UNIT 1: GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (before 1500

1.1 Language Variation and Change: What does Variation refer to?

1.2 Old English

a) Extra linguistic: arrival of the Anglo-Saxon tribes (449) and the Scandinavian invasions The
Danelaw and itslinguistic consequences.

b) Intra linguistic: Dialectal variation (West Saxon)

1.3 Middle English

a) Extra linguistic: The Battle of Hastings

b) Intra linguistic characteristics:

Development of Anglo-Norman had socio-linguistic implications  Diglossia: two or more

languages are used for different purposes.

Latin: prestige language

Anglo-Norman: administrative, literary

Middle English: from 1100 to 1300 was confined to the lower classes. From 1300 the situation
changed and English began to be used to official purposes. This remerge was motivated by
historical facts:

Oxford Provisions 1258: the first written constitution in England by which Henry III was forced
to accept changes concerning to middle classes. This official document contains English.

Statue of Pleading 1362: English was reintroduced in legal system

Edward III addresses Parliament in English in 1363

These were isolated facts but the crucial fact was when the Chancery adopted English as a
language of the government.

Middle English is not a unified language. It has lots of varieties. There is a great dialectal
variation and thus, a linguistic “instability”. This diversity is especially noticeable in spelling.
The spelling system is so complex, each text has not only the variety of the area where it came
from but also the individual spelling practice of the author.

ME dialects:

Northern

South-West

North-West

UNIT 2: INTRODUCING EARLY MODERN ENGLISH (1500-1700)

2.1 Periodization: from 1500 to 1700

1476-1485: the printing press by William Caxton and the Tudor Dynasty Beginning 1500

1660-1776: the restoration monarchy and the freedom of American colonies Ending 1700

2.2 Dynastic and Political context:

a) Dynastic:

Tudor dynasty-Stuart dynasty- Interregnum- Restoration period

b) Political: most of the relevant aspects were

 The consolidation of Nationalism motivated by:

-Economic growth and prosperity

-Drastic social changesfrom a feudal country to the nation states

-Development and strengthening of vernacular languages due to the big influence of European
Renaissance (Dante didn’t use latin) and a wider readership beyond restricted social elites
(contribution of the press).

Nationalism was reflected in language. Parallel to this shared national feeling, English emerged
in the continent. But how this union could be possible with a fractured language? This problem
was crucial to inciate the STANDARIZATION PROCESS OF ENGLISH.

 British expansion overseas:

The colonization period was known as the age of discovery. It brings with it a commercial
revolution ruled by mercantilism. In 1607 Jamestown was found. All these events contributed
to the emergence and development of Transatlantic English (early AmE)

 The Anglican-Protestant Reformation:

The break with the papacy by Henry VIII who proclaimed himself Head of The Church.

Radical religious movements appear (Puritanism and Quakerism) and they migrate to America

The first permanent colony of Plymouth in 1620

As a consequence, they transplanted their language into the New World.

2.3 Economic and Demographic Context:

a) Economic:

A period of stability and growth in which:

-Markets and trade flourished

-Mercantilism emerged
-Foci of economic activity=growth of towns and cities

Geographic mobility:

People with different varieties move to the same place (commercial cities). As a result, of the
language contact produced the language mixed. So this population mix has consequences for
the language.

b) Demographic: process of urbanization

2.4 Socio-cultural context:

a) Social:

 Changes in the social order because of the economic context:

Social mobility and Occupational specialization by which jobs more specific began to exist

 Changes in education because of economic context:

Literacy rates increased beyond London and Education shifted from ecclesiastical

b) Cultural:

The Renaissance supposed:

Renewed interest in the classical languages

The Age of Science=empiricism

Literary boom

Book trade increased making (non)-literary works more widely accessible

The Commonwealth has cultural effects: theatres were closed.

UNIT 3: THE LANGUAGE OF EARLY MODERN ENGLAND:

3.1 From Middle English to Early Modern English: transition between fractured to unified

a) The beginnings of a standard language:

It was a key period of transition between ME (strong regional variation) to EModE (beginnings
of a standardized language)

STANDARD: a dialect/variety taken to be official and learnt. It is one language with minimal
variation in form and maximal variation in function.

M.E and EModE have not minimal variation in form. The EModE language setting was called
the “babel” of Renaissance English because it takes place in a period of strong dialectal
varieties (social and geographically).
“By the sixteenth century [...], a phenomenon now called standard English was in the process
of development, depending largely on the written channel, but it was not far advanced in
some respects [...], and very divergent local dialects of English were enjoying a flourishing life.”
(Milroy)

This quotation states:

-the process of standardization is a modern conception (now)

-point out the multiplicity of different dialects that there are not negledted and has their own
cultural identity

-the process of standardization consists in minimizing the forms and only attains the written
level. The phonological standardization didn’t occur until 19th century.

b) Towards a form of standard written English: ME precursor

Origins: it was a very gradual and slow process

-Chancery English: its use corresponds to Central/East Midlands/South East

-Basis of modern written Standard English

-Decline of French and Latin for official business

-Government documents produced in signet office, privy seal and chancery (administrative,
legal, letters sent to all parts of the country (DISSEMNATION) transforming English in a model)
Little by little, people began to imitate these forms and dialects disappear. By 1650 Regional
forms largely absent from written English.

C.STANDARIZATION: transitional period between chaos and regularity. Period during

variability was minimized. When we talk about standardization it usually takes place in
different stages.

-Selection: has to do with society. It deals with the fact that society select one form to reduce
the degree of variability and make the language more consistent.

-Acceptance: the way society accept that chosen form of one selected variety to be used in
different contexts.

-Elaboration: the selected variety is applied to different dominios with different functions. It
performs a whole range of functions.

-Codification: the norms are set down, codified (grammars, dictionaries…)

-Acceptance

Haugen points out that any process of stadarization has much to do with society and language.

FORM FUNCTION

SOCIETY SELECTION ACCEPTANCE

LANGUAGE CODIFICATION ELABORATION

Standardization is a non-linear development: in English “it was not a coinciously monitored

development” and the process sometimes “progressed below the conscious awareness of
language users”. There is some overlap between the different stages. Each stage happens but
not necessarily in this order.

