A comprehensive overview of renaissance period

1. RENAISSANCE PERIOD
PRESENTED BY GROUP 9

2. INTRODUCTION
 “RENAISSANCE” IS THE FRENCH WORD FOR “REBIRTH”, WHICH IS GIVEN
TO THE PERIOD OF TIME BETWEEN THE 14TH AND 17TH CENTURIES IN
EUROPE
 MARKED A SIGNIFICANT TRANSFORMATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE,
RESURGENCE IN CLASSICAL ART, EDUCATION, PHILOSOPHY,
ARCHITECTURE, AND NATURAL SCIENCES
 INFLUENCED THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE BY INTRODUCING NEW WORDS,
PHRASES, AND LITERARY FORMS
 THERE WAS A REVIVAL OF CLASSICAL LEARNING, AND SCHOLARS
BEGAN TO REVISIT ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN TEXTS AND AND THE
IDEA OF HUMANISM
 THIS REBIRTH MARKS THE END OF THE DARK AGES AND THE BEGINNING
OF THE LONG MARCH TOWARD MODERNITY

3. IN THOSE PRECIOUS CENTURIES, ASTRONOMERS REDEFINED
THE WAY WE VIEW OUR PLACE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND
THE UNIVERSE
WRITERS AND SCHOLARS GAVE US NEW WAYS OF THINKING
ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION, THE SELF, AND THE
COMMUNITY
ARTISTS FOUND NEW METHODS OF EXPRESSION, AND
ARCHITECTS USED CLASSICAL PIECES IN THEIR
CONTEMPORARY CHURCHES, PALACES, AND PUBLIC
BUILDINGS
AFTER THE SERIES OF TRAGEDIES KNOWN AS THE CRISES OF
THE LATE MIDDLE AGES (INCLUDING EVENTS SUCH AS THE
GREAT FAMINE AND THE BLACK DEATH) CAME A PERIOD

4. INTRODUCTION TO MODERN PERIOD (1500-1650)
 THE MODERN ENGLISH PERIOD, BEGINNING AROUND 1500, WITNESSED
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT. NEW CONDITIONS
EMERGED, INFLUENCING ENGLISH ALONG DIFFERENT LINES THAN IN THE MIDDLE
AGES. KEY FACTORS INCLUDED THE PRINTING PRESS, WIDESPREAD EDUCATION,
IMPROVED COMMUNICATION, SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE GROWTH, AND
INCREASED SELF-AWARENESS ABOUT LANGUAGE.
THE PRINTING PRESS REVOLUTION
 THE INVENTION OF THE PRINTING PRESS IN THE MID-15TH CENTURY BY
GUTENBERG REACHED ENGLAND IN 1476 THROUGH WILLIAM CAXTON. THE RAPID
ADOPTION OF PRINTING FACILITATED THE PRODUCTION OF BOOKS, MAKING
THEM MORE ACCESSIBLE TO THE MASSES. OVER 20,000 ENGLISH TITLES APPEARED
BY 1640, PROMOTING A STANDARDIZED LANGUAGE. PRINTING'S INFLUENCE
EXTENDED THROUGH POPULAR EDUCATION, WHICH WAS ON THE RISE, MAKING
LITERACY MORE COMMON.

5. GLOBALIZATION AND LANGUAGE IMPACT
 COMMERCE, TRANSPORTATION, AND COMMUNICATION ADVANCEMENTS BROUGHT
DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD CLOSER. WHILE TRADE AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE
DIVERSIFIED ENGLISH VOCABULARY, EASE OF TRAVEL AND COMMUNICATION UNIFIED THE
LANGUAGE. TECHNOLOGIES LIKE THE STEAMSHIP, RAILROAD, AUTOMOBILE, AIRPLANE,
TELEGRAPH, TELEPHONE, RADIO, MOVIES, TELEVISION, AND ELECTRONIC DATA
TRANSMISSION PLAYED ROLES IN LESSENING LOCAL LANGUAGE VARIATIONS.
GROWTH OF SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE
 THE EXPANSION OF SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE CONTRIBUTED TO THE EVOLUTION OF
ENGLISH, REQUIRING NEW VOCABULARY. LATIN, ONCE DOMINANT IN SCHOLARLY
DISCOURSE, DIMINISHED, AND VERNACULAR LANGUAGES GAINED PROMINENCE
SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS ABOUT LANGUAGE
 INDIVIDUAL AND PUBLIC SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS ABOUT LANGUAGE EMERGED. PEOPLE
SOUGHT TO CONFORM TO STANDARDS IN GRAMMAR, PRONUNCIATION, AND
VOCABULARY AS THEY IDENTIFIED WITH SPECIFIC SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, OR INTELLECTUAL
GROUPS. PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS ON LANGUAGE POLICY, SPANNING FROM THE 16TH TO THE
20TH CENTURY, REFLECTED CONCERNS ABOUT SHAPING AND PRESERVING ENGLISH

