Science and the English Language The English language had almost no prestige abroad at the beginning of the sixteenth century.  One of the earliest sixteenth-century works of English literature, Thomas More's Utopia, was written in Latin for an international intellectual community. It was only translated into English during the 1550s, nearly a half-century after its original publication in Britain. 

Science and the English Language By 1600, though English remained somewhat peripheral on the continent, it had been transformed into an immensely powerful expressive medium, as employed by Shakespeare, Marlowe, and the translators of the Bible.

Science and the English Language The development of the English language is linked to the consolidation and strengthening of the English state. The English state meant in those days the Tudor dinasty. Yet the State – the Court – was not the only source of the establishment of a national language.

Science and the English Language Beyond the court, London was the largest and fastest-growing city in Europe, and literacy increased throughout the century, in part due to the influence of Protestantism as well as the rise of the printing press.

Science and the English Language Levels of literacy: data are not complete but to give you an idea, between 1580 and 1700 only 11% of women, 15% of labourers, 56% of tradesmen and 65% of yeomen could sign their name. Most people could read but not write.

Science and the English Language William Caxton printed the first book in English in 1473, in his printing press in Bruges. He moved to Westminster in 1476. But it was his assistant and successor, Wynken de Worde who really understood the potential of the new invention.

Science and the English Language A crucial point. In Britain institution like the Church and Universities got involved in the printing activity, but it’s crucial that it became successful as a business, at a popular level – in London rather than in Cambridge or Oxford.