Main ideas: The standardization didn’t take place to one day to the next, and no is a linear
process. Standardization is mainly a social process more than a linguistic one.

3.2 Spelling and phonology:

a) The spelling reform: the arrival of the printing press complicated the process. All the efforts
made during this period were to make spelling more unified.

The problems of the printing press:

-early printers: Caxton brought the printing practice to England. Caxton also brought printers
from Europe but they didn’t know English. They introduced foreign conventions which are
unfamiliar to English conventions causing more variation.

-mid 16th century: Native compositors appear and some of them regularized the effect
following the practices of the manuscript traditions.

-early printing houses began to follow their own conventions

During the course of time and thanks to the movement the spelling reform, by1650 spelling
variants were considerably reduced.

The spelling reform was a movement that originated in England to reduce the variability of
spelling. This reform was mostly protagonized by a group of men called “the orthoepists”.
They wanted to make spelling much more consistent. They proposed different alternatives

-Align spellings with etymologies (keep the roots of language) Ej. –b- in –doubt-

-Make spelling more phonetic (relation phoneme-grapheme)

Some of them: John Hart and Richard Mulcaster.

B. EModE spelling: most relevant features

-<u>, <v>, <vv> : were positional variants (they represented different sound depending on
their position).

V: always used in initial position for /u/ or /v/

U: always used in any other position /u/ /v/

VV: in any position /w/

Ej. Vtter /u/ , Voyces /v/ ; sauing /v/ , naturall /u/  the distinction between v and u became
common after 1630.

<i> , <j> :

I: used to represent /dz/

J: used to repreent /dz/ after 1630-1640

<s>. <z>, <> (long s)

S and Z: /z/

Long s: appears in initial and mid position Ej. Represent, school. The only exception: the use a
regular s /s/ at the beginning of a word when it was a capital S.

S: in final position. Ej. Schools (long s first, regular s at the end).

<-e> final e:

-Spelling diacritic to indicate vowel length. (La e se usa para marcar ortograficamente que la
vocal original de la palabra era una vocal larga). Ej. Bone -> ban /a:/

-Marker of consonant quaility and evoid ambiguity in pronnounciation: Ej. Prince-> to mark
that the c is an /s/ and not a /k/. The same with breathe as /d/ not /0/

-To prevent <i>, <u>, <o> in final position in two-letter words: according to three-letter rule
(todas las palabras lexicas deben tener al menos tres letras para que no se confundan con
palabras gramaticales). Ej. toe instead of to.

Two cases at least that are no presented today:

-Trace of old weakened inflexion: in some cases retained and eventually dropped. EJ. olde
(cames from old English ealda which is an adj. La a final se debilita hasta convertirse en swha y
por tanto en algunos casos se mantiene la grafía en forma de E).

-Trace of origin: in some cases retained and eventually dropped. Ej.the word poete comes
from AN.

-ACTIVITY-

ACTIVITY

Little I hope, needeth me at large to diſcourse the firſt Originall of Æglogues, hauing alreadie
touched the ſame. But for the vvord Æglogues I knovv is vnknowen to moſt, and alſo miſtaken
of ſome the beſt learned (as they think) I vvyll ſay ſomevvhat thereof, being not at all
impertinẽt to my preſent purpoſe. / They vvere firſt of the Greekes the inuentours of them
called Æglogues [...] thinketh it fitteſt according to the ſimplicitie of commen vnderſtanding, to
begin vvith Ianuarie, wening it perhaps no decoru, that Sepheard ſhould be ſeene in mater of ſo
deepe inſight, or canuaſe a caſe of ſo doubtful iudgment. So therefore beginne[th] he & ſo
continueth throughout.
Why words like Ianuarie or alreadie use final –ie instead of final –y? These words can also
appear with the termination –ye. Ex. Pity: pitie, pitye, pyty, pytie, pytye. There is no linguistic
explanation, each writer chose the one that fit better.

C. EModE phonology: most relevant features

Sources for the reconstruction of EModE system: are written docs because we don’t have
records. We can rely on material like

-Statements made by grammarians and spelling reformers

-Rhymes (poetry) and rhyming dictionaries

-Spelling

Some scholar reconstruct a system about the early modern English phonological system and
discover that is the same we find today (with few exceptions). STUDIUM!Exception: Loss of
ME /x/ but emergence of /3/ and /ng/  system we have in PdE (present day English).

Vowel inventory: During this period we find the emergene of this important sounds (central a:
^ and the sound ae). Probably this two sounds existed earlier but the first documents are from
the years 1640 and 1653.

During this period we find the emergence of the diphthongs /ai /and/ au/ with the Great
Vowel Shift: in essence is a vowel change that affected long vowel from the Middle English
period. It affected both back and front vowels. It basically consisting in the raising of the
vowels: /a: ,ae: ,3:,e:…studium!/

The rising is about closing (open vowels go to close vowels). And the diphthongs:

u:>/au/ ; i:>/ai/ house, while…the final e was added because the oringal vowel was long TEST 2

The Great Vowel Shift did not operated regularly across the country: it affected varieties of
English at different times and ways (Northern English was affected before Southern English)

Hand out: a) Standard English b)North English ej. good vs gud, guid.

3.3 Morphology and Syntax: also experienced important changes in this period

a) Morphology:

-The Genitive: a noun’s function. Genitive Saxon (`s) is the only inflection we have today to
mark grammatical information (possession in this case).

Old Englishwas a synthetic language (inflections to mark grammatical information). In EModE

inflexions very similar to those of PdE are:

-Plurality –s and the Genitive‘s (only the Gentivie highliths syntactic information).

Old English marks the Genitive like that: the king(e)s palace
The Saxon genitive was introduced in Early Modern English because in the other way it could
be confused with the plural. In spelling the ‘s was optional from 1500.

The ‘s is not yet full establishes.

But the Genitive in spelling was not fix. It was fully established by 1690-1700.

-Pronouns: distinction between thou and you

In EModE English system we find different forms for the second person

S. thou ye

O. thee - SINGULAR you-- PLURAL

Poss. Thy/thine your

In Old English we have for the second person subject pronoun a distincition between the
singular and the plural. The origin of present day English YOU is the second person plural
accusative form of Old English EOW.

