NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

COURSE CODE: ENG211

COURSE TITLE: HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

 COURSE
GUIDE

ENG211
HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Course Developer/Writer Dr. Innocent Chiluwa

Department of English and Literary
Studies
Covenant University
Ota, Ogun State

Course Editor Professor Charles Ogbulogo

Covenant University
Ota, Ogun State

Course Coordinator Iyere Theodore

National Open University of Nigeria

NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

ii
ENG211 COURSE GUIDE

National Open University of Nigeria

Headquarters
14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way
Victoria Island
Lagos

Abuja Office
No. 5 Dares Salaam Street
Off Aminu Kano Crescent
Wuse II, Abuja
Nigeria

e-mail: centralinfo@nou.edu.ng
URL: www.nou.edu.ng

Published by
National Open University of Nigeria

Printed 2008

Reprinted 2009

ISBN: 978-058-783-7

All Rights Reserved

iii
CONTENTS PAGE

Introduction…………………………………………………….... 1
What you will Learn in this Course…………………………….... 1
Course Aims……………………………………….……………… 1
Course Objectives…………………………………….…………… 2
Working through this Course………………………….………….. 2
Course Materials………………………………………………….. 2
Study Units……………………………………………………….. 2
Text Books and References ……………………….……………… 4
Assignment File……………………………………….…………... 4
Presentation Schedule………………………………..…..……….. 4
Assessment……………………………………………………….. 4
Tutor-Marked Assignment ………………………………………. 4
Final Examination and Grading……………….………………….. 4
Course Marking Scheme…………………………………….……. 5
How to Get the Most from this Course…………………..………. 5
Facilitators/Tutors and Tutorials………………………………….. 6
Summary……………………………………………………..……. 7

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Introduction
ENG211: History of the English Language is a three-unit course
available for students taking BA English and BA (Ed) English
programmes. The course introduces you to the history of the
development of English Language from Old English to its present status
as a world language. In doing this, you will be exposed to major changes
that have taken place in the Grammar, Vocabulary and Pronunciation of
English from the Old English to the Modern Period. Major social and
political events in England such as the Anglo-Saxon Conquest, the
Danish Invasion and the Norman Conquest that were responsible for
significant changes in the history of English will be examined. Other
very important developments such as the Rise of the Middle Class in
England; the Emergence of Dictionaries; the Great Vowel Shift; the 18th
Century Grammarians; the dispersal of English across the world and the
Development of World Englishes will also be examined.

What You Will Learn in This Course

The general aim of this course is to introduce you to the History of
English Language - the various stages in the development of English and
the fact that social events, political changes and scientific developments
usually leave their marks on the language especially in the vocabulary.
This is an on-going process because as the world experiences changes,
new words and expressions are bound to evolve as part of those
development processes. And people must learn new terms to update
their knowledge and express their new experiences. This is the case with
the English people. You are going to see how socio-political changes in
England influenced the language. You will also be exposed to those
factors that have been responsible for the growth and spread of English
across the world.

Course Aims
There are twenty units in the course and each unit has its objectives.
You should read the objectives of each unit and bear them in mind as
you go through the unit. In addition to the objectives of each unit, the
overall aims of this course include:

(i) to introduce you to the history of the English language from its
earliest development to its present status as a world language
(ii) to highlight to you some significant events that influenced the
emergence and growth of English
(iii) to acquaint you with the major changes in the Grammar,
Vocabulary and Pronunciation of English from the Old English to
Modern English; and
(iv) to prepare you for further studies in English as a world language.
ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Course Objectives

Based on the general aims of this course, some objectives as a whole are
set out. These are the things you should be able to do by the time you
complete the course. If you are able to meet the objective, you would
have achieved the aims of the course. Therefore on your successful
completion of this course, you should be able to:

(a) trace the history of English language from old English period to
the present
(b) identify some major landmarks and stages in the development of
English
(c) describe the events that were responsible for the emergence and
development of English
(d) explain the factors that influenced the growth of English as a
world language
(e) discuss major changes in the Grammar, Vocabulary and
Pronunciation of English form old English to the modern period;
and
(f) participate in further studies and research in the development of
English as a world language

Working through This Course

You have to work through all the study units in the course. There are
twenty study units in all.

Course Materials

Major components of the course are:

1. Course Guide
2. Study Units
3. Textbooks
4. Assignments File
5. Presentation Schedule

Study Units

Module 1

Unit 1 English Language: the Roots; the Language Situation in

England before English; the Roman Conquest
Unit 2 Anglo-Saxon Conquest; the Origin and Status of Old
English; some features of the Old English

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Unit 3 Influences on the Old English: Religion; the Danish

Invasion and the Vikings Age
Unit 4 Middle English Period: the Norman Conquest (1066-
1200): The Ascendancy of French; The Fusion of French
and English; Re-establishment of English
Unit 5 English and French in the 13th Century; the Decline of
French; the Rise of the Middle Class; General Adoption of
English

Module 2

Unit 1 Some Characteristics of Middle English: Grammar;

Vocabulary; Spelling and Speech Sounds
Unit 2 The Rise of the Standard English; the Spread of the
London Dialect
Unit 3 Early Modern Periods (1500-1750): Some Characteristics;
The Renaissance English; Changes in Grammar
Unit 4 The Problem of Spelling; the Inkhorn Controversy; the
Vocabulary Question
Unit 5 The Emergence of Dictionaries; Shakespeare and the
World of Words; the King James Bible

Module 3

Unit 1 Changes in Pronunciation; the Great Vowel Shift; Some

Features of Grammar
Unit 2 The 18th Century English; An English Academy;
Johnson’s Dictionary
Unit 3 The 18th Century Grammarians; the Rise of Prescriptive
Grammar
Unit 4 English since 1900
Unit 5 Sources of New Words; the Oxford English Dictionary;
the Spelling Reform; Functional Varieties of English

Module 4

Unit 1 Varieties of Modern English

Unit 2 English across the World
Unit 3 Reasons for the Growth of English as a World Language
Unit 4 The American English
Unit 5 English in Nigeria

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Text Books and References

Every unit contains a list of references and further reading. You may
wish to read further by making use of as many of the textbooks listed as
possible. The textbooks and materials are meant to deepen your
knowledge of the course.

Assignment File

In this file, you will find all the details of the work you must submit to
your tutor for marking. The marks you obtain from these assignments
will count towards the final mark you obtain for this course. Further
information on assignments will be found in the assignment file itself
and later in this Course Guide in the section on assessment.

Presentation Schedule

The Presentation Schedule included in your course materials gives you

the important dates for the completion of tutor-marked assignments and
attending tutorials. Remember, you are required to submit all your
assignments by the due date. You should guard against falling behind in
your work.

Assessment

Your assessment will be based on tutor-marked assignments (TMAs)

and a final examination which you will write at the end of the course.

Tutor-Marked Assignment

Every unit contains at least one or two assignments. You are advised to
work through all the assignments and submit them for assessment. Your
tutor will assess the assignments and select three which will constitute
the 30% of your final grade. The tutor-marked assignments may be
presented to you in a separate file. Just know that for every unit there are
some tutor-marked assignments for you. It is important you do them and
submit for assessment.

Final Examination and Grading

At the end of the course, you will write a final examination which will
constitute 70% of your final grade. In the examination which shall last
for two hours, you will be requested to answer three questions out of at
least five questions.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Course Marking Scheme

This table shows how the actual course marking is broken down.
Assessment Marks
Assignment Four assignments, best three marks
of the four count at 30% of course
marks
Final Examination 70% of overall course marks
Total 100% of course marks

How to Get the Most from This Course

In distance learning, the study units replace the university lecture. This
is one of the great advantages of distance learning; you can read and
work through specially designed study materials at your own pace, and
at a time and place that suits you best. Think of it as reading the lecture
instead of listening to the lecturer. In the same way a lecturer might give
you some reading to do, the study units tell you when to read, and what
your text materials or set books are. You are provided exercises to do at
the end of every sub-section of the units, just as a lecturer might give
you an in-class exercise. Each of the study units follows a common
format. The first item is an introduction to the subject matter of the unit,
and how a particular unit is integrated with the other units and the course
as a whole. Next to this is a set of learning objectives. These objectives
let you know what you should be able to do by the time you complete
the unit. These learning objectives are meant to guide your study. The
moment you finish a unit, you must go back and check whether you
have achieved the objectives. If this is made a habit, then you will
significantly improve your chances of passing the course. The main
body of the unit guides you through the further reading from other
sources. This will usually be either from your set books or from a
reading section. The following is a practical strategy for working
through the course. If you run into any trouble, telephone your tutor.
Remember that your tutor’s job is to help you. When you need
assistance, do not hesitate to call and ask your tutor to provide it.

1. Read this Course Guide thoroughly, it is your first assignment.

2. Organise a Study Schedule. Design a “Course Overview” to

guide you through the Course. Note the time you are expected to
spend on each unit and how the assignments relate to the units.
Important information e.g. details of your tutorials, and the date
of the first day of the Semester is available from the study centre.
You will need to gather all information into one place, such as
your diary or a wall calendar. Whatever method you choose to

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

use, you should decide on and write in your own dates and
schedule of work for each unit.

3. Once you have created your own study schedule, do everything to

stay faithful to it. The major reason why students fail is that they
get behind with their course work. If you get into difficulties with
your schedule, please, let your tutor know before it is too late for
help.

4. Turn to Unit 1; read the introduction and the objectives for the
unit.

5. Assemble the study materials. You will need your set books and
the unit you are studying at any point in time.

6. Work through the unit. As you work through the unit, you will
know what sources to consult for further information.

7. Keep in touch with your study centre. Up-to-date course

information will be continuously available there.

8. Well before the relevant due dates (about 4 weeks before due
dates), keep in mind that you will learn a lot by doing the
assignment carefully. They have been designed to help you meet
the objectives of the course and therefore, will help you pass the
examination. Submit all assignments not later than the due date.

9. Review the objectives for each study unit to confirm that you
have achieved them. If you feel unsure about any of the
objectives, review the study materials or consult your tutor.

10. When you are confident that you have achieved a unit’s
objectives, you can start on the next unit. Proceed unit by unit
through the course and try to pace your study so that you keep
yourself on schedule.

11. When you submit an assignment to your tutor for marking, do not
wait for its return before you start on the next unit. Keep to your
schedule. When the assignment is returned, pay particular
attention to your tutor’s comments, both on the tutor-marked
assignment form and also the written comments on the ordinary
assignments.

12. After completing the last unit, review the course and prepare
yourself for the final examination. Check that you have achieved
the unit objectives (listed at the beginning of each unit) and the
course objectives (listed in the Course Guide).

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Facilitator/Tutors and Tutorials

The dates, times and locations of these tutorials will be made available
to you, together with the name, telephone number and address of your
tutor. Each assignment will be marked by your tutor. Pay close attention
to the comments your tutor might make on your assignments as these
will help in your progress. Make sure that assignments reach your tutor
on or before the due date. Your tutorials are important; therefore try not
to skip any. It is an opportunity to meet your tutor and your fellow
students. It is also an opportunity to get the help of your tutor and
discuss any difficulties encountered on your reading.

Summary

English is just like any other language that struggled for existence for
many centuries. But today it has become a world language. A course on
the History of the English Language is indeed a worthwhile academic
engagement that will not only expose you to the stages of the
development of the language but also the factors that led it its growth.
At the end, you should be able to say whether English will continue in
its present growth and role as a world language or whether we shall
expect another language to rise in the next 50 years.

Good Luck!

vii
ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Course Code ENG211

Course Title History of the English Language

Course Developer/Writer Dr. Innocent Chiluwa

Department of English and Literary
Studies
Covenant University
Ota, Ogun State

Course Editor Professor Charles Ogbulogo

Covenant University
Ota, Ogun State

Course Coordinator Iyere Theodore

National Open University of Nigeria

NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

viii
ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

National Open University of Nigeria

Headquarters
14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way
Victoria Island
Lagos

Abuja Office
No. 5 Dares Salaam Street
Off Aminu Kano Crescent
Wuse II, Abuja
Nigeria

e-mail: centralinfo@nou.edu.ng
URL: www.nou.edu.ng

Published by
National Open University of Nigeria

Printed 2008

Reprinted 2009

ISBN: 978-058-783-7

All Rights Reserved

Printed by:

ix
ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

CONTENTS PAGE

Module 1 ………………………………………………..….….. 1

Unit 1 English Language: the Roots; the Language Situation

in England before English; the Roman Conquest…….. 1
Unit 2 Anglo-Saxon Conquest; the Origin and Status of
Old English; some features of Old English………….... 6
Unit 3 Influences on the Old English: Religion; the
Danish Invasion and the Vikings Age………..……… 12
Unit 4 Middle English Period: the Norman Conquest
(1066-1200): The Ascendancy of French; the Fusion
of French and English; Re-establishment of English… 18
Unit 5 English and French in the 13th Century; the Decline
of French; the Rise of the Middle Class; General
Adoption of English …………………………….…… 24

Module 2 …………………………………………………….. 31

Unit 1 Some Characteristics of Middle English: Grammar;

Vocabulary; Spelling and Speech Sounds…………. 31
Unit 2 The Rise of the Standard English; the Spread of the
London Dialect……………………………………… 41
Unit 3 Early Modern Periods (1500-1750): Some
Characteristics; The Renaissance English; Changes
in Grammar………………………………………….. 46
Unit 4 The Problem of Spelling; the Inkhorn
Controversy; the Vocabulary Question……………… 53
Unit 5 The Emergence of Dictionaries; Shakespeare and the
World of Words; the King James Bible…………..….. 62

Module 3 …………………………………………………. …… 68

Unit 1 Changes in Pronunciation; the Great Vowel Shift;

Some Features of Grammar……………..…………… 68
Unit 2 English Language in the 18th Century: An English
Academy and Johnson’s Dictionary…………………. 74
Unit 3 The 18th Century Grammarians; the Rise of
Prescriptive Grammar……………………………....... 81
Unit 4 English since 1900…………………………………… 86
Unit 5 Sources of New Words; the Oxford English
Dictionary; the Spelling Reform; Functional
Varieties of English…………………………………. 93

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Module 4 …………………………………………………… 100

Unit 1 Varieties of Modern English……………….……. 101

Unit 2 English across the World………………….…….. 109
Unit 3 The Growth of English as a World Language…… 115
Unit 4 American English…………………………..……. 121
Unit 5 English in Nigeria………………………….….…. 128

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

MODULE 1

Unit 1 English Language: the Roots; the Language Situation in

England before English; the Roman Conquest
Unit 2 Anglo-Saxon Conquest; the Origin and Status of Old
English; Some Features of the Old English
Unit 3 Influences on the Old English: Religion; the Danish
Invasion and the Vikings Age
Unit 4 Middle English Period: the Norman Conquest
(1066-1200): The Ascendancy of French; The Fusion of
French and English; Re-establishment of English
Unit 5 English and French in the 13th Century; the Decline of
French; the Rise of the Middle Class; General Adoption of
English

UNIT 1 ENGLISH LANGUAGE: THE ROOTS; THE

LANGUAGE SITUATION IN ENGLAND
BEFORE ENGLISH; THE ROMAN CONQUEST

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 English Language: the Roots
3.2 The Language Situation in England before English
3.3 The Roman Conquest
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

You may want to ask: where did English come from? Was English the
original language of the British people? Were there other languages in
England before English emerged? Who really are the English people?
To answer these questions it is important you understand that every
language has a root as well as a history and English is not an exception.
The history of English is divided into three broad periods namely Old
English (AD 450-1100), Middle English (1100-1500), and Modern
English (1500- ). This first unit will give you background knowledge of
the origin of English and the environment that gave birth to the old
English. You will get to know the language family where English
belongs; the earliest people that lived in Britain and the languages they

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

spoke, and how a change in their socio-political situation affected their

culture, because language is an important part of a people’s culture.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• trace the origin of the English Language

• mention other languages within the indo-European family
• describe the language situation in England before English
• explain how the roman conquest affected language in England at
that time.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 English Language: The Roots

English did not originate in England. In Europe, languages are grouped

into ‘families’ depending on the features of each member of the group.
English belongs to the group known as the “Indo-European Family”
which includes most of the languages in Europe. Within the
Indo-European family, are other sub-groups called Italic and Germanic.
Germanic is also known as Teutonic. Latin and French developed from
Italic at different times. The Germanic group has three branches namely
North Germanic, East Germanic, and West Germanic. It is not certain
whether North, East and West Germanic represent actual languages. The
North Germanic is the group where we find language like Danish,
Swedish, Norwegian and Icelandic.

The West Germanic group developed into modern German, Dutch,

Frisian and English. In this group are still other sub-groups, namely
High West Germanic and the Low West Germanic due to their
grammatical features. Both English and Frisian belong to the Low West
Germanic and are therefore the closest of relatives. Frisian is spoken in
North-west Netherlands. Remember that when we say that languages
belong to one linguistic ‘family’, it means that they share essential
similarities in grammar and in their stock of words. English was
separated from its Germanic root when some Germanic tribes: the
Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes migrated from their original home in
North-western Europe to Britain, and English language began to develop
into an independent language with new characteristics distinct from
other Germanic languages. You shall know more about this in the next
unit.

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 ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

South German Dialects

High
East & South Franconian

West Germanic
Low Franconian – Dutch and Flemish

Old Saxon
Low
Old Frisian - Frisian

Old English - English

The West Germanic Language Group

SELFASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. Where did English language originate from?

2. Mention four (4) languages that belong to the West Germanic
branch of the Indo-European family.
3. What do you think are the benefits of studying the history of
English Language?

3.2 The Language Situation in England before English

English came to England only at about the middle of the 5th century,
whereas men had inhabited Britain for thousands of years before then.
Of course you cannot imagine a place where people live without a
functional language. So there must have been at least one language and
its varieties, with which people communicated with one another. The
first people known to have inhabited the island that was later to become
England were the Celts and they spoke ‘Celtic’. The Celtic language and
its varieties were another branch of the Indo-European family. The
Celtic languages were the most extensive groups in the Indo-European
family to be spoken in England at that time and up till today a good
number of people in some parts of Wales and Highlands of Scotland still
speak it. When Latin was later introduced in Britain, Celtic remained the
language of the populace, especially of the rural dwellers.

How the Celts came to England is not really known but history confirms
that at the beginning of the Christian era, the Celts were found in Spain,
West Germany, Italy and Great Britain. In fact they covered some
greater part of Western Europe. Some centuries earlier they were said to
have gained entry to Greece and Asia Minor. But how the Celtic
languages increasingly declined over time is still quite surprising.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Today Celtic languages are found only in some remote areas of France
and Britain as we said earlier. The impact of Celtic on modern English
however, has survived mainly on place-names. Names of cities like
Belfast, York, London, Glasgow or Cardiff are Celtic. Names of rivers
such as Avon, Clyde, Dee, Don, Forth or Usk also have the Celtic
origin. Others are names of regions like Devon, Glasmorgan, Kent,
Cumbria, and Argyll. The Celtic ‘cumb’ (i.e. a deep valley) is traceable
in names like Dumcombe, Holcomb or Winchcombe. What the original
Celtic meaning for these place names are cannot be said for sure. Celtic
remained the predominant language of England until the occupation of
the Romans when Latin was introduced.

SELFASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

1. Mention the first Germanic tribe to inhabit the Island that later
became England.
2. Can you explain the functions of the Celtic language in the
England of the 5th century?

3.3 The Roman Conquest

The Romans under Julius Caesar first invaded Britain in 55B.C, but the
actual conquest was in AD 43 under Claudius when the Celtic warriors
could no longer resist the much stronger Roman army. The Roman
occupation of Britain lasted from about AD 43 until 410. This was a
very long period which invariably planted much of Roman occupation,
civilization and culture in Britain. Latin was the language of the Romans
so it became the official language, in the Roman Britain especially in
towns and cities. Celtic was spoken in the rural areas. In some localities
outside the cities, Latin was spoken; workmen and artisans were familiar
with the language as they often scratched Graffiti on tiles and some
pieces of pottery. At this time, English had not come. Since Latin was
not wide spread enough it could not survive the later Germanic
invasions. Latin began to wane around AD 410, the time the last of the
Roman troops were officially withdrawn from Britain.

However, the Roman conquests have some linguistic contributions to

the present day English lexicon. For instance, the old English “Caestar”
(an enclosed place) is from the Latin “casta” (camp). Today we have
some English place-names like Chester, Dorchester, Manchester and
Lancaster. The Latin ‘portus’ (gate) gave English the following names:
Newport, Port sea, Portsmouth; from Latin ‘mons’ (mountain) we have
Larchmont, and Oakmont, while the Latin ‘turris’ (tower) gave rise to
Torrington, Torbridge. So you can see that Latin contributed to the
development of English.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

SELFASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

1. Mention the two languages that were spoken in the Roman

Britain between AD 43 and 410?
2. Describe the contributions of the Roman conquest to the
development of the English language.

4.0 CONCLUSION

You can see that English has its root from among the dialects of
Germanic tribes in North-western Europe. This is the area where you
find the modern Germany, Poland, Russia or Denmark. It belongs to the
Indo-European language family and is grouped along with German,
Dutch, Flemish, and Frisian as the West-Germanic. Before English was
planted in Britain, the Celtic tribes who lived in the Isles then spoke
their language Celtic and that became the first language in Britain. The
Celts were defeated by the Romans and Britain came under the Roman
government and for a very long time Latin, the Roman language was
then planted as the language of communication and politics. But the
Celtic language still survived especially in the rural areas.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit you have seen where the English came from, i.e. in North-
west Europe, from a dialect of the Germanic tribes. You will get to
know more about these Germanic tribes in Unit 2. Latin and Celtic were
spoken in England before the Germanic tribes brought in English. We
can still find some of the marks of the Celtic and Latin languages in
modern English place-names.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Discuss the origin of the English language.

2. Describe the contributions of both Celtic and Latin languages to
modern English.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh, A.C and Cable T (2001). A History of the English Language. 5th
ed. London: Routledge

Ogu, J.N (1992). A Historical Survey of English and the Nigerian

Situation. Lagos: Kraft Books

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

UNIT 2 ANGLO-SAXON CONQUEST; THE ORIGIN

AND STATUS OF OLD ENGLISH; SOME
FEATURES OF THE OLD ENGLISH

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Anglo-Saxon Conquest
3.2 The Origin and Status of Old English
3.3 Some Features of the Old English
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

You have seen from the last unit that English language was transported
to England from among some tribes of Germanic people from Northern
Europe of the regions comprising present day southern Denmark and
Northern Germany. These tribes were the Angles, the Saxons and the
Jutes. In this unit, you will see the process of their movement and how
they eventually occupied Britain. The Anglo-Saxon language was the
Old English. You will also see some features of the old English so that
you can identify the extent of changes on its grammar, vocabulary and
pronunciation as we make progress in this course.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• identify the Germanic tribes that invaded Britain at the close of

the 6th century
• describe some features of the old English.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Anglo-Saxon Conquest

The Romans occupied Britain for more than 300 years. But the power of
the Roman Empire began to decline due to series of attacks from
Northern Europe and the Romans needed to protect their territories.
Consequently the Roman soldiers in Britain were withdrawn to fight

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

subsequent battles. This left the Celts unprotected. There were two tribes
from Northern Britain which the Romans did not conquer, known as the
Picts and Scots. These people saw the withdrawal of the Romans as an
opportunity to attack and plunder the much vulnerable Celts. The Celts
then appealed to the Germanic warriors - the Angles, the Saxons and the
Jutes for help. They came in great numbers and at different times. The
Angles from the modern state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany came in
AD547 and settled in the north and central England. The Saxons (AD
477) also from modern Germany occupied the south of the island; while
the Jutes occupied Kent. The Jutes were the first to arrive in AD 449
driving the indigenous Celtic speaking people notably the Britons to the
North and West – the present day Wales. The Jutes were from modern
Denmark or Northern Germany; their territory bordered that of Saxons.

These Germanic tribes helped the Celts defeat the attacking Picts and
Scots, but then turned around to loot, and destroy their host country and
eventually occupied it. The Celts realized too late that their friends had
become their conquerors. Although wars to resist the Germanic tribes
continued for the next 200 years, the Celts could not drive the Germanic
tribes out. Some of the Celts were rather driven to places like Wales,
Cornwall and the Scottish highlands. Those who remained were forced
to accept the government of the new comers and became absorbed
through inter-marriages. After a few centuries, the Celts lost their
identity within the Anglo-Saxon society.

The Germanic tribes had a lot of things in common: they were semi-
nomadic (they moved from place to place) warlike, sea-faring but land
loving. The Angles and the Saxons were more in number than the Jutes,
and were also more persistent. The Celts called the invaders
“Sassenachs” i.e. “Saxons” regardless of their specific tribes. By the
end of the 6th century the term “Angles” was used. During the seventh
century the Latin name for the country was Angli or Anglia. This
became “Engle” in Old English, while the name of the language was
called “Englisc”. It was around the 10th century that the word
“Englaland” or “Aegle-land”, (land of the Angles) appeared; this later
became England.

SELFASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. Mention the Germanic tribes that invaded Britain at about the 6th
century?
2. Why did the Romans evacuate Britain leaving the Celts
unprotected?
3. Explain the methods the Anglo-Saxons used to conquer Britain?

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

3.2 The Origin and Status of Old English

Old English was the language the three Germanic tribes spoke as they
settled in England. It was more of a fusion of the dialects of the
Germanic tribes and it is difficult to say how much the speech of the
Angles differs from that of the Saxons or that of the Jutes. However, it
was never a uniform language. Four main dialects of the Old English
were spoken during this period namely, Northumbrian, Mercian, West-
Saxon and Kentish. These dialects were spoken in different parts of
Britain and Scotland. For instance, Northumbria and Mercian were
spoken in the region north of the Thames where the Angles occupied.

As you have seen in Unit1, English belongs to the low Germanic branch
of the Indo-European family. This means that English has in common
certain characteristics with other Germanic languages. For instance, it
has both the ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ stress patterns in adjectives and verbs.
It shows that there is a strong stress accent on the first or the root
syllable of most words. This feature is common to all Germanic
languages since it is mainly responsible for the decay of inflections in
these languages. You will know more about this in the subsequent units.

SELFASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

Explain the origin of the Old English.

3.3 Some Features of the Old English

Let me remind you once again that the period from AD450 to 1150 is
referred to as Old English. The grammar of the Old English took after
the Latin grammar. One of the features of Latin is that it is heavily
inflected. This means that the Latin words are full of inflections; what
you may call affixes today. That is why the Old English period is
sometimes called the period of full inflection, because during this
period, the endings of nouns, adjectives and verbs had inflections. A
noun for example is described in terms of cases, Latin has six (6) cases,
Nominative (subject), Genitive (possessive), Accusative (objective),
Dative (indirect object) Ablative and Vocative. The Latin “Nauta”
(sailor) for example has its singular form (nominative) as ‘nauta’, plural
“nautae”. Remember in its grammar, Old English resembled Latin. The
nouns and adjectives are inflected for up to four or five cases. The old
English “fisc” (fish) for example has the following cases:

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Singular Plural

Nominative fisĉ fisĉas

Genitive fisĉes fisĉa
Accusative fisĉ fiscas
Dative fisĉa fîscum

Old English adjectives had separate forms of each of the three genders.
For example:
gōd (good)

Masculine Feminine Neuter

Nominative gōd gōd gōd

Genitive gōdes gōdre gōdes
Dative gōdum gōdre gōd

So you can see that old English takes much of Latin. In pronunciation,
Old English differs a great deal from its modern equivalent. For
example, the Old English “stan” is the modern ‘stone’ but the vowel
differs. This is the same thing in words like halig (holy); gań (go), bán-
(bone) ráp (rope), cẻne (keen), fyr (fire), scẻap (sheep) etc. The
difference is also reflected in spelling. Because the Old English
represented the sound ‘sh’, by ‘sc’ the spelling of ‘sheep’ was written as
‘scẻap’.