6. EFFECTS OF RENAISSANCE PERIOD
EFFECT ON GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY
 THE FORCES AT PLAY DURING THE MODERN ENGLISH PERIOD WERE BOTH RADICAL
AND CONSERVATIVE. PRINTING, EDUCATION, AND COMMUNICATION FAVORED
VOCABULARY GROWTH, WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY MAINTAINING GRAMMATICAL
STANDARDS. MODERN TIMES WITNESSED MINIMAL CHANGES IN GRAMMAR BUT
EXTENSIVE VOCABULARY EVOLUTION, CONTRASTING THE REVOLUTIONARY
GRAMMATICAL CHANGES IN MIDDLE ENGLISH.
PROBLEMS OF THE VERNACULARS
 THE MIDDLE AGES' ENGLISH DEVELOPMENT, SHAPED BY THE NORMAN CONQUEST,
SAW UNIQUE CHALLENGES. HOWEVER, BY THE END OF THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD,
ENGLISH HAD RECOVERED. IN THE 16TH CENTURY, MODERN LANGUAGES FACED
COMMON CHALLENGES: RECOGNITION IN SCHOLARLY FIELDS DOMINATED BY LATIN,
STANDARDIZING ORTHOGRAPHY, AND ENRICHING VOCABULARY FOR BROADER USE.
SIMILAR DISCUSSIONS OCCURRED IN FRANCE, ITALY, GERMANY, AND SPAIN.

7. THE STRUGGLE FOR RECOGNITION
 ENGLISH, ALONG WITH OTHER VERNACULARS, FACED
RESISTANCE IN SCHOLARLY CIRCLES WHERE LATIN HAD
LONG PREVAILED. LATIN AND GREEK WERE CONSIDERED
SUPERIOR FOR CONVEYING ABSTRACT IDEAS. HOWEVER,
CHAMPIONS OF ENGLISH, LIKE ELYOT, DU BELLAY, AND
MULCASTER, ADVOCATED FOR ITS CAPABILITIES. THE
TRANSLATION OF CLASSICAL WORKS INTO ENGLISH,
COMBINED WITH THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION'S
INFLUENCE, CONTRIBUTED TO ENGLISH GAINING
ACCEPTANCE. COMMERCIAL CONSIDERATIONS ALSO PLAYED
A ROLE IN THE TRIUMPH OF ENGLISH
 IN 1595 RICHARD CAREW WROTE A DISCOURSE ON THE
EXCELLENCY OF THE ENGLISH TONGUE, AND ABOUT 1583 SIR
PHILIP SIDNEY COULD SAY, "BUT FOR THE UTTERING
SWEETLY AND PROPERLY THE CONCEIT OF THE MINDE,
WHICH IS THE END OF SPEECH, THAT [ENGLISH] HATH IT
EQUALLY WITH ANY OTHER TONGUE IN THE WORLD."

8. ORTHOGRAPHY
MIDDLE AGES HAD ATTEMPTED WITH FAIR SUCCESS TO REPRESENT
THE PRONUNCIATION OF WORDS, AND THIS IS TRUE OF ENGLISH IN
SPITE OF THE FACT THAT NORMAN SCRIBES INTRODUCED
CONSIDERABLE CONFUSION WHEN THEY TRIED TO WRITE A
LANGUAGE THAT THEY IMPERFECTLY KNEW AND CARRIED OVER
HABITS THAT THEY HAD FORMED IN WRITING FRENCH. IN SOME
CASES A FURTHER DISCREPANCY BETWEEN SOUND AND SYMBOL
AROSE WHEN LETTERS WERE INSERTED IN WORDS WHERE THEY
WERE NOT PRONOUNCED (LIKE THE B IN DEBT OR DOUBT) BECAUSE
THE CORRESPONDING WORD IN LATIN WAS SO SPELLED (DEBITUM ,
DUBITARE), OR IN OTHER CASES (FOR EXAMPLE, THE GH IN DELIGHT,
TIGHT).
IN 1568 THOMAS SMITH PUBLISHED A DIALOGUE CONCERNING THE
CORRECT AND EMENDED WRITING OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. HE
INCREASED THE ALPHABET TO THIRTY-FOUR LETTERS AND MARKED
THE LONG VOWELS. SMITH'S REFORM DID NOT WIN MUCH FAVOR.
HIS WORK, MOREOVER, WAS IN LATIN, AND THIS WOULD FURTHER
LIMIT ITS CHANCE OF POPULAR INFLUENCE.