The use of thou or you in EModE English had to do with politeness. Its use has socialinguistic
and pragmatic implications are similar to the ones that we find in French because of the
influence of the anglonormans.

From the 14th century:

The plural form ye/you is use in a POLITE CONTEXT with people of higher rank in singular
contexts (Ej. vous (a plural pronoun) it is used in French in singular with politeness
connotation)

The singular form thou was used as a natural way to speak

During the 17 th century the use of you began to be used in the same way that we do today for
singular and plural subjects. As a result, thou little by little disappear for the language except:

-in archaic uses as the Bible

-regional speech from late 17thc

-Verbs: -s vs –th

The- s is Scandinavian (foreign) and the -th is Anglo-Saxon (native).

In the early 16th century the ending –s was regarded as an low variant (informal ending)
because of its foreign origin. While –th ending was regarded as a formal or neutral form.

By the end of the 16th century and the early 17th century, the –s gained ground (we find 45%
of the text reading in London contains it). While, the –th was still used. Both coexisted not only
in English but also in the works of the same author. This fact is explained because of migration.
The –s was maintained because of a matter of economy and commodity specially in
pronunciation.

By the end of the 17th century the –th ending disappear except in text related to the Church.

b) Syntax:

-Do-periphrasis: it has to do with the emergence of DO as an auxiliary. We find it in

Negative declarative: I do not know

Interrogative sentences: Do you see yonder wicket-gate?

Affirmative sentences (emphasis): the sorrow that do attend those that…

This situations corresponds to the situation we find today in PdE.

ACTIVTY:

 Do you think the use of thou-you clearly marks social distinctions? Yes. Does
Shakespeare use any other device to highlight such differences? Sir (epithets to mark
higher social position and power).
 Can you identify more than one type of genitive constructions? Face of mind, time’s,
of by blood, night of…
 Which is the main purpose of do-periphrasis in this extract (if any)?: Interrogative,
negative and affirmative.
 Is Shakespeare consistent regarding the use of endings to mark the third person
singular present tense? Why? The –th ending remain in the language longer in
auxiliaries than in normal verbs. For this reason we find hath but knows.

Ægeon. But tell me yet, dost thou not know my voice?

Antipholus E. Neither.

Æge. Dromio, nor thou?

Dromio E. No, trust me, sir, not I.

Æge. I am sure thou dost.

Dro. E. Ay, sir; but I am sure I do not; and whatsoever a

man denies, you are now bound to believe him.

Æge. Not know my voice! O, time’s extremity,

Hast thou so crack’d and splitted my poor tongue

In seven short years, that here my only son

Knows not my feeble key of untun’d cares?

Though now this grained face of mine be hid

In sap-consuming winter’s drizzled snow,

And all the conduits of my blood froze up

Yet hath my night of life preserved some memory.

ACTIVITY:

Is the third person singular present tense marker used alike? Why? Look at the following
lines from the Bible: The ending is always a –th and never an –s. : For the Father loveth the Son,
and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye
may marvel. 21. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth
whom he will. 22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: 23 That
all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son
honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

ACTIVITY 4:

Go back to Activity 1 and read Spenser’s text again. Then, compare it with the following
passage from Thomas Shadwell’s The Libertine: A Tragedy (1676) so as to identify the changes
that the English spelling experienced from the late sixteenth to the late seventeenth century.
Also, compare Shadwell’s tragedy with the passage from The Comedy of Errors (1623) and
explain the morphological and syntatic changes that took place during the seventeenth
century.

D. Lop. Why does the Fool talk of hanging? we scorn all Laws. Jacom. It seems so, or you
would not have cut your Elder Brother’s throat. Don Lopez. D. Lop. Why, you Coxcomb, he kept
a good Estate from me, and I could not Whore and Rebel sufficiently without it. D. Anto. Look
you, Jacomo, had he not reason? Jacom. Yes, Antonio, so had you to get both your Sisters with
Child; ‘twas very civil, I take it. D. Anto. Yes, you Fool, they were lusty young handsome
Wenches, and pleas’d my appetite. Besides, I sav’d the Honour of the Family by it; for if I had
not, some body else would.

-No distinction between you and thou lost of that idea of politeness

-There’s no -th ending for the 3rd person singular. Only find the final –s is also used for
auxiliaries

-The regular Saxon genitive is used with the spelling we use today (it is not a manuscript)

-We also find the do periphrasis as an auxiliary

By the late 17th century the language is very similar to the type of language we find today. So
we can see that English was very much modern consider syntax, morphology, spelling and
pronunciation.

3.4 Lexis:
Lexical growth: Extension of the vernacular to “new written-language functions”: This period is
distinguished by a very remarkable extension of the vocabulary by the incorporation of many
new words. Why this happen? Because OF the gradual emergence of the English as a standard
language. (The necessity of filling gaps). Many new words coming for other lanaguages
(borrowings) to occupate those gaps, that concerning to fileds as science, philosophy, religion,
education, architecture. The words of many different languages were anglishied. The words
introduced mostly belong to a very specific field.

Latin words: depict, trascental

Greek: drastic, trilogy, pythagorism

Other European languages: muscle, stanza, cannibal, potato

This extension was not only made by borrowings but also by neologisms (created by
Shakespeare as champions) The two major sources of this expansion (borrowings and
neologisms). This increase (1570-1630: time when most words were introduced) comes with a
decrease (1660 onwards).

-Consequences:

Semantic opacity of many of the borrowed words: people really don’t understand the meaning
of the words. That was a major problem which raise a controversy between people in favour of
borrowing (as sth necessary) and people against borrowing (they saw that so many views
corrptued the language). This fact was called The Inkhorn Controversy

Inkhorn: (container of the ink) (significa pedante, referring to new words that are so specific
and hard).