Old English vocabulary is almost entirely lifted from the Germanic

languages. A large part of this vocabulary has disappeared today. When
the Northern conquest introduced French to England as the language of
the upper classes, much of the Old English vocabulary for literature and
education gave way to words borrowed from French and Latin. Those
that survived were very few, with such words as ‘mann’ (man), ‘wif’
(wife) ‘cild’ (child) ‘hủs’ (house) etc.

You can see that both in grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, old
English is distinct from modern English. Below is a sample from a
West-Saxon version of the gospel according to Saint John Chapter 1:1-3

TEXT 1

On frymthe waes Word, and thaet Word waes mid Gode and God waes
thaet Word. That waes on fruman mid Gode. Ealle thing waeron
geworhte thurh hyre; and nan thing naes geworht butan him.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was
made.

SELFASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

1. Can you say why the old English conformed to the grammar of
Latin?
2. Describe at least two (2) features of old English.

4.0 CONCLUSION

One of the most important events in the history of the English language
is the Anglo-Saxon conquest, which is responsible for the birth of
English in Britain. Old English, which is the language of the conquering
Germanic tribes, was influenced by Latin due to the long occupation of
Britain by the Romans and their long contacts with the Germanic tribes.
The old English was the national language of Britain during this period,
though it had other varieties or dialects.

5.0 SUMMARY

The Germanic conquest brought the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes to
England. They were initially invited to help the defenseless Celts fight
their battles after the Roman withdrew from Britain. The Germanic
tribes came in their large numbers, defended the Celts against the Picts
and the Scots and turned around to conquer their host. The Celts could
not match their new conquerors and were forced to be subjected to their
authority. This period is known as the Old English period because the
Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes spoke this language. Old English was
a combination of the features of the languages of the tribes and
resembled Latin both in grammar and vocabulary. About four dialects of
Old English were spoken at that time. Looking at some of the
characteristics of Old English, it is obvious that most of its lexical,
grammatical and phonological features have faded away, over time.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Explain the meaning of “Anglo-Saxon”.

2. Describe how the Germanic tribes conquered Britain and how
this resulted in the birth of the English language.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh, A.C and Cable T (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th
ed. London: Routledge

Jackson, H & Amuela E. (2000). Words, Meaning and Vocabulary.

London: Continuum.

Nelson, F. (1963). The History of English. New York: Norton & Co. Inc.

Ogu, J.N (1992). A Historical Survey of English and the Nigerian

Situation. Lagos: Kraft Books

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

UNIT 3 INFLUENCES ON THE OLD ENGLISH:

RELIGION, THE DANISH INVASION AND THE
AGE OF THE VIKINGS

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Religious Influences on the Old English
3.2 The Danish Invasion and the Age of the Vikings
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In Unit 2 you were exposed to how the Germanic tribes conquered

Britain in the 6th century and introduced Old English which was a
mixture of the languages of the tribes and the Celtic language. The
Roman civilization, you will remember left its mark on the language.
Old English continued to receive foreign influences which affected its
internal structure and vocabulary. In this Unit you will be introduced to
some of these influences. The most important are religion (Christianity)
and the Danish conquest.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Unit, you should be able to:

• explain how Christianity influenced the Old English

• discuss the effects of the Danish invasion on the English
language.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Religious Influence on Old English

Christianity was introduced in England at about AD597. And from this

time to the close of the Old English period (around AD1100) is over 500
years. So you can imagine how great impart this would have on
language. The dominant church then was the Roman Catholic and the
religious zeal that greeted the 7th century was responsible for building
churches and monasteries. And Latin being the primary language of

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

religion was once again rapidly imported. The temporary decline Latin
experienced earlier with the coming of the Anglo-Saxons was overtaken
by this religious revival.

The missionaries from Rome did not only introduce Christianity, they
came with classical civilization, education and the Latin language,
which was the universal language of the church and education. Many of
the Latin words were adopted early, while some were adopted towards
the end of the tenth and eleventh centuries. These words also found their
way into the literature of the time. Normally, it is expected that the new
words would express new ideas and concepts. So the new religion
introduced words about the church, and explained its internal and
external organization. Remember that the Anglo-Saxons were not
Christians, so the church and pagan ideas and customs survived side by
side. But much of paganism was absorbed by the church.

With education the Anglo-Saxons could record their tradition and

poetry. People began to express themselves in literature. One of the first
works of Literature in the Old English language is called “Beowulf.”
The author is one of the earliest converts who were educated in classical
literature. He must have read some of the earliest classical writers called
Virgil and Homer. Virgil wrote Aeneid; while Homer wrote the Odyssey.
Another product of this early Christian education is a man by name
Bede - Venerable Bede. Bede was born in Northumbria and educated at
the University of Warmouth. He authored the Ecclesiastical History of
the English Nation; this was just one of the thirty-six books credited to
him. He wrote in Latin.

Words Relating to Religion

Some words relating to Christianity such as “Church” and “Bishop”

were borrowed earlier because the Anglo-Saxon had had contact with
some bishops and had plundered churches before they came to England.
But most of the words relating to religion were borrowed at the time of
Christian evolution. The following words given in their modern forms
have survived over time: canon, alms, chalice, altar, angel, anthem,
epistle, hymn, litany, cleric, martyr, nun, minister, organ, pope, priest,
psalm, provost, shift, shrine, deacon, synod, temple, noon, ark, candle
etc.

The church also influenced the domestic life of the people. You can see
this in the words that relate to clothing and household use, e.g. cap,
sock, silk, mat, sack, purple; words denoting food or food items such as
beef, cabbage, lentil, millet, pear, oyster, lobster, mussel were also
adopted from religion. Some number of words that relate to education
and learning show another dimension of the church’s influence. Such

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

words are school, Latin, master, grammatic, verse, meter, rotary etc.
Names of trees, plant and herbs are also rooted in religion. Examples are
lily, pine aloes, balsam, fennel, hyssop, mallow, myrrh and the general
word “plant’. There are various words that one can trace to the religion
of this period like anchor, fan, fever, place, sponge, phoenix, elephant,
circle, giants, legion, talent and consuls. These examples are mostly
nouns but Old English also borrowed a number of verbs and adjectives
which we may not cover in this study. The most important thing is that
you understand how significant impact the church had in Old English

SELFASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

Mention some ten (10) words that are attributable to the influence of
Christianity in the English language.

3.2 The Danish invasion and the age of the Vikings

Towards the end of the Old English period, another invasion of England
took place, this time by the Danes from Denmark. Also called the
Vikings, their contact with English constituted another major influence
on the language. Denmark, Sweden and Norway are among countries
that come from the Scandinavian region.

The Scandinavians, i.e., the Swedish, and the Norwegians were actually
neighbours to Anglo-Saxons and were even related in language and
blood. Their plundering activities started from the 8th century to the
beginning of the 11th century. The climax of their achievement came in
the 11th century when the King of Denmark took over the throne of
England, conquered Norway and rule the greater part of the
Scandinavians world. The period of the Danish activities and influence
from 1014 -1039 is known as the Viking Age.

The Danish attacks were in three stages: the first early stages were
characterized by plundering of towns and church facilities. This was
between AD787 and 850. The second stage was in 850 when the Danes
came in a fleet of 350 ships. They invaded and captured Canterbury,
London, York and East Anglia. By 878 they had overrun almost the
whole of Britain. The third stage of the Scandinavian invasion was more
of political adjustment and assimilation from 878 to 1042. In 1042 the
English king was sent on exile and for the next 25 years England was
ruled by the Danes.

As the Vikings became permanent settlers in England they gradually got

absorbed in the native population and accepted the Anglo-Saxon religion
and language. Their adoption of the language, though very similar with
theirs, altered the Old English in some noticeable ways, especially its

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

influenced on place names. More than 1,400 places in England bear

Scandinavian names. Their early acceptance of Christianity can also be
seen in the Scandinavian names found among the Monks, Priests and
Bishops. The Danes settled mainly in Northumbria, and the West Coast
of Ireland.

The relationship between the Old English and Danish (also called
Norse) was more of interference. The situation is similar to what is
obtainable in many cities of the world today where people from different
cultures leave and spoke different languages. In some parts of Scotland,
Norse was spoken as late as the 17th century, while in some part of
England, English was generally spoken but newcomers to such districts
will normally speak their own languages. There is no doubt that many
words in modern English are borrowed from the Scandinavian tongue.
For example in Old English, the modern sound of ‘sh’ (like ship) is
written as ‘sc’. In the Scandinavian sound ‘sk’ is retained in modern
English. Native words like ship, shall, fish have ‘sh’ in modern English.
Words borrowed from the Scandinavian are still pronounced with ‘sk’
e.g. sky, skin, skill, scrape, whisk or bask. The O.E ‘scyrte’ has become
“shirt” while the corresponding O.N (Old Norse) from “skyrta” is
retained “skirt”. Also words with the retention of ‘g’ sound as in get,
give, gild and egg indicate Scandinavian origin. So you can see that the
Scandinavian language enjoyed a great deal of influence on modern
English.

Scandinavian Place Names

You have been told earlier that one of the notable evidences of the
Viking settlement is the extensive number of place names in England.
More than 600 places with names ending in –by are Scandinavian e.g.
Grimsby, Wgitby, Derby, Rugby, Thoresby etc. Some 300 names end
with – pe. As in Althorp, Bishopsthorpe, Gawthorpe, etc. The
Scandinavian ‘thrope’ means village. Some others contain the word
‘thwaite’ meaning ‘an isolated peace of land”. They include
Applethwaite, Braithwaite, Cowperthwaite etc. About a hundred names
bear the ending ‘toft’ (a piece of ground) e.g. Brimtoft, Eastoft Langtoft,
Nortoft etc. Personal names ending with the suffix ‘son’ are also of
Scandinavian origin e.g. Gibson, Jackson, Johnson, Watson, Wilson etc.

The largest number of place names is found in Yorkshire and

Lincolnshire, contributing about 75% of names of Scandinavian origin
to the English Lexicon. A good number is also found in Cumberland and
Westmoreland; these are countries in the Northeast of England showing
that the Danes had a large settlement in these areas. This is also true of
Norfolk in East Anglia.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

The earliest influence of the Norse on the Old English vocabulary is

words that are associated with sea-faring or sea-roving. You know that
the Danes lived an adventurous and predatory life. The Old English
scegÞ (vessel), lip (fleet), scegÞmann (pirate), dreng (warrior) etc. are
Scandinavian words. Later, a number of words relating to law, and those
relating to the social and administrative system of the Danes were also
introduced to Old English. The word ‘law’ itself is a Scandinavian word.

As a matter of fact the Danish invasions were not like the introduction of
Christianity that brought the English people to a new civilization and
introduced them to many things, both physical and spiritual that they
never knew before. And you know that these new things came with new
vocabularies and ways of expressing them. The civilization of the
Scandinavians was very much like that of the English themselves.
Consequently the Danish loans entered the English language through the
process of everyday interaction.

Scandinavian Words

Some common place nouns that have the Scandinavian origin are bank,
birth, bull, dirt, down, dregs, egg, fellow, gap, guess, kid, leg, loan,
mire, root, scales, score, seat, sister, skin, sky, slaughter, thrift, tidings,
trust etc. among adjectives we have awkward, flat, ill, brose, low, meek,
rotten, rugged, tight, and weak. There are also some number of verbs,
such as grave, call, crawl, die, gape, get, give, lift, nag, raise, scare,
take, thrive. These are some of the words that the Danish invasion and
subsequent settlement introduced to English.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

Mention five (5) words that are of the Scandinavian origin.

4.0 CONCLUSION

Two major foreign influences in the Old English are the coming of the
Christian religion and the Danish invasion. Don’t forget that in this Unit
we have used the terms, the Danes or Danish, the Scandinavian and the
Vikings to refer to the same people. These two events introduced foreign
words to the English Language.

5.0 SUMMARY

The coming of Christian civilization to England brought with it new

ideas and concepts which required the right kind of vocabulary to
express them. Hence, Christianity brought into the Old English words
that are associated with religion and church administration. When the

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Scandinavians later invaded England and settled there, they were

absorbed in the social system of the English people and many of them
became Christian converts. However, through everyday interaction they
introduced their own words, which are less technical than the religious
ones. Most of the words that are Danish are everyday words and those
associated with Sea-roving. Most English place names are also
attributed to the Scandinavians.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Distinguish between religious influences and that of the Danish

invasion on the English language.
2. Discuss some specific contributions of the Christian religion to
the growth of the English language.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh, A.C and Cable T (2001). A History of the English Language. 5th
ed. London: Routledge

Ogu, J.N (1992). A Historical Survey of English and the Nigerian

Situation. Lagos: Kraft Books

17
ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

UNIT 4 MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD: THE NORMAN

CONQUEST (1066-1200); THE ASCENDANCY
OF FRENCH; THE FUSION OF FRENCH AND
ENGLISH; RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF
ENGLISH

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Middle English Period: The Norman Conquest (1066-
1200)
3.2 The Ascendancy of French
3.3 The Fusion of French and English
3.4 Re-Establishment of English
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

So far, we have been able to trace the origin of English and examined
major events and factors that influenced its grammar and vocabulary.
Towards the close of the Old English another event occurred that had
greater effect on the English language than any other in the course of its
history. This event is the Norman Conquest and indeed, it changed the
course of the English language, and ushered in the period known as the
Middle English. This period runs from the beginning of the 12th century
to the middle of the 15th century. In this Unit, you will get to know how
far the introduction of French language which came with the Norman
Conquest influenced the English language.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Unit, you will be able to:

• explain the relationship between the Norman conquest and the

French Language
• describe the position of French in the England of the middle
English period
• discuss the relationship between French and English at this time
• explain why the English language was re-established after French
domination.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Middle English Period: The Norman Conquest (1066-

1200)

You may want to know who the Normans were. The Normans were
made up of the Danes and other settlers from Northern Europe that
occupied Normandy in the 9th and 10th centuries. Normandy was a
district on the Northern coast of France. The civilization of Normandy
was essentially French, and the Normans were among the most
progressive and advanced of the people of Europe at this time.

Before the conquest, England and Normandy had enjoyed a fair long
standing relationship. For instance, one of the English kings (Ethelred)
married a Norman wife and when he was driven to exile by the Danes,
he took refuge with his brother-in-law, the duke of Normandy. His son
Edward, then brought up in France was more of French than English. In
1042, the Danish government declined in England and Edward known as
the confessor was restored to the throne from which the Danes had
earlier expelled his father. He came back with his Norman friends,
enriched them and gave them important positions in his government,
thus a strong French atmosphere reigned in the English court during the
24 years of Edward’s government. Edward died in 1066 without a son to
succeed him. William the Duke of Normandy was a second cousin of the
late King Edward and had nursed the ambition of succeeding the king.
His relationship with Edward however, didn’t give him any right to the
English throne. So he decided to take the throne by force. This he did,
and at the battle of Hastings, his forces killed the reigning king Harold
and defeated his army. William was eventually crowned king of England
on the 25th December 1066. With the possession of the English crown,
William introduced new nobility. Most of the English higher class died
in the war at Hasting and those that escaped were treated as traitors. By
1072, the Old English nobility was practically wiped out, and their
places were filled with Norman followers of the king. What the Norman
settlement in England meant to language was that French, which was the
language of the Normans, was introduced as a second official language
in England. And it functioned particularly as the language of the upper
class. Unlike the Anglo-Saxons language that came to replace the
existing Celtic language, French was adopted to be used side by side
with English but the two languages were to perform different roles.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. Describe how the French language came into England.

2. Explain the effect of the elimination of the English nobility to the
English language.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

3.2 The Ascendancy of French

Following William of Normandy’s ascension of the English throne,

French strictly became the language of government. French speaking
officials of government were appointed, who in turn brought their own
personal staff. French speaking bishops and clergymen were also
appointed, and for almost 20 years of the invasion of England, almost all
the religious houses were under French-speaking superiors. Large
numbers of French merchants and craft men flooded England to take
advantage of the commercial opportunities provided by the new regime.
The French nobles and aristocrats in England retained their links with
Normandy where their estates and investments were. For about 200
years after the Norman Conquest, French remained the language of
communication among the upper and ruling class in England. Initially
only those who spoke French were of the Norman descent, but soon
through intermarriages and association with the ruling class, many
English speaking people found it a social advantage to learn French, and
before long the distinction between those that spoke French and those
that spoke English was no more ethnic but social. To be more socially
recognised, one had to learn to speak French. Bilingualism flourished;
English people needing to cross some social hurdles and gain some
advantage from the aristocracy learned French. Some junior staff of
government who needed to improve their daily communication contact
with the local communities however, learned English. The language of
the masses remained English. It was the language of the inferior class.

Some of the factors that favoured the continual use of French by the
English upper class were the close link between England and Europe,
especially Normandy. From the time of the conquest, the kings of
England were also dukes of Normandy. William himself was more
attached to his dukedom and spent more of his time in Normandy than
in England. The English nobility were also more of French aristocracy.
Their business interests and possession were in the continent especially
France and many of them spent most of their time there. They frequently
contracted marriage there also. You can see that the Normans
maintained a strict French culture and civilization in England and this
raised the status of French above all other languages.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

1. Give at least three (3) reasons why the French language became
the superior language during the early years of the Norman
occupation of England.
2. Explain the status of English in the England of this period.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

3.3 The Fusion of French and English

We have already noted that the French language exerted a lot of

influences on the English people’s life, socially, politically and
religiously. Most of the abbots (clergymen) and monks were Normans.
For example, the Archbishops of Canterbury and of York were Normans
and spoke French. English kings were equally dukes of Normandy.
William even considered Normandy more important that he left it to his
eldest son while England was for his second son. All English kings until
Edward IV (1461-1483) made it a tradition to marry French wives. The
English nobility were equally French conscious, marrying French wives
and engaging in French wars and campaigns. Most literary works in
England at that time were all written in the language and were
encouraged by members of the upper class.

However, English survived in some monasteries and among church men,

the ability to speak English was fairly common. And interestingly, some
notable bishops of Norman descent spoke French, English and Latin.

So we can conclude that the ascendancy of French did not eliminate

English completely. Both languages were used by the upper class and
nobility. But French was the language of social civilization and
refinement. English held a subordinate position and remained the
language of the low class.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

Summarize the roles of French and English during the reign of William
the conqueror.

3.4 Re-Establishment of English

Changing social and political conditions in Europe and England after

1200 gave rise to re-establishment of English language in the English
public service. As a result of these changes, English became more
widely used among the upper classes. The English and Normans had so
lived together, doing things together and intermarrying, that the two
nations became so mixed up that it became difficult to tell who was
English or who was French. And by the end of the 12th century, it was
noticed that some children of the nobility spoke English as their mother
tongue and were taught French at school. French continued to be used in
government and in courts. Now what happened that raised the status of
English? From 1204 a different political and economic climate emerged.
King John of England lost his control of Normandy, because of a
conflict he had with king Philip of France. Consequently the English
nobility lost their estates in France and enmity grew between England

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

and France. This led to about a hundred year war (1337-1453). The
popularity of French began to decline as the spirit of English nationalism
grew. In 1362, English was used for the first time at the opening of
parliament. By about 1425, English became more popular in England
and was used in speaking and writing. Remember that when Normandy
was lost, many English noblemen lost their estates and were forced to
look up to England as their primary concern. This helped the English
language.

English survived more because the language in the 11th century was well
established, unlike the Celtic and had a considerable written literature
and strong tradition. Don’t forget that this was what the Celtic language
did not have; that was why it could not survive the Anglo-Saxon
invasion about 500 years before. The good relation of English and
French lasted for about 150 years and during this period, it was
speculated that the number of Normans in England were about two
percent of the population. French was mainly the language of
government, law, administration, literature and the church. Latin was
also used in education, administration and worship. By the 13th century
the position of English became clearer when it was evident that a
number of sermons, prayers, poems and songs were written in English
language. Finally in 14th century, major achievements in Middle English
literature began to emerge, with the works of Geoffrey Chaucer.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 4

1. Do you think that the loss of Normandy by King John of England

helped the re-establishment of English in any way?
2. Identify some factors that aided the revival of English.

4.0 CONCLUSION

You can see that a number of factors gave rise to both the decline as
well as survival of English in the 11th and 12th centuries. The most
important factor was the enthronement of French as the language of the
ruling and the upper class in England, when the Normans invaded
England in 1066. Secondly French became the language of the high
class, of status and pride. In fact one of the Norman kings said it was a
disgrace to be called an English man. However, in the 12th and 13th
centuries some socio-economic and political factors helped the English
language again to rise.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

5.0 SUMMARY

The Norman conquest of 1066 under William the Conqueror introduced

French and the second official language of England. Because French
became the language of public administration, law and literature, its
status grew. It became the language of the nobility and was associated
with status. A speaker of French belonged to the high class while a
speaker of English belonged to the low class. However, English
remained the language of the masses and up to two third of the
population used English in speaking and writing.

During the 13th and 14th centuries economic and political situations
changed. English and France became enemies and were engaged in wars
for about a hundred years. At the end, the influence of French declined
and English once more rose to prominence, owing more to its long
established literature, and oral tradition. When Normandy lost to the
control of England, in 1204, the English nobility lost their possessions
and estates in France and were forced to concentrate their interest in
England. This again gave room to popularize the English language.
Between the 13th and 14th centuries English had again revived as the
language of government, law, literature, commerce and religion.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Describe the roles of the French language during the Norman

Conquest of England.
2. Identify some factors that led to the revival of English at this
time.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh, A.C & Cable T (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th
Ed .London. Routledge

Crystal, D. (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English

Language. 2nd Ed. Cambridge. CUP

Ogu J.N (1992). A Historical Survey of English and the Nigerian

Situation. Lagos: Kraft.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

UNIT 5 ENGLISH AND FRENCH IN THE 13TH

CENTURY; THE DECLINE OF FRENCH; THE
RISE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS; GENERAL
ADOPTION OF ENGLISH

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 English and French in the 13th century
3.2 The Decline of French
3.3 The Rise of the Middle Class
3.4 General Adoption of English
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In this Unit we want to look more closely at the relationship between

English and French in the thirteenth century and the factors that led to
the decline of French. One of the most important factors is the rise of an
English middle class. You will be exposed to the reasons why English
was eventually adopted as the language of government and education.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Unit, you should be able to:

• explain the relationship between English and French in the 13th

century
• identify factors that led to the decline of French
• discuss some factors that led to the general adoption of English.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 English and French in the 13th Century

In the 13th century French and English continued to function as the

primary language of communication. The upper class mostly continued
to speak French, but this time, it was no longer as the mother tongue
inherited from Norman ancestors but as a matter of social custom,
business and administrative convention. Meanwhile English made

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

steady progress. At a point it became quite clear that English was

becoming a favourite language. When the English nobles lost their
interest in Normandy and France, as we saw in the last Unit, it was no
longer a surprise that English became a matter of general use among the
upper class. At this time also, there was wholesale adoption of French
words into English; the reason being that those who spoke French now
tried to express themselves in English. Within this period also, literature
that was intended to entertain the nobility began to be translated from
French to English. And just as we mentioned in the last chapter, there
were evidences that towards the end of the 13th century, children of the
upper class began to speak English as their mother-tongue, which
implied that English was becoming a household language among the
upper class. Significantly, English was used in parliament, in the law
courts and in public communication. The spread of English among the
upper class was making steady progress and the general attitude began
to favour the use of English. The attitude then was that the language for
proper English people to know and use was English.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. Describe the position of English and French in the 13th century.

2. Explain how French loan words found their way into English at
this time.

3.2 The Decline of French

We must not lose sight of the fact that French began to lose its status as
the official language of England in 1204 when King John lost the
control of Normandy. This affected the fortunes of the English nobles
who lost their estates and began to lose their connections with the
continent. Consequently, they began to see themselves as English men
and began to identify with English cultures including language.

Another contributing factor that led to the decline of French was the
Hundred Year War (1337-1453). Edward III claimed the French throne
and invaded France. England was victorious at Crecy (1346) and
Poitiers (1346). Henry V also won a significant victory over France in
1415. This long time antagonism and hostility among the two nations
contributed to the weakening of the influence of French in England and
enhanced interest in learning and using the English language.

At the close of the 13th century, it was clear that French was losing its
hold on England and the tendency to communicate in English was
becoming increasingly stronger, even in the church and universities.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Another factor that undermined the position of French was the

provincial character of French in England. French was spoken in
provinces, and was particularly restricted to the ruling and upper classes.
Norman French was a mixture of dialect, which became further
corrupted by contact with English. What we may call the Anglo-Saxon
French was non standard French. So, when the opportunity came to drop
the language, it was quite easy to do.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

Discuss the factors that gave rise to the decline of French in England in
the 13th century.

3.3 The Rise of the Middle Class

You have seen so far that the importance of a language lies mainly on
the importance of those that use such a language. This is a feature that
helped English to rise and de-emphasized the use of French in England,
because as the living conditions and prestige of the common people
improved, it also improved the position of English Language.

During the Middle English Period, there was this practice of villeinage
among the rural population. A villein was a poor farmer who got a little
piece of land in return for working on the land of a rich landowner. In
1349 precisely, an epidemic broke out in the South west of England,
which soon spread rapidly to other parts of the country.

The diseases killed its victims within three days. The spread of the
epidemic and the rapidity with which it killed people were unbelievable.
Some studies said that 40% of the clergy died, and approximately more
than 30% of the overall population was lost to the epidemic. Because of
the high death rate of the plague, it was referred as the “The Black
Death”. Naturally, the mortality of the epidemic was more among the
villeins, the poor and the low class. The result was a serious shortage of
labour. Many villeins (labourers) escaped England during the Plague.
For those that remained there was a rise in wages but that could not
solve the burden of their poor condition. A general spirit of discontent
soon arose, which led to the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. Coupled with the
effect of the Black Death, the importance of the labouring class was
recognized. Remember that this increased the importance of the
language of the emerging class, which is English.

At this time also, another important group arose - the craft men and the
merchant class. By 1250 England had grown to about 200 towns with
increasing populations. Some places like London and York were
considerably large. These towns became free and self-governing. The

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

people were engaged in trade mostly. Some were in manufacturing

crafts, with commercial groups and fraternities to secure their positions.
In these environments, each town began to have a strong wealthy class,
standing halfway between the rural low class (the peasants) and the
aristocracy which was then hereditary.

With such changes, you can see that the social and economic life of the
English speaking population was a great advantage to the final triumph
of the English language.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

Do you agree that the rise of the Middle Class in the England of the 13th
century aided the growth of English? Give two (2) reasons for your
answer.

3.4 General Adoption of English

From the beginning of the 14th century upward, English began to gain
ascendancy in England. Popular literature of this period was primarily in
English, which until a generation before had been in French. Though the
English was now understood by everyone, French did not die out
completely. It was still used in the courts although English had largely
taken its place. Those who spoke French in the 14th century were
bilingual, and some people in the upper class still spoke French in the
parliament when necessary but generally used English. In 1362, the
Chancellor opened parliament for the first time with a speech in English.
In 1388 parliament required all gilds (professional associations) to
submit reports on their foundations, statuses, property etc. The
submissions were mostly in Latin, but about 49 of them were in English,
out numbering those in French. Towards the latter part of the century,
much of the business of parliament was conducted in English When
Richard II was deposed of, the article of accusation read to him was in
Latin and English. The order deposing him was also read to him in
English. Henry IV’s speeches claiming and accepting the throne was
delivered in English.

In the 14th century as you can see, English was again the mother tongue
of English. To give English language its rightful place in all England,
steps were taken to adopt it in the English legal system. Hitherto, French
had been the language of legal proceedings. But in the 14th century it
became necessary to reverse the trend. In 1356 the Mayor of London
ordered that proceedings in the Sheriff’s courts in London and
Middlesex be conducted in English. In 1362, “the statue of pleading” in
court was enacted, stating that all lawsuits shall be conducted in English,

27
ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

and the reason for this was that French was much unknown in the
country.

Shortly after the Norman Conquest, French replaced English as the

language of education. The use of French in English schools became
quite general. But again, in the 14th century English began to be used in
schools and by 1385 the practice had become general and
overwhelming. By the 15th century, the French language became
increasingly unknown. Many nobles could no longer speak French and
the ability to communicate in French was viewed as an accomplishment.
The ability to write it was becoming less general among the ruling and
upper classes.

