origins could be effective 1m argument, but both Cobbett and Paine wrote mn Standard English, Cobbeit was well aware of the social connotations of non-standard language and wrote an account of how he had taught imselt correct grammar. He does not use use the term standard himself and follows the ‘common practice of implying that only this vanety of English has grammar. He wrote under the name Peter Porcupine. TEXT 138 - William Cobbett's The Life and Adventures of Peter Porcupine, 1796 One branch of learning, however. I went to the bottom with, andl that the most essential branch to0, the grammar of my mother tongue. I had experienced the want of a knowledge of grammar during my stay with Mr Holland: but sts very probable that [never should have thought of encountering the study of it, had not accident placed me undera man whose friendship extended beyond his interest, Writing a fair hhand procured me the honour of being copyist to Colonel Debeig, the commandant of the garnson Being totally ignorant of the rules of grammar, I necessarily made many mistakes 1m copying, because no one can copy letter by letter, nor even word by word. The colonel saw my deficiency, and strongly recommended study. He enforced his advice \with a sort of injunction, and with a promise of reward in case of success. procured me « Lowth's grammar, and applied myself to the study of it with tunceasing assidunty, and not without some profit; for, though it was a considerable ‘ume before I fully comprehended all that fread, still I read and studied with such lunremitied attention, that at last, could write without falling mto any very gross errors. The pains I 100k cannot be described: I wrote the whole grammar out wo oF three times: I got by heart I repeated it every morning and every evening, and, ‘when on guard, I imposed on myself the task of saying 1 all over once every time I ‘was posted sentinel. To this exercise of my memory Taseribe the retentiveness of which [have since found it capable, and to the success with which it was attended, | ascribe the perseverance that has led to the acquirement ofthe little learning of which Tam the master. ‘Cobbeit was thus convineed Uf the need Wo master standard grammar Without understanding this. you can never hope to become fit for anything beyond m agriculture. Without a knowledge of grammar 11s impossible for you to wnte correctly: and, 1s bby mere accident that you speak correctly; and, pray bear itn, that al well-informed persons sudge of a man's mind (until they have other means of judging) by his writing or speaking (Advice 10 Young Mfen, Wiliam Cobett) and he followed up his conviction by writing a grammar book, inthe form of a series of letters addressed to his son. TEXT 139 - William Cobbett's A Grammar of the English Language, 1817 grammar teaches us how ro make use of words .. to the acquiring of this branch of knowledge, my dear son, there 1s one motive, which, though i ought, at all mes, fo be strongly felt, ought, at the present ume, o be so felt m an extraordinary degree: 1 ‘mean that desire which every man, and especially every young man, should entertain {0 be able to agsert with effect the rights and liberties of his country. And when we hear a Hampshire plough-boy say, Poll Cherrycheek have giv'd | thick handkercher’ we know very well that he means to say, ‘Poll Cherrycheck has given me this handkerchief and yet, we are but 100 apt to laugh at him, and to call him ignorant; which 1s wrong; because he hus no pretensions to a knowledge of grammar, and he may be very skilful asa plough-boy. 194, ‘Cobbett considered grammar, in short, as an integral part of the class structure of England, and the act of learning grammar by one of his readers as an act of class. warfare’ (Olivia Smith op exp. 1. Its clear that no significant differences m the grammar of Cobbetts writing separate today's language from the English of the early nineteenth century. What we now call Standard English has been established for over 200 years as the only form of the language for writing which obiains universal acceptance. ‘This seems to contradict the linguistic statement that ‘all living languages are in a constant slate of change’. But the grammatical innovations since Cobbet’s day are developments of established features, rather than fundamental changes. Once a standard form of wating becomes the norm, then the rate of change i the grammar 1s slowed down considerably. At the same me, additions and losses to the vocabulary, and modifications in pronunciation, mevitably continue 195ee 12. Postscript - to the present day ‘The purpose of this book ~ to describe how present-day Standard English has developed from us ongins in OE a thousand years ago - has effectively been achieved in the preceding, chapters. 12.1. Some developments in the language since the eighteenth century ‘There is a constant change in the vocabulary of the language, and it goes without saying that there have been many losses and gains of words since the eighteenth century. English 1s a Fanguage that has taken in and assimilated words from many foreign languages to add to the core vocabulary of Germanic, French and Latin words 12.1.1 Spelling ‘The standard orthography was fixed in the eighteenth century by the agreed practice of printers. Dr Johnson set down accepted spellings in his Dictionary of 1755, and also recorded some of the arbitrary chorces of ‘custom’ thus I wnt, in compliance witha nurberless majority, convey and ineigh, decedr and recep, fancy and phantom, A few words found in the original versions of eighteenth century texts have changed. for example, cloathing, terrour, phantasy and publiek, but there are not many. More recently, t has ‘become acceptable to change the spelling to in a few words of Latin dervation, and to wnte medieval for mediaeval, and archeology for archaeology. Some American spellings have also become acceptable in Britain, such as program as a result of its use in computer programming. With few exceptions, it 15 true to say that our spelling system was fixed over 200 years ago and every attempt to reform it has failed, 12.1.2. Grammar While the underlying rules of grammar have remained unchanged, their use in speech and “writing has