This controversy was the punto de partida for the creation of early dictionaries of English to
explain those terms. During this time we find many different types of dicitionaries being
compiled and published:

 Bilingual/Multilingual dictionaries: Latin English by Thomas Thomas; Spanish English

by R.Perceval ADictionary in Spanish and English… Instrument of education in order
to teach foreign languages in England during this time. Many of this dictionaries
contnain grammar of the language. The method of teaching was not very
communicative and was based mainly in transalation. The type of information that you
find in this multilingual dictionaries is very simple. They don’t contain elaborate
definnitions but sinonimis or equivalent words.
 Monolingual dictionary: A Table Alphabeticall by Robert Cawdrey (1604) first
monolingual dictionary. It was about interpreting of those borrowings words and it
was specially targed to a female audience because “females were regarded as
unskillful people”. Other important monolingual piece of work was An English
Explistior by John Bullokar. This dictionary also provides a clear interpretation of those
hard words.
The definitions of those dictionaries were generally very simple and contain equivalent
words to explain their meaning.
  Etymological dictionaries: look into the origin of English. The first etymolocial
dictionary that were titled like that didn’t appear until the second half of the 17 th
century (antes encontramos también diccionarios etimologicos pero sin llamarse así).
The most important is Etymological Linguae Anglicanae by Setpehn Skinner. The
transaltion of this etymological dicitonariy was made by Hogarth Gazophylacium
Anglicanum. This kind of dictionaries were compiled generally by people against
borrowings in order to make clear that the English language was rich enough that not
need to incorporate words from other languages. Nevertheless, they contain many
words from other languages that had been naturalized into English.
 Specialist dictionaries, glossaries: contain specific vocabulary not only of domains but
also of social groups. One was Dictionarium Rusticum in which we find provincial
words used in rural areas (agricultural language). This is a very good example of
occupational dialects (specific jobs which has its own vocabulary).
Other one is The Canting Academy, an example of canting/cant or slang English. The
meaning of CANT : the language of the underworld. This social group became so
prominent in late 17 th century London. These dictionaries contain the main words
and expressions used by this people.
The vocabulary of this type was so complex and rich because of the development of
specific social groups, the development of specific occupations and the introduction of
foreign words.
ACTIVITY 5

(1) Introductory Epistle, in Spenser’s The Shepheardes Calender (1579) they patched vp the
holes and peces & rags of other languages, borrowing here of the French, there of the Italian,
euery where of the Latine, not weighing how il, those tongues accorde with themselves, but
much worse with ours: So now they haue made our English tongue, a gallimaufray or
hodgepodge of al other speches

This is a very clear example of opposition towards lexical borrowing.

(2) Preface To the Reader, in Thomas Blount’s Glossographia (1656) I heard of Piazza, Balcone,
&c. in London: And in the Country, of Hocktide, Minnyng Days, Lurdanes, Quintins, &c. Nay, to
that pass we are now arrived, that in London many of the Tradesmen have new Dialects.

He is being very much neutral without given a negative perspective as in the passage before.

He is describing the coexistence of different types of vocabulary during this type (city-country)

He refers that in London we find new occupational dialects

(3) The Preface to Richard Hogarth’s Gazophylacium Anglicanum (1689) when I looked an
hundred, or an hundred and Fifty years only behind me, I could scarce imagine it ever to have
been the Language of my Ancestors.

He states that the language is corrupted by foreign words.

UNIT 4: REGIONAL VARIATION IN EARLY MODERN ENGLAND

Introduction to regional variation in EModE: The major consequence of the standardization
process was not only linguistic but also an ideological one (the desprestigio of the regional
dialects). The emergence of the dialect chosen (the standard dialect) to be the model, was
regarded as better and associate with the idea that it was the common English. In this
ideological context the standard English was associated with positive values (acceptability
good social position, correctness). At the same time, this standard form was linked to specific
places (London and the South East). This is an ideological construct that brings with it a
STIGMATISATION (avoided) of the non-standard dialects.

CONCL: The standriazation process has an ideological implication. “Standard English excludes
the majority and, trhough a familiar twist, places the minority at the centre of normality…with
Standard English at the centre, all dialect becomes strage.”

So the stadirazation process is a process of inclusion and exclusion:

Socially restricted (the minority) – geographically restricted (the centre)

Blank take up the metaphor of the “Bable of English” to illustrate how the English language
was perceived. We cannot speak of an EModE standard as in PdE.

If regional forms gradually disappeared from written texts…how can we know about EModE
dialects if spelling became gradually more standardized?

SOURCES:

 Logonomía Anglica – Alexander Gil: a work of orthoepy. On its chapter 6 we find the
first systematic description/survey of English dialects. He refers to:

-Borealium

-Australium

-Occidentalum

-Orientalum

-Communis  standard English

-Poetica

All of them are dialects. The word dialect refers to variety not to regional language.

From his dictionary we can obtain fonoloigcal morphological and lexical information of a
variety. Ex: North of England

*Phonology: OE /a:/> ME /a:/ ; ME /o:/ is fronted “gud luk” ; ME /i:/> AI, ME /u:/> AU

*Morphology: reflexive pronoun “seln” (self) , future “aist” (I will)

*Lexis: sark (shirt), gang (to go).

 A Collection of English Words Not Generally Used-John Ray

First glossary devoted to regional words in the history of English.

 Logonomia Anglica – Alexander Gil

It is a work of orthoepy. Its chapter 6 is the first systematic description of English dialect.
So this is the first survey or description of English dialects. He refers to

-Borealium

-Australium Regional

-Occidentalum

-Orientalum

-Communnis: standard language

-Poetica: literary language

All are dialects (this word doesn’t refer to regional language) Dialect=variety.

We can obtain a a phonological/morphological/lexical information of a variety. For ex:

-North of England:

Phonology: ME /o:/ fronted “gud luk”

Morphology: reflexive pronoun “seln” (self)

Lexis: “gang” (to go)

 A Collection of English Words Not Generally Used –John Ray

It is the first glossary devoted to regional words in the history of English. It is divided in
two different sections: North vocabulary and South-East vocabulary. It is the first hand
observation data and it includes mostly general geographic ascriptions. It contains the
beginning of English dialect lexicography.

There are two glossaries that contain regional information

 Glossarium Brigantinum - Nicolson

Probably it is the first compliation of terms characteristic of the North-West
It contains specific vocabulary of the countries of Comnerland and Westmoreland. It is
an extensive etymological comment.
 Etymological Collections – W. Kennett:
It contains a large amount of material: over 7100 entries. This great amount of dialect
material has precise descriptionswords associated to very specific locations. It
includes citations that exemplify the words in context. It also has etymological
information (not always accurate). The words are not arranged into dialect areas.
4.1.4. Literature: literature is not the best material but very useful at the time that provide a
very interesting insight. Clear distinction very important to take into account:

1. Dialect literature: Texts written in a dialect that generally aims at a regional speaking
audience. They are written by native speakers. The linguistic inf. Is very rich and abundance in
terms of spelling, syntax, lexis, morphology, pragmatics. We are focus on this in different types
of genres (fiction, drama and poetry).