The last significant progress which the English was to make in its
growth to supremacy was its use in writing. Before the Norman
conquest, Latin was the recognized language of literature and written
communication, and before the 14th century French was adopted as the
first language of England and the primary language of writing and
literature. In the 14th century English replaced both. After 1450 letters
were written in English as a general rule. Wills were also written in
English. For example, the wills of Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI
were all written in English. English was also adopted in writing records
of towns and gilds and in branches of the central government. At about
1430 many towns were translating their ordinances and their customary
books in English. And English became general in their transactions.
After 1450s the English literature of the Middle English period showed
that English had gained general adoption throughout England.

Where French had enjoyed primacy as the language of poetry and books
among the nobles, English now became the preferred medium. It was
this general adoption of English by all classes in the latter part of the
14th century that triggered a new interest in literature, which gave rise to
a high point of English literary achievements in the Middle Ages. The
period between 1350 and 1400 had been called the period of great
individual writers. This was the period that Geoffrey Chaucer, (13400-
1400) regarded as the greatest English poet before Shakespeare wrote,
authored a love story titled Troilus and Criseyde as well as the
Canterbury Tales. Other big names of English literature of this period
include William Langland, author of Piers Plowman (1362-1387); John
Wycliffe, the translator of the Bible and the unknown poet who wrote
one of the finest of the Middle English Romances titled Sir Gawain and
the Green Knight”. Middle English no doubt, contributed immensely to
the fortunes of the English language.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 4

1. Describe some of the first signs that showed that English was
becoming a popular language in England in the 14th century.
2. Identify some factors that were responsible for the general
adoption of English in the 14th and 15th centuries.

4.0 CONCLUSION

We can say in conclusion that social and economic conditions favoured

the re-establishment of English as the first language of England in the
14th century. With the growing interest in English and a declining
fortune of French, one will expect that English would peak up quickly.
And this was exactly what happened. English men became proud of
themselves and their culture and took definite steps to curtail the
influence of French and promote the learning and use of English. It was
no surprise that even in law and public administration English was
adopted as the language of official business. Soon English became the
popular language throughout England and used as the language of
parliament, law, education, religion and general communication.

5.0 SUMMARY

English made a steady advancement in the 13th century as the upper

classes no longer relied primarily on French for communication. The
nobility who lost most of their fortunes with the loss of Normandy,
looked up to England for hope, and began to appreciate their language.
Their children soon spoke English as their mother tongue. French
declined steadily in the 14th century, due to a general renewed interest in
English and the Hundred Year War which resulted in a long time of
hostility between England and France. Some successive victories of
England over France; significant interest in English in the church and
universities; and the provincial character of French in England; all
weakened French influence in England. Just as these factors witnessed
the decline of French, they advanced the status of English.

A major factor in the general adoption of the English language is the

rise of the Middle class from the groups of tradesmen and craft men,
engendered by the “Black Death” of 1349 and the rise of the living
standard of the working class; the growth of English cities and their
independent status to govern themselves. Other factors were direct
legislation, replacing French with English in the courts and in
government, adoption of English in schools, and the acceptance and use
of English in writing. Thus English was once again re-established as the
general language of all England.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Discuss the factors that gave rise to the decline of French in

England in the 13th century.
2. Describe some of the first signs that showed that English was
becoming a popular language in England in the 14th century.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh A.C, Cable .T. (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th Ed.
London: Routledge.

Crystal, D. (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language,

2nd Ed Cambridge: CUP.

Ogu, J.N. (1992). A Historical Survey of English and Nigerian Situation.

Lagos: Kraft Books.

30
ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

MODULE 2

Unit 1 Some Characteristics of Middle English: Grammar;

Vocabulary; Spelling and Speech Sounds
Unit 2 The Rise of the Standard English; the Spread of the
London Dialect
Unit 3 Early Modern Periods (1500-1750): Some Characteristics;
The Renaissance English; Changes in Grammar
Unit 4 The Problem of Spelling; the Inkhorn Controversy; the
Vocabulary Question
Unit 5 The Emergence of Dictionaries; Shakespeare and the
World of Words; the King James Bible

UNIT 1 SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF MIDDLE

ENGLISH: GRAMMAR, VOCABULARY,
SPELLING AND SPEECH SOUNDS

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Some Characteristics of Middle English: Grammar
3.2 Middle English Vocabulary
3.3 Middle English Spelling
3.4 Middle English Speech Sounds
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Before we go on to discuss changes in Middle English, have you ever

wondered why changes occur in language at all? Why is English, like
other languages in constant state of change? Well, language operates as
a system i.e. a group of related parts that work together as a whole. A
change in one part can cause a change in the other. For example, the
Middle English ‘trone’ changed to ‘throne ‘in Modern English and
‘tesis’ changed to ‘thesis’. So, the first sounds being pronounced as /t/
changed to /Ө/. Thus a change in spelling led to a change in
pronunciation. You will know more about this in Module 2 Unit 3.

You will recall that during the Scandinavian age, French and English
were spoken side by side, thus these languages were in close contact.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

You know that where two languages are spoken in a community, some
members of the community will speak more than one language and may
frequently switch between languages. This will generally lead to mutual
influence of the languages. That is why we still have many French
words in English today

Another possible reason for changes in language is that speakers are

likely to imitate languages they consider to be prestigious. This was
what happened when Latin and French were introduced in England.
People learned and copied French for social reasons. Up till now French
is still considered as a language of prestige and sophistication. And very
often, changes that affect our physical environment, social status, social
attitudes and reflected in language, especially in vocabulary and
meaning.

Let me remind you again that the boundaries that exist in the periods of
the history of English, i.e., Old English (AD 450-1100); Middle English
(1100-1500), early Modern English (1500-1750) and late Modern
English (1750) are conventional labels which are used as a matter of
convenience mainly to show the major linguistic changes as well as
cultural, social and political changes that occurred in the history of the
English language. And as we said, language is in a continual state of
change, and the history of English as we are tracing it in this study,
shows that change does not just happen suddenly. In this Unit, we shall
be looking at how changes in Middle English are reflected in the
grammar, vocabulary, spellings and speech sounds.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Unit, you should be able to:

• identify changes that occurred in middle English grammar

• describe some characteristics of middle English vocabulary
• distinguish between the spellings and speech sounds of old
English and middle English
• explain why changes generally occur in Language.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Some Characteristics of Middle English Grammar

One of the major features of the Middle English is the decay of

inflections which was a feature of Latin in Old English. Inflections place
stresses on the first syllable of words and it became increasingly difficult
to hear them when pronounced. Unlike most Germanic languages in
which stress within a word moved according to some rules, the Old

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

English stress pattern was fixed and this created auditory problems.
When speakers could no longer cope with this, the system was gradually
dropped. The disappearance can be traced throughout the Middle
English period.

The most important grammatical development of this period is that a

fixed pattern of word order between clause elements was established.
The subject-verb-object (SVO) order that was partially evident in Old
English was now consolidated. Where the Old English would say
‘robbed they’, Middle English would say “they robbed”. Today, we rely
much on word order to enable us work out grammatical function. In Old
English this was determined by inflections.

As a result of the decay of inflections nouns lost their numerous

inflectional endings or declensions. In early Middle English, only two
methods of indicating plurals remained fairly distinct: - s, - es or – en,
(as in oxen). Adjectives also lost their inflections, partly because of
changes in sounds. What this means is that rather than have a word like
‘blinde’ in Old English as “blinda - blinde and blindan” indicating
singular and plural, it became simply ‘blinde’ (blind) in Middle English.
So we can easily say “blind man” or “blind Men.” In Old English it
would be something like “blinde man” or “blindan men”.

With the decay of inflections nouns and adjectives were now simplified
and it became necessary to depend less on gender, case, and number. To
make clear the relation of words in a sentence, word order and
prepositions were now used. Demonstratives and pronouns forms were
also reduced and simplified. For example, the various forms of sē, sēo,
ðæt (i.e. the) survived as “the” and “that” through Middle English till
today.

The demonstrative “pēs” “pēos” “pis” (i.e. this) was also reduced to
“this”. However, some personal pronouns in Old English were retained
e.g. hē (he) hēo (she) hit (it). The same is true of some forms of
accusative (objective) and dative (indirect object) which were combined
e.g. him, her (t) hem, h (it). This means that rather than have different
forms say “him” or “her” as direct object and indirect object. The
Middle English had the same form e.g. I gave him the book (indirect
object). I love him (direct object). This survived till Modern English.
Remember, in Old English, “him” would have different forms using
inflections to show grammatical functions (i.e. to indicate which is
direct or indirect object in this case).

Some nominative (subjective) plurals were also extended to all cases of

plural appearing in Modern English as “those” and “these”. The second
person pronouns in Middle English looked like this:

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Function Singular Plural

Subjective Thou Ye
(nominative)
Objective (accusative) Thee You
Possessive (genitive) Thy/thine Your/yours

Now let’s see how verbs were affected by these changes. An important
point to note here is that like nouns, the general process has been that of
simplification with the gradual decay of inflections.

In Old English, verbs generally had two forms depending on their

conjugations “strong verbs” and “weak verbs”. Strong verbs are those
whose forms are changed in order to derive their past tense. Today, we
call them “irregular verbs” e.g. write, wrote, written, or sing, sang, sung;
while weak verbs (regular verbs) are those that take –d, -ed, or –en for
their past tense, e.g. walk, walked, walked. In Middle English, almost
one third of strong verbs in Old English died out. More than a hundred
Old English strong verbs were lost at the beginning of the Middle
English while about thirty more became absolute in the course of Middle
English. Today, more than half have disappeared. Some strong verbs in
Old English became weak verbs in Middle English.

In Unit 4 of Module 1, we noted that English was mainly spoken by the

lower class and largely removed from the influences of education and
literature; naturally many speakers were already wrongly applying the
pattern of weak verbs. For example, we have come, came, come (strong
verb) but drive, drove, driven; (notice “driven”) as a feature of a weak
verb. In the 13th century this trend became clear in written literature.
Verbs like burn, brew, flow, help, mourn, step, weep were then
undergoing change and by the 14th century, these verbs showed weak
forms. During the Middle period however, strong forms continued to be
used while the weak forms continued to grow, and in many cases the
inflections for weak verbs were established. So there were variations.
People still had the past tense of “ache” as “oke” while “ached” was
used by others. In some ways “stope” and “stepped”, “clew” and
“clawed” were used side by side. However, strong verbs still survived.
We must add here that in the Middle English, there were still inflections
for simple present tense in verbs. For example:

Person Modern English Middle English

Singular Ist – I Thank Thanke
2nd – you Thank Thankest
3rd – he/she/it Thanks Thanketh (-es)
Plural Ist – we Thank Thanke (n) (-es)
2nd – you Thank Thanke (n) (-es)
3rd – they Thank Thanken (n) (es)

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Present Past tense

I Turn (e) Turned (e)
(thou Turnest Turnedest
(he/she/it) Turneth Turned (e)
(we/you/they) Turneth Turned (en)

The inflections in brackets show other forms, depending on the dialect.

There were about six (6) dialects of the Middle English, namely
Northern dialect, Southern dialect, West Midland, East Midland,
Kentish and East Anglia. The examples above are Midlands.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. Explain why changes normally occur in language, with particular

reference to English.
2. Describe some general features of Middle English grammar.
3. Distinguish between Old English forms of nouns and that of
Middle English.

3.2 Middle English Vocabulary

The most dominant influence on the Middle English vocabulary is

French, though Latin also contributed a great deal. It was estimated that
about 10,000 French words came into English in the 13th century. These
words were mainly from law, administration, medicine, art, fashion,
science and learning. Over 20% were nouns. Some were constructed
using French affixes like con-, trans-, pre-, -ance, -tion, and -ment. No
doubt you are familiar with some of these words. As new words came
into English, there were cases where certain words were duplicated due
to similar already existing words in Anglo-Saxon. In that case, one
either replaced the other or both remained with slight differences in
meaning. Some existed with different senses e.g. house (O.E) mansion
(F), hearty (O.E) cordial (F). In most cases the French word replaced the
Old English equivalent. Many Old English words were lost in this way.
As I said earlier, many French loan words were drawn from the fields of
administration e.g. authority, empire, duke, crown, liberty, majesty,
palace, parliament, tax, treaty, royal; can you think of other ones? From
Law we have examples like adultery, accuse, arrest, assault, execute
attorney, evidence, crime, fine, fraud, indictment, judge, summons,
legacy etc. Religion – baptism, cathedral, chaplain, clergy, communion,
confess, immorality, convert, prayer, salvation, saviour, sermon,
temptation, theology, virtue etc. From Military we have: ambush, army,
besiege, captain, lieutenant, battle, navy, peace, retreat, sergeant,
soldier, spy, etc. From Food and Drink - appetite, beef, biscuit, cream,
dinner, feast, fruit, fry, herb, lemon, orange, plate, pork, etc.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Can you think of words in the fields of fashion, leisure, and the arts,
science and learning and home? Write at least ten (10) words from each
of these areas.

Some general nouns such as action, affection, adventure, age, country,

courtesy, labour, marriage, noise, number, ocean, opinion, sign, sound,
reason, rage, river, etc are French words, while some adjectives and
verbs are also of French origin. Examples are: active, amorous, calm,
certain, natural, nice, original, perfect, poor, precious, real, honest,
scarce, advise, arrange, close, cry, delay, prove, prefer, receive,
remember, refuse, save, travel, wait deceive, etc.

During the 14th and 15th centuries several thousands of Latin words,
were introduced into English most of which came through French. Most
of these words were technical terms belonging to religion, medicine,
law, and literature. So you see that Middle English vocabulary
comprises words largely borrowed from French and Latin
simultaneously. This has resulted in what we have today in modern
English where some set of items all expressing the same idea but with
slight difference in meaning and style are being used. For example,
rise/mount/ascend are possible synonyms.

Other sources of new words in Middle English include the Scandinavian

words. There were also a few evidences of loan words from Dutch,
Russian, and Arabic resulting from commercial and maritime contacts.
The effects of this borrowing on the English lexicon were that in early
Middle English over 90% of words were of native English but by the
end of Middle English this has fallen to about 75%.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

1. Give at least 15 English words that are of French origin.

2. Write 10, words that were borrowed from Latin.
3. Mention some professional areas from which French loan words
were derived.

3.3 Middle English Spellings

Let’s begin this section by trying to identify some of the factors that
influenced English spelling. First was the social and linguistic impact of
the French invasion; secondly, the continued process of sound change
that began in the Anglo-Saxon times and thirdly, the considerable
growth and movement in population during the medieval period. All
these were responsible for the marked difference between the spelling
irregularity that were evident earlier in the development of English and

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

the more stable system of spelling which began to appear in the 15th
century, especially in the works of William Caxton.

In Middle English, there was no standard convention for spelling, which

led to some variations. A writer’s spelling reflected the dialect he
happened to speak, thus, a number of spelling forms were introduced by
Middle English writers. Norman scribes in particular adopted spelling
conventions of the French language. Let’s look at a few of them:

sh replaced sc in words like OE scip (ship)

qu replaced cw in words like OE cwen (queen)

gh replaced h in words like OE riht (right)

ch replaced c in words like OE cin (chin)

wh replaced hw in words like OE hwаet (what)

c replaced s in words OE is (ice)

ou replaced u in words like OE wund (wound)

These changes helped some to solve problems associated with having

two different sounds for one phoneme. For example, the first sounds of
‘c’ in Old English ‘cin’ (chin) and cyning (king) were not the same, with
the adoption of ‘ch’, it became easy to differentiate between ‘chin’ and
cyning (i.e. king). Also the adoption of ‘ou’ helped to indicate a long
vowel without having to use double u as was the case in Old English.
Sometimes, the scribes wrote ‘o’ for ‘u’ e.g. love (OE luve) to bring
spelling closer to pronunciation, thus making it clearer this way.

The advent of printing with William Caxton in 1476 was a significant

step towards the standardization of spelling, which provided a national
standard for written English. It was an important factor that suggested
the beginning of Modern English. (We shall see more of this in Module
2 Unit 2).

Printing made it possible to promote a standard in spelling with a vast

amount of reading materials. This does not mean that all the early
printers agreed on what the standard should be or were consistently
applying it. After all, Caxton chose a particular dialect which was not
general to the early printers. In some respects the printers added some
strangeness to spelling. Many of the printers were Dutch, and
sometimes, Dutch spelling influenced English words. For instance the
‘h’ in the word ‘ghost’ was not originally there in Old English. The
word was spelt “gast”. Printers also added ‘e’ in words like “olde” (old),
or doubled up consonants like “shoppe” (shop) or used “y” instead of ‘i’
for economy of space. All these resulted in the general spelling
differences in the English Language.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

Now look at this text, which is a part of Caxton’s Prologue to the

Eneydos - a story about some merchants who tried to ask for eggs in
Kent.

TEXT 2

And certaynly our langage now vsed varyeth ferre from that. whiche was
vsed and spoken whan I was borne/ for we englysshe men/ ben borne
vnder the domynacyon of the mone. which is neuer stedfaste/ be euer
wauerynge wexynge one season/ and waneth and dyscreaseth another
season/ and that comyn englysshe that is spoken in one shyre varyeth
from a nother…”

Study the spelling in this text:

(i) What inconsistencies in the spelling can you find?

(ii) Can you explain why these occur?
(iii) Letters g and i; u and v are said to be interchangeable. How true
is this in the above text?

3.4 Middle English Speech Sounds

As new spelling formats were emerging, a new system of pronunciation

was equally emerging. The result is that there was never a regular
correspondence between phonemes or speech sounds with the letters that
represent them. But this is not totally true of the Old English period. A
word like ‘twa’ (two) was pronounced with the “w” sounding, unlike in
Modern English. Look at the following words in Modern English and try
to pronounce them: sword, answer, walk, half, wreck, write, gnarl,
gnaw, know, knight.

English adopted the Roman alphabet, i.e. Latin. Today English has over
40 phonemes, but only 26 letters represent those phonemes. In particular
there are 24 vowels sounds in English, but only five vowels letters. Even
in Old English letters were represented by pairs of letters called
“diagraphs” (today we call them diphthongs) for example, sc was used
to represent /S/ as in scep (sheep); cg represent the phoneme /dз/ as in
ecg (edge). The diagraph ea and eo were used as in Old English eare
(ear) and beor (beer).

In the Middle English period several sounds altered. Some took on

different value, while some disappeared completely. The Old English
vowel system was reconstructed. Original diphthongs became pure
vowels and new diphthongs emerged. Some diphthongs emerged and

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

certain consonants at the end of a syllable came to be pronounced like

vowel as in /wei/ (way) from Old English weg. French loan words also
introduced new diphthongs like /oi/ /ui/ which can be linked to the
modern /‫כ‬i/ in boy, or joy.

Several pure vowels also changed their values. Old English /a:/ as in ban
was now pronounced as bon (bone), and swa became so. Interestingly
the /h/ sound, which occurred at the beginning of many Old English
words like hring (ring), hnecca (neck), was completely lost in the
Middle English period. It was restored later in many words during
Modern English period through influence of spelling.

The /v/ sound became important due to its use in French loan words, and
began to distinguish between /v/ and /f/ sounds as in vin and film. French
influence also brought the contrast between /s/ and /z/ as in ‘zeal’ and
‘seal’. The ng sound /ŋ/ distinguished meanings in words like thing and
thin. In Old English, this sound has always been followed by a /g/ e.g.
cyning (king), which was realized as /kyniŋg/. The /g/ however
disappeared at the end of the Old English period leaving only /ŋ/ as the
only distinguishing unit.

It is not always easy to give a general description of Middle English

pronunciation because of the variation that exist due to different dialects
and the spellings that represent particular sounds.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 4

1. Do you think spelling had some influence on Middle English

pronunciations?
2. Describe some features of Middle English speech sounds.

4.0 CONCLUSION

We have examined some general characteristics of Middle English

grammar, vocabulary, spellings and speech sounds. And you can see that
changes had been gradual, and whether it was social, political or
economic, each had its effects on language. Some of these effects were
certainly beneficial in a way to the overall development of the English
language. The English grammar became more structured; spellings more
stabilized, and vocabulary more enhanced.

5.0 SUMMARY

A major grammatical feature of the Middle English is the disappearance

of the inflectional system. English nouns, verbs, and adjectives became
more simplified. And where necessary, some general rule of inflection

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

was applied for some classes of words. A fixed pattern of grammatical

structure was also established at this time. Middle English vocabulary
was enriched by French and Latin loan words particularly words related
to administration, law, art, medicine, science and learning. English
spelling became more stabilized during Middle English period
especially with the introduction of printing. Pronunciation also
underwent definite changes which led to Modern English
pronunciations.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Describe some characteristics of Middle English Grammar.

2. In what definite ways did French influence Middle English
vocabulary?

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh A.C, Cable .T. (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th ed.
London: Routledge

Crystal, D. (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language,

2nd ed. Cambridge: CUP

Culpepper, J. (1997). History of English. London: Routledge

40
ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

UNIT 2 THE RISE OF STANDARD ENGLISH; THE

SPREAD OF THE LONDON DIALECT

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 The Rise of the Standard English
3.2 The Spread of the London Dialect
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

It is natural that a language often has regional varieties or dialects. It is

even possible to have entirely different languages in different parts or
regions of a country. Nigeria is an example. The differences that may
occur between different dialects of the same language may be a matter
of pronunciation, or few variations in vocabulary. In Module 2 Unit 1,
we did mention that Middle English had about six dialects. Four of them
were the principal ones namely Northern, East Midland, West Midland
and Southern. The Southern dialect for example extended to Worcester,
Hereford and the district south of the Thames, together with
Gloucestershire. The peculiarities of these dialects rest partly on
pronunciation, vocabulary and partly on inflections. What became
known as the Standard English or London dialect is a combination of the
features of these local dialects as we shall see in this Unit.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Unit, you should be able to:

• describe the characteristics of the London dialect

• explain the causes that contributed to the rise of standard English.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 The Rise of Standard English

The variety that is now called Standard English came out of the local
dialects of the Middle English, towards the end of the 14th century and
won general acceptance in the course of the fifteenth century. The part
of England that contributed most to the development of this standard

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

was the East Midland district. The East Midland English dialect was the
dialect of the London metropolis. Several factors contributed to this
development: firstly, as a Midland dialect of English, it occupied a
middle position between the extreme North and South. It was said to be
less conservative (i.e. has more tendency to admit change) than the
Southern dialect and less “radical” than the North. In its sounds and
inflections it represented a kind of compromise, sharing some of the
communication bridge which the dialect provided between the North
and South, a 14th century translator - Trevisa, in his translation of
Higden’s Polychronicon (c.1387) wrote:

TEXT 3

for men of Þe est wiÞ men of Þe west, as it wer vnder Þe same partie of
heuene acordeÞ more in sownynge of speech Þan men of Þe norÞ wiÞ
men of the souÞ; Þerfore it is Þat mercii, Þat beeÞ men of myddel
Engelond as it were partners of Þe endes, vnder stondeÞ better Þe side
languages, NorÞerne and souÞerme, Þau NorÞerne and souÞerne
vnderstondeÞ eiÞer aÞer. (Baugh & Cable 2001:192)

Note: “Þ” = th, “v”=u, “u” =v, “y”=i; “ne”=n.

Secondly the East Midland district was the largest and most populous of
the major areas. Places like Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk within the
district were significant prosperous agricultural areas. Also the
prominence of Middlesex, Oxford and Norfolk in the political affairs of
England throughout the Middle English period gave the East Midland
district the importance that could have enhanced its influence.

Thirdly, it was possible that the presence of the Universities of Oxford

and Cambridge could have had some influences on standardization
process. Cambridge in particular could have exerted some influence in
support of the East Midland dialect. In the 14th century the monasteries
no more played important roles in disseminating information, while the
two universities development into prominent intellectual centres.

Fourthly a regional standardized literary language evolved in the latter

part of the 14th century, which tended towards the Central Midland
districts, especially Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, and
Bedfordshire. This was evident in the large number of manuscripts by
Wycliff a notable Christian writer, including sermons, prayers, poems
and different versions of the Wycliffe Bible. Though this variety was
spread widely, increasing its status as standard, it could not compete
favourably with the large volume of written materials from the capital
London.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Fifthly, the development of printing gave rise to the emergence of a

Southern literary standard. This resulted in the spread of a single norm
over most of the country, so much that during the 16th century it was no
longer easy to identify through some linguistic features a particular
dialect in which a literary work was written.

The last but the most influential factor was the emergence of London as
the political and commercial capital of the country. Particularly the
administrative offices of the London Chancery (political administrative
office) were important and Chancery scribes adopted a standard
practice. These practices interacted with those used by other London
copy writers and spelling gradually became stabilized, affecting other
kinds of materials including literary texts. As the seat of the judicial
system, the centre of social and intellectual activities of England,
London population grew rapidly with people who brought to it the traits
of their local speeches to mingle with the London English. The result
was a kind of give and take, beginning as a Southern and ended up as
Midland dialect. And by the 15th century East Midland dialect had
developed a fairly uniform dialect and the language of London
conformed to it in all its important aspects.

SELFASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. What is the meaning of dialect?

2. Discuss at least four (4) factors that gave rise to development of
Standard English.

3.2 The Spread of the London Dialect

Towards the close of the 15th century, the London Standard had been
accepted in writing in most parts of England. Except in some Northern
texts, it was almost impossible to know precisely a particular region
from which a particular work was written. However, variations still
existed in spoken dialects.

In talking about the spread, one must admit that the introduction of
printing in 1476 as we have mentioned earlier, had an immense
contribution. London had been the English centre of book publishing
and Caxton, the English printer used the London dialect in his numerous
works. Most translations and that of those after him gave currency to the
London English which showed that it had been adopted as the standard.
In the 16th century the use of London dialect had become a matter of
precept and practice. The author of “The Arte of English Poesie”
(attributed to George Puttenham) even advised aspiring poets to use “the
usual speech of the court, and that of London and the shires lying about
London within 1x. myles, and not much above”. Though complete

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

uniformity was never achieved, it was certain that the foundation of

what we have today as Standard English was laid by the end of 15th
century.

I am sure you have been asking in your mind, what does the London
English look like? I am going to reproduce here a part of Caxton’s
preface to his translation of Virgil’s Aeneid which he translated from
French and published in 1490. This translation was done in the London
dialect.

TEXT 4

After dyverse werkes made, translated, and achieved, havyng noo werke
in hande, I, sittyng in my studye where as laye many diverse paunflettis
and bookys, happened that to my hande came a lytyl book in frenshe,
whiche late was translated oute or latyn by some noble clerke of
fraunce, which book is named Eneydos… And whan I had aduysed me in
this sayed boke, I delybered and concluded to translate it into englysshe,
and toke a penne & ynke, and wrote a leef or tweyne, whyche I oversawe
again to corecte it. And whan I sawe the fayr & straunge termes therein
I doubted that it sholde not please some gentylmen whiche late blamed
me, saying that in my translacycons I had over curious termes whiche
coulde not be understande of comyn peple, and desired me to use olde
and homely termes in my translacycons… (Baugh & Cable, 2001: 195).

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

1. What factors aided the spread of the London dialect?

2. Look at the text above again. Can you identify some spelling
differences from what we have in Modern English? Are there
some spelling inconsistencies?
3. Compare this text with text 3, above. Are there any differences in
grammar and spelling?