continued to develop into forms that distinguish the varieties of language use since the eighteenth century. This can perhaps be explained in terms of style, and so is the subject of = Postscript ~to the present day a different kind of course book. In present-day English, we can observe, in some varieties of. Jnguage use, a greater degree of complexity in both the noun phrase and the verb phrase, Noun phrases Modifiers of nouns normally precede the head of the noun phrase (NP) when they are words (usually adjectives oF nouns) or short phrases, as in a red brick, the Driek walt and the red brick wa, and follow xt when they are phrases or ciauses. The rule of pre-modification has Jeveloped So that much longer sinngs of words and phrases can now precede the head word, as, ima never to be forgotten experience. ‘This style 1s a particular feature of newspaper headlines. For example, the news statement ‘hat might be written as “There hus been a report on the treatment of suspects in police stations in Northern ireland can be turmed into a NP as: A Nomthem Ireland potice station suspect treatment report im which a series of post-modifying prepositional phrases (PrepPs) become pre-modifying NPs ‘wuthin the larger NP. Activity 12.1 ‘State the grammatical rule for converting the clause into a NP. Re [=] ‘The process of converting clauses with verbs into nouns 1s called nominalisation, and the word itself is an example of that process. It is a marked feature of some contemporary styles, including academic and formal writing, and tends to omit the agents or aetors who actually do things; for example: s Poo ‘There has been no convincing explanation of the attempt 's only the beginning of a longer sentence. It might have been written: us by explauning how Y attempred X has not convince ‘nm which main verbs are used instead of nouns or a modifying participle, and the subjects X end Y would have to be named, ‘This is a trend in style which depends upon the fact that the grammar of English permits rnomialisation readily. Verb phrases I you compare the possible forms of the verb phrase (VP) in contemporary English with any OE text, you will find that OE verb phrases were generally shorter, and OE grammar lacked the forms of VP that have developed since. in MnE, 11s possible to construct VPs like: she has been being treated hhasn't she been being treated? won't she have been being treated? ‘which use auxiliary verbs 10 combine the grammatical Features of tense (past or present), aspect (perfective or progressive), voice (active or passive) and mood (deciaranve or interrogative), to which we can add: ‘She seems to manage to be able to keep on being treated .. 197From Old English to Standard English in which certain verbs, called eatenatives, can be strung together mn a chain, Such VPs ate not ‘com Perhaps. bu they are pssibie, and have developed since the eightcenth century. mney are examples of the way im which English has become 1 much more analytic tanguage since the OE period; that is, its structures depend on strings of separate worl, oad ‘ot on the inflections of words. An inflecting language is called synthetic, “Another development m the resources of the VP 1s inthe increased use of phrasal and Prepositional verbs like rum across for meet, put up with for tolerate and give mn for serenter bey are a feature of spoken and. snformal usage, and although the beginnungs of the ‘siucture of verb + parncle can be found in OE, they have increased wy monbos semmgerably an Mn and new combination are continually being snioduced, often as slang, {5m ger witha, later to be assimilated. 12.2 The continuity of prescriptive judgements on language use We judge others by their speech as much as by other aspects of their behaviour, but some People ae much more postive in their reactions. The relationship between socidl clase aed language bse in the eighteenth century, which was described in Chapter Il, hee bene Deanines through the nineteenth century up to the present day. Here, for example, is the Mean of Canterbury, Henry Alford D.D., wating ina book ealed The Queen's Bugla Suet Notes on Speaking and Spelling in 1866 TEXT 140 - Dean Alford's The Queen's English, 1864 And fist and foremost, it me notice that worst ofall faults, the leaving out ofthe aspirate where it ought to be, and putting itn where it ought not to be. This ts 4 ‘ulgarism not confined to this or that province of England, nor especially prevalent in 2s only or another, but common throughout England to persons of low breeding, and inferior education, principally to those among the inhabitants of towns, Nothing so surely stamps a man as beiow the mark in intelligence, elf-espect, and energy, as this unfortunate habit. As 1 swnte these lines, which I do while wanting a a retteshment-toom at Reading, between a Great-Western and a South-Eastern tran, T hear one af two commerciel gentlemen, from a neighbouring table, telling his friend tha ‘his ed used to hake ready to burst, BB Activity 12.2 Ee cea Discuss Dean Alford's comments on the pronunciation of words beginning with D> weer o> > w> o> collate or something. yeah [laughs ~—| and then they 1n fact try another adverb! and then there'll be an absolute range of verbs that go with itl mm! you know as quite interesting! the way an the thesis! they had a sentence with entirely! . and got people! toer transform w into the > G>e>e>er this 1s very trickyl 1 should have thought there were xyes! well quite! they do that sort of thing you seel and then they 55 what they've produced and then hey aon of ty sere them yes! up! ins certain [ way! and they'll say have they . erm ~ yes! they done! what they were told tol and if not why not! and then there are various reasons why not! and they were scored! and given amark! and i's quite inf erediblel . | think tha’s one of the most valuable things! that I've thought was being done in Jin mm tn the battery test because should relate! quite directly! to! the meaning of the word! Byes! have weer wre oa {Adapted from Corpus of English Conversation, Svariik and Quirk, C. W. K, Gleerup Lund. 8.1.5. 