-Texts that are entirely written in regional English

-They address a regional audience

-Rich amount of county-specific information

-Different genres

Nevertheless, there are very few materials of EModE English. The varieties represented are
Yorkshire, Lancashire, Kent and Devon. The most important genre is the poetic dialogue.

2. Literary dialects: Texts that contain dialect passages

Are written in Standard English but they contain passages in the dialects mainly used by
characterization process. They do not specifically address a regional audience. We find those
texts circulating all around the country. Different genres: drama, prose, poetry (ballads,
dialogues…). In the EModE, we find pretty many examples of literary dialects but most of them
have survived in the form of dramatic compositions. Unlike the case of dialect literature, the
dialects are not localized. That means that we don’t find representations of a specific site but
general representation of Northern English, South-West and sometimes we find attempts to
represent Lancashire dialect. There were also many examples of national varieties with a very
political overtone (Irish, Scots and Welsh).

Metalinguistic comment: Comments about the language. “Talk about talk”. This meta.
Comments are produced by non-experts, people who are not linguist. This means that this
information is ideological and perceptual. So a very rich sources of social linguistic issues and
perceptual issues. This kind of information has been documented for centuries. This means
that people have been aware of the existence about different varieties for a long time now.
We are going to focus on

-Polychronicon John of Trevisa:

Al þe longage of þe Norþhumbres, and specialliche at York, is so scharp, slitting, and frotynge

and vnschape, þat we souþerne men may þat longage vnneþe vnderstonde. (...) I trowe þat þat
is bycause þat þey beeþ nyh to straunge men and naciouns þat spekeþ strongliche, and also
bycause þat þe kynges of Engelond woneþ alwey fer from that cuntrey; for þey beeþ more i-
torned to the souþ contray .

TRANSLATION: Now the whole language of the Northumbrians, and most particularly at York,
is so uncouth and strident, that we southerners can understand none of it. This comes about
the proximity to barbarous peoples, and because of their remoteness from the kings, [...]
whom we know to be more inclined to the south than to the north

In this case he is depicting the first image about Northern English in the History of the
Language. This implies that there is awareness about the existing of different varieties. And
moreover, the features of those varieties were perceived/recognized by a southern speaker.
He shows a negative evaluation (meaning that the difference was large) about his lack of
sophistication, which refers to an extra linguistic value. “Remoteness” not only refers to a
geographical aspects but a linguistic issue (the difference was so big).

-The Arte of English Poesie – George Puttenham:

“ye shall take the vsuall speach of the Court, and that of London and the shires lying about
London withinn lx. myles, and not much aboue. I say not this but that in euery shire of England
there be gentlemen and others that speake but specially write as good Southerne as we of
Middlesex or Surrey do, but not the common people of euery shire”

He refers to a very limited/restricted area. He is a speaker of that area (“we”  in-gropu

marker to position yourself within a specific group). *We cannot speak about classes but
about ranks*. The fact that he emphasizes the different between gentlemen about his way of
speaking and writing implies that writing was the way to make social distinctions. He makes a
difference between gentlemen and common people, by basing on how they write. Court
people is a narrow social spectrum and also it is the place. He is referring to London and 60
miles around creating an imaginary border in which we can find this correctness. He is defining
a very social boundary of linguistic correctness. This idea was linked to an imaginary place
geographically distincted, which is socially distincted, and which refers to the written channel.

-Logonomia Anglica – Alexander Gill

“among all dialects, none is so flavored with barbarism as the western; among the country folk
in rural parts of Somerset, one can readily question whether they are even speaking English or
some foreign idiom”

He is focusing in the South Western dialect, especially in the area of Somerset.

- Dictionaries

i. Thomas Blount’s Glossographia (1656)

“Dialect (dialectus) is a manner of speech peculiar to some part of a Country or people, and
differing from the manner used by other parts or people [...] In England, the Dialect, or manner
of speech in the North, is different from that in the South; and the Western differs from both.
As in this example; At London we say, I would eat more cheese if I had it, the Northern man
saith, Ay sud eat mare cheese gin I hadet, and the Western man saith, Chud ee’at more chiese
on chad it: Chud ee’at more cheese un ich had it”

He provides a definition of what the word dialect refers to. Thomas Blount is not really
focusing on the negative aspects of a dialect, but rather he is just highlighting there are
differences in different forms of the language. Up the time, the notion of dialect was fairly
neutral. The idea of dialect lies on the idea of difference. We find the same references than in
the previous texts (North, West and London area).He uses the in-group marker in spite of not
being a native of London. The West not only differs from London but it also differs from the
North. This passage is telling us about a spread ideology about the distribution of the language
in the country.

ii. Stephen Skinner’s Etymologicon Linguae Anglicanae.

TRANSLATION (mine) “Imagine three Englishmen: a London citizen and two peasants, from
Devon and York, respectively [...] At first, they would understand each other by joint
agreement, although they would find considerable difficulties. Not long afterwards, both of the
peasants would learn [...] the language of the city [...], and one language would gradually
emerge from the mixing and blending of the three of them”

This is a very metaphorical way of trying to describe what the standarization process is about.
A part of that, he is again referring to the same geographical spaces.

iii. Edward Phillips’s The New World of English Words

“a Dialect is but the self-same Language, spoken in several Provinces of the same Nation, with
some small difference; [...] in such a manner the people of Sommersetshire speak different
from those of Middlesex, yet both may very well be understood of each other”

Difference makes reference to the meaning of the word dialect.

-Orthoepy, spelling reformers

i. Simon Daines’s Orthoepia Anglicana

“many of our Northeners especially abuse it with too broad a sound. . .like the diphtong Ai,
making no difference in pronunciation between fire and faire. . .You must therefore be very
cautious to shun in writing the barbarous custome of the vulgars in their pronunciation, as
shoen, for shoes, an ordinary fault in some countreyes (condados), to put N, for S, and E, for I;
as mell, for mill; delited, for delighted, &c. setting aside the absurdities used among the vulgar
in Somerset-shire, and other remote places, as not worth nominating, so much as by way of
reprehension...”

