1 MODERNITY AND ENGLISH AS A NATIONAL LANGUAGE Chapter 4

2 Modernity and the rise of a national language Modernity here refers to both ideas about  social identity  and language associated with intellectual and political developments in Europe during the period Concept of national language: 16th and 17th centuries:  early modern English  Europe developed autonomous nation states with national languages. Renaissance thinkers  Language: an instrument that should be shaped to suit the national purpose.

3 The growth of capitalism New social class relations began to take shape. Restructuring of English society along lines of social class:  new attitude towards ‘social correctness’.  Forms of English indicated social position.

4 The Reformation Breaking away from the Roman Catholic faith and from authority of the Roman Catholic Church. In the 16th century:  Henry VIII, rather than the Pope, the head of the English church.  English translation of the Bible a decisive moment in the creation of Standard English.

5 the Rise of Humanist Science A period of scientific discoveries, experimentation and empirical observation.  a vast number of new words is needed. The new forms of reasoning and arguments required: innovation in the grammatical structures and sources of English.

6 The Process of Standardization: Four main processes Selection: one variety as the basis: the variety of the most powerful or socially influential group. Codification: reduction of internal variability in the selected variety establishment of norms of grammatical usage and vocabulary establishment of a standard spelling for words Elaboration: extension of linguistic resources: Making the new language flexible to allow for new specialized vocabulary and new grammatical structures. Implementation: making texts available in the new language. encouraging users to develop loyalty and pride in it discouraging using other language varieties within the official domain.

7 Linguistic Focusing: Reduction in variation form in speech communities  no formal intervention. A focused linguistic community has a strong sense of norms. Four agencies of focusing:  close daily interaction  the mechanism of an education system  a sense of common cause or group loyalty  the presence of a powerful model.

8 Standardization Process: Selection William Caxton  introduction of printing to Britain First stage of standardization:  Establishing the south-east Midlands dialect (the dialect of London and the South East) as the medium of print.  South-east Midlands dialect: a national language

9 making English ‘eloquent’: more persuasive and powerful  need for variety of synonyms for stylistic variation: increasing the word stock, or. increasing ‘significancy’: the ability of word to mean more than one thing (polysemy).  Use of rhetorical structure such as ‘antithesis’ to balance oppositions against each other. creating English vocabulary: 3 means:  inventing words  adopting from Latin or Greek  bringing back obsolete English words perhaps with new meanings. Standardization Process: Elaboration

10 William Lily’s A Shorte Introduction of Grammar:  from 16 th upto19th century.  first grammar in English: a grammar of Latin written in English Bullokar:  Brief Grammar for English (1586): first attempt to describe the English language in English. grammar meant for Bullokar the art of writing. symbolic of dignity of English by other Europeans. Standardization Process: Codification

11 PURITANISM AND THE RISE OF SCIENCE: 17th Century Plain English purged of any Latin words. Their perspective on language created the understanding of English as a national language. Wallis ( ):  grammar of English in 1653 “Grammatica Linguae Anglicanae”: the first attempt to describe English structure it its own terms.

12 STANDARDIZATION IN THE 18 th Century Dr. Samuel Johnson (1755):  a definitive dictionary. Thomas Hobbes:  language unity leads to social unity, and vice versa.

13 STANDARD ENGLISH, DEMOCRACY, AND THE STATE: THE 19 th CENTURY: Industrialization period :  growing middle class with unsure social position looking for grammar for help. Linguistic correctness became important mark of education. ‘Standard English: first time used : British people felt a sense of national identity. Large number of national institutions and societies-as public bodies-  were established to regulate national culture and science in a typical English manner.  these bodies played an important role in creating a standard national language. Compiling the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Opposing tendencies:  regional pride: interests in local dialects make it difficult to come up with one single homogenous variety of English: centripetal vs. centrifugal processes.