465-35 1p. 135-7.) ostseript~ othe present day Bl Activity 12.4 ease eee (ij Edit the transcription, omitting all non-fluency Features that belong to speech only (e-8. hesitations, self-correetions and repetitions), but retaining the identical vocabulary and word order. (4) Examine the edited version for evidence of differences between the vocabulary and ‘grammar of informal spoken English and written English, (i) Rewnte B's part of the conversation in a style that conforms to the conventions of written Standard English, (For full analysis, see Commentary 21 n the Text Commentary Books) 12.4 From OE to MnE — comparing historical texts 1ryou nave worked through most ofthe book, yo should now find teaser oresogmse texts {Ron difrenhstoncal peas of the language and to describe how they fer fom Gorenporry English Even a very shor esampie wil site this chosen vitally at SSnlone Te iusuate some ofthe changes ithe language from OF to ne that have ben ondr he Tolowing, whichis the st verse from Chapter of The Book of TEXT 143 — Genesis 3:1 Late tenth century OE ‘eae swylce sco neddre wars geapre Ponne ealle Pa obre nytent Pe God geworhte ofer corpan, and seo neddre ewin> to pam Wife wt forbewd Gud euw Pet ge ne ion of wleon teovve bbinnan paradisum. Late fourteenth century ME But the serpent was feller than alle lyuynge beestis of erthe which the Lord God hadde maad, Which serpent seide to the ‘womman, Why comaundide God to 3ou that se schulden not ete of ech tre of paris. EMnE, 1611 [Now the serpent was more subtill shen any beast ofthe Field, ‘which the Lord God had made, and he said vnto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of euery tree ofthe garden? MnE, 1961 “The serpent was more crafty than any wid creature that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘ls tre th God has forbidden you to eat from any tee mn the garden?” 12.4.1 Commentary on Text 143 ‘he following detailed description of the extracts gives a pattem that can be applied to the comparison of any two or more texts "Make sony of columns, one foreach tex, and an extra one to record any reflexes ofthe older words that have survived into MnE but are not used in later translations. Write down the ‘equivalent words or phrases from each text 201 200From Old English to Standard English OF ME EMnE, 161) Mn, 196) Mobi refex eae swylee but now - such sconce the serpent the serpent the serpent the adder vas as was was was gear feller ‘more subiill ——moreerafly subtle Pome than then than than calle alle any any all root - any any the other tyuinge - - living oem beestis beast wild creature beast e which ‘whieh that ‘ a ‘whietvthat Gos the Lord God the Lord God the LORDGod God vate hdde maad had made had made ‘wrought oer eorPan of ene ofthe field ld wil over earth and - and - and seo neddre Which serpent — he be the adder ewep seide said id quoth foPam ite tothe woman votothe woman tothe woman wife "v4 why : - why forbead comaundide hath. sad Ia forbidden forbade cow ou - you ou pest tht : * that ee xe ye you yer ne hot hot - - ston cre eat e * eat cat afsleontsowe ofeshire ofeuerynee fromany wee of each ee inman paradisum of paradis of the garden nthe garden paradise ‘This can then be used to describe the linguistic features ofthe texts, Vocabulary Have any words changed meaning? Of medre mean sn, serena snow rested © one ype of sas, he alder OF wip meant wna, but ha a more esreed mean ME and ate OF gevorte trong past tens of tewyreun i work make), Today wrt is used a specail the past tense of work is worked. ” seers and Have any older words been lost from the language? OE eac, geapre, nytems (plural of nyiew = a OF ee, geap (plural of nyten = ammal) and binman are notin the vocabulary of OE swylee = MnE sel, but 1 used in th But 8 used inthe phrase eae see to mean also, moreover (OE cw, qh the pst ene of enefa to sy, Wena once ng form, but twas used into the mneteenth centry. moms The present tense quethe was in use upto the early stxteemth century, but now obsolete Orthography Are there any unusual letter forms? ‘<>,

and <®> are not Roman leuters, and ate deseribed in Section 2.2.4 Postscript to the present day an you tell if different spellings of the same word are due to sound changes, or simply different spelling conventions? Some spelling conventions must have changed after the OE period, for example: © replaced , as in OE ewe. | y> and were often interchangeable in ME and EMnE, as in Isuynge,seide, saya, sofyller and subtil ‘$3 isan abiyevianon in EME for the Jeter standing forthe OE leer

, ‘MnE - ‘ im evnto>, letter , was introduced during the ME period and written for both the ‘consonant /x/ and the vowel // a the beginning of a word (word-initial), for example, terily and vader; letter was used in the middle (word-medial) or atthe end of & word (word-final), for example, Ihuynge, vndur (= under), dist and thou. They were then variant forms of the same leiter, Just as today we use upper and lower case variants of the same letters, for example, , and . “The spelling 1s evidence of some sound changes that occurred after the OE pend. ‘The word neddre in OE now has the form adder, as well as a restricted meaning, The pronunciation of the phrase a madder is identical to that of an adder. The indefinite article fan wits not part of OE grammar, so the change of nadder to adder came later, between the worigenth and sixteenth centuries, The dialectal form nedder was still m use at feast into the runeteenth century. ‘The diphthong vowels of ealle, eorPan, forbead and treowe have smoothed to bet single vowels. is not possible to recognise all the sound changes from the spelling alone, because Ma spelling does not reflect them; for example, the MnE pronunciation of was 1s /wor/ but the spelling has not changed since us earlier pronunciation as Wis) Word structure ‘Are there changes in word suffixes (endings)? “The order of the consonants re and oF of needdre and geworlve has changed to er and ro. Other examples sre hind, thresh and rin, which come from OE brid, Perscan and yrnan, The linguistic term for this reversal of sounds 1s metathesis. "The pronoun adr-e, however. is not an example of this. It 1s shortened form of oPer-e, from oder, and -e 182 suffix. alice, nyferi-u, geworhre and eorP-an: these suffixes have been lost, beest-is has been reduced to heast-s Grammar Is the OE word order different from MnE? wi forbead god eow, why forbade God you: the iterrogauve m OF was formed by reversing. the order of the subject and the verb, Which is no longer grammatical for the simple present ‘and past tenses in MnE. “heer ge ne eton, that ye ne eat: the negative in OE was formed by placing me before the verb. During the ME period, a reinforcing noght was added after the verb, which 1s now the only negative marker, ne having been dropped. (This method of desenptwve analysis can be found set out i greater detail in The English Language: A Histortcal Reader, A. G. Rigg, New York Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1968.) 