His description is so negative. But the idea of a dialect is not as negative as it is today. The idea
of the standard as fully positive as something very negative is a dichotomy that develop during
the 18 century.

CONCLUSION: The major implication is that these passages give a very clear overview into
perceptions and ideologies about what variation of the language was like. These texts give us
ideas about a linguistic periphery and about the different status of each variety (linguistic,
sociocultural). These texts defines how the other dialects which not correspond to London
were like, but not how was the London dialect. They distinct what the London dialect is not.
London vs. North vs. West

Superiority-----………Inferiority

Standard English excludes the majority and, through a familiar twist, places the minority at the
centre of normality. As a consequence, all dialect becomes strange.

UNIT 5: EXPLORING REGIONAL VARIATION IN EARLY MODERN ENGLAND

We are going to focus mainly in literature, concretely in literary dialects.

Literary dialects: texts that contain dialect passages but are otherwise written in Standard
English. We can obtain:

 Different forms of English coexist: standard vs. dialect (linguistic contrasts)

 Different types of speakers in the same text (characterological contrasts)

These texts are not aimed at a regional audience. Many times, writers are not natives of
the variety represented. They are not linguistic transcripts of a given variety (stylistic
purposes and effects). We also can find different genres: drama, prose, poetry (ballads,
poetic dialogues…).

EModE examples most important genre are drama and broadside ballads and the varieties
represented are North, South-West (also Scots, Irish, Welsh)

What is a broadside ballad? It is basically a ballad printed on a broad site. It was very
popular type of entertainment on the EModE period. Generally they are written with
pictures in order to catch the attention. They circulated massively across the whole
country. This is a typical way of literature in the border counties.

The linguistic devices in literary dialects of the EModE period are:

A. Semi-phonetic spellings to suggest regional sounds: they are the most frequent and
usual type of strategy device in literary dialects. But they are measured to avoid that
literary message is not understood (because it is directed to people who didn’t know
dialects). This is one of the main reason because of literary dialects are regarded as
stereotypical. The author selects common features frequently repeated in order people
understand them.

B. Lexical regionalisms: words restricted in terms of dialect. They are not so frequent and
not very varied because the author was not a native and he selected and repeated form
that the audience will understand.
 C. Morphosyntactic features: least frequent.

**Spelling and texts: most salient markers

**Linguistic triangulation, hierarchy of varieties: literature also brought ideas of ideology

Ideas about a linguistic periphery

Different status of each variety (linguistic, sociocultural): Londonn vs. North vs. West
(superiorityinferiority).

EModE literature recreated these feelings:

BORDERS (cultural, linguistic) + IDENTITY (relation to, opposition to others).

Literature not only represent varieties and provides us linguistic information, it also delineates
the linguistic borders separating some varieties from others. Little by little, it constructs
feelings of identity because there isn’t really a description of what regional dialects are but
about what they aren’t in comparison to Standard English.

Pre-1974 northern English counties:

We use the administrative division of the EModE period and we find 6 different regions

-Lancashire dialect: Liverpool, Manchester…

-Yorkshire dialect: York

-Cumberland

-Durham

-Westmorland

-Northumberland: New Castle

CASE STUDY 1:

 How many voices are contrasted in the text? 2 voices

 Who is the dialect speaker? Mendicus

 Where is the dialect speaker from? Which is the variety represented? Northumberland
(North-East of England).

 How is the dialect described? (i.e. understood from the ‘outside’?) Mendicus explains why
he has a very negative attitude towards the speaker. She is an outsider. Probably she is from
the south. “Me thinke thou art a Scot by thy tonge” this passage reveals us that Londoners
were not able to tell the difference between Northern English and Scotts. He wanted to make
his own linguistic features different from the Scotts in spite of their similarities. He wants to
distance himself from Scotland by making a negative value of this land. He is seen as an
intruder not only in social issues but also linguistic. This is the first representation of a
Northumberland dialect.

 Look at the words in bolds and italics, and try to classify them into cases of

spelling, lexis and morphology / syntax. Check with Ihalainen (1994)

The difference between lexis cases and semi-phonetics cases is that:

Semi-phonetics: spelling has been manipulated. For example: hoose house (suggest that the
dialectal word is pronounced <oo> in order to evoke a regional sound as in gudgood.

In the case of lexis: limmer ? doesn’t correspond to any standard form and doesn’t suggest a
kind of manipulation.

Lexical features: barnes (children), limmer (dishonest), wight (powerful)

Phonology and spelling: only focusing on stressed vowels

OE/ ME EModE (North) PdE spelling PdE RP

spelling
OE <swylcle> sike such /s^t$/
/a+l/ ause also /):
/o:/ gud good /u/

 SIKE:

1) OE <y>/ü/> ME /i/ (North/East) > EModE /i/ <i>

2) OE <c>(doted)/t$/ > North <k> /k/ unpalatalised consonants (bc. Of Scandinavian infl)

 AUSE:
1) OE /a+l/ > /a+w+l/ (l-vocalisation process) > /a+u+l/> dropping of/l/ /au/

Awd, aud “old” cawd, caud “cold” owd, oud “old”, caw “call” and similar
forms are founded in which the w has been vocalized to /l/.

 GUD:

Mendicus. God save my gud maister and Maistresse, the barnes, and all this halie houshade,
and. . .Savying your honour gud Maistresse, I was borne in Redesdale in Northumberlande, and
came of a wight ridying sirname called the Robsons, gud honast men & true, savying a little
shifting for their living god and our leddie helpe them silie pure men. Vxor. What doest thou
here in this countree? Me thinke thou art a Scot by thy tonge. Mendicus. Trowe me never
mare then gud deam, I had better bee hanged in a withie, or in a cowtaile, then be a
rowfooted Scot, for thei are ever fare and false: I have been a felon sharpe man on my hands
in my yong daies and brought many of the Scottes to groũd in the North Marches, and gave
them many greisly woundes, ne man for man durst abide me luke, I was so fell. Then the
limmer Scottes hared me, burnt my guddes, and made deadly feede on me, and my barnes:
that noe I haue nethyng but this sarie bagge, and this staffe, and the charitie of sike gud
people as you are, gud maistresse: ause I have many of my sirname here in the citee, that
wade thinke ne shem on me, yea, honast handcraftie men.