9. THE NEXT YEAR ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT PHONETIC
WRITING WAS MADE IN A WORK BY JOHN HART
CALLED AN ORTHOGRAPHY, ELABORATED IN THE
FOLLOWING YEAR IN A METHOD OR COMFORTABLE
BEGINNING FOR ALL UNLEARNED, WHEREBY THEY
MAY BEE TAUGHT TO READ ENGLISH (1570)
WILLIAM BULLOKAR'S BOOKE AT LARGE (1580) A
MORE CONSIDERABLE ATTEMPT AT PHONETIC
REFORM WAS MADE IN 1580 BY WILLIAM BULLOKAR
IN HIS BOOKE AT LARGE, FOR THE AMENDMENT OF
ORTHOGRAPHIES FOR ENGLISH SPEECH. HE
CONFESSES THAT HE HAS PROFITED BY THE MISTAKES
OF SMITH AND HART, WHOSE WORKS WERE "NOT
RECEIVED IN USE"

10. THE PROBLEM OF ENRICHMENT
IN 1531 SIR THOMAS ELYOT, STATESMAN AS WELL AS
SCHOLAR, PUBLISHED WHAT HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS
THE FIRST BOOK ON EDUCATION PRINTED IN
ENGLISH. HE CALLED IT THE GOVERNOR BECAUSE IT
HAD TO DO WITH THE TRAINING OF THOSE WHO IN
THE FUTURE WOULD BE OCCUPIED AT COURT.
IT WAS DEDICATED TO HENRY VIII AND IS LARGELY A
TREATISE ON HOW TO PROPERLY TRAIN STATESMEN.
IT ALSO DISCUSSES ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN THE
EDUCATION SYSTEM OF THE TIME. THE BOOK OF THE
GOVERNOR IS EVIDENCE OF THE IMPACT THAT
RENAISSANCE HUMANISM HAD ON PROSE WRITING.

11. THE OPPOSITION TO INKHORN TEARMS
INKHORN
AN INKHORN TERM IS A LOANWORD, OR A WORD
COINED FROM EXISTING ROOTS, WHICH IS DEEMED
TO BE UNNECESSARY OR OVER-PRETENTIOUS.
THE STRONGEST OBJECTION TO THE NEW WORDS,
HOWEVER, WAS ON THE SCORE OF THEIR
OBSCURITY. THE GREAT EXPONENT OF THIS VIEW
WAS THOMAS WILSON, WHOSE ARTE OF
RETORQUE (1553) WAS SEVERAL TIMES REPRINTED
IN THE COURSE OF THE CENTURY AND WAS USED
BY SHAKESPEARE.

12. THOMAS WILSON (1524-1581)
 THE ARTE OF RHETORIQUE (1553), WHICH HAVE BEEN CALLED "THE FIRST
COMPLETE WORKS ON LOGIC AND RHETORIC IN ENGLISH" THE ARTE OF
RHETORIQUE GIVES WILSON A PLACE AMONG THE EARLIEST EXPONENTS OF
ENGLISH STYLE. HE OPPOSED PEDANTRY OF PHRASE, AND ABOVE ALL TO A
REVIVAL OF UNCOUTH MEDIEVAL FORMS OF SPEECH, AND ENCOURAGED A
SIMPLER MANNER OF PROSE WRITING THAN WAS GENERALLY APPRECIATED
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 16TH CENTURY. HE ALSO OPPOSED "INKHORN
TERMS"-BORROWINGS AND COINAGES FROM GREEK AND LATIN.
 THE STRONGEST OBJECTION TO THE NEW WORDS, HOWEVER, WAS ON THE
SCORE OF THEIR OBSCURITY. THE GREAT EXPONENT OF THIS VIEW WAS
THOMAS WILSON, WHOSE ARTE OF RHETORIQUE (1553) WAS SEVERAL TIMES
REPRINTED IN THE COURSE OF THE CENTURY AND WAS USED BY
SHAKESPEARE