4.0 CONCLUSION

Standard English emerged as the London English, which provided a

middle line among the dialects of Middle English, especially North and
South. The importance of London in the 15th century as the capital of
England aided the spread of the dialect. Although uniformity was not
instantly achieved, it was the beginning of an accepted standard that
gave rise to Modern English.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

5.0 SUMMARY

Between the end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th
century, the London English which was more of the East Midland
dialect became a standard, for the whole of England, especially in
writing and in literary works. Factors that gave rise to this development
and also for its spread were that the Midland dialect of English provided
a compromise between the North and South, both in sounds and in its
internal linguistic features. The Midland district which London was part
was the largest and most populous of England’s major areas. London
became the capital of England, and as the most important political and
commercial centre, a written standard of communication was readily,
accepted. Administrative offices and the Chancery offices also became
important in terms of writing standards. The development of printing in
1476 by Caxton resulted in the spread of a simple norm over most of the
country and the London English, which was the norm, became more
stable. The existence of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge also
contributed a great deal. Conformity to the standard was however
gradual, while varieties still existed in the spoken dialects.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Discuss the factors that led to the emergence of the Standard

English in the 15th century.
2. Study TEXT 4 and describe the characteristics of the London
English.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh A.C, Cable .T. (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th ed.
London: Routledge

Crystal, D. (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language,

2nd ed. Cambridge: CUP.

Culpepper, J. (1997). History of English. London: Routledge

45
ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

UNIT 3 EARLY MODERN PERIODS (1500-1750): SOME

CHARACTERISTICS; THE RENAISSANCE
ENGLISH; CHANGES IN GRAMMAR

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Some Characteristics of Early Modern Periods
(1500-1750)
3.2 The Renaissance English
3.3 Changes in Grammar
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

We have seen that it is not possible to study the history of the

development of a language without reference to some particular social
events that have had significant effects on the language. Cast your mind
back on the effects of the Anglo-Saxon conquest, the Norman Conquest,
the Black Death and the rise of the Middle Class on English language.
You can see the close relationship that exists between socio-political and
economic situations and language development. The study of the
Modern period of English (i.e. from Chaucer to Samuel Johnson roughly
1400 -1800) will be incomplete without reference to the time referred to
as early modern periods, which some scholars have conveniently put at
the beginning of 1500 to around 1750. Some placed it earlier at 1400 -
1450, immediately after Chaucer. Those who put it around 1500
consider the effects of printing revolution, but the coming of printing
which many consider as the key factor of the modern period, began in
1476, when William Caxton set up a printing press at Westminster.
There is no consensus about when the early modern period actually
started. The period, i.e. 1500 -1650 was also called the period of the
Renaissance. In this Unit we shall look at the characteristics of the early
modern period. Because of the importance of the development of
printing, we shall discuss it in detail in this Unit.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Unit, you should be able to:

(i) describe some general characteristics of early modern English period

(ii) identify the features of the early English grammar and vocabulary
(iii)explain the contribution of printing technology to the development of
the English language.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Some Characteristics of Early Modern Periods

(1500-1750)

Printing technology which was developed in Germany in the 15th

century had a significant impact on the vernacular (native) languages of
Europe. In England, it had so far reaching effect that in about a century
later, manuscript books (hand written) were completely replaced by
printed ones. Printing made such a rapid progress that before the end of
1500, printed books in Europe reached about 35,000. Though majority
of these were in Latin, the effects of printing on modern languages like
English was no doubt overwhelming. By 1640 over 20,000 titles
appeared in English, ranging from pamphlets to large texts. Books were
no longer an exclusive luxury of the upper class; everyone had access to
it now because it was possible to reproduce a thousand copies or more of
one book exactly like the other. Thus, a powerful force was in place for
promoting a standard and a uniform language. And it also provided a
means of spreading the language throughout the lands where the
language was understood.

Another important factor for the growth of English, which was also a
feature of the early modern period, was the rapid growth of popular
education. Literacy became widespread. In the latter part of the Middle
Ages, a good number of the people of the middle class could read and
write and this helped in the rapid spread of standards and uniformity in
language use. In the later 17th and 18th centuries, education became
much more accessible, with increase in the number of available schools
and colleges. In Shakespeare’s London for example, it was estimated
that more than a third or even a half of the population could read and
write. Journalism developed, featuring men, like Daniel Defoe, and it
was also the period of the rise of the novel. With this kind of progress in
education, the printing press was able to exert an unforgettable influence
on language as well as learning. Not just in the early modern period
alone, it is noticeable that the influence of commerce, transportation and
rapid means of communication has had a great impact on language. We

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

shall look closely at this as we examine the growth of English as a world

language in Module 4 Unit 3.

As the modern period began to witness increased technological

developments, which enhanced easy travel, communication, and social
contacts, people and places which had been isolated during the earlier
times were now brought together. This again enhanced the development
of language.

Another important factor was social consciousness. This means people’s

general tendency to identify with certain social or economic groups.
Under modern democracies, a man can easily rise to a higher economic
or social class and would likely make some efforts to adopt the
standards of grammar and pronunciation of the people of his new class.
He becomes careful of his speech, manners, tastes and general
comportment. Most importantly as it applies to us here is that social
consciousness creates language awareness. The more social conscious
someone is, the more careful he is in his language. This has helped the
English language to sustain a uniform standard.

What are the effects of all these social characteristics to the English
language of the early modern period? We shall look at them under the
next sub-headings.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. Describe the general characteristics of the early modern period.

2. How did those characteristics affect English language grammar
and vocabulary?

3.2 The Renaissance Period

Two forces to be identified here are (1) a radical force to produce a

change in the vocabulary of English, and (2) a conservative force which
aimed at preserving the existing status of the English grammar. The
printing press, new reading habits and the spread of ideas, which came
with growth in communication all promoted the extension of
vocabulary, while these same factors together with social consciousness
as we described above, worked actively towards the maintenance of
standards especially in grammar and usage. While education for
example showed some influence in promoting grammar, spelling and
pronunciation, people were still unconsciously assimilating some
features of less Standard English through the reading of books,
newspapers or magazines. In modern times, you will discover that
changes in grammar are less compared to changes in vocabulary. This
was not the case during the earlier English periods. At that time, changes

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

in grammar were extensive. Remember that it was during the Middle

English period that the structure of English, where verb follows the
subject, was stabilized.

In the middle Ages, the condition under which English was developing
was peculiar to England, especially with the Norman Conquest which
relegated the English language to the low class. French became the
language of the refined noble class. But by the close of the Middle
English period, the language having gone through major transforming
experiences, needed to establish itself in modern times like other
European languages, and be recognized in the fields were Latin had for
centuries dominated. That was why it was necessary that English
establish a more uniform orthography and enrich its vocabulary. We
shall examine these in details in Unit 4 of this module.

However, we can say that the general interest in the English of the
Renaissance focused on vocabulary. And let me remind you that the
period from the time of Caxton (1476) until around 1650 was called the
Renaissance – a time of great change in Europe.

During the 16th century, following the development of printing there was
a flood of new publications in English as a result of renewed interest in
classical languages and literature and in the rapid growing fields of
science, medicine and the arts. As new concepts, techniques and
inventions were being experienced in Europe, words in the languages
were either insufficient or not available at all to express these new ideas,
so writers began to borrow new terms. Most of the words that came into
English at this time were taken from Latin, French, Greek, Italian,
Spanish and Portuguese. And as the period of world-wide exploration
came underway, words from over 50 other languages including
indigenous languages of North America, Africa and Asia came into
English. We shall discuss in detail the vocabulary question and the
inkhorn controversy in the next Unit. Inkhorn terms are foreign words in
English.

SELF ASSESMENT EXERCISE 2

1. Can you identify a major influence on the Renaissance English?

2. What necessitated the wide spread borrowing of foreign words
into English language during the Renaissance period?

3.3 Changes in Grammar and Pronunciation

By the time of the Renaissance, major shifts in English grammatical

structure had already taken place. Words had already lost most of their
inflections. Few changes in English syntax could still be noticed. For

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

example several features of the verb use show a marked difference

today.

(i) my life is run his compass (Julius Caesar) where today we should
say my life has run its compass.

(ii) verbs developed wider use of auxiliaries e.g. speak he the

truth?(does he speak the truth? Is he speaking the truth?)What
makes you? (What are you making?) It judges me (I judge…) It
benefits me not (It does not benefit me) etc. Me thinks he did
(I think he did).

(iii) Sentences tend to be too long, loose and linear, with repeated
‘and’ and ‘then’ coordination, mostly introduced by ‘which’ or
‘that’. Here is an example from Caxton’s prologue to Golden
Legend:

And I shal praye for them vnto Almightly God that he of his
benygne grace rewarde them etc. and that it prouffyte to alle
them that shal rede or here it redde, and may encrease in them
virtue and expelle uyce and synne that by the ensanmple of the
holy sayntes amend theyr lyuyng here in thys shorte lyf that by
their merytes they and I may come to everllastyng and blysse in
heuen.

(iv) There were constructions involving a double negative e.g. I

cannot do no wrong
(v) A number of verbs inflections (speaketh, pleaseth, know’st, spake
etc) fell out of standard use
(vi) Adjectives lost their inflections, though not completely.
Expressions like most unkindest or more longer, were no more in
use
(vii) Pronouns like ‘thou’ ‘thee’ ‘thine’ ‘thy’ ‘thyself’ ‘ye’ fell into
disuse except in poetry; ‘you’ was substituted for ‘ye’ normative;
‘its’ came into use as the possessive of it.
(viii) The pronoun ‘who’ as a relative pronoun developed in the 16th
century.
(ix) The ‘s’ plural became general
(x) Some unchanged plural remained e.g. Sheep, Swine.
(xi) New conjunctions emerged: ‘because’ for example first appeared
in Chaucer, but ‘for’ and ‘that’ remained the normal way of
expressing cause until the early 17th century. Participal
constructions (use of verbs ending with –ed –en or –ing) became
mostly common. This added to the length of sentences. The
search for stability in the language continued until the 18th
century.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

Identify at least 5 features of the Early Modern English grammar.

4.0 CONCLUSION

The Renaissance, being a period of great social and economic change

also brought with it some inevitable changes in the English language.
Changes in grammar were slight while changes in vocabulary were more
dynamic because of the new waves of scientific explorations and
increase in knowledge. And we can therefore conclude that social
changes have great influence on language, because language functions
as a means of express meaning within specific social contexts.

5.0 SUMMARY

The early Modern Period was characterized by:

(i) a rapid growth of printing technology which resulted in a very

high volume of printed materials in England; this provided a
means of promoting standard in language use.
(ii) Growth of popular education and high degree of literacy placed
more demands on printed information and literature; again
increasing the power of the printing press to influence language
and learning.
(iii) Modern developments in commerce, medicine, transportation,
communication increased the quest for new words to express new
concepts and ideas.
(iv) Social consciousness also enabled people to move along social
classes, giving them the opportunity to adjust to higher standards
of language use.

These factors had radical effect on the vocabulary of English because

new terms emerged and borrowing became necessary to express new
knowledge. A conservative force also emerged which sought to preserve
the existing structure of grammar. These were the hall marks of
Renaissance English.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

(iv) 1. Discuss the general characteristics of the early

Modern period and explain their effects on the English language.
(v) 2. Compare and contrast the Middle English grammar and
the early Modern English grammar.
(vi)
(vii)

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh A.C, Cable .T. (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th ed.
London: Routledge

Crystal (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language, 2nd

Ed. Cambridge.

Ogu J.N. (1992). A Historical Survey of English and Nigerian Situation.

Lagos: Kraft Books

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UNIT 4 THE PROBLEM OF SPELLING; THE

INKHORN CONTROVERSY; FUTHER
ENRICHMENT OF VOCABULARY

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 The Problem of Spelling
3.2 The Inkhorn Controversy
3.3 Further Enrichment of Vocabulary
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The revolution in printing as we have seen in the previous Unit did not
produce a standard in English spelling. During the Middle Age, writers
simply pulled spelling along Latin and French conventions and the result
was that there were a lot of differences. The problem continued in the
modern period. And you may have observed that up till today spelling in
English is still quite problematic. There is usually no explanation fur the
‘w’ in a word like ‘row’, when a word like ‘go’ (without a ‘w’) is
pronounced the same way. Why the verb ‘read’ (present tense) is spelt
the same way as ‘read’ (past tense) but pronounced differently. Some
scholars have argued that while Caxton’s printing revolution helped in
standardizing writing in English, it indeed contributed to the problem of
spelling. This is because orthography did not grow alongside
pronunciation. While the latter has changed since Caxton’s time, writing
and printing has been very slow in reflecting the changes. Some people
have even argued that it is impossible to achieve consistency between
spelling and speech sounds. So we cannot talk of development in
spelling, the same way we talk about it in vocabulary or pronunciation.
In fact the problem of spelling has been the most lingering problem of
the English language. In this Unit we shall be looking closely at
scholarly efforts that were made in the early modern period to achieve
stability in spelling. We shall also examine the state of English
vocabulary and the controversies that characterized its standardization.

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2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this Unit, you should be able to:

• identify major contributions towards standardizing English

spelling
• explain what is meant by ‘inkhorn terms’ and why they were
rejected as part of English lexicon
• describe sources of new words in English during this period.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 The Problem of Spelling
In the Early Modern Period of English, there was no generally accepted
system of spelling and it was neither fixed nor phonetic. And as we said
earlier, it was not possible to match spelling with speech, though old and
Middle English tried it with fair success. Even then Norman scribes
created some confusion in spelling by writing English words the French
way. This created more problems when certain spellings became
conventional and pronunciation gradually changed. Discrepancies
between sound and symbol increased when certain symbols which
represented actual sounds in Latin were inserted in the English words.
An example is ‘b’ in debt or doubt from Latin debitum and dubitare. In
English the ‘b’ is silent. The ‘gh’ in English words like night, delight,
light, tight, fight, knight etc. represents actual sounds in Latin words.

The 16th century spelling was so unstable that it became varied from
writer to writer, depending on education, temperament and purpose. An
individual could adopt his own spelling and be consistent with it. An
example is Sir John Cheke for example doubled long vowels, e.g. maad,
staar, haat etc.; he discarded final –e, in giv; belev, recev etc.; he used
‘I’ instead of ‘y’ e.g. mighti, beuti, dai etc. Richard Stanyhurst adopted
his spelling to soothe his translation of Latin poetry e.g. woorde, yeet,
mee, thee (the), too (to) etc. There was then a very great need to device a
means of achieving some kind of agreement. Scholars began to attempt
to draw up some rules and to devise new systems. Thomas Smith for
instance published a Dialogue Concerning the Correct and Emended
Writing of the English Language in 1568. He increased the English
alphabet to 34 letters and marked the long vowels. His reform however
did not receive significant acceptance, as it was moreover written in
Latin. John Hart in 1570 published A Method or Comfortable Beginning
for All Unlearned, whereby they May Bee Taught to Read English.
Again this work did not win any favour despite some special characters
(or phonemes) he used for ch, sh, th, ek. Another attempt at phonetic
reform was made in 1580 by William Bullokar in his Booke at Large,
for the Amendment of Orthography for English Speech. This work

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applied much of vowels and consonants sounds based on old letters of

English. The author also introduced new characters, accents and
apostrophes which almost bought English spelling and accents to
resemble that of French.

The most important of these reform efforts was Elementaire (1582) by

Richard Mulcaster. Mulcaster viewed spelling as right wrting and felt
that spelling problem could not be solved by a radical bending of
spelling to fit sounds of words. He believed that the same letter can be
used to represent different sounds just as we use one word in different
senses. Thus he refused to adopt any form of phonetic reform, and opted
for custom and usage. This means that he considered acceptability, ease
and convenience in writing as the most important thing. Popular
approval must be the final authority. He believed that no set of rules can
solve the spelling problem, but some things must be left to observation
and daily practice. While he did not totally discard sounds, he insisted
that it needed not receive undue attention. These were his contributions:

(i) He got rid of extra letters in words e.g. putt, grubb, ledd, became
put, grub, led,etc.
(ii) He retained‘t’ as necessary letters in words like fetch, scratch,
hatch etc.
(iii) He allows double consonants when they belong to separate
syllables e.g. wit-ting sit-ting etc.
(iv) Words ending in – ss; he wrote-sse e.g. glasse, confesse,
proffesse, impresse-ed,
(v) Final – e used to indicate long vowel, making a difference
between made and mad, stripe and strip, bite and bit
(vi) ‘y’ used to represent ‘loud’ and ‘sharp’ sound of ‘i’ e.g. cry,
deny, fry, try
(vii) If we spell ‘hear’ we should also spell fear, tear, dear etc.

At the end of his book, Mulcaster gave a ‘General Table’ giving the
recommended spelling for some 7,000 common English words. Though
Mulcaster’s spelling could not be said to be the model that was
eventually adopted, it is clear that English spelling developed along his
recommendations. During the first half of the 12th century, spelling
tended towards uniformity and this tendency increased with Dr
Johnson’s dictionary. We shall examine this in Unit 2 of Module 3.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. Explain the reason for lack of uniformity in the spelling of

English words of the Early Modern Period.
2. Discuss the contributions of Richard Mulcaster’s Elementarie to
the development of English spelling.

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3.2 The Inkhorn Controversy

Inkhorn terms were used by critics of foreign terms mainly from French
and Latin to describe words indiscriminately introduced into English.
Such critics - one of them Thomas Wilson called it “outlandish English”
which were merely “counterfeiting Kings English.” Some of the critics
considered the use of these words as too pedantry (bookish) and strange.
The strongest objection which Wilson represented believed that words
such as affability, ingenious, mundaine, celebrate, extol, magnificent,
dexterity, scholastic; relinquish, intelligence, compendious were
essentially obscure, and therefore should be thrown out. Sir Thomas
Chalouer (1549) said they were “disused words of antiquitee” borrowed
from “strange languages” out of “wrotten pamphlets.” These
oppositions were at their heights during the middle of the 16th century.
By this time borrowing had become excessive and the procedure for
borrowing was simply being abused. Those who defended borrowing
argued that it was simply a means of enriching the English language just
as Latin and French had enriched themselves. It was a means of getting
acquainted with new things, which as great novelties would be quite
entertaining when they have been fully integrated in the new language.
So borrowing actually gave credit to the English language and new
words were linguistic legacies for posterity.

Some scholars however, thought that compromise should be reached.

Writers should beware of indiscriminate borrowings of inkhorn terms,
but must also give room to borrowing when such became inevitable.
One of the scholars, by name Puttenham who had earlier moved against
inkhorn terms defended such words as scientific, significative,
methodical, placation, function, audacious, compatible, subtiling,
refining, compendius, proflixe, figurate, inveigle, penetrate, indignite
etc. Note that these words were inkhorn terms. Some of the words
Puttenham justified did not survive the test of time but some of them
like methodical, function, audacious, compatible etc have become part
of English lexicon today.

In fact one interesting thing you will notice is that most of the ‘inkhorn
terms’ that were vehemently opposed during the 16th century are of
common use today. Nouns such as allurement, allusion, atmosphere,
autograph, capsule, denunciation, dexterity, disability, disrespect,
excursion, expectation, and jurisdiction were as difficult and strange as
to become subject of controversy. Others were adjectives like agile,
appropriate, conspicuous, dexterous, expensive, external, habitual,
hereditary, impersonal, insane, and malignant. Some verbs like adapt,
alienate, benefit, consolidate, disregard, emancipate, eradicate, erupt,
excavate, extinguish, harass, meditate, were also described as inkhorn
terms. I’m sure you can tell the meaning of many of these words. Most

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of the words in the list are Latin words. But some of them like
anachronism, atmosphere, autograph, antipathy, chaos, chronology,
climax, crisis, critic, dogma, emphasis, enthusiasm, epitome, parasite,
parenthesis, pathetic, scheme, skeleton, system, tactics, were acquired
by Latin from Greek.

During the Renaissance, there was a renewed study of Greek which led
to the introductions of more Greek words such as anonymous,
catastrophe, criterion, ephemeral, idiosyncrasy, lexicon, polemic, tonic,
tantalize and thermometer.

As these words came into the English language, some retained their
forms and meanings, while some lost aspect of their forms in the process
of adaptation. Words like climax, appendix, epitome, exterior, delirium,
and axis retain their Latin form. Some lost their Latin endings e.g.
consult (L. consult-are) exclusion (L. exclusion-em) and exotic (exotic-
us). Some others went through some different forms of change e.g.
conspicuous (L. conspicu-us), external (L. externus) brevity (L.
brevitos). Many English verbs borrowed from Latin usually end in –ate
(e.g. create, consolidate, eradicate, educate etc.) Some of the words
had been borrowed more than once, thus assuming different meanings.
For example, the Latin words episcopus and discus was borrowed in Old
English as bishop and dish and later appeared during the Renaissance as
episcopal and disc. Many of the inkhorn terms that were out rightly
rejected somehow survived, while some didn’t. Can you think of why
this happened? Some were found and used a few times and dropped and
forgotten, others remained but again forgotten. Among some of the
words that eventually disappeared were anacephalize (Greek),
deruncinate, adminiculation, illecebrous, expede, exciccate, deciccate,
eximious, disaccustom, disacquiant, disadorn etc. Some of these Greek
words had alternatives in Latin that the language has absorbed, or were
simply modified, e.g. discongruity (incongruity) appendence
(appendage), attemptate (attempt) denunciate (denounce).

The borrowing of this period was largely experimental; they were being
tried out, introduced by individuals’ judgments and choices. Some of the
words survived, some disappeared. In Shakespeare’s days for example,
no one knew whether to say effectual, effectuous, effectful, effectuating
or effective. But today, you can see that about two forms have survived
i.e. effectual and effective. We shall see more about how French Italian
and Spanish words were adopted to reinforce the English lexicon in the
next sub-headings.

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SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

1. Explain the term “inkhorn terms”.

2. Describe some of the issues raised against the introduction of
inkhorn terms into English.
3. What was the justification for their use?

3.3 Further Enrichment of Vocabulary

Foreign borrowing of words in the 16th century was not limited to
learned words taken from Latin and Greek but from more than fifty
languages (Baugh &Cable 2001), the most prominent being French,
Italian and Spanish. The English vocabulary of this time showed words
adopted from French such as alloy, bigot, bizarre, bombast, chocolate,
comrade, detail, duel, entrance, equip, essay, explore, genteel,
mustache, naturalize, probability, progress, retrenchment, shock,
surpass, ticket, tomato, vogue, volunteer.

Italian words: algebra, balcony, caprice, design, granite, pizza, stanza,

violin, volcano. Some of these Italian words were introduced through
French or adopted to French forms, such as battalion, bankrupt, brigade,
carat, charlatan, gala, gazette, grotesque, infantry, rebuff, etc. Though
there were initial protests against these words, they were eventually
adopted in England and often read in English books. Many of the Italian
words for a time, preserved their Italian forms.

Spanish/Portuguese: alligator, apricot, armada, banana, barricade,

bravado, brocade, cannibal, canoe, cocoa, embargo, hurricane, maize,
mosquito, mulatto, Negro, potato, renegade (renegade) tobacco, yam,
etc. With the new spirit of exploration and adventure characterized the
Renaissance, a great deal of impact on the English vocabulary became
quite evident.

The method through which these words entered the English vocabulary
was generally through writing. Latin especially was through churchmen
and scholars. Even words borrowed from Romance languages (French,
Italian, and Spanish) in the 16th century often came through books and
writers. It might be difficult to name individual writers who introduced
each particular word. But it is believed that one notable English writer-
Sir Thomas More introduced words like absurdity, acceptance,
anticipate, combustible, compatible, comprehensive, congratulatory,
contradictory, denunciation, dissipate, endurance, exit, exaggerate,
exasperate, explain, fact, frivolous, impenitent, implacable, indifference,
insinuate, monopoly, necessitate, obstruction, paradox, etc. Another
scholar - Sir Thomas Elyot added the following words: accommodate,
adumbrate, analogy, animate, beneficence, encyclopedia, excerpt,
exhaust, experience, exterminate, frugality, infrequent, irritate, modesty

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etc. Sir John Cheke first used adapt, alienate, assassinate and benefit.
John Milton introduced consolidate, disregard, while Sir Philip Sidney
brought in emancipation, eradicate, erupt, excavate, exert, exhilarate,
exist, extinguish, harass, meditate, etc. More and Elyot were sometimes
referred to as “makers of English” because of their contributions in the
16th & 17th centuries by introducing or helping to establish many new
words in English. No doubt most of the words that came into the English
vocabulary during the Renaissance came from sources outside, England.
Yet, a good number were to come from native sources, either through
development of words through old roots or through a revival of
expressions that had gone out of use. At least this was the thought of
someone like John Cheke. Cheke was so strongly opposed to borrowing
from Latin or Greek that he sought English native equivalents from
whatever source. In his translation of the gospel of St. Matthew, he
attempted to change Greek words with English equivalents as much as
possible. For instance he used mooned for lunatic, toller for publican,
hundreder for centurion, foresayer for prophet, byword, for parable,
freshmen for proselyte, crossed for crucified and gainrising for
resurrection.

Poets on their own part tried to revive old words especially words they
learned from Geoffrey Chaucer. This revival was sometimes referred to
as “Chaucerism”, which was about a conscious use of old words to
enlarge the vocabulary of poetry. One of the most prominent poets in
this movement was Spencer. These poets revived old words like
astound, blameful, displeasance, enroot, doom, forby (past, empight
,(fixed), natheless, whilere (a while before). Others were askew, filch,
flout, freak. The origin of these words was uncertain. Some were
coinages such as Spencer’s blatant, braggadocio, shrimp, cosset (lamb),
delve (pit), squall (to cry) and wrizzle (wrinkled). Many of the words
were simply adaptations and derivations of old words such as baneful,
drear, hapless, sunshiny, or wolfish. The words English acquired in this
way were not as much as half of those obtained from outside, but the
fact remains that Spencer and his colleagues contributed a great deal to
the enrichment of English vocabulary. Many of the words like belt,
bevy, dapper, fortnight, glee, glance, surly, banishment, birthright, don,
enshrine, drizzling, gaudy, gloomy, merriment, shady, wary, etc. which
they also introduced, have since passed from the language of poetry into
common use.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

1. Write ten (10) words that were adopted from Romance

Languages.
2. Describe the contribution of Spencer and the poets to the
enrichment of English vocabulary.

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4.0 CONCLUSION

You can see that the spelling and vocabulary of English language had
pulled the language to two opposite directions, in terms of their rate of
growth and development. On one hand, spelling had been quite unstable
especially due to the fact that printing stabilized early, while
pronunciation had changed many times over. On the other hand
vocabulary had been quite rapid in its development which had indeed
attracted heavy criticism from English language watchdogs. Words had
been borrowed indiscriminately from Latin, Greek and the Romance
languages which had threatened the existence of native English words.

5.0 SUMMARY

Spelling had been one problem area in the development of English

because there was never a generally accepted system of spelling. And it
was neither fixed nor phonetic. Early Norman scholars created more
problems by trying to spell the French way. To compound the problem
was the attempt by scholars to force spelling to correspond with speech
sounds. At a point writers adopted their individual mode of spellings and
tried to be consistent with them. Finally Richard Mulcaster (1582)
introduced a reform which differed from previous efforts and brought in
the method of spelling which simply allowed itself to be tested and
proved by observation and practice. Popular approval was to be the final
authority. Mulcaster’s spelling revolution eventually influenced modern
English spelling like no other.

Unlike spelling, vocabulary had been very dynamic. The English

vocabulary since the 16th century had been enriched much more from
words borrowed from Latin, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish and about
fifty other languages. However English scholars raised an alarm during
the Renaissance at the rapid rate of foreign words or “inkhorn terms”
being introduced into English. Though some of these borrowed words
naturally disappeared, most of them survived, along with English native
words to give it the richness that it enjoys today.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. What have been the causes of the problem of spelling right from
the Norman Conquest?
2. Identify the major sources of foreign influence on English
vocabulary.

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7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh A.C, Cable .T. (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th Ed.
London: Routledge

Crystal (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language, 2nd

Ed. Cambridge.

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UNIT 5 THE EMERGENCE OF DICTIONARIES;

SHAKESPEARE AND THE WORLD OF
WORDS; THE KING JAMES BIBLE

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 The Emergence of Dictionaries
3.2 Shakespeare and the World of Words
3.3 The King James Bible
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

This Unit is a continuation of the history of English during the

Renaissance and the early Modern English Period. And again it
continues the history of the development of vocabulary, by looking at
more of the important influences on the English lexicon. The emergence
of dictionaries of hard words in English will expose you further to the
contribution of early attempts at compiling English words to enhance
their stability. Most texts books on the history of English agree that the
two most important influences on the development of the language
during the final decade of the Renaissance are the works of William
Shakespeare (1564-1616) and the King James Bible (1611). We shall be
looking at these two factors more closely in this unit.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• explain the importance of the early dictionaries of hard words in

history of English
• discuss the contributions of William Shakespeare in development
of English lexicon of the renaissance period
• discuss the contributions of the king James bible to the
development of the English language during the 16th & 17th
centuries.