*****************+FALTA: conferencia********************

CASE STUDY 2:

Read the following passage from Richard Brome’s The Northern Lasse (1632), and work on the
next points:

 Who is the dialect speaker? How is the dialect viewed from the outside?
 Which is the dialect represented? Can you find similarities with the dialect of
Mendicus in case study 1 above?
 Identify the spelling, lexical and morphosyntactic features of the dialect represented,
and explain them.  Is there any ‘new’ feature in this passage?

Mistresse Fitchow. Yes brother shee is Northern, and speakes so: for shee has ever liv'd in the
Countrey, till this last weeke, her Uncle sent for her up to make her his child, out of the
Bishoprick of Durham.

Constance. Vary true, Mine Uncle was than by too. And hee brought sir Phillip to see his
Orchard. And what did hee than doe, trow you, but tuke me thus by th' haund, and thus hee
kust mee; hee sed I were a deaft Lasse: but ther he feind. But for my life I could not but thinke,
he war the likest man that I had seene with mine eyne; and could not devaise the thing I had,
might be unbeggen by him. Then by and by as we walkd, he askd mine Uncle, gin hee would
give him me to make a Lady till him. And by my trouth Mistris Trainwell, I lee not, I blush'd and
luk'd upon him as I would feine a hed it so: Mine Uncle said yes, and sir Phillip shuke my
haund, and gude feath my heart joyd at it. God gin the Priest had beene by. But I thought all
sure enough; and would not ha' sold my part for the Spanish Ladies joincture. . .For I is weell
sure, this keept me waking ere sine. And God pardon mee what I misthought euery houre i'th'
night.

Lexical features:

Deft: also seen as deft. It is a positive adjective meaning ‘pretty, sweet..’

Lasse: This word is apparently from Scandinavian origin. The old form of this word is “lasqa”. It
means ‘girl’.

Gin: It is a conjunction that means ‘if’. Other form of this word is gif and it has the same
meaning. Some etymologists argue that gin comes from a combination between gif+past
participle of the word give thus, given.

Till: A preposition that means ‘to’. It is another example of Scandinavian influence and origin.
Sine: It means ‘since’

Morphological features:

Mine: In Standard English we expect to find something like’my’ but in N.Eng we find this
‘mine’. The word ‘mine’ today usually works as a pronoun, while ‘my’ usually works as a
demonstrative adjective. So in N.Eng the use of ‘mine’ was applied to both uses, as it appears
in the fifth line.

Verb to be:

a) Present tense:

-I is: which means’ I am’. The implication of this is that the form ‘is’ was applied to the verb to
be in the present tense to all the persons. Nevertheless, this form can also have a future
connotation (I is, I’s, Ise, Ice, these form can refers to ‘I will’).The third singular form extended
through all the paradigm of persons.

b) Past tense:

-I were: we were expected to find ‘I was’

-He war: we were expected to find ‘he was’

Both of them are taking the –r- while in present day English we find the form ‘was’ for both
persons. In old English: waes-waer-waes-waeron. The fact that some languages alternate –s-
and –r- for the singular and the plural, has to do with the process that it is called Rhotacisim
/s/>/z/>/r/.

(Falta x el examen de poesía) CASE 3, Geordie, Toon…

14/05/19 CASE STUDY 4:

Saun. When ye gea 'tull a Ladies House ye are Blith and Bonny Sir, and gat gud Meat,

but the Dee'l a bit gat's Sawndy, meere than Hunger and Cawd, Sir; Ba then, Sir, when aw

the Footmen stan still Sir, and ha nothing to dea, then gees Saundy tul his Pastime, Scratten

and Scrubben.

Pet. Do'st call it Pastime? [...]

Saun. Wuns, Sir, I see nean to Knock boe' yer ean sel, Sir.

Pet. Sirrah, I say Knock me soundly at this Gate.

Saun. Out, Out, in the Muccle Dee'ls Name t' ye; you'l gar me strike ye, and then ye'l put me

a-wau, Sir, with ye'r favour Ise ne're do't Sir: Gude an ye ne ken when ye an a gued Man,

S'breed I wo't when I've a gued Master, ye's bang yer Sel for Saundy. [...]
Saun. Hand in hand, Sir, I'se go tell him my sel. Whare is this Laird?

Beau. Here, Sir, What wou'd you have, what are you?

Saun. Marry I'se ean a bonny Scot, Sir.

Beau. A Scotchman is that all?

Saun. Wun's wud ye have me a Cherub? I ha brought ye a small teaken Sir.

Beau. But d'ye hear you Scot, don't you use to put off your Cap to your betters?

Gea: northern lack of rounding

Nean: northern lack of rounding

Ean: northern lack of rounding

This lack of rounding is represented by means of the diagraph –ea- (second half of the 17th
century).

Gud: northern fronting: -u- fronting

Gude: northern fronting: -u- fronting

Gued: northern fronting: -u- fronting

I’se: present tense of the verb to be. An example of the northern form of the verb to be.

Ise: future tense of the verb to be.

I’se go: future tense

yer Sel: reflexive pronoun (yourself) that we find in the

my sel: reflexive pronoun

Cawd: -l- vocalization

Aw: -l- vocalization

Tull: a preposition “to” with Scandinavian origin. It can also appeared with the form “til”

Bonny: means beautiful

Gar: a verb which means “to make” but “to gar” has a causative meaning. In northern English
this verb can also be found as “garr”. This verb has Scandinavian origin.

Ken: a verb which means “to know”. This verb has also the meaning to perceive something
trough the senses. It is very frequent in representation of northern English.
SOUTH-WESTING FEATURES:

CASE STUDY 5

Clench. Why, it is thirty year, e'en as this day now,

Zir Valentine's day, of all days kursin'd, look you;

And the zame day o' the month as this zin Valentine,

Or I am vowly deceived---

Med. That our high constable,

Master Tobias Turfe, and his dame were married:

I think you are right. But what was that zin Valentine?

Did you ever know 'un, goodman Clench?