12.4.2. "Your accent gives you away’ ‘The following texts are historical transiations of the story of Peter's denial, from the New “Testament, St Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 26 verses 69-75. Versions in contemporary Scots ‘and Bislama pidgin English are also provided, 203 202From Otd English wo Standard English TEXT 144 - Late West Saxon OE ¢.1050 ‘Pym sprite Pe gesweotolad 69 Petnus sodlice sat ute on Pam cafertune, Pa com to hym an Peowen 7 ewe0. 7 u wiere myd pam galilerscan heelende 70,7 he wyOsoc beforan eallum 7 ewe. nat c het Pu segs 71 Pa he ut code of Pee dura. Pa gesch hyne oder Pynen. » szede Pam de Par weron, > Pes wees myd Pam nazarensscan bnelende. 72 7 he wydsoc eft myd ade Piet he hys nan Pyng ne ude. 73 Pa elie Iythum fyrste genealason pa de Pict stodon. 7 ewa:don to pete. SoDlie Pu eart of hym. > Pyn Sprinc Pe gesweotoli). 74 Pa eisoc he 7 swerede. Pat he niefre Pone man ne eude. 7 hraelice pa creow se coet. 75 Da Bemunde peirus Pes heelendes word Pe he ews. eam pe se coce rawe. Prywa du me wyOsitest. 7 he eode ut 7 weop byterlice. (The West Saxon Gospels, M. Grinberg, Scheliema & Holkema, 1967) 6 Peer uly a outside) i the couryad the ca Ha ere ai tn ota ual te ane him 70 he deed before al sid know I what tu sayet 7 the he out went ofthe door then saw him tensor & ssi stem tha thee were ths tan) Ws te saan savour 72 he dented again with oath that he hse ne Knew 73 then aie etme approached them a ee Sood, & sido peter. Truly thou a thin, ihe spech te shove 4 then dened he ore ae never the man ae knew. mmedey then se the coc, 75 then remembered petrthe saviour words hate spoke bens fares cock crows thrice thou me denies & he wen out & wen! bat TEXT 145 ~ Fourteenth century 5. Midlands dialect “thi speche makith thee knowun’ 669 And Petir sat with outen inthe halle; and a damyset eam to hym, and seide, Thou were with Ihesu of Galilee, 70 And hhe denyede bifor alle men, and seide, Y woot not what thou Seis. 71 And whanne he 3ede out at the sate, another amysel say hym, and seide to hem that weren there, And this was with Jhesu of Nazareth. 72 And efisoone he denyede with an ooth, For Iknewe not the man. 73 And a ltl afi, thet that stooden camen, and seiden to Petit, treuli thou ait of hem for hi speche makith thee knowun, 74 Thanne he bigan {0 wane and to swere, that he knewe not the man. And anoon the cok crewe. 75 And Petirbithouste on the word of Thesu that he hadde seid, Bifore the cok erowe, thries thou schalt enye me. And he sede out, and wepte biter (The Wyclifite Bible)» Postseripr~to the present day TEXT 146 ~ Early sixteenth century Scots, «.1520 (This Scots version was made from Text 145, and is of interest because it makes lear some of the dialectal differences between Scots and Wyclifs Midlands dialect.) “thi speche makis thee knawne! {69 Ande Peuir sat without in the hall: and a damycele com to him, and said, Thou was with Jesu of Galilee. 70 And he denyit before al men, and said, 1 wate nocht qufat thou sais. 71 And quhen he yede out atthe yet, an vthir damycele saw him, and said to thame that ware that, And this was with Jesu of Nazarethe. 72 And efisone he denyit with ane athe, For 1 kknew nocht the man, 73 And alii eftr thai that stude com sand sad to Pett, treulie thou art of thame; for thi speche ‘makis thee knawne. 74 Than he began to wane and to suere that he knew nocht the man. And anon the cok crew. 75 And eur bethouchte on the word of Jesu, that he had said, Before the cok craw, thrijse thou sal denye me. And he yede out, and wepit bite. {The New Testament in Scots, being Purvey's revision of Wyeliffe's version tured into Scots by Murdoch Nisbet ¢.1520, Scottish Text Society 1901) TEXT 147 ~ EMnE, 1582 “Tor euen thy speache doth bevvray thes 69 But Peter sate vvithout inthe court: and there came to him one wwenche, saying: Thou also vvast with IESVS the Galilean. 70 But he denied before them all, saying, T vvot not vvhat thou sayest. 71 And as he went out of the gate, nn other wwenche savy him, and she saith to them that vvere there, And this felovy also was with IESVS the Nazanite. 72 And againe he dented with an othe, That I knovy not the man. 73 And after litle they came that stoode by, and said ta Peter, Surely thou also att of them: for even thy speache doth bevvray thee. 74 Then he began to curse and to svveare that he knevve not the man, And incontinent the cocke crevve. 75 And Peter remembred the word of IESVS which he had said, belore the cocke crovy, thou shalt deny me thrise. And going forth, he vvept bitterly. ‘The New Testament of Jesus Christ Rheims 1582, Vol. 267 of English Recusant Literature 1558-1640, Scolar Press, 1975 ~ the Rheims New Testament) TEXT 148 ~ EMnE, 1611 “Tor thy speech bewrayeth thee” 69 Now Peter sate without n the palace: and a damosell came vnto him, saying, Thou also wast with Iesus of Galilee. 70 But hee demed before them all, saying, I know not what thou saiest. 71 And when he was gone ‘out into the porch, another maide saw him, and saide vnto them that were there, This fellow was also with Tesus of Nazareth. 