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3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 The Emergence of Dictionaries

The very first attempt to produce a comprehensive list of all the words in
the English language was Nathaniel Bailey’s Universal Etymological
English Dictionary published in 1721. The earliest English dictionaries
were those that merely explained difficult words. The first of this was A
Table Alphabetical of Hard Words written by Robert Crawdrey, and
published in 1604. It explained some 3,000 terms. This was followed in
1616 by John Bullkar’s English Expositor, while Henry Cockeram
published the English Dictionaries in 1623. Again in 1658, Edward
Philips published New World of Words. All these dictionaries and later
compilations only treated difficult words. A new wave of dictionaries
was to be experienced in the first half of the 19th century in order to keep
pace with increases in knowledge and terminologies that were the result
of the industrial revolution and progress in science and medicine.
However, Dr. Samuel Johnson’s dictionary of 1755 was the first to
account for the extensive additions that had been made to the language
and helped to enhance their adoption into general use. Dr Johnson’s
dictionary is discussed in Unit 2 of Module 2.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

Discuss the general contributions of early dictionaries of the 17th

century, to the growth of English.

3.2 Shakespeare and the World of Words

Though Shakespeare’s influence on the English language extended to

pronunciation, syntax and usage, his impact was more prominent in the
area of vocabulary. His plays and poems also illustrated the way English
was developing during the latter part of the 16th century and early 17th
century - the time he lived (1564-1616).

Shakespeare had the largest vocabulary of any English writer and this is
due to his resourceful use of words and his acceptance of new words. He
freely used some of the words that some people rejected as inkhorn
terms. The following words which were first used by Shakespeare were
all new to English in the latter half of the 16th century: agile, allurement,
antipathy, catastrophe, critical, demonstrate, dire, discountenance
,emphasis, emulate, extract, hereditary, horrid ,meditate, modest,
pathetic, prodigious, vast, armada, barricade, cavalier, mutiny,
palisade, renegade etc., (Baugh and cable 2001). In some number of
cases, Shakespeare’s use of certain words became their earliest
occurrence in English language e.g. accommodation, apostrophe,

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assassination, barefaced, countess, courtship, dwindle, eventful, lack-

lustre, dexterously, dislocate, frugal, misanthrope, laughable, obscene,
pedant, premeditate, reliance, submerge etc.

The sense in which Shakespeare used some of these words was in fact
closer to their original Latin meaning than the sense in which we use
them today. For example Shakespeare’s communicate means to share
rather than to exchange information as we know it today. So you can see
that his liberal attitude towards foreign borrowing enhanced his stock of
words. And as he creatively used them in his works, he showed how
foreign words can enrich the English vocabulary and function
effectively in practical terms.

There were however some of his words (i.e. first recorded in

Shakespeare) which have not survived as the ones listed above. About a
third of his coinages from Latin fall into this category. Some examples
are: abruption, appertainments, cadens, exsufficate, persistive,
protractive, questrist, soilure, tortive, ungenitured, unplausive, vastidity,
(Crystal 2002). These words could be explained in the context of which
Shakespeare used them.

One aspect of Shakespeare’s lexicon, which we must mention here are

his use of hyphenated compound words. Many of these coinages were
peculiarly his, some which again did not survive in modern English.
Examples of Shakespeare’s hyphenated compounds are Arch-heretique,
baby-eyes, bare-pickt, breake-vow, canker-sorrow, faire-play,
giant-world, halfe-blown, heauen-mouing; ill-turned, kindre-action,
pale-visag’d, pell-well, vile-concluded, widow-comfort. William
Shakespeare’s works demonstrate his contributions and his
indispensable place in the history of the English language.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. Make a list of some of Shakespeare’s hyphenated compound

words that have survived in Modern English.
2. What do you think was responsible for the success of
Shakespeare’s contribution to the development of English
Vocabulary?

3.3 The King James Bible

The King James Bible or Authorised Version as it was also called was
published in 1611. Though it was not authorized by any process of
parliament, the Bible’s title page stated that it was appointed to be read
in churches throughout the United Kingdom and this was to determine
its influence on the population and far more on the language.

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The Bible was translated by 54 university scholars. The project was

approved by King James himself following a recommendation by some
750 reformers from within the Church of England. The preliminary
version which took four years was submitted to the bishops for revision.
The translators were divided into companies each working on a section
of the bible. The final version took nine months.

The panel followed a number of guidelines. They were to use the

bishops Bible where possible and were permitted to consult the Tyndale
Version and other earlier versions where necessary. They were also to
maintain recognized chapter divisions and proper names. Translations
by one member of a group were to be submitted by other members for
approval and each group was to send its materials to the others for final
agreement. Disagreements were to be discussed formally and outside
opinions sought if necessary. The project was successful due to the
personal enthusiasm and intellectual quality of the translators. In their
language choices, they did not introduce new items of vocabulary or
change the grammatical structure of the language. Frequently, they
introduced old use of words from the Tyndale version, and also used
quite a number of idioms. In fact there were many phrases in the King
James Bible which have entered the general idiom of the language,
sometimes with minor grammatical changes. Here are some examples:
my brother’s keeper (Genesis 4); eye for eye (Genesis 15); the apple of
his eye (Deuteronomy 32); a man after his own heart (1 Samuel 13),
how are the mighty fallen (2 Samuel 1); a root of the matter (Job 19);
salt of the earth (Math 5); new wine in old bottles (Matthew 7);
physician heal thyself (Luke 4) etc.

Below are two sample texts showing the 1611 printing of the King
James Authorised Version of the Bible and the 19th century printing.
Carefully compare the spelling, punctuation and vocabulary of both
editions. A is the preface to the 1611 edition.

Sample A

An other thing we thinke good to admonish thee of (gentle Reader) that

wee haue not tyed our selves to an vniformitie of phrasing, or to an
identitie of words, as some peraduenture would wish the we had done,
because they obserue, that some learned men some where, haue beene
as exact as they could that way… That we should expresse the same
notion in the same particular word; as for example, if we translate the
Hebrew or Greekeword once by purpose, neuer to call it intent; if one
where Iourneying, neuer Traveilling; if one where Thinker, neuer
suppose; if one where Paine, neuer Ache; if one where Joy, neuer
Gladness, etc.

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Sample B (Genesis 28:11-13)

And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because
the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for
his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and
behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven:
and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And
behold the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham
thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will
give it, and to thy seed…;

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

What type of influence do you think the King James Bible had on the
English language?

4.0 CONCLUSION

Dictionaries of difficult words; William Shakespeare and the King

James Authorised Version of the Bible were three important influences
on the 16th and 17th century English, especially on the development,
enrichment and stability of standard vocabulary of the English language.
Shakespeare and The King James Bible especially demonstrated how
English was used during the period and helped to maintain standard in
the English vocabulary, grammar and usage.

5.0 SUMMARY

Dictionaries of hard words attempted to provide meaning to difficult

English words during the early part of the 17th century. This was
necessary because of extensive additions to the English vocabulary,
some of which generated a lot of controversy. The dictionaries also
helped to facilitate the use of the words that had been generally adopted.

William Shakespeare’s contribution to the enrichment of the English

vocabulary was a major feature of the 17th century English. His wide
and creative use of words gave the language a wide stock of words,
some of which have become part of modern every day English.
Similarly, the King James Authorised Version of the bible illustrated the
Standard English, and helped to sustain stability since it was every
body’s Bible. Many of the Bible idioms for example have been
modernized and added to every day usage. These three influences on the
English language of the 17th century were significant ones.

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6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Compare and contrast the influence of Shakespeare and the King

James Bible on the English language of the 17th century.
2. Discuss the contributions of the early dictionaries of hard words
to the development of English vocabulary.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh A.C, Cable .T. (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th Ed.
London: Routledge.

Crystal (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language, 2nd

Ed Cambridge.

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MODULE 3

Unit 1 Changes in Pronunciation; the Great Vowel Shift; Some

Features of Grammar
Unit 2 The 18th Century English; An English Academy;
Johnson’s Dictionary
Unit 3 The 18th Century Grammarians; the Rise of Prescriptive
Grammar
Unit 4 English since 1900
Unit 5 Sources of New Words; the Oxford English Dictionary;
the Spelling Reform; Functional Varieties of English

UNIT 1 CHANGES IN PRONUNCIATION; THE GREAT

VOWEL SHIFT; SOME FEATURES OF
GRAMMAR

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Changes in Pronunciation
3.2 The Great Vowel Shift
3.3 Some Features of Grammar
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The study of sounds changes in the history of English is as important as

the study of grammar and vocabulary. This is because language operates
as a system and as we have earlier observed, a change in one part often
results in a change on the other. As you must have noticed in Module 2
Unit 1, Old English speech sounds differed significantly from the
Middle English pronunciation. And you will also discover in this unit
that there had been consistent sound changes from old English through
to the modern period. The major change in pronunciation which took
place at the end of the Middle English period, and affected the vowel
system so fundamentally is called The Great Vowel Shift. This change
has been responsible for most modern speech sounds. In this Unit, You
will see how this change occurred. We shall also examine in this Unit
some of the features of English grammar of the late 16th century and
early 17th century.

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2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this Unit, you should be able to:

• identify some changes that occurred in the speech sounds of early

modern English
• explain what is meant by the great vowel shift
• describe some features of the grammar of the early 17th century.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Changes in Pronunciation

Some sounds in English have not had any changes like others. For
example, the short /e/ has remained unchanged since the old English
times. The O.E bẻdd is still bed today; whereas the â in O. E stân (store)
became a sound like /‫כ‬:/ as in law towards the end of Old English, and
later changed to ō similar to its current pronunciation o (store). Changes
in pronunciation however varied according to regions.

Changes in consonant sounds had been insignificant compared to

changes in vowel sounds. Though some voiced consonants in Old
English, became voiceless or occasionally lost in Middle English,
consonant have remained fairly as stable as they been in Old English
(O.E). The w sound was almost generally lost in Middle English (M.E)
where they had been pronounced in Old English; O.E swâ became sō
(so) and O.E hwâ changed to hō (who) in Middle English.

Most short vowels in Old English; like è, ì, ô, ú passed on to Middle

English unchanged. The long ý developed as the short ý. The O.E brýd
became brìde (M.E) and bride in modern English; O.E fýr became fīre
(M.E) and fire in modern English. The quality Old English vowels did
not change much in passing to Middle English but their length were
considerable altered. Old English long vowels for example were
shortened early in the Middle English period when followed by double
consonants. Compare Middle English grèt with Old English grẻat.

All Middle English long vowels went through extensive alteration in

passing to Middle English, but short vowels that occur where syllables
are accented remained fairly stable. Short vowels like a and u went
through important changes. M.E a became / æ/ in the 16th century,
pronounced as cat, thank, mat, flax, almost returning to the Old English
ǽ as in at, apple, back. The u in Middle English became what is known
as unrounding in M.E. The vowel was pronounced as u as in full or pull.
In early modern English u became u as in cut, but, sun, love. As far as
short vowels are concerned a modern speaker of English will have no
difficulty in understanding the English of any period in history. But this

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situation is quite different when we consider long vowels. The notable

change in pronunciation involving long vowels is known as The Great
Vowel Shift.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. Compare some vowel sounds in Middle English with those in

Modern English.
2. Compare changes in vowel sounds with those of consonant
sounds in both Old and Middle English.

3.2 The Great Vowel Shift

The Great Vowel Shift affected the seven long vowels in English. In
Middle English they were ī, ệ, ệ Ộ, ộ ữ.

Ī pronounced as i: e.g. / fi:f / became /fair/ five

ệ pronounced as e e.g. /me:də/ became /mi:d / mead
ệ pronounced as ε: e.g. /kl ε:nə / became /kle:n/ clean
ặ pronounced as a : e.g. /na:mə / became / ne:m/ name
Ộ pronounced as ‫כ‬: e.g. /g‫כ‬:tδ / became /go:t/ goat
ộ pronounced as o: e.g. /ro:tδ/ became /ru:t/ root
û pronounced as u: e.g. /du:n/ became /daun/ down

Notice that i and u became diphthongs ai and au. And you can see that
most of the vowels had almost acquired their present pronunciation by
the 16th century, through the Great Vowel Shift. You will also notice
that the Middle English ệ has changed to /i:/. In the early modern period
(of Shakespeare) ệ was pronounced as in lane, or name but now it
sounds as lean, clean, bean. The change occurred at about the end of the
17th century. The Great Vowel Shift is responsible for the random use of
vowel symbols in English spelling. Spelling had already become fixed
before the shift and therefore did not change when the quality of the
long vowels changed. As a result vowel symbols no longer correspond
with the sounds they once represented in Old English.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

Describe the influence of the Great Vowel Shift to modern

pronunciation.

3.3 Some Features of Grammar

The English grammar of the late 16th century and early 17th century is
marked by some characteristics which had since disappeared, especially
the few parts of speech that retained their old forms. We shall examine
some of them.

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The Noun: The only inflections in the noun were, as we

mentioned in Unit 3 of Module 2 those marking the
plural and possessive singular. There were however
a few nouns like sheep, and swine with unchanged
plurals. In the 16th century some old weak plurals
like – n survived. Most of them gave way to the – s
plural, such as fon (foes) kneen (knees) fleen (fleas).
Shakespeare for example had some forms like eyen
(eyes), shoon (shoes), and kine,. Some mixed
plurals like children, oxen, brethren, and some
internal change of vowels like mice, feet, survived.

The Adjective: Since the adjective lost its inflectional endings that
marked gender, number and case distinctions, the
only forms it retained during the 16th and 17th
centuries were the comparative and superlative
degrees. The two common endings -er
(comparative) and – est (superlative) with the
adverb more and most had been in use since the Old
English period. Shakespeare used double
comparative or superlative such as more large,
most boldest; or most unkindest. These are no
longer in use today. In modern times only one
syllable (monosyllable) words take the –er, -est
suffixes like fine-finer-finest; tall-taller-tallest etc.
Words with more than one syllable take more and
most e.g. beautiful -more beautiful -most beautiful;
active -more active -most active; careful -more
careful l-most careful etc.

The Pronoun: As we have said earlier, it was during the 16th

century that the pronouns thou, thy, thee were
dropped except where the Authorised Version or
Shakespeare is still read. You was substituted for
ye, while its was introduced as the possessive of it.
During the Middle English the singular forms thou,
thy, and thee were used among friends and
colleagues and for addressing superiors. In the 16th
century ye, your, you became pronouns of direct
address irrespective of rank or closeness, while the
singular forms disappeared. However, the
Authorised Version of the Bible and Shakespeare
still used them.

The formative of its as possessive marker was one interesting thing of

the early modern period. However, his was still used as the proper form

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of the possessive. E.g. if the salt has lost his savor; little candles throw
his beams etc.

Another development of the pronoun in the 16th century was the use of
who as a relative pronoun. In Old English there were no relative
pronouns, rather definite articles (sệ, sệo,þœt) were used as relative.
Sometimes the article þe was added (sệ, þe, which, that) and sometimes
þe was used alone. In the Middle English this was replaced by þœt
(that). In the 15th century which and that began to be alternated. It was
not until 16th century that the relative pronoun who came into use.

The Verb: Verbs were commonly used without auxiliaries in

interrogative statements. A question in Shakespeare’s
Macbeth says Goes the king hence today? Normally we
would say: Is the king going out today? Or Does the king
go out? Another noticeable difference is the omission of
progressive forms. It is common to hear or read: Where
goes he? or What do you read? Rather than where are you
going? or what are you reading? The increase in the use of
progressive forms is a modern development.

Impersonal use of verbs was much more common in the 16th and 17th
centuries. A construction like it pleases me not, it dislikes me, it repents
me, are familiar expressions in Shakespeare and the King James Bible,
which in more recent English have been replaced by personal
constructions like It doesn’t please me; I don’t like it or I repent.

The regular ending of the third person singular –eth, was universal right
from the 14th century and all through the Middle English period, thus
goeth, giveth, lieth, saith, doth, speaketh became the standard forms.
Forms like goes, gives, lies, says, does are also a modern development
of English. This however made some occasional appearances in the 15th
century.

We also mentioned in Unit 5 of Module 1 that some Old English strong

verbs were lost during the Middle English period and some became
weak verbs. Those that remained became subject to functions in the past
tense and past participle. Verbs like hide, crow, crowd, flay, dread etc.
developed weak forms. While a number of weak forms became strong,
e.g. blowed, growed, shined, shrinked, and swinged. Some of these
verbs have also undergone changes in modern English.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

(i) Describe some features of the pronoun during the 16th century.
(ii) Write some verbs that may be referred to as having weak forms
in Middle English.

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4.0 CONCLUSION
Some of the changes that were characteristic of the 16th century actually
started earlier. Sounds changes was climaxed by the Great Vowel Shift
which provided the foundation for modern English pronunciation.
Changes in some forms of grammar as we have seen in this Unit were
expected as a part of the ongoing development process of the language,
which became more radical with the emergence of the Standard English.

5.0 SUMMARY
Sound changes have been important in the process of development of
the English language. Changes occurred more with vowel sound than
with consonants. And except for notable changes in the sounds of i and
u, other vowels did not change much from Old English. The most
important change in the English sound system is the Great Vowel Shift,
which affected some seven long vowel sounds and changed them from
Middle English pronunciation to modern pronunciation.

Changes in grammar were those characteristic of the Renaissance

English. The –s plural marker was generally adopted, with some few
mixed plurals. Adjectives lost their inflections and retained only the –er
and –est markers for comparative and superlative degrees. For pronouns
ye, your, and you, replaced the singular thou, thy and thee and became
pronouns for direct address irrespective of the status of the addresses or
the relationship between addressee and the addresser. Impersonal use of
verbs, the scarcity of progressive forms, the –eth ending of verbs and the
weakening of some strong verbs and vice versa were the general features
of verbs in the 16th century. All the features of grammar and
pronunciation as we have seen in this Unit were further developed but
became the strong foundation for the modern day English.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Discuss some general patterns of change in the 16th century
English pronunciation.
2. Describe some general features of grammar during the 16th
century.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh, A.C. & Cable T. (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th
Ed. London: Routledge
Crystal, D. (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language,
2nd Ed Cambridge University Press.
Ogu, J.N. (1992). A Historical Survey of English and Nigerian Situation,
Lagos: Kraft.

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UNIT 2 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN THE 18TH

CENTURY: AN ENGLISH ACADEMY AND
JOHNSON’S DICTIONARY
CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 The 18th Century English
3.2 An English Academy
3.3 Johnson’s Dictionary
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION
One of the major characteristics of the Renaissance is the search for new
knowledge and in the 17th and 18th centuries there was a conflict of ideas
between science and religious thinking, which was going to involve
English and language use. Matters of knowledge and learning were now
being extensively published in English and in the latter part of the 17th
century, there arose a kind of public consciousness towards the
language. For instance, a popular feeling arising from the conflict of
science and religion, proposed that scientific prose should be written in
plain language, made clear and precise. And the style must not be
assertive. It was also argued that language should be void of emotions; it
should be rational and English prose was to be used to facilitate national
unity rather than mere source of entertainment or relaxation. There was
a Royal Society then in the 1660s the job, of which was to propose
solution to the conflict of thoughts, especially to design a universal
language style for scientific writing. But the Royal Society failed to
create the plain style of language which it was meant to do neither did
its members show any example. This search for stability and a demand
for regulation introduce us to the temper of the 18th century, which we
shall discuss in this unit under the 18th Century English. We shall also
examine some of the efforts made by scholars to achieve order and
standard in English with particular reference to Dr Johnson’s Dictionary.

2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this Unit, you should be able to:

• describe the general characteristics of the 18th century England

• explain the English language situation of the 18th century

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• describe some efforts made to achieve order and uniformity in

English in the 18th century
• discuss the contributions of Johnson’s dictionary to the growth of
English vocabulary and language use.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 The 18th Century English

In the study of English literature, the first half of the 18th century, is
often referred to as the Augustan Age in England. It was a period of
English prose writing which invariably affected the course of the
English language. This age was characterized by a search for stability in
language use. There was a strong sense of order and great desire for a
system that would enhance efforts towards conformity to certain
standards of good writing. There was also a drive towards correctness
and attempts were made to formulate rules and principles to define
correctness and to achieve correctness. This was characteristic of the
spirit of rational science and philosophy that started with the
Renaissance. Latin was looked upon as a classical standard for literature.
Concerns for English soon began to take a new turn. Questions were
then asked whether the language was at all worthy to be used for
writing, where Latin had been the tradition; whether the extensive
additions being made to the vocabulary were justified, and whether a
better system of spelling could be introduced. For the first time, it was
discovered that English had no grammar. What was grammar did not
follow any generally accepted pattern. The result was that English did
not have any rules. People did not know when they were wrong or right.
Everything was uncertain. Even among the educated people there was so
much variation on matters of grammar.

Latin remained an authoritative example in which one was told how to

use language. People began to feel that this problem could be solved by
an English Academy that could legislate on matters of language. The
popular idea was that English was being corrupted and needed to be
refined and corrected. Necessary reforms should be in place after which
the language should be fixed permanently and protected from regular
changes.

In a nutshell the 18th century sought to:

(i) reduce the language to rule and set up a standard of current

usage;
(ii) refine the language – that is, to remove supposed defects and
introduce certain improvements; and
(iii) fix it permanently in the desire form (Baugh & Cable 2001).

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Attempts to Purify the Language

Right from the 17th century as we have pointed out, people were
conscious that English lacked standards - the fact that the language did
not have rules to determine right or wrong in its usage. Writers were
particularly worried that writing was more of a guess work; individuals
wrote according to their choices of words and how best they felt they
could express themselves, not guided by any particular standard. This
led to further corruption of the language, as some people thought.

The feeling that English was being corrupted and unchecked gave rise to
some attempts to clean up the language and rid it of some supposed
imperfections. One of such attempts was Swift’s proposal of 1712,
titled: A Proposal for Correcting, Improving, and Ascertaining the
English Tongue. Swift was not comfortable with the spate of scientific
enquiry and revolutions that favoured careless use of language.
Innovations such as clipping and shortening of words like mob, taxi, rep
or phone was not acceptable to Swift. A later publication Philosophy of
Rhetoric by George Campbell (1776) also condemned this practice. In
fact Campbell described it as ‘barbarism’ in language use. Another
innovation that Swift opposed was the tendency to contract verbs like
‘rebuk’d,’ ‘disturb’d’ or ‘perturb’d’. He condemned this practice and
argued that leaving out a vowel to save a syllable makes such contracted
forms very difficult to pronounce. Again Swift condemned some new
words that kept coming into the English language. Words such as sham,
banter, mob, bubble, bully, shuffling, or palming, that were becoming
the vogue among people of fashion and even among preachers were
rejected. As we have pointed out in the earlier Unit, Swift was not alone
in the criticism of foreign words. But Swift desired and hoped that like
Latin and Greek, English could be rendered stable. But it is a mistaken
notion that these languages never had times when they struggled with
the process of stability like English at this period.

However Swift and others who believed that the problems that
confronted English - that of standardizing, refining, and ‘fixing’ were to
consider what happened in Italy and France. Each of these countries had
an academy that defined standards in language and monitored the
processes that sustained these standards. Italy for example founded the
Accademia della Crusca in 1582, that was responsible for the
purification of the Italian language. The Academy to this effect
published in 1612 a dictionary called Vocabolario degli Accademici
della Crusca, which had about six volumes by 1738. France similarly
established an Academy. The principal functions of the Academy were
to give rules to the French language, render it pure and capable of
treating the arts and sciences. It was also to compile a dictionary, a
grammar, a rhetoric and a guide on how to write poetry. These were all

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achieved by 1694. England did not have any Academy that performed
similar functions.

SELFASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. Describe the problems that English had, that became prominent

in the 18th century.
2. Why did these problems become too obvious in the 18th century?

3.2 An English Academy

An English Academy was then suggested following the Italian and

French example. In 1660, a volume was published titled New Atlantis…
continued by R.H Esquire. The author formally pictured an academy
that would be charged with purifying the English language and
regulating its grammar and vocabulary. Not long, the idea of an
academy received supports from influential intellectuals, including John
Dryden (a poet), and John Evelyn among others. Evelyn, who was a
member of the Royal society, proposed that a grammar of language be
formulated with some spelling reforms to be followed by a collection of
all ‘pure’ English words with their meanings. He further suggested
collections of technical words, dialects, expressions and archaic words
that might be revived and possibly translating some of the best of Greek
and Latin literatures as models of elegance and style. Remember that the
Royal Society was a established for scientific research and had no real
interest in language matters, so nothing was done about Evelyn’s
proposals. Dryden’s efforts also in this direction did not attract any
significant attention.

Towards the end of the century however, Daniel Defoe (a novelist) in

his Essay upon Projects (1697) again raised the issue of an English
Academy and devoted a whole article to the subjects of academies.
Swift’s Proposal of 1712, as we noted earlier, marked the heights of the
movement for an English Academy. Already public opinion had been in
its favour following the efforts of Dryden, Evelyn and others, for more
than fifty years. Once again the idea of an Academy suffered a set back
following a publication of Reflections on Dr Swift’s Letter to the Earl of
Oxford about the English Tongue by John Oldmixon, in the same year
that Swift Proposal appeared.

Oldmixon (a lawyer) writing in the name of the legal profession totally

attacked the idea of standardizing the language, arguing that it was
impossible to prevent a language from responding to change. While he
did not protest against the idea of an Academy, he ridiculed the person
of Swift and his proposal and nothing subsequently came out of Swift’s
Proposal, which was indeed the closest England ever came to having an

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Academy. Subsequent talk of an Academy in England was soon

received with skepticism. There were now doubts of the results of the
French Academy. Some came to think that the Academy came to fix
French but ended up spoiling it. The claim that a language could be
fixed was the platform upon which the idea of an Academy was built,
now it began to decline and popular feeling began to favour the notion
that nothing can stop a language from changing, not even Latin or Greek
could resist change.

When it was clear that Swift’s Proposal had failed the only means was to
work out a substitute for an academy and that would demand working
directly on the public. Individuals sought to provide reforms that they
believed necessary and to set up standards that would be accepted by
every body. Thus, in 1724 an anonymous publication appeared under the
title: The Many Advantages of a Good Language to Any Nation: with an
Examination of the Present State of our Own. This re-echoed the old
complaints that English was full of too many monosyllables, used too
many contractions, and had no adequate grammar or dictionary. It then
called upon the public to take part in the discussion on matters of
language and proposed a series of weekly or monthly publications on
grammar and other topics on language. Some other publications also
emerged calling for reforms on grammar and spelling.

All these publications identified two greatest needs of the English

language (i) standard grammar (ii) a dictionary. The need for a
dictionary was met by Johnson’s dictionary of 1755 and the one of
grammar by early grammarians in the latter part of the 18th century. The
latter shall be discussed in Unit 3 of Module 2.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

1. Discuss the factors that favoured the proposal for the

establishment of an English Academy.
2. Explain the reasons why Swift’s Proposal failed.
3. What substitutes were adopted for an academy?

3.3 Johnson’s Dictionary

Dr. Johnson’s dictionary of 1755 was the first of its kind to exhibit
English vocabulary in a more fully and extensive manner. It offered
quotations to illustrate the use of words. Thus, it became the first
dictionary to record language usage. And this was to aid understanding
where the explaining of meanings became inadequate. The dictionary
also gave a guide to pronunciation.
The purpose of this dictionary was not just to provide a kind of standard
in spelling and use of words, it was, according to the author to refine the

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English language and ensure grammatical purity; to clear it from

colloquial barbarism, licentious idioms and irregular idioms” (Baugh &
Cable 2001: 273). At another place he said it was to fix the English
language, preserve its purity and ascertain the meaning of English
idioms. This was like performing the functions of an Academy; and in
fact, the Johnson’s dictionary could compare favourably with similar
works of an Academy in France or Italy.