Clench. Zin Valentine!

He was a deadly zin, and dwelt at Highgate,

As I have heard; but 'twas avore my time:

He was a cooper too, as you are, Medlay,

An In-and-in: a woundy brag young vellow.

Scri. Did he not write his name Sim Valentine?

Vor I have met no Sin in Finsbury books;

And yet I have writ them six or seven times over. [...]

Clench. [...] I am old Rivet still, and bear a brain,

The Clench, the varrier, and true leach of Hamstead.

Pan. You are a shrewd antiquity, neighbour Clench,

And a great guide to all the parishes!

The very bell-weather of the hundred, here,

As I may zay. Master Tobias Turfe,

High constable, would not miss you, for a score on us,

When he do 'scourse of the great charty to us.

[...]
 Scri. You should do well to study

Records, fellow, Ball, both law and poetry.

Pup. Why, all’s but writing and reading, is it Scriben?

An it be more, it is mere cheating zure,

Vlat cheating; all your law and poets too

a) VOICING OF INITIAL FRICATIVE:

Zir, zame, zin: spelling phonetic manipulation  <z> (voiced) has taken over <s> (voiceless).

Vowly instead of fowly

Avore instead of afore (means before) /v/ (voiced)

Vellow instead of fellow

Zam instead of say (<z> /z/ instead of <s> /s/ suggesting that it is pronounced voiced)

CASE STUDY 6

Clod. Now, by the rood of my Granam’s soul, I’ch go as vast as my legs will beare me.

What would you have of an old man, that’s gwon crazy?

Car. Crazy!

Clod. I, crazy. Do you think a man that has one voot in the grave can trudge as vast as

zuch a young knave as thou? When I was a stripling of thy age, I could have trickt it ivaith.

Mr. Ficar knowes, with the best of the Parish.

Lackl. Neighbour, neighbour, I’le tell you what I do devise you now, this is my pinion.

Car. Your pinion, you goose? and what is your pinion?

[...]

Clodp. Very well said. But I will be none of his Peaces nor Lords; let me be a HighConstable. I
will have a new vlaile as zoon as I come to my honours, and thou shalt be next

to exzeed me in my house-of-Office.

b) RETENTION OF OE IC AND PROCLITIC CH

I’ch: it can also appear without apostrophe. It means the pronoun “I”. That representation
means that in south west of England they retain the origin form of OE (i¨c) /itS/. The pronoun
is clitizied (contracted) when it is used in combination with auxiliaries. Example:” Ich am” they
say “Cham” in “Ich will” they say “chill”, “ich would” is said as “chud”, “ich had” as “chad”. This
process is called proclitic CH.

__

Northern English main linguistic features that we have seen:

-Northern fronting of ME /o:/ (or oo- fronting)

-Northern lack of rounding or development of OE /α:/ ᶴ (>ME /a:/)

-l-vocalization

-Lack of assibilation

-Lengthening of ME /e/ (Weel instead of well)

-Retention of ME /i:/ (it was not affected by GVS)

-Retention of ME /u:/ (it was not affected by GVS)

Morphology and syntax:

-Was/were variation (r-levelling throughout t the paradigm)

-Possesive pronoun used as a demonstrative adjective

-Reflexive pronoun sel

-Retention of old weak plural forms

-Negation (I lie don’t)

-Present tense of verb to be

This repertoire of commonly occurring features appear also later in time. They are not
documented only during EModE period. Many of the EModE northern features remain alive
because a matter of stereotypes. The word stereotype was introduced by the father of
Modern Social Linguistic, William Labov. He defined it as linguistic variables that bear overt
social awareness. Linguistic features about people are very much conscious of, because they
are highly salient, perceptible. These linguistic forms that are socially recognizable are very
frequent in popular comments or imitations (literature, cinema…).

This fact has also linked to enregisterment. This term was introduced by Agha, who is not a
linguistic but an anthropologist. He defined it as the processes whereby a linguistic repertoire
becomes differentiable within a language as a socially recognized register of forms. Both ideas
are quite similar. The fact that they are recognized is again because they are highly salient. And
also they have popular imitations and comment.

Eregisterment: process by which sets of linguistic features are identified and associated with
particular ways of speaking regarding:
-place: someone using the toon is immediately associated with New Castle.

-social class or group: ethnic group

These particular linguistic features are meaningful forms because they tell us information
about the people who use them. By means of this association, this forms eventually come to
perform identity not only linguistic but also social, cultural, geographical…

But this is a very process complex because it happens at different stages which are called:
INDEXICALITY: linguistic features signal or index meaning. How this features signal class or
place.

There are 3 orders of indexciality: they have to do with the ascending levels of awareness
which basically refers to the linkage between language and place, social, class…)

1. First order: we find that a specific linguistic form is correlated with a particular social
category. This correlation is made by someone of the outside, for example a linguistic.

2. Second order: we find that speaker or users of that particular linguistic form become aware
between the language and culture, place, meaning…So they start to use that form with identity
purposes.

3. Third order: (=ENREGISTERMENT). The correlation is represented publicly. That form is the
object of overt comment and representation (literature, cinema, websites…this forms are
metapramatic practices)

These features are also attributed to a specific form of speaker. This combination of linguistic
form+ meaning (place, class, etc) + persona/characterological type

The form we have seen: stereotypes or enregistered features? They are enregistered features

-Labov’s stereotypes: are lost in the course of time

-Agha’s enregisternment: are long-lasting. Representation of the northern dialect are

linguistically stable for over 3 centuries. The conclusion would be is that what we find in the
case studies are not stereotypes but enregisternemnt because linkages between space,
speaker and speech were overtly represented and circulated.

CONCLUSION:

What is the implication of everything we have been discussing? That EModE literary dialects
provide insight into:

 Historical enregisterment of the “northern” dialects:

-they tell us what the dialect was like back in time
-people’s attitudes towards and ideas about the dialect and their speakers from the
“outside”
-people’s reactions to and understanding of variation from beyond the North
-people’s understanding of the main linguistic differences with the emerging
“standard”
Standard English delimited and defined itself by construction and circulating the other.
The idea of Englishness is based on defining how the other dialects are to mirror how
Standard English is not. These speech recreations mirror much of what was going on
during this period of intense variation in the language.