13. THE DEFENSE OF BORROWING
 THERE WERE MANY MORE WHO IN PRECEPT OR PRACTICE APPROVED OF
JUDICIOUS IMPORTATIONS. AS DRYDEN WROTE SOMEWHAT LATER, "I TRADE BOTH
WITH THE LIVING AND THE DEAD, FOR THE ENRICHMENT OF OUR NATIVE TONGUE.
WE HAVE ENOUGH IN ENGLAND TO SUPPLY OUR NECESSITY, BUT IF WE WILL HAVE
THINGS OF MAGNIFICENCE AND SPLENDOR, WE MUST GET THEM BY COMMERCE."
 NOT ONLY HAD ENGLISH BORROWED MUCH IN THE PAST, BUT, AS THEY
FREQUENTLY POINTED OUT, ALL OTHER LANGUAGES, INCLUDING LATIN AND GREEK,
HAD ENRICHED THEMSELVES IN THIS WAY.
COMPROMISE
 THE OPPOSITION TO INKHORN TERMS WAS AT ITS HEIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
SIXTEENTH CENTURY. AT THE END OF ELIZABETH'S REIGN IT HAD LARGELY SPENT ITS
FORCE. BY THIS TIME BORROWING HAD GONE SO FAR THAT THE ATTACK WAS
RATHER DIRECTED AT THE ABUSE OF THE PROCEDURE THAN AT THE PROCEDURE
ITSELF.

14.  PUTTENHAM,FOR EXAMPLE, ALTHOUGH ISSUING A WARNING
AGAINST INKHORN TERMS, ADMITS HAVING TO USE SOME OF THEM
HIMSELF AND SEEKS TO JUSTIFY THEM IN PARTICULAR INSTANCES.
HE DEFENDS THE WORDS SCIENTIFIC, MAJOR DOMO, POLITIEN
(POLITICIAN), CONDUCT (VERB), AND OTHERS.
ADAPTATION
 SOME WORDS, IN ENTERING THE LANGUAGE, RETAINED THEIR
ORIGINAL FORM; OTHERS UNDERWENT CHANGE. WORDS LIKE
CLIMAX, APPENDIX, EPITOME, EXTERIOR, DELIRIUM, AND AXIS STILL
HAVE THEIR LATIN FORM.
MANY ENGLISH VERBS BORROWED FROM LATIN AT THIS TIME END IN -
ATE (CREATE, CONSOLIDATE, ERADICATE)

15. REINTRODUCTION AND NEW
MEANINGS
REINTRODUCTION IN THE HISTORY OF LANGUAGE
REFERS TO BRINGING BACK OR RE- ESTABLISHING
WORDS, PHRASES, OR LINGUISTIC ELEMENTS THAT
WERE PREVIOUSLY IN USE BUT HAD FADED OR
DISAPPEARED.
NEW MEANINGS IN LANGUAGE HISTORY INDICATE
THE EVOLUTION OR ADAPTATION OF WORDS TO
ACQUIRE FRESH INTERPRETATIONS OVER TIME,
REFLECTING CHANGES IN SOCIETY, CULTURE, OR
TECHNOLOGY.

16. SOMETIMES THE SAME WORD HAS BEEN BORROWED
MORE THAN ONCE IN THE COURSE OF TIME. THE LATIN
WORDS EPISCOPUS AND DISCUS APPEAR IN OLD ENGLISH
AS BISHOP AND DISH AND WERE AGAIN BORROWED
LATER TO MAKE OUR WORDS EPISCOPAL AND DISC (ALSO
DAIS, DESK, AND DISCUS).
A WORD WHEN INTRODUCED SECOND TIME OFTEN
CARRIES A DIFFERENT MEANING AND IN ESTIMATING THE
IMPORTANCE OF THE LATIN AND OTHER LOANWORDS OF
THE RENAISSANCE IT IS JUST AS ESSENTIAL TO CONSIDER
NEW MEA AS NEW WORD.
EXAMPLE: KNIGHT AND FASTIDIOUS.

