The printing press

The spread of education

The increase of commerce and communication
Changing conditions in the The growth of specialised knowledge
Renaissance Adoption of a standard
A new self-consciousness on language Language policy: debates on
spelling / vocabulary
Effects on grammar and vocabulary
English: Popular literature
Tradition & Revival of Classical learning
Universal currency of Latin
Vernaculars: immature, unpolished, limited
Alberti, Du Bellay; Elyot, Ascham, Wilson, Puttenham, Mulcaster
Latin & French vs English Popular demand to share in the fruits of the Renaissance
Meeting the demand: Translations
Humanists' Latin based on Cicero: inadequate
Protestant Reformation: Use of English
Printers' commercial interests
Lack of a standard orthography
Not phonetic
Norman spelling conventions; analogical spellings (with other words or Latin)
Conventional spellings while sounds were changing
However: consistency in scholars and writers
1568: Thomas Smith
1569: John Hart
Phonetic proposals
1580: William Bullokar
1634: Charles Butler
1582: Richard Mulcaster, Elementarie
former systems were too
Chaotic spelling cumbersome
impossibility of 100%
Mulcaster's correspondence between sounds &
Moderate proposals stance: general letter
adoption of a
sounds constantly change
singles system
custom & usage; common sense;
ease & convenience for final
popular
1650: Problem is practically settled
Dr. Johnson (falsely attributed the fixation of English
1755:
spelling)
Increase activity in every field: science, geographical
discoveries, philosophy, religion.
Reasons for the need
Rediscovery of Latin and Greek literature; translations
Inadequacy of English
Mulcaster, Elyot, Bullokar
FOR Precedent; strangeness would wear
10.000 words borrowed: off; no strangeness
Controversy of Edward Phillips; John Cheke,
INKHORN TERMS AGAINST Ascham, Thomas Wilson
Strangeness; pedantry, obscurity
COMPROMISE Puttenham: individual tastes
Inadequate Permanent additions
vocabulary: Need for Adaptations: -us>-ous/-al;-tas>-ty(<-té);-antia>-ance;-bilis>-ble;-
Enrichment ate> infinitives
Reintroductions with new meanings; episcopus & discus
Borrowings: Rejected words
Reinforcement through French:factum>fact & feat; -ate
Words from Romance languages
Method of introduction: Medium of writing
Enrichment from English (Cheke) and Chaucerisms
context
reader's knowledge of Latin
Interpretation of new patenthetical explanations
words self-interpreting compounds
Dictionaries of Hard Words: Cawdrey, Bullokar,
Cockeram, Blount, Philipps
 Political Civil War 1640s
turbulence Restoration of Charles II 1660
Irrationality in religion: Enthusiasts = Non-Conformists and
Dissenters > fervent, ranting language.
Rationality of scientific discourse: Conservative Anglicans;
Latitudinarians; Moderate Puritans; Royal Society; Henry More,
Thomas Sprat, John Wilkins, Robert Boyle > concerned about the
Social
very fact of "public expression" and "controversy"
background
th Intellectual Open disputation: learned discourse was no longer elitist > highly
in 17 c
turbulence focused public consciousness of language.
1660s: Proposal of the Royal Society concerning scientific
prose: plain, precise, clear, non-assertive; repudiation of classical
principles of rhetoric; dispassionate, rational, prosaic discourse.
J. Locke, Essay of Human Understanding: Qualities of scientific
prose should be extended to all prose.
Effect of all this: No imposition, but elite sanctioning.
Search for stability and permanence
Strong sense of order
Value of regulation
Desire for system and regularity
Coexistence Conforming to a consensed standard
of scientific Correctness is seen as an ideal >
rationalism Attempts to formulation rules or principles to define and achieve
and correctness >
classical Main principle = reason (as in philosophy)
precedent
Classical precedent (Latin) was generalised into a precept
Standard: based on REGULARITY, justified by REASON,
supported by CLASSICAL AUTHORITY
Attention is turned to GRAMMAR (Renaissance: spelling / lexis)
Grammar is uncodified, unsystematised (as spelling was felt to be in
Renaissance)
Attitude
toward
Language there was much variation among the educated
Against the regularity of Latin
Features of Undesirable situation
18th c Against order
Logic: by reasoning
Principles for settling
Authoritative precedent: by analogy
disputed points
Authoritative legislation: demand for an Academy
Feeling of uncertainty: lack of grammars and
dictionary forced writers to rely on their own
Ascertainment judgement
= Reduce language to rule & set up a standard of
correct usage
Method to Unchecked corruption of language and belief in
achieve former "golden ages". Eg: clippings, contractions,
grammatical Refining vogue words
correction: = Remove supposed defects and introduce
J. Swift's improvements
Proposals Fear of change, fear of writers that their works
would cease to be understood some time (Bacon,
Swift, Pope, Sheridan; desire to stop language
Fixation
change; false belief that Classical languages had
not changed
= Fixing it permanently in desired form
 Examples of Italy and France
1660 Robert Hooke: Proposal for an English Academy
1662: The Royal Society's resolution to set up a committee for
improving English Grammar
John Evelyn's Spelling reform
proposals to English lexicon
the Committee Lexicon of derivatives
(nothing was Symbolical lexicon
done cos the Collections of tecnichal, exotic, dialect & archaic
Society's words
interest were Translations from the best Greek, Latin and
Creation of others) Romance
an = most distinguished and consistent advocate of
John Dryden
Academy: an English academy.
