Establishment of the literary norm

As we have said, in the New English period emerged one nation and one national language. But the English literary norm was formed only at the end of the 17^th century, when the first scientific English dictionaries and the first scientific English grammar. In the 17^th and 18^th centuries there appeared great number of grammar books whose authors tried to stabilize the use of language. Thus Samuel Johnson, the author of the famous Dictionary (1755), wrote that he preferred the use of “regular and solemn” pronunciation to the “cursory and colloquial”. Many famous writers also greatly contributed to the formation of the English language, and among them, first and foremost, the great Shakespeare.

Early New English (15^th – beginning of the 18^th century) – the establishment of the literary norm. The language that was used in England at that time is reflected in the famous translation of the Bible called the King James Bible (published in 1611). Although the language of the Bible is Early Modern English, the author tried to use a more solemn and grand style and more archaic expressions.

A great influence was also connected with the magazine by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele called The Spectator (1711 – 1714), the authors of which discussed various questions of the language, including its syntax and the use of words.

Late New English – since the 18^th century.

If the gradual acceptance of a virtually uniform dialect by all writers is the most important event in the emergence of Modern English, it must be recognized that this had already gone a considerable way before 1500, and it was undoubtedly helped by Caxton’s introduction of printing in 1477. The fact that the London dialect was used by him in his translations and prefaces, and that Chaucer’s works were among the books he published, led to its rapid diffusion throughout the country. But the adoption of a standard of spoken English was a slower process. It was not until Elizabeth’s time that the language of the court came to be generally recognized as the best form of spoken English; and as late as the 18^th, and even the early 19^th century country gentlemen in their occasional visits to polite society in London were not ashamed to use dialect.

Nevertheless, despite the persistence of wide varieties in pronunciation, the basic phonetic changes that distinguish Modern English from Middle English are profound, though they are not reflected in a similar modification of spelling. The early printers, whose practice was to prove of decisive importance for the future, derived their spelling from the Middle English scribes (a fact that largely accounts for the difficulty of English spelling today). The most important of theses changes was that affecting the sound of vowels and diphthongs, with the result that the “continental values” of Middle English were finally replaced by an approximation to modern pronunciation. Lesser changes also occurred in the pronunciation of consonants, though some of these have been restored by conscious, and often mistaken, attempts to adapt pronunciation more closely to the received spelling.

Geographical expansion of English in the 17^th – 20^th centuries and its effect on the language

Up to the 17^th century the English language was spoken by the people who lived only on the British Isles (at that time of William the Conqueror there were about 2 million people), but even there in the far-away mountainous parts of the country the people preserved their own Celtic dialects very long into the New English period. Thus in Cornwall the local dialect, Cornish died out in the 18^th century. In Wales there arose a tendency to revive the local Celtic language. In 1893 the Welsh University was founded, and in 1961 the number of those speaking Welsh amounted to 650 thousand. In Ireland through centuries a struggle against English was fought. It reached its climax in 1916 with the Irish rebellion. In 1922 the Irish Free State was formed and in 1949 the new state – Eire – left the Commonwealth of Nations. Now Eire occupies the whole but the northern part of Ireland, which is a part of Britain. The number of people rose from 300 thousand to over 600 thousand, but the majority speak English.

The penetration of the English language to other parts of the globe mainly began in the 16^th century together with the expansion of British colonialism. The 16^th century was an age of great adventurers, and England’s progress in the discovery and colonialized field was tremendous. The first Virginian colony was founded; Drake circumnavigated the globe; the East India Company was established and English seamen left their mark in many parts of the world. In 1620 the famous ship The Mayflower reached North America in the region which is now the state of Massachusetts. This marked the beginning of English in the New World.

The 18^th century witnessed the coming of English to India where nowadays the language is widely spread, although its sphere is limited to large cities and a certain social layer, and in today’s India English is a state language together with the native languages of Hindi and Urdu.

In the 18^th century England conquered Canada. During the 19^th century the colonization of Australia took place. In the 20^th century English penetrated into South Africa.

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Now about 300 million people speak English as their native language in various parts of the globe, and many times that – as a second language. To foretell the future of any language, English among them, is of course impossible, but the mere fact of its wide diffusion throughout the world is a guarantee that it will continue to change and develop.

Cultural Development in the 14^th Century

In the long run, the Norman kings did much to centralize power and unite England into a state, preparing the ground for the decay of feudalism, bourgeois development and the beginning of the nation. The unifying English language, the growth and influence of the bourgeois, religious “heresies” undermining the catholic church, this bulwark of feudalism - all these were signs of the time. The appearance of the House of Commons (1343) heralded future developments.

There were big changes in the material life of the population. Life was safer and more comfortable for the rich than it was in the early Norman period when the wealthy families had to live in the dark of the fortress-homes, with little light, less convenience. Now palaces and castles were built with spacious halls illuminated by wide windows lots of light pouring in.

The farms and cottages of the poor people were buit of logs or planks, the floors were usually bare earth and the roof made of thatch: the walls might be made of mud and timber.

There was progress in letters as well. John Wycliffe translated the Bible from Latin into English creating actually the beginning of English prose.

The development of the national language was greatly promoted by the works and creative activities of Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) an outstanding poet, “father of English literature”. His works paved the way for English Renaissance literature. His realistic approach his optimism and folk-spirit made that everfresh masterpiece of his “Canterbury Tales” immortal. It depicts the England of the 14 th century. It is the source not only of lively satisfaction but of authentic information as well. Influenced by Italian Renaissance literature, particularly by Boccaccio, Chaucer rises above his Italian teacher in lifelikeness.

Son of the ordinary tradesman, Chaucer rose to high court positions, traveled on diplomatic business, but died in poverty. When Henry IV came to the throne, his father, Duke of Lancaster who replaced the last Plantagenet on the throne of England used to be Chaucer’s patron, the aging poet sent him a poem entitled “Complaint to My Empty Purse”. The king took the hint and increased Chaucer’s small pension, but it was too late-the great poet did not use the money to enjoy.