72 And againe hee denied with an oath, I doe not know the man. 73 And after a while came vnto him they that stood by, and saide to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them, for thy speech bewrayeth thee, 74 Then beganne hee to curse and to sweare, saying, Tknow not the man. And immediatly the cocke crew. 75 And Peter remembred the words of lesus, which said vnto him, Before the cocke crow, thou shalt dente mee thrice. And hee went out, and wept bitterly. ‘King James Bible) 205From Old English 1o Standard English TEXT 149 - Twentieth century Scots "your Galilee twang outs ye" {69 Meantime, Peter wis sittin furth i the close, whan a servan-queyn cam ‘up an said til him, "Ye war w the man frae Galilee, Jesus, tae, 'm thinkin, 70 But he denied it afore them aa: Tkenna what ye mean, said he; 71 ‘and wi that he gaed out intil the pend. Hore anither servanclass saw him an said tae the Fowk staundin about, "This chiel wis wi yon Nazarean Jesus. ‘72 Again Pater wadna tak wi it but said wi an ath. I kenna the man!" 73 A wee after, the staunders-by gaed up til him an said, ‘Ay, but ye ‘war sae wi him, tae: your Galilee twang outs ye.” 74 At that he fell tae bannin an swein athe hed nae kennuns o the man ava, An than a cock crew, 75 an it eam back tae Peter hou Jesus hed said lil him, ‘Afore the cock craws, ye will disavou me thrice’: and he gaed out an grat a sar, air gre, (The New Testament i Scots translated by William Laughton Lorimer, Penguin Books, 1985) ‘TEXT 150~- MnE "your accent gives you away!" 69 Meanwhile Peter was sitting outside in the couryard when a serving-maid accosted him and said, ‘You were there too with Jesus the Galilean’ 70 Peter dented it im face of them all,T'do not know what you mean’, te said. 71 He then ‘went out fo the gateway, where another gil, seeing him, said to the people there, This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth. 72 Once again he demed i, saying with an oath, "do not know the man.’ 73 Shortly afterwards the bystanders came up and said to Peter, ‘Surely you are another ‘of theny, your uecent gives you away!" 74 AL this he broke Into curses and declared with an oath: do not know the ‘man. 75 At that moment a cock crew; and Peter remembered how Jesus had jefore the cock crows you will disown me three times.” He went outside, and wept bitterly (New English Bible, 1961) Finally, here is the same Biblical extract im Bistama, a pidgin language based on English, from Vanuatu (formerly the New Hebrides) in the West Pacific. Read it aloud as if it were in phonetic senpt, because the spelling system is based on the spoken language, and you should be able to match the sense with the preceding texts. For example, yad is pronounced /ya:d/, like English yard, ger 1s fgew, lke gare, rusta like rooster, and save is a two-syllable word like savvy, meaning know. 206 Postsript 1a the present day TEXT 151 - Bislama from Gud Nyus Bilong Jisas Krats “tok bilong yu tok bilong man Gail it 69 Pita 1 stap sidaon aofsaid long yad bilong hos ‘wan haosgel i kam long em, 1 talem long em. 1 se "Yu tu, yu stap wetem man Galil ia, Tisas. 70 Be fong fes bil olgeta evrewan, Pita i haidem samting 1a. Em ‘asa, 1 se ‘Mi mi no save samting i, we yu yu stap talem.'71 Nao em ¢goaot long get bilong yad ia. Nao wan narafata gel i lukem fom, Nao 1 talem long 01 man we oli stap stanap fong ples i, 1 s¢’Man ia 1 wetem man Naseret 1, Jisas.’72 Be Pita t hnaidem bakegen, rmekem strong tok, nao emi talem se "Mi mt no save man 1a" 73 Gogo smol t3em nomo, ol man 1a we oli tap stanap long ples 12, oli kam Tong Pita, oli talem long ‘em, oli se, ‘Be tru ra, yu yu wan Jong olgeta. Yu luk, tok bilong yu 1 tok bitong man Galil ia! 74 Nao Pita mekem tok we i strong moa, 1 se ‘Sipos mi m: gyaman, bambae God i giver pamis long ms. Mi mr no save man 1a,’ Nao \wantaem rasta 1 singoat. 75 Nao Pita rngabaot tok 18 we Jisas i bin talem long em, 1 se "Taem rusta no singaot yet, ‘yu, be bambae yu save haidem tri tem, se yu no save mi” Nao em go aofsaid, em i krackrae tumas. (The Four Gospels im New Hebrides Bislama, The Bible Society i New Zealand, 1971) fl Activity 125 Ei Make a contrasuve study of the language, using some or all of the fexts given (Texts 144-151) ‘as evidence of some of the principal changes that have taken place since the OE period in ‘voeubulary, word and sentence structure, spelling and pronunciation. 207— Bibliography This list 1s a selection of books which teachers, lecturers and advanced students will find useful for further reading and reference. Separate editions of Old, Middle and Early Modem English texts are not liste, The history and development of the English language Baugh, A.C. and Cable, T, A History of the English Language, 3ed edn ‘(Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978), Pyles, T. and Algea, J The Origins & Development of the English Language, 3rd edn (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982). (This textbook has an accompanying work-book) Strang, Barbara ‘A History of English (Methuen, 1970), Leuh, Dick A Social History of English (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1983), Serage, D.G. A History of English Spelling (Manchester UP, 1974). Partridge, A.C. A Companion to Old & Middle English Studies (Deutsch, 1982), 223 Bibliography Old English Mitchell, B. and Robinson, FC. A Guide to Old English, ath edn (Blackwell, 1986). Quirk, R, and Wrenn, C.L. An Old English Grammar (Methuen, 1955). Quirk, R., Adams, V. and Davy, D. Old English Literature: A Pracucal Introduction (Edward Arnold, 1975). Sweet, H. ‘The Student's Dictionary of Ang (Oxford UP, reprint 1978). Davis, N. Siveer's Anglo-Saxon Primer, th edn (Oxford UP, 1953), Garmonsway, GN, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (translation) (Dent, 1972), Swanton, M Anglo-Saxon Prose (translation) (Dent, 1975), Bradley, S.AJ. Anglo-Saxon Poetry (translation) (Dent, 1982), Middle English Bennett, J.A.W. and Smithers, G.V. Early Middle English Verse & Prose, 2nd edn tanthology) ‘Oxford UP, 1968). sisam, K. Fourteenth Century Verse & Prose Oxford UP, 1921), Burley, D. A Guide 10 Chaucer's Language ‘Macmillan, 1983). Early Modern English Barber, C. Early Modern English Deutsch, 1976), Blake, Norman The Language of Shakespeare Macmillan, 1985). 88SFrum Old Englioh wo Standard English Modern English Quirk, Reval A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (Longman, 1985), " Barber. C. Linguste Change mn Present-Day English (liver & Boyd, 1964), Foster, B, The Changing English Language (Macmillan. 