Proponents Essay upon Projects : Advocated for an English
1697 Defoe's
Academy
Advocated for an academy that would settle
1712: Addison
ambiguities in grammar and idiom
A Proposal for Correcting, Improving, and
Ascertaining the English Tongue
1712: Swift's The idea was almost 50 years
Proposal = Points in favour old
culmination of Social weight of Swift
the movement;. Result nothing came of it either
drew attention to the problems
of language
French Academy had not stopped French from
Arguments: changing; linguistic change is inevitable:
Spirit of personal liberty in language use
Opponents 1712: John Oldmixon Reflections on Dr. Swift's Letter …
1755: Dr. Johnson: Preface to his Dictionary
1756: Thomas Sheridan in his British Education
1761: Joseph Priestley in his Grammar
 Directly 1724: The Many Avantages of a Good Language
persuading
the public 1729: Thomas Cooke: "Proposals for Perfecting the
through English Language". He proposes a series of drastic
reason: morphological changes based on analogy
Individual
Proposals
1755: Dr. Samuel Offered a fixed, standard spelling
Publication
Johnson, A
of a
Dictionary of the Offered thousands of
Dictionary
English authoritative quotations
Language.
16 & 17cc precedents. E.g. John
Wallis's Grammatica Linguae Latinae,
1653.
Their purpose: TEFL or basis for Latin
grammar
Latin grammar still very much a model
1734: W. Louhgton, Practical Grammar
of the English Tongue (Latin must not
be the model)
1761: Joseph Priestey, The Rudiments
of English Grammar (independence,
Substitutes tolerance, good sense)
for an 1762: Robert Lowth, Short Introduction
academy to English Grammar (prescriptive; very
popular; numerous imitators)
Publication
1762: James Buchanan, The British
of
Grammar
Grammars
1763: John Ash, Grammatical Institutes
(most by
Grammars 1765: William Ward, Grammar of the
men with no
English Language
special
1770: Robert Baker, Reflections on the
qualification
English Language (unqualified but
s)
vocal in language use)
1784: Noah Webster, A Grammatical
Institute of the English Language
Universal philosophical grammars
had little effect on English. Practical,
less gifted, prescriptive grammarians
were much more influential, especially
through the use of their books at
schools.
1756: Th. Sheridan,
British Education
1776: G. Campbell,
Rhetoricians
Philosophy of Rhetoric
(respect for usage and
"good use")
 Codification of language and
reduction of language to rules
Aims of the
Settling of disputed points and
Prescriptive
divided usage: prescribe
Grammarians
Point out errors and correcting them:
proscribe
lie vs lay
I had rather > I would rather
whose > of which
different than / to > from
between vs among
the largest > the larger (of two)
perfect > *more perfect
you was > you were (Lowth,
Priestley)
Examples of
from hence; but *this here, that there
prescriptivism
Case after "than, as" (Lowth)
Case before a gerund: objective vs
genitive (Webster: genitive)
*Double negative (on logical
grounds)
Will vs Shall: rule for 1st person =
Wallis; rule for questions = Johnson;
rule; full set of prescriptions = Ward
and Murray
Logic. E.g. Opposition to
"The book is now printing"
(Johnson) or "I am
mistaken" (Lowth).
Analogy > regularity
(Priestley & Campbell)
E.g.: *backward cos
afterwards;
Reason dare & need should be
lexical;
if two forms coexisted,
Approach of different meanings should
Prescriptivists be given;
taking full advantage of
remaining inflections:
written not *wrote
(Priestley, Dr. Johnson)
averse *to > from
(Johnson, Lowth); only
Etymology if the root is English
(Campbell)
Classical
authority
 Dictum of Horace: "Use is the sole
arbiter and norm of speech".
1698: John Hughes, Of Style
1955: Johnson, Plan of his
dictionary
1761: Joseph Priestey, Rudiments
of English Grammar (most important
Descriptivism
advocate of use; unwavering loyalty
and Usage
to usage)
(1750 - )
1762: J. Priestley, Theory of
Language
1776: G. Campbell, Philosophy of
Rhetoric. Body of usage is the only
authority = "present, national, and
reputable use". (However, he
violated his principles.)