The dictionary however had its defects. For instance, it was said to
include many words that did not belong to English, and its history of
words was not perfect. Some of its explanations of places were incorrect
and full of prejudice and his definitions were sometimes discriminatory.
Though laden with its inadequacies scholars still believed that Johnson’s
dictionary is the foundation of all meaningful efforts towards the
standardization of the English language. Dr. Samuel Johnson himself is
considered as the founder of the modern English dictionary.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

1. Describe the features of the Johnson’s Dictionary of the 18th

century.
2. What faults were leveled against the work?

4.0 CONCLUSION

The position of the 18th century English was that of uncertainty in

grammar and vocabulary. It was the general feeling that English lacked
standards and needed a regulatory body. This resulted in the call for an
English Academy and some other attempts to fix a standard. When the
efforts failed, Samuel Johnson’s dictionary appeared to try to solve the
problem of standards in spelling, pronunciation and language use.

5.0 SUMMARY

The 18th century was an age in search of rules and established standards
of spelling and language usage. Efforts to refine the English grammar
and remove some supposed defects and improve on it became necessary.
A strong thirst to fix the language permanently as a guide to correct
usage in both writing and speaking became the preoccupation of
language scholars. There was a call for an English Academy that would
effectively legislate on matters of language as described above and serve
as a watchdog against foreign agents of pollution, following the
examples of France and Italy. At the forefront of this call was the
Swift’s Proposal of 1712. When this proposal failed individuals adopted
other forms of propaganda to win public interest in favour of standards
for English and its purity. This was in form of weekly and monthly

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publications on matters of language. In 1755 Samuel Johnson’s

dictionary appeared that provided for the first time the standard steps to
fix the language. The dictionary provided a comprehensive list of
English words, a guide to spelling and pronunciation, and a guide to
language usage. The dictionary almost served as an Academy by itself
and solved one of the greatest problems of English at that time which
was lack of standards in vocabulary.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Discuss the problems of English that became glaring in the 18th

century.
2. Describe the features of the Johnson’s dictionary of the 18th
century and its contribution to the development of the English
language.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh A.C, Cable .T. (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th Ed.
London: Routledge.

Crystal (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language, 2nd

Ed .Cambridge University Press.

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ENG211 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

UNIT 3 THE 18TH CENTURY GRAMMARIANS; THE

RISE OF PRESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 The 18th Century Grammarians
3.2 The Rise of Prescriptive Grammar
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

One of the greatest defects of the English language in the 18th century as
we observed in Unit 2 of this Module was the absence of consistent
grammar. There was no standard because the language had not been
reduced to rules, showing what correct English was and what it wasn’t.
So people used the language with the consciousness that it possessed no
character that reflected order and consistency. It was this challenge that
the 18th century grammarians would confront. In this Unit, we shall see
the efforts of the grammarians to formulate rules for the English
language and how this attempt led to the emergence of prescriptive
grammar. What were the achievements of the grammarians and what
were their failures?

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Unit, you should be able to:

• assess the general contributions of the early grammarians to

provide a standard for English grammar
• describe the rise of prescriptive grammar and say why it is called
prescriptive grammar
• distinguish between prescriptive grammar and the grammar of the
early modern period.

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3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 The 18th Century Grammarians

Before the 18th century there had been few attempts to make English
grammar more formal and stable. However these works were generally
written for the purpose of teaching foreign learners the language or
providing basis for learning Latin grammar. An example was Ben
Johnson’s An English grammar …for the Benefit of Strangers, published
in 1640. It was in the 18th century that English grammar was viewed as a
subject worthy of study by itself. An earlier writer, John Wallis
(Grammatical Linguae Anglicante, 1653) had observed that the Latin
structure defers significantly from that of English, and therefore
describing English using Latin grammar was not proper. It was like
forcing English to the methods and rules of Latin. In the 18th century,
the grounds were set to witness descriptions of grammar that had its
peculiar nature and syntax. Unfortunately most of the compilers of the
English grammar were only trained in Latin and Greek and still tried to
preserve some of the classical concepts that are foreign to English.

The works of the grammarians began with the work of Joseph Priestly
(1761) titled The Rudiments of English Grammar. A month later, Dr.
Robert Lowth, a bishop of London, published Short Introduction to
English Grammar (1762). About 22 editions of this book appeared in
the 18th century, and became very influential. Subsequent four
publications were mere imitations of Lowth’s grammar. For instance
John Ash’s Grammatical Institutes (1763) was intended to serve as Easy
Introduction to Dr. Lowth’s English Grammar. In 1784, Noah Webster
published A Grammatical Institute of the English Language, which
enjoyed much circulation and influence in America. Most of these works
were by men who did not have any special training in language. Lowth
for example was a clergyman, and their works were a mixture of
philosophical matters with language and did not really answer the great
questions of grammatical descriptions. Over 200 works on grammar and
rhetoric were published between 1750 and 1800. What really was their
aim and what did they achieve? It is undeniable that the 18th century
English grammarians attempted a coherent prescriptive tradition, within
which they aimed at:

(a) Codifying the principles of the language and reducing it to rules;

(b) Settling disputed points and deciding on cases of divided usage;
and
(c) Pointing out common errors, correcting such supposed errors and
improving the language.

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(a) The grammarians were to demonstrate that English was capable

of order and systematic procedure for achieving correctness.
Lowth had argued that the supposed irregularity in the language
was the problem of users and not with the language itself. People
had taken their skills in the language for granted and proceeded
without being conscious of any rules. So the grammarians were to
systematize the facts of English grammar and draw up rules by
which questions could be examined and decided.

(b) They were to settle disputed cases of grammar and usage. They
were not just to make rules but also pronounce judgment where
necessary. There were no longer going to be cases of uncertainty.
A grammatical construction is either right or wrong, and it was
the job of the grammarians to decide.

(c) Dr Lowth again observed that the best way to judge whether a
construction was right or wrong was to lay down rules, and
illustrate them by examples. But besides showing what was right,
it was necessary pointing out what was wrong. So the
grammarians would identify grammatical errors and demonstrate
how such errors would be corrected.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

Explain the aims of the 18th century grammarians.

3.2 The Rise of Prescriptive Grammar

In terms of achievement, the grammarians were going to do for grammar

what Johnson’s Dictionary had done for vocabulary. The dictionary had
handled most questions of spelling and lexicon in a fairly systematic
way, and attention was now on grammar. Now the grammarians set out
to prescribe. To prescribe in this context, means that people were told
what to say, the grammar was to be static, which invariably implied that
anything out of the specifications was condemned and proscribed. For
example, expressions like had rather, had better, were condemned; I
would rather was accepted. There was preference for different from
rather than different than or to, and the rejection of between you and me.
He is taller than I, was accepted rather taller than me. Shall was
approved for the first person pronoun, while will for the third person etc.
Do not forget that no consensus was reached among the grammarians in
this rule making process. However a decision was usually taken after
such questions as reason and examples from Latin or Greek had been
considered.

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William Ward in his Grammar of the English Language (1765) drew up

for the first time a full set of prescriptions that formed a background to
the rules found in modern English books. This publication was
strengthened by Lindey Murray’s English Grammar (1795). The books
by Lowth and Murray and those they influenced have been quite
controversial and were often considered as the origins of most of the
grammatical controversies in today’s English.

To make grammatical rules the grammarians were guided by three

considerations: reason (or analogy): history of the word or phrase
involved and the examples of Greek and Latin. The third point formed
the basis upon which many questions of grammar were decided. Some
grammarians felt that descriptive comparisons among these languages
(English included) could be turned into prescriptive rules especially
since they were working towards a universal grammar, and the idea of
universal grammar was derived from the traditions of Latin and Greek.
However there was in the 18th century a definite feeling that trying to fit
English into the pattern of Latin grammar was a disadvantage. This
feeling was sustained in the next century when the interest in universal
grammar declined.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

1. What does Prescriptive Grammar mean?

2. What do you think were the achievements of the 18th century
grammarians?

4.0 CONCLUSION

What we still have today as traditional grammar that tells us what is

right and wrong has its foundation in the 18th century grammarians.
Bishop Robert Lowth in 1762 said: “the principle design of a Grammar
of any Language is to teach us to express ourselves with propriety in the
Language; and to enable us judge every phrase and form of construction,
whether it be right or wrong”. (Crystal 2001:79). So the grammarians set
out to provide for English grammar a platform for determining what was
correct about spoken or written English and what was wrong. In doing
this they prescribed certain forms as correct and proscribed others as
incorrect.

This approach however brought about a serious argument - the question

of whether correctness should be determined by usage or grammatical
rules. Shouldn’t dictionaries and grammars rather reflect usage
describing current practice than prescribe rules? This view has since
been adopted by modern descriptive grammarians in their study and
analysis of language.

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5.0 SUMMARY

Before the 18th century, English grammar had no definite rules. And it
was difficult to determine what correct or incorrect sentence was since
there were no standards. The assignment before the 18th century
grammarians were to:

(i) codify the principles of the language and reduce it to rules;

(ii) point out common errors; correct such errors and improve on the
language;
(iii) settle disputed points and decide on cases of divided usage.

They set about to achieve the above by applying reason, common sense,
history, logic and references to Latin and Greek. At the end, they were
able to formulate rules for the language, prescribing some grammatical
forms as correct and proscribing some grammatical forms as incorrect.
Some of these publications have been controversial while some have
been condemned as containing a lot of blunders. One of the most
important arguments against their approach had been that English
grammar should reflect usage showing current practice rather than
proscribed rules.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Discuss the activities of the 18th century grammarians and outline

their achievements.
2. What was the main criticism against the Grammarians?

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh A.C, Cable .T. (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th Ed.
London: Routledge.

Crystal (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language, 2nd

Ed. Cambridge.

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UNIT 4 ENGLISH SINCE 1900

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Influences on the 19th Century English and After
3.2 Vocabulary and New Developments
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The 19th century and after, are also referred to as late modern period, or
simply the period of modern English. Again we are going to look at
some of the major influences on English language which have been
mainly on vocabulary. So far, we have seen that social factors have
contributed greatly to the growth of the language. Again, both political
and social factors had helped to strengthen the position of England as a
world power especially with its successive victories at wars during the
19th century (e.g. victory at Trafalgar, against France in 1805 and against
Russia at Crimea 1854-56). Its political and social reforms in the 19th
and 20th centuries were also important factors in establishing England as
one of the world’s stable democracies. The world wars of the 20th
century and its effects on the society; the growth and importance of
some of British colonies; their eventual independence and the rapid
growth of the United States as one of the greatest English speaking
world powers certainly have their influences on the English language of
today. We shall consider in detail some of these factors in Units 17 and
18. In this Unit we shall be considering the more influential factors as
they relate to language, namely the growth of Science and Medicine,
Transport, Information technology, Journalism and Broadcasting and the
world wars. You shall also see how developments in other areas have
affected English vocabulary.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Unit you should be able to:

• discuss the factors that influenced English vocabulary in the 19th

century and after
• explain how English vocabulary has been largely affected by
some new developments across the world since1900.

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3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Influences on the 19th Century English and After

As you can see in this study, English is one language that easily accepts
change and admits foreign technical terms. And no doubt as someone
that has been studying the language you are familiar with terms that are
associated with professions or register. And it is easy to identify terms
that are associated with science, medicine or engineering. These
technical terms came along with growth and development in the various
disciplines during the 19th and 20th centuries. Let’s consider some of
these disciplines and terms associated with them. We are able to
appreciate these terms because they have become part of our everyday
communication.

(i) Growth in Medicine and other Sciences: In every field of

science, there has been a growth in technical words in the 19th
and 20th centuries which only the specialist in these fields
understand but with time, a good number of the words became
familiar and in fact turn to everyday usage. In medicine for
example we are familiar with names of diseases like: Anaemia,
Diarrhea, Appendicitis, Bronchitis, and Cardiac-arrest and other
numerous ailments. We can easily associate terms like
Bacteriology, Virology, Immunology, Paediatrics, Orthodontics,
with medicine and we can easily suggest what some of them
mean from their names. AIDS (acquired immune deficiency
syndrome) which has become a household term was unknown in
the 19th century. We can easily talk of clinics, anti-biotic,
vaccine, or anesthetic. We have learnt names of drugs like
paracetamol, aspirin, analgesics, iodine, panadol, morphine, or
penicillin. Medical equipment such as stethoscope, syringe,
electrocardiogram, ultrasound scan machine, or x-ray machine,
is not very strange to us. We speak of hormones, enzymes;
metabolism, endocrine glands, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) etc.,
and we know what carbohydrate, vitamins, proteins, amino-
acids, or cholesterol mean. Although you may not explain them
clearly but you’re familiar with them. For example,
carbohydrates gives energy, protein builds up body tissues and
so on. We often talk about someone who usually falls ill by
eating a particular food as being allergic to that food. All these
words that came during the 19th and 20th centuries have become
everyday language.

In physics and electricity we can easily identify words that we know.

Words like relativity, calorie, ultra-violent rays, ionization, transformer,
dynamo, current, arc light, are indeed familiar though many of them we

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may not really explain. The development of atomic energy and nuclear
weapons following the World Wars and international conflicts has given
rise to words like atomic bomb, hydrogen bomb, air raid, ballistic
missiles, sand missiles, radio active, chain reaction, fallout, etc.

Chemistry has given the English lexicon, nitrogen, alkali, benzene,

radium, creosote, biochemical, petrol-chemical etc. Aviation and space
science have also contributed terms such as astronaut, cosmonauts,
space craft, space shuttle, count down command module blast off etc.
How we know that these terms have to stay is that we often make
reference to them in informal speech or writing consciously and
unconsciously. Many times we fail to recognize where the words come
from. You often hear people refer to inferiority complex, melancholic, or
schizophrenia without realizing that they are using words from formal
psychology.

(ii) Growth in Automobile and Transport Industry: Scientific

discoveries and inventions have proved to be an important source
of new words. The word automobile itself is a new term just as
we have saloon (American sedan) as terms used for earlier types
of vehicles. Now we have lorry (Army-truck), trailer limousine,
mustang, jeep, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Volkswagen, etc. some of
the cars are named after their inventors, e.g., Ford or Mercedes.
We have learnt new meanings with the evolution of vehicles like
carburetor, sparking plug, (American(Ame) spark plug) choke,
clutch, gear liver (Ame-gear shift), gearbox, steering wheels,
differential, shock absorber, chassis, automatic transmission,
radial tyres, spare tyres, convertible, or station wagon etc .And a
car is usually parked in a garage. We now talk of the traffic,
speeding, traffic light, petrol (Ame gas), bus-stop, terminus,
ticket, etc. You may supply more examples to illustrate further
how these technical terms have become part of our everyday
language.

(iii) Development in Broadcasting, Information Technology and

Computing. Communication and computer technology are other
aspects of science development that have contributed new words
to English vocabulary especially due to the degree of impact
these developments have had on people’s daily life. These
additions are either entirely new words or old words being given
new meanings. In communication, especially in films,
broadcasting and motion pictures most new words came in
during the 20th century. The word cinema dates from 1899, while
motion picture came much later. The word radio in the sense of
broadcasting came from about 1925, while the term television
(TV) was introduced at about 1904. Radio and TV share some

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common terminologies like broadcasting, newscaster, aerial,

transmitter, transmission, antenna, lead-in, loud speaker,
standby, announcer, reception, microphone, camera, etc. but
abbreviations like FM (frequency modulation) AM (amplitude
modulation) are used only for the identification of radio
broadcasting stations. But terms like cable TV, cable network,
teleprompter, video tape, UHL channel, colour programming,
digital TV, super thin TV, VCD, DVD are peculiar to the
television. Computer technology has been another significant
influence on the vocabulary of English. The first digital
computers were invented between 1940 and 1950, with some
general terms like program, memory, language, and hard ware.
With new waves of development in computer technology during
the 1980’s, people began to own ‘PCs’ (personal computers) and
learn new words from computing such as RAM (random-access
memory), ROM (read-only memory) DOS (disk operating
system), micro processor, byte, gig, modem, software, mouse,
keyboard etc. and with the growth of the internet, we now use
terms like www (World Wide Web), browse, hack, down load,
upload, hyper text, browser, search engine, LAN (local area
network, WAN (wide area network), e-mail, yahoo etc.

(iv) The Influence of Journalism: Journalists do not only propagate

new words, they also create theirs. Newspaper and magazines
have demonstrated a great deal of creativity when it comes to
saying what just have to be said even when the reporter lacks the
right word. Many times they adopt colloquial and informal styles,
sometimes using words out of context and often giving new
meanings to familiar words. And some of such words are used
metaphorically. For example quiz for question; oust for remove,
probe for investigate, comb for search and maul for defeat. Law
makers will always reach at a truce; someone spikes a rumour, or
makes a business deal. We read about a cleanup, a go-between
and how the price soared. The president is usually briefed or
chauffeured and we expect some sought of entertellment or
condomania or satzefaction. These are coinages we see in
magazines and newspapers that catch our attention, sometimes
used as adverts or to create sensations but indeed much of these
coinages are finding their ways into formal writing.

(v) The Effect of World Wars: As we examine how great

developments leave their marks on the English language, we must
not fail to mention that the First World War (1914-1918) brought
some words into English. Some of these are military terms, or
words associated with warfare e.g. air raid, anti aircraft gun,
tank, nose-dive, blimp, gas mask, liaison officer, and camouflage.

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‘Liaison’ and ‘camouflage’ are borrowed from French. We also

have words that assume new meaning e.g. sector (specific
position) barrage (protective screen of a machine gun); dud (a
shell that did not explode) etc. Today we say ‘sector of the
economy’ ‘barrage of corruption’, dud cheque’ with new
meanings. Some words already in the language were popularized
by the war, e.g. dugout, machine gun, periscope, no man’s land,
doughboy etc.

World War II wasn’t as productive as the World War I in terms of

introducing new words. However it contributed certain new words and
new meanings about new methods of warfare. Examples are alert,
block-buster, dive-bombing, nuclear bombing, evacuate, parachutist,
landing strip, crash landing, wad block, fox hole, bulldozer, task force.
Some expressions like spearhead, to mop up and to appease are new
verbs or old one with military sense. The word commando already
existed before 1940’s, acquired a new meaning. Others that either
acquired new meaning or given great currency during the war are
backlog, stockpile, priority, bottleneck, ceiling (limit) etc. The war also
contributed expressions like traveler, iron curtain, cold war, fellow etc.
to English vocabulary. Most of these words and expressions have since
been absorbed into everyday civilian language.

SELFASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. List 5 words that the growth of science introduced into English.

2. List 10 words that are associated with Broadcasting, computing.

3.2 Vocabulary and New Developments

Vocabulary has its way of expressing and highlighting developments.

You have seen so far, in this Unit and the previous ones that, a new
development leaves a significant linguistic mark on the language, so that
one can easily give a history of either a scientific or social development
by simply identifying some linguistic evidences that go along with it.
Take for example the World War II, new words came with new methods
of warfare including air combat, so we have air raid. And we trace the
history of certain words by simply studying the events and
developments that brought them. Language also reflects how current
people are with new developments and culture because when new words
enter into a language people quickly learn them as a way of updating
their knowledge and experience. These are what we have tried to prove
in the history of English. In this sub-section we shall consider a few
developments that impacted on the English language.

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At about 1839, the words photograph or photography appeared

signaling other related words such as camera, film, enlargement, focus,
aperture, shutter, lenses, negative etc. and in the latter part of the 19th
century words like telephone, typewriter, apartment house, blue print,
oilfield, motorcycle, feminist, fundamentalist, marathon etc. appeared.
These words were said to be the out come of the revival of the Olympic
Games in Athens in 1896.

The 20th century has witnessed a rapid growth of vocabulary. Between

1906 and 1908, new words like questionnaire, suffragette, raincoat,
thermos, free verse, came into English. This was also the period when
many words in aviation and aeronautics were introduced e.g. aircraft,
airplane, hydroplane, dirigible etc. 1910 came with terms like futurist,
post-expressionist (art), Freudian (psychology) intelligentsia (superior
culture) and profiteer. At about 1933 came deep-freezer, air-
conditioned, nylon, and transistor. Expressions like credit card,
ecosystem, and existentialism came around 1972.

We must mention here that a good number of words must have come out
of individual’s deliberate creation or coinage, borne out of ingenuity or
imitation. A few of them like Kodak, (a trade mark), Frigidaire,
Kleenex, Xerox, or Zipper, often treated as common nouns, are coinages
that represent trade names. Some of these coinages are actually
acronyms - words formed by joining few letters of two or more words.
E.g. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome); Radar (radio
detecting and ranging) etc. Some are blend words or portmanteau words
like Interpol (international + police) travelogue (travel + dialogue);
while some are simple clipped words e.g. fax (facsimile) phone
(telephone), lab (laboratory). In many cases, the blend or clipped words
gain more popularity and patronage than the original word. As new
developments keep taking place, we expect new words to express them.

SELFASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

1. Explain the relationship between new developments and old

vocabulary.
2. Can you identify some recent words in the vocabulary of
Nigerian English?

4.0 CONCLUSION

Scientific and social developments are major factors in the enrichment

of English vocabulary. As new things take place, the need naturally
arises for the appropriate words to express them. Words that already
exist in the language are not usually sufficient to represent new
experiences. So as society grows, all its aspects grow, so language,

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especially vocabulary grows. And we expect more stock of words in

English as we witness new inventions and more technological
breakthroughs.

5.0 SUMMARY

The rapid growth of English vocabulary from the 19th century upwards,
has been sequel to the growth and development of science and medicine,
communication and Broadcasting, Information technology and
Computing. Others are Journalism and the World Wars, within the same
period. We have also observed that the development of vocabulary is an
on-going process because as the world witnesses new developments,
new words and expressions are bound to evolve as part of those
development processes. And people must learn those new terms to
update their knowledge and express their experience, as well as benefit
maximally from the emerging developments and technologies.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. List at least ten (10) words you consider to be new developments

in the English in Nigeria.
2. Discuss five (5) factors that directly influenced the development
of English vocabulary of the 19th century and after.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh A.C, Cable .T. (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th Ed.
London: Routledge.

Crystal (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language, 2nd

Ed. Cambridge.

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UNIT 5 SOURCES OF NEW WORDS; THE OXFORD

ENGLISH DICTIONARY; SPELLING
REFORM; FUNCTIONAL VARIETIES OF
ENGLISH

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Sources of New Words
3.2 The Oxford English Dictionary
3.3 Spelling Reform
3.4 Functional Varieties of English
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

We are still studying the features of late Modern English, i.e., from 1900
to the present time. In this Unit we shall be considering the extent to
which new words entered (and are still entering) Modern English and
their sources. Secondly, we shall be looking at the emergence and
contribution of the Oxford English Dictionary and the question of
Spelling Reform. Lastly, we shall examine the functional varieties and
dialects of Modern English.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Unit, you should be able to:

• describe the sources of lexicon of modern English

• explain the contributions of oxford English dictionary
• identify some functional varieties of English
• describe the contributions of the spelling reform.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Sources of New Words

You will recall that the greatest radical changes in the history of English
have taken place in the vocabulary. The events and developments in
Europe and England are usually reflected in the English language by the

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number of new words that are introduced following the events. Can you
remember any Old English words that came with the Anglo-Saxon
invasion or words that were introduced as a result of the Danish
invasion, or French words that the Normans brought with them as they
conquered England in 1066?

In the Modern periods new words that came into the English lexicon did
not come with military conquest, rather they came from common
sources such as borrowings from other modern European languages;
creation of words through self-explaining compounds, prefixes and
suffixes; coinages; forming of words from Greek and Latin elements;
common words from proper names; slang and old words that assumed
new meanings. We shall discuss each of these briefly:

(i) Borrowings from Modern European Languages. The English

language has further extended its vocabulary with new words like
aperitif, chauffeur, garage etc (French), ciao, vendetta etc
(Italian), bonanza, canyon, cantina etc (Spanish) feschrift, angst,
etc (German), troika, vodka, glasnost, perestroika (Russia),
robot, (Czech), loot, thug etc (India), pygamas (Persia), sake,
yen, soy etc (Japan). Most of these words have been adopted the
way they are, with the same meaning that they designate in their
original languages.

(ii) Forming Words through Self-Explaining Compounds.

Compound words such as fire-extinguisher, finger-print etc.
(often with hyphens) represent the old method of creating words
in English language. In the 20th century, it continued to provide
cheap method of forming new words. Words such as know-how,
lip-stick, streamline, hitchhike, e-mail, babysitter, life style,
greenhouse effect, acid rain etc. are familiar examples. You can
see that the words explain themselves without having to consult
the dictionary.

(iii) Compounds from Greek and Latin Elements. Latin and Greek
are familiar classical languages whose elements have been in the
English language for a long time. In modern times, they remain a
favourite source of scientific terms in the language. The word
genetics for example is formed from two Greek roots which
stands for well and to be born. Genetics is the study of heredity -
about natural traits, abilities or illnesses of parents pass on to
their children. The suffix scope in telescope, stethoscope, etc. is
from the Greek word meaning water, while ‘tele’ in telescope,
telephone, television etc., is adopted from Greek element
meaning far. The word automobile is from both Greek and Latin.
Auto in Greek represents self while mobile is Latin mobilis

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meaning moveable. Many scientific words in the English

language can actually be traceable this way with their roots in
Greek or Latin.

(iv) Prefixes and Suffixes. Another method for forming words has
been by adding familiar prefixes and suffixes to existing words.
Thus in the Modern period, words such as transatlantic,
transcontinental, transformer, transmarine, post classical,
postgraduate, prenatal, preschool, preview, counterattack,
superman, neoclassical, stardom, gangster, profiteer etc came
into the language.

(v) Coinages. Some new words in the language are as a result of

deliberate coinages during this period. Many of such words came
from the media and advertising. Words like Xerox, Frigidaire
and Kodak were initially used as trademarks, but today you can
hear someone saying “I would like to Xerox the whole paper”.
Acronym is another method through which new words were
invented. We often refer to OPEC (Organization of Petroleum
Countries) ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African
States) UNICEF (United Nations Children’s fund) without
having to bother about their full meaning. In some coinages it is
easy to guess the combination that is made, either an element
with an existing word in the language or some familiar element.
Examples are travelogue (travel and dialogue), Dictaphone
(dictate and telephone), electrocute (electricity and execute) etc.
Words like travelogue and electrocute are called blends or
portmanteau.

(vi) Words from Proper Names. Some words in the language are
actually adopted from proper names with which the idea
expressed by the words is associated. Sandwich for example is
attributable to the Earl of Sandwich who on one occasion was
said to put slices of meat between pieces of bread. Limousine is a
name of a province in France. Names like Mercedes, Ford, or
Volkswagen are cars named after their inventors. The word
boycott was derived from the experience of captain Boycott -an
agent of a house owner who refused to accept rent offered by
tenants. His life was threatened, his servants were forced to
desert him and his figure was burnt in effigy. This was in 1880 in
Ireland. Since then the word boycott evolved meaning to force
something to happen, by refusing to do something. We have
more of such words in English language.

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(vii) Slang. Slang could be said to be common words or expressions

that do not belong to the standard variety but are generally used
in some informal contexts, with some special meaning. Earlier in
the history of the English language slang was rejected as vulgar,
or ‘vagabond’. But in modern times, many slang words like joke,
boom, slum, fad, scram, buzz, put-down, vamoose etc are finding
their way into formal writing.

(viii) Old Words with New Meanings. The process of extending the
vocabulary of a language also involves attaching new meanings
to old-familiar words. Words like mouse, boot, click, navigate as
used today in computing are examples of old words with new
meanings. Skyline initially meant the horizon, now it refers to
sky-scrapers. A record no longer refers to music, but other things
from bookkeeping to documentation. Phrasal verbs like sign-off
or stand-by is now mainly used in the media, like take-off (in a
plane) kick-off (in football) and call-up (in telephone). Some
words are now better interpreted in the content of users and
situations, than their dictionary meaning. Skyscrapers

SELFASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. List at least six (6) sources of lexicon in Modern English.