1968), Poter, 8 Changing English (Deutsch, 1968). Index abbrevianions (handwriting and printing) 118 accent 122 regional 169 acceptability ling accusative ease Aeners 175 Alford, Dean 198 Allied, King 20,26 allegory 87, 160 alliteration 27, 76, 84 alliterauve verse 84 stic 199 alphabet 43, 132 OE - Section 2.2.4 207 John Han’ reformed 126 Roman 20 analogy 186 ‘Anatomy of the World (ohn Donne) 145 ‘Angles $,7, 16,25 Anglian 16,82 Anglo-Norman 48, 60 ‘Anglo-Saxon 31, ‘Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Ch 2 passt 2,7, 24,25, 38,46 Annus Mirabilis (Dryden) 159 ‘apostrophe (rhetorical figure) 159 ‘Areopagitica (Milton) 151 ‘Arte of English Poesie (George Putenham) ‘94, 123, Section 9.7.2. 133 fT Arthur, King 7, 112 article definite 99. 106 indefinite 56,99, 106 ‘ascertaining’ the Tanguage ~ Section 11.1 180 fF ash (OE letter /e/) 20 aspect 197 perfect 14 Aubrey, John 132.-Seetion 10.8. 165 1 ‘Augustan Age (18th century) ~ Section M21 185 fF Ayenbite of Inwu (Michael of Northgate) ~ Section 4.5 66 “parbarous speaking’ (17th century) ~ Section 10.9.5 169-70 Barbour, John 72, 73, Bassett, George 117 Baitle-Door for Teachers (George Fox) 149 Beatie, James 183 Bede 7,20 Bestiary 51,15 Bible 10, 33, 55, 136, 163 Bislama pidain 206 bob (in ME verse) 84 boil (pronunciation of, 17th century) 171 Booke at Large (William Bullokar) 129, 141 Boke of Margery Kempe Section 8.2 104 fT Boke of Mawndevile 96 Boke named the Gouernour (Sit Thomas Elyot)~ Section 9.2 120 ff Breton 7 Brews, Margery 107 Brief Lives (John Aubrey) — Section 10.8 168 7 | 210 211Indes British 7 Brito-Welsh 2 Browne, Sir Thomas ~ Section 10.2 145 1F Bruce John Barbour) 71, 74 Brunanburh, Battle of 27 Bullokar, William 129. 141 Bunyan, John — Section 10.7 160 ff ‘uxom (changing meanings of) 12, 13 Cedmon 20 Calais 147 Canterbury Tales 98-101, 136 accusative 35 dative 35, 37, 68 8 - Section 2.7.2 351 genitive 35 nominative 35, 37 possessive 35, 57, 65 ccatenative verbs 198 causative 100 Caxton, William ~ Section 8.4 108 ff, 131 Celtic 7 Cely, George (son) 116 Cely, Richard (father) 114-15 Cely Letrers ~ Section 8.6 13 1 change, linguistic — Section 3.1 43 fF cchanges in meaning ~ Section 1.6.12. ‘changes in pronunciation (ME) ~ Section 36 S31 Charles 156 Charles 151, 158 Chaucor— Section 7.3.98 tf, 57, 60, 7: 128, 131, 136, 173, 174 Book of the Duchess 72 Friar's Tale 100 Parson's Tale 99 Proress 60 prose writing - Section 7.3.1 98 Reeve's Tale 80-1 rhymes as evidence of pronunciation changes - Section 7.3.3 101 fT Tale of Melibeus 98 Troilus and Criseyde 60 verse - Section 7.3.2 100 Chaucer and the Northern dialect (ME) ~ Section 5.4 80 Christiamty, conversion 10 33 Christmas abolished 157 Cut 30 Cobbett, William — Section 11.8 193 fF cognate 30 colloquial language (in Pilgrim's Progress) 163, 164 colon 131 comma 131 Commonwealth 151. 156 ‘connotation, soci Conquest, Norma consonants 101. fricative (ME) 69 Cooper, Christopher ~ Section 10.9 166 fT Corbet, Dr Richard 166 ‘correcting the language ~ Section 11.1. 180 fT ‘corruption’ of language 1234, 134, Section I1.1.1 180-3, 185 Cromwell, Oliver 151, 156 Cursor Mundi ~ Section 3.6.2 $8 ft “custom (in determining correct usage) 186 Danelaw 26, 30-2, 46, $5, 86 Danes 26, 31, 90 dauve 35, 37, 68 “depraved language of the common People’ ~Section 11.6 189-90 derivation 128 diacruic. 73 dialect 15, 63 cchorce of, for writ sst Anglian 30 Inglis 59 Early Moder English (EMnE) Chs 8 9, 10 passim East Midlands carly 15th century, Margery Kempe ~Section 82 104 fT late 15th century, the Pastons ~ Section 8.3 106 London late 1th century, Caxton — Section 8.4.1 108-10 Ite 15th century, Malory = Section 8.5. 112-13 Jte 15th century, the Ceiys ~ Section 8.6 113 f cearly 16th century, the Lisles ~ Section 9.1117 fF prose, Sir Thomas Elyot ~ Section 9.2 1208 “best and most perfite English’ (Hart) ~ Section 9.4 124 “the vsual speach of the Court” ‘(Puttenham) ~ Section 9.7.2 1334 tonal (16th century) ~ Section 98.1 134 MT North Riding of Yorkshire (17th century) ~ Section 10.11 177 regional (16th century) ~ Seetion 1g 132 98.3. 136 Middle English (ME) Chs 4, 56,7 passin East Midlands 46, 53, 59, 75, 82, Ch7 94 Kenush (SE) 59, Section 4.5.66 fF, 70 London, Chaucer (late 14th century) Section 7.3 98 T London, Thomas Usk (late 14h century) — Section 7.4 101 ff Midlands and Northern compared ~ Section 5.3 78 fT Northen = Ch 5 710 Northern, Chaucer's use of - Section 54 8050 Northern and Midlands compared ~ Section 5.3 78 ff NW Midlands ~ SEetion 6.1 82 fT Scots (14th century) 59, Section 5.1 at Si Matthew's Gospel, Ch 26 verses 69-75 (14th century) 204 SE (Kentish) 59, Section 4.5 66 1 S Midlands, St Matthew's Gospel, Ch 26 verses 69-75 (14th century) 204 SE Midlands ~ Section 7.2 95 if SW Section 4.3 64 ff SW Midlands ~ Seetion 6.2 87 if West Midlands 59, Ch 6 82 if York (15th century) — S 751 rational ~ Section 9.8.1 134 non-standard 10 (Old English (OE) Chs 1,2, 3 passim Anglian 16,82 Northern 30, 55, 57,59 Northumbrian 16 Souther 54, 59 variation, evidence of ~ Section 2.2.3 201 West Saxon 11, 16, 17,30, 31,44 prestige 63, 183 regional 10, 191 Scots St Matthew's Gaspel, Ch 26 verses 69-75 (New Testament 1m Scots 1985) 205 dialect areas (ME) ~ Section 4.1.59 dialect differences ~ Section 4.2 63 1F dialects and language 10 dialects and political boundaries ~ Section 21 18 Diary Gohn Evelyn's) ~ Section 10.6 136 ff dicnonanes 124 OED (Oxford English Dictonary) 12 Samuel Johnson's Dictionary (1753) 184 digraph 168-9 diphthongs 169 smoothing 203 Dittmar, Norbert Socrolingmsties 94 Index diversity in English 60, Section 8. TOL, 131, 132, 134 Donne, John 145 Dream of the Rood 17 Dryden, John = Section 10.10 172. ‘Annus Mivabilis. 139 leuter weiter Section 10.10.1172 ‘on Chaucer ~ Section 10.10.2 173-4 rhymes from Aeneis ~ Section 10.10.3 175-6 dummy subject 56,68, 141 Early Modem English (EMnE) (ef also under dialect) 2 15th century ~ Ch 8 104 ff V6th century ~ Ch 9 117 ff cend of 16th century ~ Seetion 9.9 13917 ‘grammar ~ Section 9.9.4 140-1 pronunciation — Section 9.9.2. 139 spelling and punctuation ~ Section 9.9.1 139 vocabulary ~ Section 9.9.3 139 17th century - Ch 10 142 rd the Confessor, King 31, 39 egges or eyren? 110 Elyor, Sir Thomas — Section 9.2 120 ff Eneydos (William Caxton) 10 English Teacher, The (Christopher Cooper) = Section 10.9. 1677 ‘eth (OE letter /9/) 21 etymology 12 Evelyn, John ~ Section 10.6 156 fT {frst day (Sunday) 150 “fixing” the language ~ Section 11.1.2. 184 fT foot metrical) 123 Four Gospels in New Hebrides Bislama 206 Fox and the Wolf Section 3.6.1 53-5 Fox. George 136, Section 10.3. 148 Mf, 160 fremds 150 French 45, 46, 48, 60, 64,90, 112. 123, 140 Friar's Tale 100 Gaelic 7 gender grammatical 36 natural 36 Genesis, Book of, Ch 3 v I (in OB, ME, EMnE, Mn) ~ Section 12.4 201-3, gomutive 35 "genius of the language 185-6 Golden Age (18th century) grammar 10,43, 53, 64, 65, 73, 94, 152 Ith century ~ Section 9.9.4. 140 fT ‘contemporary ~ Section 12.1.2 196 ‘OE - Section 2.7 33 ff. 203, Section 11.3, 212 213Inde Grammar of the English Langnage, A (William Cobbett 1817) 194-5 sgrammarians 185 {grammars of English 124 Grammar of the English Language, A (William Cobbett 1817) 194-5 Queen's English, The (Dean Avford 1864) 198 Rudiments of English Grammar (oseph Priestley 1769) 186 Short Introduction 10 English Grammar, A Robert Lowy 1762) = Section 11.4 187-8 Cobbett’s study of 194 graphology 10 Great Vowel Shift — Section 9.5. 128 am EMnE 139 Greek 32, 121, 12: 140, 154, 185, 191 Harald Hardrada 39 Harold, King 31,39, 45, Hams, James. 190, 191 Han, John — Section 9.4124 ff, 172 Hastings, Battle of 39 Heame, Thomas 188 Hengest 5,6,7 Henry IV Part } (William Shakespeare) 44 Heptarehy 15 Hermes 190-1 ‘high style” 152 Hisiory of the English Church and People Bede) 7,20 Hoceleve, Thomas 98 homophones 168, 171 Horsa 5,6,7 tambic pentameter 144 iolect 82 personal construction 56, I infinitive 73, 99 for to 65,68 inflections 33, 38, 48, 64, 72, 73,99, 106, 13 nouns in Sir Gawayn 86 Old English 42 plural (end of 16th century) 141 regulansation of 86 verbs in Sir Gawayn 86 informal language 163 “inkhorn terms’ 123, 124, 132 Intemational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) 142 imterrogatve 100, 164, 203 Jarrow 25 Jolin de Thoresby 78 John of Trevisa Section 4.3 64fT, 60, 71, 108-10, 131 John Wyclif 78 Johnson, Samuel 184, 189, 196 Journal (George Fox's) - Section 10.3 18 iF Jules 5, 16,25, Kempe, Margery ~ Section 8.2 104 ff Kenush 16 King James Bible 141, 163, 205 Kingston, Sir William 118 Knight's Tale (Geo firey Chaucer) 136 Langland, William ~ Section 6.2 87 &f language analytic 198 ccolloguial (in Pilgrim's Progress) 163, 16s ‘depraved’ ~ Section 11.6 189 fT deterioration of 64 pidgin 206 prestige vanictes of 134 synthetic 198 “the dress of though’ 190 ‘vulgar’ 191 language and class ~ Section 11.7 190 ff iguage of the common people’ 189 in 7, 12, 18, 20, 32, 33, 45, 46, 55, 64, 121, 12: 40, 151, 185, 191 Classical 185 ‘alk’s Catechism 78-80 Morte Darthur (Sir Thomas Malory) 112 Lear 137 levelling of inflections 86 letters ‘OE non-Roman: ‘ash (ef) 20) eth (f4/) 2 thorn (Pf) 20 wynn (ph) 21 yorh Us) 21 Life of Henry the Fife William ‘Shakespeare) 135, Life of Sir William Temple (Martha Temple) 135-6 Lindisfame 25 Lisle, Lord 1200 Lisle Leters— Section 9.1117 10 Lowth, Bishop Robert ~Seetion Ib 186 fF macron 21 is. Robert 44 Mercian 16, 82 Merton, George 177-8 esis 203, metre 72 Michael of Northgate - Seetion 4.5.66 ff Midale English (¢f also under dialect) dialectal areas ~ Section 4.1 59 ff earliest surviving text ~ Section early ME~Ch 3-43 1F East Midlands and London — Ch 7 94 ff Northen - Ch $ 7117 pronoun forms 60-3 she, development of ~ Section 4.1.2 61-2 Southern and Kentish Ch 4. 59 ff St Maithew's Gospel, Ch 26 verses 69-75, 204, sheytthemither, development from ON 57,63 West Midlands ~ Ch 6 $3 ff Milton, John ~ Section 10.4 151 ff mood 197 'musteal setungs as evidence of pronunciation Section 10.1.2 144 46ft ational dialects ~ Section 9.8.1 134 negative 64, 68, 164, 203 at end of 16th century 141 multiple 56, 68, 100 New English Bible (1961) 206 New Hebrides (Vanuatu) pidgin 206 New Testament en Scots Vth century 204 Testament m Scors 20th century 205 non-standard language 183 Norman Conguest ~ Section 2.8.38 ff e fects on the English language ~ Section 3.2 44 Norman French 44 Normandy 30 Normans 30, $8 Norsemen 25, 26, 30 North Riding English (17th century) 177 Northumbnan (OE) 16, 20, 71, 82 Norwegians 31,90 noun phrases 197 nouns. 73 plural inflections at end of 16th century 41 number (Old English ~Section 2.72 35 Index (Old English (OB) — Chs 1-3 passin of also under dialect alphabet ~ Section 2.2.4 204 dialects and political boundaries ~ Section 2.1 15 grammar ~ Sect 33it word order~ Section 2.7.1 34 inflections, nouns and adjectives ~ Section 2.7.2 351 case 35-6 onder 36-7 number 35 person 37 tense 37 inflections, verbs ~ Section 2.7.3 37 T weak verbs 37 sirong verbs 37 Ietterstsce alphabet) poetry ~ Section 2 pol Si Matthew's Gospel, Ch 26 verses 69-75 204 word endings as evidence of ling guise change - Section 2.7.4 38 ff written ~ Section 2.2.17 ff ‘Old French 56, 122 Old Norse ~ SEetion 2.5.30 1, 46, 56, 90 ‘Old Northem French 48 Orm 50 tT Ormutum Section 34 506 onthoepist 166, 175, Orthagraphie, An (John Hart) ~ Section 9.4 124 "172 cothography 10, 44, 196 OE 202 Osbome, Dorothy 149, Section 10.5 153 T Osborne, Henry 155 Paine, Tom 194 Parker Chronicle 2,8,9, 16, 19, 24, 27 28, 39 Parson's Tale (Geo firey Chaucer) 99) passive voice 100 Paston, Agnes 107 Paston, John (Ii) 107 Paston Leters — Section 8.3 106 ff patronymic 31 Pentecost Play (York) 76-8 perfect aspect 16% ‘perfection’ of languag 1845 person (inflections in OB) 37 Pewer Porcupine 1 Peterborough Chromcle 2.3, 8.9.16, 18, = Section 11.2 ‘tend of 16th century 141 Malory, Sir Thomas Seetion 8.5 112-3 object $7 24-6, 29, 38, 40,46 ted 1 ay Mandeville, Travels of Sir Joh Section occasional spellings Section 10.1.1 143. Petitions to Parliament (18th century) 191, as ‘dummy subject 7.2 95 ff | OED (Oxford English Dictionary) 12 192 214 215Index Phoents (OB) 28 phonology 10 phrasal and prepositional verbs 198 pidgin language 86 ‘Sr Matthew's Gospel, Ch 26 verses 69-15 (Four Gospels in New Hebrides Bislama 1971) 206 Piers Plowman (William Langland) ~ Section 6.2 871 Pilgrin’s Progress (John Bunyan} ~ Section 10.7 160 place names, OE and Scandinavian ~ Section 2.5.2 31 ff, 36 plural inflections (end of 16th century) 141 Political Regster (William Cobbett) 193 polities of language ~ Section 11.8 193-5 Politics of Language 1791-1819 Olivia Smith 191, 195 Polychronicon (John of Trevisa's translation, 14th century) 64 Caxtor’s revision of (15th century) 108 possessive case 35, 57, 65 pre-modification 197 prefixes 140 Prepositions 48, 65, 100, 106 prescnpiive attitudes to language 187, Section 12.2 198 fT prestige variety of language 134 prick (= full stop) 118, 130, [3 Priestley, Joseph 186 Proclamation, York (ME) 75 Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (Geo ffiey Chauvet) 174 pronoun 64 Ist person singular (ME) 60 3rd person singular feminine (ME) 61 3rd person plural (ME) 62 ON theyithem/therr 57, 62 demonstrative 106 personal 99, 105 ‘tend of 16th century 140 relauve 73,99 at end of 16th century 140 Sir Gawayn 84 pronunciation 11. 