2. Discuss four (4) contributions of these sources.

3.2 The Oxford English Dictionary

It was around 1850 that the inadequacy of existing dictionaries of the

English language began to be felt very seriously. With the increasing
amount of new words entering into the language the Johnson’s
dictionary for example became far below standard to meet intellectual
needs of the modern reader. The British Philological Society in 1857
appointed a committee to collect words that were not in the dictionaries,
with an aim of publishing a supplement to them. It later decided to
produce an entirely new English dictionary, in order to record every
word that could be found in the language from around the year 1000.
The dictionary was also to show the history of each word, its spellings
and its usage, past and present. A call for volunteers in the project
attracted numerous materials from hundred of readers from all over the
world. By 1879, a formal agreement had been reached with the Oxford
University Press, to publish and finance the philological society’s
dictionary. Work on the dictionary was finished around 1895 and was
originally known as A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles,
but was later called The Oxford English Dictionary. The completed
work was in 10 volumes, with 240,165 main words. A supplementary
volume was published in 1933 containing additions and corrections. The

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2nd edition of the dictionary contained 290, 500 entries, about 38,000
more than the 1993 supplement. Three volumes were published between
1993 and 1997. The dictionary is said to be the biggest of any language
in the world. It provided some data that has helped to answer questions
relating to the history of the English language. It has also influenced the
attitude of many people favourably towards the English language by
exhibiting the history of words and idioms, their forms and their
different levels of usage, and a guide to their pronunciation.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

In what ways do you think the Oxford English Dictionary has aided the
growth of the English language?

3.3 Spelling Reform

You will again recall that spelling has been one of the teething problems
of the English language right from the beginning. This problem
continued to plague the language through the time of Shakespeare, to the
early part of the 19th century. Interest was once again renewed in it, and
this led to the formation of Spelling Reform Associations in Britain and
American. These associations did not achieve much. In 1898 the British
National Education Association formally adopted twelve simplified
spellings for use in its publications. They are tho, altho, thoro,
thorofare, thru, throughout, program, catalog, prolog, decalog,
demagog, and pedagog. While some of these have come into general
use, many of them did not get public acceptance. In 1906 a Simplified
Spelling Board emerged in the United States which aimed at publishing
300 words, for which different spellings were used e.g. (metre, meter,
judgment, judgement, encyclopeadia, encyclopedia etc.) and to
recommend the simpler form. Again this was not well received. The
print media and book publishers continued to use the traditional
spelling.

Though these Reform attempts did not achieve much result, they indeed
stimulated public interest to the need to achieve a permanent solution to
the spelling problem. But most people believed that a radical change of
spelling would not favour many people who were already used to the
traditional spelling. And to many people the written word is as important
as the spoken word. A radical change in spelling would certainly affect
meaning to many people. Popular opinion was that if spelling was ever
to be reformed, it must be approached gradually.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

1. Was the idea for Spelling Reform successful?

2. What was the popular attitude towards the Spelling Reform?

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3.4 Functional Varieties of English

In any community where people use a particular language, there is

bound to be differences in speech. Speech variations are often due to
levels of education, differences in culture, professions, status and
regional backgrounds of people that have come from different places.
Also varieties are due to contexts in which language is used, as in formal
or informal, or to varieties influenced by local or class dialects. So it is
easy to distinguish between standard and non-standard varieties. Slang
for example is a form of non standard variety used mostly in informal
contexts.

Modern English has developed a lot of varieties, which we can associate

with different classes of people or social groups. There is the spoken
standard, which is the conversational language of educated people. This
variety is marked by conformity to the rules of grammar and
pronunciation. There is also the written standard, which is the language
of books and other forms of academic writing. We can distinguished
between spoken and written varieties because spoken standard is often
used in informal situations and often characterized by words like trip,
daddy, hols etc as against the formal written forms - journey, father and
holiday. Then we have the popular standard of uneducated people
which is characterized by slang, pidgin, and coinages. This variety does
not generally conform to the rules of correctness. But with the
movement of English across the world much of this variety also known
as vernacular English has evolved in many second language countries.

In Britain the Spoken Standard is known as Received Pronunciation

(RP). This standard varies in different parts of English speaking
countries. It is the type associated with educated people with a high
degree of conformity to rules. It is more of a class variety than regional
dialect. Standard variety is determined by its acceptability and
intelligibility (i.e. sense or meaningfulness) among speakers of English
across the world. In addition to the educated standard, there are regional
dialects of English among the English-speaking world. This is discussed
in details in Units 16 and 17. In Britain regional dialects of English
developed right from the old English. Today we have modern dialects
like Welsh, Scot, Irish etc. each having its several sub-regional varieties,
like British English, English English, BBC English, Norn, Scottish
English, Welsh English etc.

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SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 4

1. Can you identify the differences between written and spoken
English?
2. Why do we say that a variety of English is Standard and another
non-standard?
3. What is the difference between social dialect and regional
dialect?

4.0 CONCLUSION

We can see that Modern English is characterized by further enlargement

of its vocabulary through different sources. And that old dictionaries
became inadequate to meet the needs of modern scholarship, hence, the
development of the Oxford English dictionary. Attempts at spelling
Reforms failed because publishers and academics remain loyal to
traditional spelling. Modern English is characterized by functional
varieties and regional dialects.

5.0 SUMMARY

Sources of new words include borrowings, self-explaining compounds,

Greek and Latin elements, prefixes and suffixes, coinages, proper
names, slang and old words that assumed new meaning. The Oxford
English dictionary was able to provide a more comprehensive inventory
of old and new words, as well as idioms in English and provided a guide
to their spellings, pronunciation, meanings and usages.

Attempts at a spelling reform failed due to poor response of people to

the proposal. Writers and publishers continued to use the traditional
spelling. And as English continued to grow, varieties of usages naturally
emerged. We can identify distinct spoken and written varieties, standard
and non-standard varieties. As it was the case with old English, regional
dialects of English became more complex.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Describe at least five (5) sources of New English Words.
2. Why is a variety of English said to be “non-standard” give
examples?

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh A.C, Cable .T. (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th Ed.
London: Routledge.

Crystal (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language, 2nd

Ed. Cambridge: CUP.

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MODULE 4

Unit 1 Varieties of Modern English

Unit 2 English across the World
Unit 3 Reasons for the Growth of English as a World Language
Unit 4 American English
Unit 5 English in Nigeria

UNIT 1 VARIETIES OF MODERN ENGLISH

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Australia; New Zealand; South Africa
3.2 East and West Africa
3.3 South-East Asia and the Pacific
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The English language continued to grow during the modern period both
in the enlargement of its vocabulary and in its spread. The first signs of
the progress of English as a world language began to manifest towards
the latter part of the 16th century. At that time, the number of mother-
tongue English speakers in the world was estimated at between five and
seven million, all living within Great Britain. In the period between the
end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1603) and the beginning of the
reign of Queen Elizabeth II (1950), the number of English speakers rose
to between one and half billion to two billion, spread throughout almost
all the countries of the world. Presently there are approximately 75
territories where English is spoken either as the first language, L1
(mother-tongue) or as an official language, L2 (second language).
Countries where English is spoken as a native language (first language)
are mainly the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and South-Africa.

The dispersals (or diasporas) of English are of two types, first is the first
Diaspora involving the migration of about 25,000 people from the South
and East of England to America and Australia, resulting in new mother
tongue varieties of English. The second Diaspora, involving the
colonization of Africa and Asia, led to the development of a number of

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second language varieties, often referred to as “New Englishes” a table

of statistics on world English usage and the country population figures is
given in Unit 2 of Module 4. In this unit we shall be considering
varieties of English in Australia, New Zealand, Africa and Asia.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Unit, you should be able to:

• describe the features of Australian and new Zealand English

• distinguish between south African English and some varieties of
English in west Africa
• identify some general features of English in south-east Asia i.e.,
Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Hong Kong.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 English in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa

(a) English in Australia

You were told in the introduction to this Unit that English came to
Australia when some English immigrants landed in Australia and
America in the 18th century. The first presence of Britain in Australia
was in 1770 when James Cook visited the territory. In 1788 the first
fleet of British settlers including about 130,020 prisoners settled in
Sidney, Australia. From then on immigrants increased rapidly. By 1850
the population of Australia had risen to about 400,000 and by 1900,
nearly 4 million. As at 2001, the population stood at 19million. Britain
has the highest number of settlers in Australia that is why they have the
greater influence on the language than any other. Many of the convicts
or prisoners transported to Australia were from London, and Ireland.

English in Australia is not only characterized by differences in

vocabulary but also in pronunciation, with features of Cockney and Irish
English. In fact many of the words in Australian English may not be
understood in England or America today. Some are old words that have
acquired new meanings in a new environment. The Australian Kangaroo
and boomerang for example have become general English words but not
Wombat which is an Australian animal. The American ranch (where
cattle are reared) is the Australian station. The term robin in Australia
applies to some birds that are unknown in Europe and not just a
particular bird as we know it here. Several words however that are
thought to be Australian actually started in Britain, and may still be
heard in local British dialects. Australian accent as we said earlier
sounds very much like one of the British dialects known as Cockney,

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especially in the quality of the vowels and diphthongs. A word

pronounced as hay in Australian English may sound as high to an
American, or basin as bison (Baugh& Cable 2002).

(b) English in New Zealand

New Zealand and Australia are neighbours. The New Zealand natives
are called the Maori. With the British presence in Australia in 1770,
European traders began to settle in New Zealand in the 1790s. Christian
missionary work began among the Maori from 1814. But official British
occupation was in 1840 following the treaty of Waitangi between the
Maori chiefs and the British crown. European immigration grew from
2000 in 1840 to 25,000 by 1850. And by 1900, it had risen to about
750,000. The total population as at 2001 was 3.8 million. Three factors
in the New Zealand social history have had some linguistic
consequences in New Zealand English in the 20th century. First is that
New Zealand has had a stronger sense of historical relationship with
Britain compared to Australia They had imbibed more of British
cultures and values, including the British accent. Secondly, New
Zealand had developed a deep sense of national identity which had
motivated a distinctive New Zealand vocabulary and thirdly, there has
been an increase awareness and use of Maori words in New Zealand
English arising from the need to recognize the rights of Maori people
who constitute about 13% of the entire population.

Studies in New Zealand English show that the British Received

Pronunciation (RP) is still the most highly rated in education while the
local accent is more preferred in social communication and solidarity.

(c) South African English

South Africa was colonized by the Dutch in 1650’s but the British
arrived the country at about 1795 when they colonized the Cape coast,
and did not begin to settle in large numbers until 1820. The majority of
the Cape settlers came from Southern England, though there were some
sizeable number from Ireland and Scotland. In the 1850 further
settlements occurred in the Natal region, from Yorkshire and Lancaster,
still in Britain. From 1822 when English was declared the official
language, it was also learnt as a second language by the black natives.
The native language is called Afrikaans. The English language
vocabulary has got some elements from Afrikaans and Dutch influences
which are passed to general use today. For example, apartheid,
commando, commandeer, and trek are used today in such a way that one
hardly recognizes their South African origin. As in Australian English a
number of English words are used in new senses. The history of
apartheid in South Africa has given new meanings to location (where

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black Africans were required to live) lands (those locations required for
farming alone), divide (water shade) up country etc. In pronunciation,
the South African English has been much influenced by the
pronunciation of Afrikaans, where we have ‘pen’ for pin or ‘ceb’ for
cab. The South African shares with the American English in some
general ways especially with pronunciation of /r/. The mainstream South
Africa English however, does not have /r/ after vowels but this
consonant is often pronounced by speakers with an Afrikaans back
ground. The South African variety of English refers to English used by
those who speak English as their mother tongue.

SELFASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. Distinguish between the Australian English and the New Zealand

English.
2. Describe some features of South African English.

3.2 East and West Africa

(a) English in East Africa

East African countries were colonized by the British from the 1850s,
following the expeditions of British explorers such as David Livingstone
and Richard Burton. English was the language of administration,
education and law. Most of the countries gained independence from the
early 1960s but English remained the official language in Uganda,
Zambia, Malawi, and Kenya although Swahili was used as lingua franca
in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Because of the large numbers of
British emigrants that settled in these areas, British English model was
introduced early in schools, re-enforcing the Standard English brought
by the missionaries. The result was a mother-tongue variety which was
similar to the Australian or South-African English. The influence of
British English in East African countries gave them a strong model to
learn a second language. Secondly there was little motivation for the
development of pidgin varieties following the widespread of Standard
English. It may be difficult to discuss some distinct features of the
varieties of English that may have emerged in these countries over the
years in this short sub-heading. But Baugh and Cable (2002) have
observed certain general features of lexis and grammar in some of these
East African countries including Kenya, Tanzania Uganda, Malawi and
Ethiopia which are quite noticeable. For example, some phrasal verbs in
British lose their adverbial particles; pick up for instance is simply
‘pick’, drop off is used as ‘drop’ while crop up is simply ‘crop’. Some
nouns in Kenyan and Tanzanian colloquial speech have some plural
forms that are treated as Singulars; e.g. behaviours, minds, laps, noses,
and popcorns.

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(b) English in West Africa

English in West Africa is linked with colonization and slave trade and
the development of pidgin and Creole languages. From the late 15th
century upwards British traders had visited various coastal areas in West
Africa including Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Cameroon.
There were no strong British settlements in these territories, but with
British colonial administration, English became the lingua franca (or the
official language), in these countries. Pidgin and creoles which
developed from English contact were now spoken by many people along
with hundreds of local languages. Right now the English spoken by
many of these countries have developed certain features which make it
possible to identify such varieties of Nigerian English, Ghanaian
English or Gambian English. However it is difficult to say whether
some features that are distinct to some countries are also available in
others. But one thing is clear; distinct features of these varieties can be
found mainly on the amount of loan-words from local languages and
some coinages that identify national institutions and practices. But in
many cases standard West African English varieties are similar to
British Standard English especially in grammar and speech sounds. And
standard is also to be found in the lexicon except in cases where English
words assume new meanings to reflect the local context. Interestingly
some words are used in two or three countries mentioned above, with
exactly the same form and meaning examples are ‘chop’, meaning food
in Sierra Leone, Ghana, and the Gambia. In the Nigerian pidgin it is also
used as eat (verb). Kola is used as fruit for stimulant, traditional symbol
of unity, and bribery, especially in Ghana and Nigeria. Stranger is used
for guest in Sierra Leone and in non-standard Nigeria English. Aunty
(aunt) is used to address any woman older than you are, or a friend of
your parent in Nigeria. Danfo (minibus), globe (bulb), machine/okada
(motor-cycle), yellow-fever (traffic warden) cash-madam (wealthy
woman), area-boys (street urchins), go-slow (traffic jam) in Nigeria;
rentage (rent) in Sierra Leone; slowly-slowly in Ghana etc. All these
comparisons show us that countries have developed full-fledged
varieties that explain the influence of the environment and culture on the
language. However it will be difficult to identify particular West African
standard varieties since varieties differ from country to country. We
shall look more closely at the Nigerian English in Unit 5 of Module 4.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

1. Describe the differences between East African English and West

African English.
2. Do you agree that there is a West African Variety of English?

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3.3 English in South-East Asia and the Pacific

Countries in this region include Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji Indonesia,

Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. But we shall briefly
look at some varieties of English in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines,
and Hong Kong.

(a) English in Singapore

Singapore was a part of Malaysia which was a British colony from the
early 19th century until 1957 when it gained its independence. Singapore
became a separate state two years later and has experienced some
economic and social growth during the 20th century. English was an
important language of government business and education. It was in the
1950s that a bilingual educational system was introduced and English
was used as a neutral, unifying language alongside local languages such
as Chinese, Malay, Tamil and Mandarin. Since 1975 the use of English
in Singapore has increased steadily among the general population.
However key government bodies, including the founder of the
independent state of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew had expressed concern
over the loss of Asian cultures and values and had begun to promote the
use of local languages, especially Mandarin, a popular local language.
The majority of the Singaporean population is Chinese while Malays are
their natural neighbours. This different cultural settings no doubt
affected the history of English in the region. Due to the widespread
interest in the English language, it may not be surprising that a local
variety, which may be called Singaporean English, has emerged.
According to Baugh and Cable (2002), some specific features of English
in Singapore and Malaysia resemble some English-based Creole or
vernacular in other parts of the word. For example the omission of be as
an operator e.g. ‘the man-healthy,’ omitting is or as an auxiliary (the
work - going on fine; instead of ‘the work is going on fine’). No doubt
lexical items that do not have direct English equivalents would have
found their way into the Singaporean English; there may also have been
some direct borrowings from the local languages.

(b) English in Malaysia

The situation is different in Malaysia following the Malaysian

independence in 1957. The local language Bahasa Malaysia was adopted
as the national language and the use of English declined. By the middle
of the 1980’s the local national language had helped in unifying the
different ethnic population but it had also restricted many Malaysians
from reading English or scientific publications. There are about 80
languages spoken in Malaysia. English is still being offered at school
and the traditional prestige attached to it still exists, but its use is more

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for international purpose rather than national. The users are mainly the
educated elite who often code switch between English and Malay. The
presence of the vocabulary of Malay in English is gradually becoming a
feature of Malaysian English. Like the Singaporean English, Malaysian
English grammar is slightly different from that of the Standard English.
A Malaysian would say: may I know how do I get there? Rather than
May I know how to get there; or May I ask where does the cab stop?
Than May I ask where the cab stops etc.

(c) Hong Kong English

We are singling out Hong Kong from among its East Asian neighbours
like China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan because it is a country where
English is an official language due to its colonial history . Chinese is the
mother-tongue of over 98% of the population. In recent years however,
say 1992, it was estimated that about a quarter of the population speak
English. English and Chinese have joint official status but Chinese
predominates in most speech situations, often with code-switching.
During the British colonial administrations, from 1847 till 1997, British
and Chinese communities led separate lives due to language barriers,
racial prejudice and cultural differences. When they made business
contacts communications was mainly in Pidgin English. During this
period English was largely restricted to colonial use as the language of
government, law and education. But during the 20th century, Western-
educated Chinese elite began to get involved in business and the
professions, and English ceased to be colonial language to a language of
wider communication in Hong Kong regions.

However, Hong Kong English has not yet been accepted as an

autonomous variety of English. Its existence is acknowledged but it is
not a variety which the Hong Kong English speakers will aspire. As a
result, majority of speakers including English teachers still recommend
British English as the Standard in terms of grammar. Like other varieties
of modern English the Hong Kong English has its peculiar accent, and
lexis. Bolton (2000) for example provides some Hong Kong English
items such as abbreviations; English words with new meaning and
borrowed words from Chinese. ABC for instance stands for
(Australian/American-born-Chinese); canto-speak (speaker of the
Cantonese language), astronaut (a senior public servant), bo lei (a
variety of strong black tea) big brother an eldest male sibling in a
family); chit (bill) etc. (See Jenkins, 2003).

(d) English in Philippines

The Philippines gained their political independence from the United

States in1946 and have retained a strong influence of the American

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English. English is the second language of the Philippines, while

Filipino is the official Lingual Franca. Both English and Filipino are the
language of education, but English serves as the language of wider
communication.

The Philippines English variety has been identified since the late 1980,
with its peculiar pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. A
considerable difference also exists between the English of the older and
younger generations, along with variations in use among proficient
English users ranging from informal usage to standard Philippines
English for speech and writing (with code switching). Code switching is
when a speaker switches between two languages at once. About 37
million people in Philippines speak English with same reasonable level
of competence.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

1. Describe some general features of English in South-East Asia.

2. Compare and contrast between English in Malaysia with English
in Singapore.
3. Identify some features of Hong Kong English.

4.0 CONCLUSION

The spread of English as a result of the migration of native speakers of

English from England to the Australia and the New World (USA) gave
rise to emergence of new mother-tongue varieties of English. While the
British colonization of Asia and Africa resulted in the growth of new
modern Englishes. In South East Asia and Africa, English has assumed
the status of second language with a considerable number of the
population having recognizable skills in spoken and written English.
English in these countries have since developed native varieties which
form the world Englishes.

5.0 SUMMARY

The growth of English as a world language can be seen from the rapid
growing varieties of English across the world, with the number of
speakers having reached over 2 billion in the 20th century. Countries
where English is the mother-tongue are Britain, USA, Australia, New
Zealand, and South Africa. English in East and West Africa, South- East
Asia and the Pacific serves as the official or national language. All the
varieties of English (native and non-native) have their peculiar features
ranging from differences in accent and pronunciation, grammar and
vocabulary. This is due to differences of environments, cultures and
experience.

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6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Why is the British linguistic culture more evident in the New

Zealand English than in Australian English?
2. Compare and contrast between English in East and West Africa
with English in South-East Asia?

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh A.C, Cable .T. (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th
Ed. London: Routledge.

Crystal (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language, 2nd

Ed Cambridge: CUP.

Jenkins, J (2003). World Englishes: a Resource Book for Students.

London: Routledge.

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UNIT 2 ENGLISH ACROSS THE WORLD

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 South Africa
3.2 The Caribbean
3.3 Canada
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

This Unit is a continuation of Unit 1 of Module 4 in which we began to

examine the spread of the English language across the world with
distinct modern second language varieties known as “new Englishes.” In
the previous unit we saw the varieties of English in South-East Asia and
the Pacific Islands, specifically Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and
Hong Kong. In this Unit we shall be examining the South Asian variety
of English, alongside Canada and the Caribbean. We are interested in
some specific countries because of the direct British influence through
colonization.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Unit, you should be able to:

• describe some general features of south-Asian English

• distinguish between Canadian English and Caribbean English.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 English in South-Asia

South Asian English refer to varieties in Bangladesh, India, Nepal,

Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Together they account for about a fifth of the
world population. Within this group only Indian and Lankan Englishes
are well developed and well documented. We shall concentrate only on
Indian English. Unlike Bangladesh and Pakistan where English is used
mainly for official purposes, English in India performs a neutral
unifying role like in Nigeria, serving as a language of communication
across a people of diverse cultures. India was colonized by Britain from

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1765 until independence in 1947. During this period English was the
language of administration and education. The earliest English language
policy was contained in Macaulay’s famous ‘minute’ passed shortly
after his arrival in Calcutta as the British head of the Indian Supreme
Council in 1834. Thomas Macaulay served in India as the British
Representative for four years. His ‘minute’ (i.e. bill) presented the case
for a new English subculture in the region. When the Universities of
Bombay, Calcutta and Madras were founded in 1857, English became
the primary medium of instruction thereby establishing its status and
steady growth during the next century. Today English in India performs
both public and private functions in a variety that has developed its own
sound system, grammatical structure and vocabulary. English is
recognised as the next official language after Hindi following the 1950
Constitution of India which declared Hindi the official national
language, and English was made the ‘associate’ official language by the
1967 Official Language (Amendment) Act. This means that English
would continue to be used alongside Hindi in all official matters at the
national level.

In adapting to local cultures and environment, Indian English has

evolved its own characteristics through the interaction of Indian
languages and social behaviours with those of English. For speakers of
Hindi for instance, English words that begin with sk, st or sp is usually
pronounced with an initial vowel, since Hindi does not permit, sk or st at
the beginning of words. So an Hindi speaker would pronounce a word
like ‘standard’ – ‘istandard’; ‘skim’ would be ‘iskim’. And in some
varieties of Indian English /v/ and /w/ sounds are not usually
differentiated. Words like ‘vet’ and ‘wet’ for instance would sound the
same way. Greetings and remarks showing politeness in English are
something like kindly please advise me; invite your kind attention,; bow
my forehead; blessed my hovel with the good dust of your feet etc.
Modes of address are often like king of pearls; policewala etc.
Compliments include helloji, thank youji, doctorji etc. The additional
suffix is probably an item from the Hindi. (See Baugh & Cable 2002;
Jenkins, 2003). Indian English is also characterised by a great deal of
code switching or code mixing.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. Describe some features of Indian English.

2. Why is the Indian variety of English more developed than those
of Bangladesh and Pakistan?

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3.2 Caribbean English

English in the Caribbean countries like Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and

Tobago, Cuba, Haiti etc. are characterised by the use of Pidgin and the
English based Creole. Creole is pidgin that has native speakers with
fairly stable features. Creole like pidgin is a combination of an European
language (e.g. English) and other languages. In most of the Anglophone
Caribbean islands, the language contacts are those of West Africa and
the African languages spoken by the slaves brought to the Caribbean
during the slave trade. Rather than describe this variety as “English
Creole” some scholars prefer to describe it as “Caribbean Creole” or
West Indian Creole.

However a variety of Standard English exists in the Caribbean countries

as an official means of communication among the educated minority.
The American variety of English is preferred even by the mass media
due to an increasing influence of USA in the local economies. Each of
the English-speaking countries in the region has to some extent
developed its own variety of standard language through variations in
accent and vocabulary to reflect indigenous cultural practices. Some of
these English-based varieties show some contact with other languages
such as French, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch. But it is clear that the
varieties of the Caribbean have much in common due to the shared
history and linguistic heritage of the people. No wonder, the concept of
Standard West Indian English has begun to emerge.

A shared feature of Caribbean English is the West Indian accent which

sounds much like the West African tone language feature. Syllables tend
to be equally stressed. Consequently, unstressed syllables in most
English accents are given prominence. The schwa /ə/ is usually stressed
so that a word like Peter /pitə/ would sound like /pi:ta/; bigger /biga/;
photo /fọto/ will sound like /foto/ etc. This often causes intelligibility
problem with those not familiar with the style of speech. Vowels like
/a/, /ọ/, /ọ:/ merge, so that words lie God, pot and caught are pronounced
the same. Words like teeth are pronounced /tit/, father /fada/ and think
/tink/.

There are few prominent differences in grammar in the standard

varieties of Caribbean English but some features mark them off as
Creole English. An example is the problem with differentiating between
the uses of will and would, shall and should etc. which is a problem
common with most learners of English in West African countries. The
Caribbean English however has added some new vocabulary to Standard
English. Most of these loan words reflect the Caribbean environment,
the people’s traditional behaviour and religious customs. Those that
have entered into Standard English include reggae, calypso, dreadlocks,

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Rasta, etc. Some of the words are restricted to the regions they belong.
Words like duppy (ghost) ganja (weed) susumba (a type of plant),
watchy (watchman) belongs to Jamaican English while words like boar-
hog (boar) roti (a type of bread), and congolala (a type of medicinal
plant) are found in Trinidad and Tobago English. A large number of
words in Caribbean English can also be traced to African languages.

SELF ASSSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

1. Describe some general features of Caribbean English.

2. Identify at least five (5) words that Caribbean English has
contributed to Standard English.

3.3 English in Canada

Earlier settlers in Canada were from the United States, so the American
English has had the strongest influence in Canadian English. However,
features of British pronunciation and spelling are observable on the
Canadian variety. English and French are the two official languages in
Canada, again creating a possible influence between the two languages.
Both British and American English no doubt have supplied Canadian
English with features with American influence dominating. The use of
linguistic features from British English (BrE) or American (AmE)
however varies from person to person depending on age, education, sex,
occupation and location. For instance the AmE is more popular with
young people throughout Canada than with elderly people. Some
features originate in Canada and are peculiarly Canadian, while some
are BrE, AmE and French. Words like aboiteau (dam), creditiste
(member of the Social Credit Party), salt-chuck (ocean), skookum
(powerful) etc. are Canadian. A word like Prime Minister is used at the
federal level while Premier is regional. Some cultural or political
institutions in Quebec for example are called bloc Quebecois or Caisse
Populaire, which are words of French origin. Canadian English (CaE)
spelling incorporates both British and American. The British ‘tyre’ is
often spelt ‘tire’ in CaE while the American ‘center’ is spelt the British
‘centre,’ showing that CaE cannot be identified completely with either
the AmE or BrE. Similarly, both AmE and BrE varieties provide
sources of vocabulary to the CaE. The British tap (AmE faucet), railway
(AmE railroad), AmE gas (BrE Petrol), sidewalk (BrE pavement) etc are
used side by side though usages vary from place to place. Pronunciation
lean more towards the British model. However, some general
impression about English in Canada is that one hardly differentiates
between what is Canadian and what is American.