43, 53, 56, 60, 64, 04. 122, 125, 130, 167 changes in 7th century ~ Section 10.1 142 1 evidence fram music (EMaE) — Section 10.1.2 144 evidence from verse (EMnE) ~ Section 10.1.3 144 Great Vowel Shift —Section 9.5. 128 ff ME - Section 3.6 $3 1T pronunciation of boil 171 6th century — Section 9.9.1 139 1T 17th century "barbarous speaking’ - Section 10.9.5, 169-70 words spelt with ~ Section 10.9.7 171-2 words with same pronunciation ~ Section 10.9.6 171 OF 42 Received Pronunciation (RP) 10, 53, 169 prose style (Royal Society 1667) 159 Publick imelligencer 157 punctuation 1, 3,43, 44, 123, 148, 152, 165 colon 13 ‘comma 131 sm mid-16th century texts ohn Hans ‘An Orthographie) ~ Section 9.6 13 late 16th century ~ Section 9.9.1. 139 prick (= full stop) 118, 130, 131 strike () 131 tilde (=) 118 virgule ()) 108, 118 Puttenham, George 94, 123, Section 9.7.2 133 Quakers 148, 160 ‘origin of the name ~Seetion 10.3.4 148 iT Queen's English, The (Dean Alford 1864) 198 questions Go Raleigh, Sir Walter 132, 144 Received Pronunciation (RP) 10, 53, 169 reduction of vowels 56 reflex 30, 101 regional diiects (16th century) —Seetion 9.8.3 1361 regularisation of inflections 86 regulanty 139 Religio Mediei (Sic Thomas Browne) ~ Seetion 10.2.1 145 Renaissance 32 Restitution of Decayed Intelligence. A (Richard Verstegan) 124, 137 hewns New Testament 205 thetone_ 151, 152, 153, 159 rhyme 76, 84 rhymes ‘Chaucer's, as evidence of pronunciation change ~Seetion 73.3 101 ff Deyden's, as evidence of pronunciation change - Section 10.103 175 if Robert of Gloucester 45, 70 Roman Britain ~ Seetion 1.2 7 Romano-Bntish 7 rounding of back vowel (OE) 55 Royal Society 158-9, 177 Rudiments of English Grammar Qoseph Priestley 1769) 186 runes 3, Section 2.2.1. 17 Ruthweil Cross 17.18 Sarum Ordinal 111 Saxons 5,7, 16,25 Scandinavian 30, 31, 32, 86 semantics 10 Seven Deadly Sins 90, 99 Shakespeare, William 128, 134-8, 145 she, development in ME ~ Section 4.1.2 61-2 Short Introduction to English Grammar, A (Robert Lowth 1762) ~ Section 114 187-8 Cobbet's study of 194 Sir Gawayn and Pe Grene Knyst~ Section 64 820 Smith, Olivia 191, 192, 195 social class 134 solecism 199 spelling 10, 20, 21, 22, 38, 43, 44, 46, 48, 53, 56, 60, 63, 75, 94, 106, 111,117, 123, 124, 126, 128, 130, 148, 152, 160, 167, 177, Seetion 12.1.1. 196 16th century ~ Section 9.9.1 139 <<5> in Sir Gawayn 82.3 ME ~ Section 3.8 58 ff ‘occasional ~ Section 10.1.1 143 (Om's (ME) 51 171 OF 202 ‘as evidence of pronunciation, 17th century ~ Section 10.1.1 143 spelling-books 124, 143 ‘split infimtive’ 198, 199 spoken English (1980s) ~ Section 12.3 199 it Sprat, Thomas 159 St Gregory's Minster 31 $1 Matthew's Gospel, Ch 26 verses 69-75, versions from OE to MnE ~ Section 12.4.2 20317 Standard English 10, 43, 53, 60, 63, 68, 71, '83, 94, 95, 104, 110, 123, 131, 133, 173, 177, 183, 191, 194, 195, 196, 199 ongins of ~ Section 7.1. 941 standard language 63, 94,95, 131, 134, 143, 180, 189) Index standardisation 134, 139 wdardised spelling. 160 steeplehouse ~ Section 10.33 150 stress 27, 101 teviderice of change from verse ~ Section 10.1.3 144 primary 144 secondary 144 “stike’ tcf virgule) 131 “substandard language 183 subject 57 su fixes 38, 140 OE - Section 2.7.4 38 ff surmames, OE and Scandinavian ~ Section uM jonathan — Section 11.1.1 180 M7, 184 Swift, Tates of Melibeus (Geo firey Chaucer) 98 Temple, Dorothy 156 Temple, Martha 155 ‘Temple, William - Section 10.5 153 tense 197 in OE 37 Tesiimome of Anuquitie, A ~ Section 2.2.5, 220 there as dummy subject’ 141 they, them, thetr 57, 62-3 thorn (OE letter P/) 20 thouthee (George Fox's usage) 148, Section 103.2 149 ff ‘shouithee (in Chaucer and Shakespeare) ~ Section 9.8.2 136, 138 tilde () 118 Tostig 31,39 Tragedie of King Lear (William Shakespeare) 138 Travels of Sir John Mandeville ~ Section 7.2 95 ‘Trevisa, John of 60, Section 43 64 ff,71, 108, 131 ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona (William Shakespeare) 177 ‘universal grammar 190 Usk, Thomas ~ Section 7.4 1 Vanuatu pidgin 206 verb phrases 197 verbs 73 auxiliary 197 ‘eatenative 198 tend of 16th century 141 impersonal consiruction 141 regular 37 modal 141 SSS 216OB-Section 2.7.3 371 strong 37, 99, 106 weak 37, 99, 106 passive 1 Phrasal and prepositional 198 regular 37 verse, evidence of change in stress pattems from Section 10.1.3 144 Verstegan, Richard 124, 136-7 Vikings ~ Section 2.3 24 Mf, 30, 86 Virgil 175 vurgule (Pas punctuation mark 108, 118 vocabulary 10, 43, 53, 56, 64, 106 16th century ~ Section 9.9.1 139 Laun~ Section 2.6 32 OE 21 voice 197 passive 100 fricative consonants (ME) 69 Vortigen 7 vowel changes ME to MnE 130 vowels 101, 125, 167 back, rounding of (OB) 55, diphthong 169 Tong 21, 64, 73, 126, 130 front’ 168 raising 139 shift 128, 12 quality in 167 quantity in 167 reduction of 56 short 21, 126, 128 1 166, 172 Vulgar Errors (Sit Thomas Browne) — Section 10.2.2 146-7 War with the Five Kings (Sir Thomas Malory) 112 Weatas 8 Welsh 7 West Germanic 7, 15,16 West Saxon 16, 20, 43, 46 West-Saxon Gospels 204 whale, description of | in Browne Vulgar Errors 146-7 in Evelyn Diary 158 What ts Our life? (Sic Walter Raleigh) Mad wheel (in ME verse) 84 will and shall 187 William 1. King 39, 44, 45, word forms (structure) 43, 64, 68, 203 word order 33, 43, 48, 64, 73, 100 OE ~ Section 2.7.1 34, 203, written standard. 132 Wyeliffite Bible 204 wynn (OE fetter) 21 yeiyou (George Fox's usage) — Se 10.3.2 149 ff velyou (in Chaucer and Shakespeare) ~ Section 98.2 136, 138 yogh (OE letter /s/) 21 York Mystery Plays 75-8 York Potters’ Pentecost Play 76-8 Yorkshire Dialogue, A V7.9 218