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SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

1. Describe the Canadian English.

2. Why does the American variety tend to have the greater influence
on the Canadian English?

4.0 CONCLUSION

English in South Asian countries, together with West Indian English is

among modern varieties of English know as new world Englishes.
English became the official of these regions through British colonial
influences in Asia, and the slave trade in Africa between the 16th and
19th centuries. The American earliest settlement in Canada contributed a
great deal to the influence of the American English on the Canadian
English.

5.0 SUMMARY

Among the South Asian Countries, India and Sri Lanka have the most
developed and documented varieties of new world Englishes. India’s
long history of British Colonial influence gave it a strong backing to
adopt a national language policy that favoured the growth and spread of
English in the country. Today about 350 million Indians speak English
as their first language.

Though a variety of Standard English exists in the Caribbean as the

official medium of communication among a few educated people, the
Caribbean English is more of English-based Pidgin and Creole. All the
Caribbean varieties share a common feature of pronunciation but
different use of vocabularies, which serves as a pointer to the region that
supplies some particular words. The Caribbean English is significantly
influenced by languages of the West coast of Africa including Hausa,
Efik, Igbo, Yoruba and Twi. Lastly, you have seen that Canadian
English is largely influenced by the American English, British English
and French. However some lexical items are peculiarly Canadian.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Describe some general features of the Indian English.

2. Differentiate between the Caribbean English and the Canadian
English.

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7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Baugh A.C, Cable .T. (2001). A History of the English Language, 5th Ed.
London: Routledge.

Crystal (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language, 2nd

Ed. Cambridge: CUP.

Jenkins, J (2003). World Engllishes: A Resource Book for Students,

London: Routledge.

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UNIT 3 THE GROWTH OF ENGLISH AS A WORLD

LANGUAGE

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Reasons for the Growth of English as a World Language
3.2 Data of World English
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In Unit 4 of Module 3, we looked at some influences on Modern

English. And in that study, we identified the contributions of Science
and Medicine, Information Technology, Engineering and the Mass
Media to the enrichment of the English vocabulary. In this unit we shall
consider how some of these factors among others have aided the growth
and spread of English as a world language. In the last two units, we saw
how English moved from its native shores in Britain with about seven
million speakers in the early part of the 17th century to almost every part
of the world with more than 2 billion speakers, most of the speakers
being those whom English is not their mother tongue. In most of the
countries where English functions as a second official language,
different standard and non-standard varieties have developed with
features that are peculiar to regions and cultural practices. What reasons
are responsible for this astronomical growth of the English Language?
We shall attempt to answer this question in this unit. We shall also
provide a data showing the state of World English in terms of the
countries and number of speakers as at 2001.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• discuss factors that are responsible for the growth of English as a

world language
• suggest what the future of English may look like.

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3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Reasons for the Growth of English as a World Language

The dispersal of English around the world can be linked with some
factors, the most important ones being the expansion of British colonial
powers and the emergence of the USA as a leading economic power of
the 20th century. Let us look at them more closely:

(a) British Colonial Influences

The movement of English around the world began with the British
colonial powers in America, Asia and Africa. English was essentially
the language of administration, law, education and religion. In most of
the colonies, English was made compulsory in school and became a
major requirement for social advancement or privileges. Individuals had
no choice but learn English if they wanted to make any social progress.
Upon the attainment of independence the 20th century many of the
former British colonies adopted English as their official or semi-official
language. English is now represented in all the continents of the world in
over 70 territories.

(b) Emergence of the United States as a World Economic Power

The USA’s ever rising and dominant economic position in the world
acts as a major attraction to international trade and allied businesses.
Individuals and organizations wishing to conduct business or develop
international links with the USA are thus under considerable pressure to
either learn English or work with it. Tourism and advertising for
instance are particularly dependent on English while any multi-national
business would want to establish offices in major English-speaking
countries and particularly in the United States.

(c) Internal Political Reasons

Whether a country had been a former British colony or not, it is clear

that English may have a role in providing a neutral means of
communication, among its different ethnic groups. A distinctive local
variety may stand as a symbol of national unity.

(d) Some Practical Reasons

English is the language of international air traffic control, policing and

emergency services. It is the major language of international business
and academic conferences and the leading language of international
tourism.

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(e) Language of the United Nations (UN)

English is an official language of the UN, before French. Most

businesses of the UN or its Agencies are conducted in English, and
member countries of the UN are again under pressure to learn English.

(f) Intellectual Reasons

Because of its versatile nature, English has become the language of

science and technology, which is able to transmit scientific and
educational information across the world. Over 80% of all information
which is stored in electronic (computer) retrieval systems is in English.
Scholars, who wish to have access to information relating to the arts,
philosophy, religion, literature or history at a global level, do so through
the medium of English. In most parts of the world, the only way by
which people have access to classical writing on a range of subjects is to
look for their English translations.

(g) The Language of International Media Communication

English is the main language of Satellite Broadcasting. International

news on CNN, BBC or VOA is transmitted in English and the influence
of international communication on the local mass media is a very strong
one. English has become the language of local newspapers, televisions,
radio and advertising in many countries of the world.

(h) The Language of Entertainment

English is the main language of popular music and performing arts. It is

also the language of home computers, video games and entertainment
programmes in the mass media.

These reasons and many others which you may be familiar with are very
strong in propelling English to its present status of a world language.

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3.2 World English

Country Pop (2001) Total L1 Total L2

American Samoa 67,000 2,000 65,000
Australia 18,972,000 14,987,000 3,500,000
Bahamas 298,000 260,000 28,000
Bangladesh 131,270,000 3,500,000
Barbados 275,000 262,000 13,000
Bermuda 63,000 63,000
Botswana 1,586,000 630,000
British Virgin Is. 20,800 20,000
Brunei 344,000 10,000 134,000
Cameroon 15,900,000 7,700,000
Canada 31,600,000 20,000,000 7,000,000
Dominica 70,000 3,000 60,000
Fiji 850,000 6,000 170,000
Gambia 1,411,000 40,000
Gibraltar 31,000 28,000 2,000
Grenada 100,000 100,000
Guyana 700,000 650,000 30,000
Hong Kong 7,210,000 150,000 2,200,000
India 1,029,991,000 350,000 200,000,000
Ireland 3,850,000 3,750,000 100,000
Jamaica 2,665,000 2,600,000 50,000
Kenya 30,766,000 2,700,000
Lesotho 2,177,000 500,000
Liberia 3,226,000 600,000 2,500,000
Malawi 10,548,000 540,000
Malaysia 22,230,000 380,000 7,000,000
Malta 395,000 13,000 95,000
Mauritius 1,190,000 2,000 200,000
Namibia 1,800,000 14,000 300,000
New Zealand 3,864,000 3,700,000 150,000
Nigeria 126,636,000 60,000,000
Pakistan 145,000,000 17,000.000
Papua New Guinea 5,000,000 150,000 3,000,000
Philippines 83,000,000 20,000 40,000,000
Puerto Rico 3,937,000 100,000 1,840,000
Rwanda 7,313,000 20,000
St. Lucia 158,000 31,000 40,000
Samoa 180,000 1,000 93,000
Seychelles 80,000 3,000 30,000
Sierra Leone 5,427,000 500,000 4,400,000
Singapore 4,300,000 350,000 2,000,000

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South Africa 43,586,000 3,700,000 10,000,000

Sri Lanka 19,400,000 10,000 1,900,000
Suriname 434,000 260,000 150,000
Swaziland 1,140,000 50,000
Tanzania 36,232,000 4,000,000
Trinidad & Tobago 1,170,000 1,145,000
Uganda 23,986,000 2,500,000
United Kingdom 59,648,000 58,100,000 1,500,000
United States 278,059,000 215,424,000 25,600,000
Zambia 9,770,000 110,000 1,800,000
Zimbabwe 11,365,000 25,000 15,000
Source: Crystal (2002)

* L1 stands for speakers of English as their first language

* L2 stands for speakers of English as their second language

4.0 CONCLUSION

In conclusion therefore, we can say that English did not just jump into
its present world prominence. Historical, political, economic and
intellectual reasons have been responsible. But you may ask, what is the
future of English? Is it still going to remain a world language in the next
one hundred years? Some scholars have tried to suggest answers by
trying to answer the question of what makes a language a world
language (as we have discussed above) and what had been responsible
for the decline of previous world languages like Latin or French.

Rather than decline, some scholars are optimistic that English will
develop a larger number of local varieties across the world because
presently, English has shifted from being a foreign language of many
countries to being a second language. And more people are learning
English almost on a daily basis. In many countries, English language
programmes are run in schools and institutions of higher learning. And
as it continues to serve as a main medium of international
communication, it is likely to sustain greater mutual intelligibility and
common standards. And because it encourages the development of local
varieties, it may continue to act as a language of identify for many
people across the world. Other factors such as number of young
speakers and the rate of urbanization in different countries, the rate of
development in countries, such as literacy and education provision, the
population of native speakers who are literate and capable generating
intellectual resources in English must also be considered in order to be
sure that English will retain its present world status.

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5.0 SUMMARY

English is a world language today because of its historical advantage as

a colonial language. And being the first language of the USA, again due
to British influence, the rise in the status of the country as the world
leading economic power, has naturally promoted the growth of the
language. English is the language of international communication and
education; science and technology, and general knowledge. It is also the
language of the United Nations, the language of air traffic control,
policing, advertising and entertainment.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Discuss five (5) factors that are responsible for the growth of
English as a world language.
2. Do you think English will remain a world language in the next 50
years?

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Crystal (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language, 2nd

Ed. Cambridge.

Jenkins, J (2003). World Englishes: A Resource Book for Students.

London: Routledge.

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UNIT 4 AMERICAN ENGLISH

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 English in America
3.2 Features of the American English (AmE)
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

We have already noted in Unit 3 of Module 4 that the rise of the United
States of America as a world social and economic power is one of the
primary factors that gave the English language its present status as a
world language. And the American English (AmE) being one of the
new mother tongue varieties that has had some influence on a number of
world Englishes, it is important to look more closely at its features.
First, you will be introduced to how English came to America to begin
with and how it developed features that distinguish it from the British
English (BrE).

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• narrate briefly the history of the American English

• describe the features of the AmE
• distinguish between the AmE and British English (BrE).

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 English in America

The first British expedition to America was in 1584 led by Walter

Raleigh. The explorers came from the west and east of England and
landed in North Carolina, near Roanoke Island. This group of explorers
could not settle permanently there due to some conflict with the native
Indian population. However they came back and eventually settled
permanently in 1607 at Chesapeake Bay and called their settlement
Jamestown (after James 1). The area where they occupied they named
Virginia (after the “virgin Queen” Elizabeth). Subsequent settlements

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followed. In 1620 some missionaries arrived but being unable to reach

Virginia, they landed further north and settled at what is now known as
Plymouth, Massachusetts in New England. Both settlements spread
rapidly and attracted other immigrants. Because of the different
linguistic backgrounds of these people, certain differences in their
accents of the English language became glaring. The settlers in Virginia
came from the west of England spoke their peculiar accent with its
voicing of ‘r’ and‘s’ after vowels. So that in a word like ‘far’, the ‘r’
sounds. Those that settled in Massachusetts were mainly from the east
of England and did not have this accent.

During the 17th century more immigrants, with English backgrounds

came to America and settled in places like Pennsylvania and New York,
thus people speaking various varieties of English began to live side by
side. During this period too, slave trade flourished and slaves were
transported from West Africa to the United States and the Caribbean.
The Englishes that developed among the slaves were initially pidgin, but
with their use as mother tongue following the birth of a new generation,
Creole developed. In the 18th century there was a mass migration of
people from Ireland to America which started from 1600. Many of them
settled in the coastal areas of Philadelphia and southern part of
California. By the time of American independence in 1776 about 15%
of the population was Scot Irish. The accent that emerged is mostly
associated with the present-day American speech.

The Quest for Growth of the American English

The growth of English and literary culture in America was not as rapid
as it was in England. America was intellectually dependent on Britain
and American presses were said to be printing and publishing mainly
British books and magazines. American scholars began to feel that the
dearth of books by recognized American writers was responsible for the
lack of lexical growth of the American English. Thousands of new
words were being created all over America but they were not reaching
the wider population through literatures. So the issue of language
development which had preoccupied British intellectuals during the 18th
century was to engage the attention of American scholars in the 19th
century. Noah Webster was one of such scholars. He wrote the
Dissertations on the English (1789) and proposed the institution of
“American Standard” and argued that as a newly independent nation,
America deserved an independent system, including language. Spelling
reform was to be a major step in this direction which would mark a
distinct American orthography. Webster himself did not implement a
radical spelling reform in his A Compendious Dictionary of the English
Language (1806) but it was a great achievement which took the
development of the American English to a new unique level. A vast

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variety of innovations began to appear in the emerging literary works of

Americans of the 19th century. By 1860’s the American spelling system
had become fully established. Not only in spelling, some grammatical
forms and vocabulary which could be identified as clearly American
began to emerge as well.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. Explain the process of the movement of English to the American

soil.
2. Discuss the contributions of Noah Webster to the development of
the American English.

3.2 Features of the American English

In order to properly see the extent of deviation or difference from the

British English, we shall look at the uniqueness of the AmE by
comparing it with the BrE. And we shall do this at the levels of spelling,
vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. The list of examples we shall
provide is in no wide exhaustive.

(i) Differences in Spelling

AmE BrE
(or) (our)

color colour
favor favour
honor honour etc.
(dgment) (dgement)
acknowledgment acknowledgement
judgment judgement etc.

(o) (ou)

mold mould
smolder smoulder etc

(er) (re)

center centre
liter litre
theater theatre etc

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(e) (ae/oe)

fetus foetus
medieval mediaeval
maneuver manoeuvre

(se) (ce)

defense defence
license licence
offense offence

(in) (en)

indorse endorse
insure ensure etc

(single consonant) (double consonants)

counselor counsellor
libelous libellous
quarreling quarelling

(double consonants) (single consonant)

fulfillment fulfilment
installment instalement
skillful skilful

Others Spelling Differences

Check cheque
Draft draught
Gage gauge
Mustache moustache
Plow plough
Program programme
Story storey
Sulfur sulphur
Tire tyre
Whisky whiskey etc.

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Differences in Vocabulary

AmE BrE
Faucet tap
Muffler silencer
Candy sweets
Driver’s license driving license
Generator dynamo
Zero nought, nil
Line queue
To ring to call
Game match
Soccer football
Gas petrol
Airplane aeroplane
Casket coffin
Cookie biscuit
Corn maize
Diaper nappy
Drapes curtains
Bookstore bookshop
Living room sitting room
Smock overall
Bill bank note
Flash light touch tight
Headlamp headlight
Candidature candidacy
Centennial centenary
Cook cookery
Racist, racism racialist, racialism
Transportation transport etc.

Differences in Grammar

AmE BrE
I’ll see you at the weekend I’ll see you during the
weekend
It’s twenty after four it’s twenty past four
I haven’t seen her in ages I haven’t seen her for ages
Monday through Friday Monday to Friday inclusive
Sundays we go to church On Sundays we go to church
I looked out the window I looked out of the window
Half the cash goes for clothes Half the cash goes on clothes
They live on Broad street They live in Broad street
I moved toward the car I moved towards the car
Do you have the time? Have you got the time?

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The house was burned down The house was burnt down
It’s a half hour It’s half an hour
We shall see in the future We shall see in future
She is still in the hospital She is still in hospital
The government is democratic The government are
democratic
I’ll go momentarily I’ll go in a moment
I feel real good I feel really good etc.

Differences in Pronunciation

Item AmE BrE (RP)

Asthma ‘azma ‘asma
Chassis tȓȓ asi:s ‘ȓ asi:s
Clerk klзrk kla:k
Clique klik kli:k
Data deitə da:tə
Leisure ‘lizə ‘lezə
Medicine ‘medisin ‘medsin
Erase i’reis i’reiz
Missile ‘misəl ‘misail
Lieutenant lu:’tenənt lef’tenənt
Schedule ‘skedzuəl ‘ȓ edju:l
Z zi: zed etc.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

1. Describe some features of American grammar.

2. Different between AmE spelling from BrE spelling.

4.0 CONCLUSION

The Americans have established for themselves a language culture and

uniqueness that is peculiar to their environment. It is one mother tongue
variety of the English that has influenced other varieties including the
Canadian and the British English itself. Today the AmE is noticeable in
many new Englishes in Asia, and Africa.

5.0 SUMMARY

English came to America in the 17th century following the first British
settlement in Virginia in 1620. Some later groups landed in
Massachusetts, Philadelphia, New York and some other parts of the
United States. English was then established as the colonial language of
administration and social communication. Different settlers with
different linguistic backgrounds also meant distinct varieties and accents

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of English. Pidgin and Creole developed in Caribbean following the

transportation of black slaves to the new world. This was the beginning
of new Englishes in the United States. Concern for linguistic and
literary development was rather slow in America. With the scholarly
efforts and writings of American scholars like Noah Webster, a new-
awakening for purely American linguistic identity was born. America
had obtained its political independence in 1776, and this new feeling and
hunger for a new nation aided the emergence of what is today known as
American English. The uniqueness of the American variety can be seen
in its distinct spelling, grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Compare and contrast between the American English spelling

with that of the British.
2. Write at least fifteen (15) words that are American and give their
British equivalents.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Crystal (2002). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language, 2nd

Ed. Cambridge: CUP.

Jenkins, J (2003). World Englishes: A Resource Book for Students.

London: Routledge.

Trudgil, P & Jean, H. (1982). International English. London: Edward

Arnold.

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UNIT 5 ENGLISH IN NIGERIA

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 How English Came to Nigeria
3.2 English in Nigeria Today
3.3 Varieties of the Nigerian English
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

You will agree with me that the English language in Nigeria today no
longer functions as a colonial language. It is rather a neutral language of
wider communication among the various ethnic groups and cultures in
Nigeria. And as the first official language, it has been the language of
political administration, law, education, commerce and industry etc.
Because of the multilingual and multicultural nature of the Nigerian
society most Nigerian speakers of English operate within a variety of the
Nigerian English as the language responds to factors of the environment
in which it finds itself. In this unit, we shall briefly consider the history
of English in Nigeria,, the emergence of the Nigerian English and
varieties of English in Nigeria today.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• narrate briefly the history of English in Nigeria

• explain what is known as the ‘Nigerian English’
• describe the varieties of English in Nigeria.

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 How English Came to Nigeria

English did not come to Nigeria with colonialism; it came before it.
Though the exact date was not recorded, historians believe that English
was spoken in old Calabar as a result of about 400 years of cultural and
trade contact with Europe. In his Christian Missions in Nigeria (1965)
Ajayi says that English was the only European language spoken by

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Calabar traders and that Hope Waddel did find intelligent journals of the
affairs of the region in English, as far back as 1767.

Nigeria’s earliest contact with Europe particularly the Portuguese was

in the 15th century in places like Warri, Brass and Calabar before the
slave trade. Communication between the natives and the Portuguese
merchants was initially very difficult. The result was an emergence of a
Pidgin English which was a mixture of the indigenous language and the
Portuguese dialect of the English language. The new pidgin soon
became influential and eventually displaced Portuguese as the language
of commerce. Further trade contacts with English traders and sea
captains made the Pidgin English the chief coastal trade language of the
earliest times.

The coming of professional interpreters to Nigeria is another

fundamental factor that implanted English in Nigeria. The interpreters
or clerks were freed slaves from Monrovia and Freetown. Since they
could speak English due to their many years in England, USA and the
Caribbean, the abolition of the slave trade in the early 19th century
meant a new life for them. Many of them came to Nigeria to work as
clerks in government and interpreters between European traders and the
indigenous people. Some Nigerian freed slaves in Freetown also came
back to their original homes in Lagos, Badagry and Abeokuta and this
meant a stronger influence of English in Nigeria.

The abolition of the slave trade in 1807-1808 in Britain and United

States forced European slave traders to seek alternative source of trade
in the interiors taking the English language further into the rural areas. It
was already on record that Mungo Park in 1795 discovered that River
Niger flowed eastwards and that trade was possible between the eastern
regions and the west.

Missionary activities also contributed to the establishing of English in

Nigeria. The coming of Rev. Thomas Freeman to Badagry in 1842, Rev.
Hope Waddel of the Church of Scotland to Calabar in 1846 and Rev.
Samuel Edgerly and others to Duke Town, Calabar in 1854 began the
phase of formal acquisition of English in Nigeria. The missionaries
established schools and taught their converts in Standard English. The
Church Missionary Society (CMS) founded two schools in Badagry and
a station in Abeokuta in 1846. The Methodist Church founded the
Methodist Boys High School, Lagos in 1876, while Hope Waddel
Institute, Calabar was established in 1895. The first Christian mission
was also opened in Zaria in 1902. The English Language was taught in
these schools. Samuel Edgerly and Townsend opened the first printing
press in Nigeria in 1852. Wherever the missionaries went they taught
their converts in English, thus English became the language of

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civilization and Christianity. Christian education is therefore an

important medium through which Standard English gained access to the
local population in the early 19th century.

British interest in Nigeria changed from mere commercial capitalism to

outright colonization in 1861 when Lagos was invaded and annexed as a
British colony. Subsequent consolidation of the British colonial
administration in Nigerian in the years that followed empowered a more
organized education and emphasis in the learning of English. In fact
government grants to schools then depended largely on the effective
learning and teaching of the English Language. People who could write
and speak English enjoyed special privileges with regards to jobs and
social amenities by the colonial government. English Language became
a passport to good living and everyone was invariably forced to learn
and spread the language.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

1. How did English come to Nigeria?

2. What roles did the colonial administration play in establishing
English in Nigeria?
3. Discuss the contributions of Christianity to the planting of
English in Nigeria.

3.2 English in Nigeria Today

The English language has become part of our social and cultural life.
And being a language that easily accommodates new ways of expressing
meaning, it has been pulled to different directions by the Nigerian user,
who must express meanings that are peculiarly Nigerian. Many times
English has had to assume what language scholars call “local flavour” in
order to respond appropriately to the Nigerian social environment and
multi cultures, especially when there are no English equivalents for local
thoughts. This has led to the development of the Nigerian variety of
English, known as “Nigerian English” (NE) – the English spoken in
Nigeria, by Nigerians and often for Nigerians. Abiodun Adetugbo, a
foremost Nigerian Linguist says that NE is “the brand of English spoken
by Nigerians, just as American English is that type of English spoken by
Americans.” So Nigerian English is one of the new Englishes that has
been truly integrated into our socio-cultural system and performs the
function of an official language.

There have been series of arguments among Nigerian linguists about

what really the features of NE are. But the argument that Nigerian
English is a pidgin variety or a non-standard variety of the British

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English has been laid to rest, by simply identifying the varieties of

English in Nigeria. This is discussed below.

One of the features of Nigerian English according to linguists is that it

has restricted registers – you do not have many registers to choose from.
Secondly, it is ‘bookish” in the sense that its lexical forms and grammar
are the types you find in books – usually formal, like that of Indian
English (See Module 4 unit 2). But we can agree that these forms are
part of the influences of the 19th century English novels and also the fact
that most Nigerians acquire English from formal classroom situations.
Certainly NE is not errors or non-standard English. What may people
see as “on-standard” in spoken Nigerian English for example are simply
the elements of transfer of some of the features of the mother tongue
into English which is characteristic of most primary school leavers and a
few educated Nigerians. This brings us to the fact that there is standard
Nigerian English and non-standard Nigerian English according to the
levels of education and experiences of the speakers. Below are some
Adetugbo’s examples of Nigerian English expressions:

NE BrE

(i) I ride in a bus I ride on a bus

(ii) I get down from a bus I get off a bus
(iii) I ask for a lift I hitch a ride
(iv) Ask from the teacher Ask the teacher
(v) May I follow you home May I come home with you
(vi) I will escort you I’ll see you off
(vii) My wife has taken in My wife is pregnant
(viii) He is not on seat He is not immediately
available
(ix) Don’t move with bad people Don’t associate with bad
people
(x) She reached here safely She got here safely
(xi) These are my invitees These are my guests
(xii) This is my junior brother This is my younger brother etc.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

1. What is Nigerian English?

2. What functions does English language perform in Nigeria today?

3.4 Varieties of English in Nigeria

We are using “varieties” in the context of this study to mean “types”.

As we already mentioned in the preceding subsection, varieties of a
language are bound to develop as long as there are people of different

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classes, levels of education, cultures, social exposures and experiences

using the language. In Nigeria there are over 400 languages spoken by
people of different cultures who have had to learn and speak English.
Many of these people speak their mother tongues at home and speak
English at work, school or places of business. These people belong to
the various social classes and use the brand of English available to them.
Some of them are merely primary school leavers, some attended just the
secondary school while some never attended any school at all. In the
type of English spoken by these people, it is not uncommon to find some
element of mother tongue transfers to English, either in the
pronunciation of English words or in the choice of words the people use.
Some of them simply ignore some rules of grammar. All these gave rise
to the different varieties of English we have in Nigeria today. Some
Nigerian linguists have identified some varieties of English and
classified them in groups. We shall look at three (3) classifications by
three linguists. The first one is by Brosnaham who identified four
varieties of English in Nigeria.

(i) The variety spoken by people with no formal education, i.e. the
pidgin English
(ii) The variety spoken by people with only primary education
(iii) The variety spoken by secondary school leavers, which is marked
by some great deal of fluency.
(iv) The variety spoken by people with university or high education

The next one is by Ayo Banjo. He also identified four varieties namely:

(i) The variety spoken by semi-illiterate Nigerians and those with

elementary school education
(ii) The variety characterized by fewer negative transfers from
mother tongue, intelligible to the great majority and is accepted
locally but lacks international intelligibility.
(iii) The variety spoken by secondary school leavers. This is both
nationally and internationally intelligible but has error in
pronunciations.
(iv) The variety close to the standard British accent. This variety
carries higher international acceptance but is locally rejected as
fake or foreign.

Last is the classification by Mobolaji Adekunle. He identified three

varieties.

(i) The Near-Native variety – the variety by well-educated

Nigerians, which is almost the same as the British Standard
English

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(ii) The Local Colour Variety - the “Nigerianised” variety of English

that reflects the Nigerian environment - its local customs and
cultures.
(iii) The Incipient Bilingual Variety – this is characterized by
deviations from English grammatical structures, and is marked by
translations of the native language. It is very close to the Pidgin
English.

All these linguists and many others we have not been able to mention,
agree that varieties of English exist in Nigeria. If you look at the groups
carefully you will discover that you can easily identify some members of
one group in another group, based on speakers’ backgrounds and
education.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

1. Identify three varieties of English in Nigeria.

2. Compare Adekunle’s group of varieties with that of Banjo. Are
there any similarities?
3. What variety do you think you speak?

4.0 CONCLUSION

We can conclude that English language has come to stay in Nigeria.

And as a neutral language of communication that bridges the
communication gap between people of the Nigerian multi-lingual and
multi-ethnic groups, it is likely to continue to play this role in
generations to come. The different varieties we see of English today, is
expected because language is naturally sensitive to its environment and
socio-cultural context.

5.0 SUMMARY

English came to Nigeria many years before the British colonial rule,
through trade contacts between Europe and West coast of Africa. Other
factors include the abolition of slave trade and the contributions of
professional interpreters, missionary activities and colonialism. As an
official language of Nigeria ahead of French, and functions as the
neutral language of communication, it has developed local colours that
identify the Nigerian English. It has also developed varieties that explain
the nature of its new home, as well as the social and educational levels
of the Nigerian users.

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6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Discuss the factors that gave rise to the planting of English in

Nigeria.
2. What is Nigerian English? Identify some varieties of English in
Nigeria.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Jowitt, D. (1991). Nigerian English Usage: An Introduction. Ikeja:

Longman.

Ogu, J.N. (1992). A Historical Survey of English and Nigerian Situation.

Lagos: Kraft.

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