17. REJECTED
WORDS
REJECTED WORDS IN THE HISTORY OF LANGUAGE ARE TERMS THAT
WERE PROPOSED BUT NOT WIDELY ACCEPTED OR INTEGRATED INTO
COMMON USAGE. THESE WORDS OFTEN FAIL TO GAIN POPULARITY
DUE TO FACTORS SUCH AS LACK OF CLARITY, AWKWARD
PRONUNCIATION, OR RESISTANCE FROM SPEAKERS.
FOR EXAMPLE:
UNCOUNSELLABLE, ANACEPHALIZE .
IN SHAKESPEARE’S DAY NO ONE COULD HAVE TOLD WHETHER WE
SHOULD SAY EFFECTUAL, EFFECTUOUS, EFFECTFULL,
EFFECTUATING, EFFECTIVE. TWO OF THESE FIVE OPTIONS HAVE
SURVIVED.

18. REINFORCEMENT THROUGH FRENCH
 MANY VERBS LIKE CONFISCATE, CONGRATULATE, AND EXONERATE ARE
FORMED FROM THE LATIN PARTICIPLE (CONFISCAT-US, ETC.) AND NOT
FROM THE FRENCH CONFISQUER, CONGRATULER, EXONERER, WHICH
ARE DERIVED FROM THE INFMITIVES CONFISCARE, ETC. CAXTON HAS
THE FORM CONFISK, WHICH IS FROM FRENCH, BUT THE WORD DID NOT
SURVIVE IN THIS SHAPE.
 IN THE SAME WAY INSTRUCT AND SUBTRACT SHOW THEIR LATIN
ANCESTRY (INSTRUCTUS, SUBTRACTUS) SINCE THE FRENCH INSTRUIRE
AND SUBTRAIRE WOULD HAVE BECOME IN ENGLISH INSTROY (LIKE
DESTROY)

19. THE METHOD OF INTRODUCING NEW
WORDS
 THE LATIN WORDS THAT FORM SO IMPORTANT AN ELEMENT IN THE ENGLISH
VOCABULARY HAVE GENERALLY ENTERED THE LANGUAGE THROUGH THE
MEDIUM OF WRITING. THE VARIOUS LATIN INFLUENCES, EXCEPT THE EARLIEST,
HAVE BEEN THE WORK OF CHURCHMEN AND SCHOLARS.
 IT IS IMPOSSIBLE, OF COURSE, TO SAY WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
INTRODUCTION OF EACH PARTICULAR WORD, BUT IN CERTAIN CASES WE CAN
SEE INDIVIDUAL WRITERS AT WORK.LIKE WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, SIR THOMAS
ELYOT- CONSCIOUS OF THEIR INNOVATIONS AND SOMETIMES PAUSING TO
REMARK UPON THEM. ANOTHER WRITER WHO INTRODUCED A LARGE NUMBER
OF NEW WORDS WAS ELYOT'S OLDER CONTEMPORARY SIR THOMAS MORE.

20. DICTIONARIES OF HARD WORDS
 AS EARLY AS 1582 MULCASTER HAD WRITTEN: "IN MY OPINION , IF SOM ONE
WELL LEARNED AND AS LABORIOUS A MAN, WOLD GATHER ALL THE
WHICH WE USE IN OUR ENGLISH TUNG, WHETHER NATURALL OR
INCORPORATE, OUT OF ALL PROFESSIONS, AS WELL LEARNED AS NOT,
ONE DICTIONARIE, OPEN UNTO US THEREIN BOTH THEIR NATURALL FORCE
AND THEIR PROPER USE.“
RICHARD MULCASTER:
HE IS OFTEN REGARDED AS THE FOUNDER OF ENGLISH
LANGUAGE LEXICOGRAPHY.HE WAS AN ANGLICAN PRIEST.
AN EARLY NON-ALPHABETICAL LIST OF 8000 ENGLISH WORDS
WAS THE ELEMENTARIE, CREATED BY RICHARD MULCAATER
IN 1582.

21.  A DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE,
SOMETIMES PUBLISHED AS JOHNSON'S
DICTIONARY, WAS PUBLISHED ON 15 APRIL 1755
AND WRITTEN BY SAMUEL JOHNSON. IT IS
AMONG THE MOST INFLUENTIAL DICTIONARIES IN
THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
 JOHNSON’S WAS THE FIRST ENGLISH
DICTIONARY TO QUOTE EXTENSIVELY IN ORDER
TO DEMONSTRATE THE MEANINGS OF WORDS IN
THIS WAY, AND HE CARRIED THE EMPIRICAL
PROCEDURE IN LEXICOGRAPHY MUCH FURTHER
THAN ANY OF THE ACADEMIES OF THE
CONTINENT HAD IN THEIR DICTIONARIES.

22.  ENGLISH DICTIONARIES WERE DICTIONARIES OF HARD
WORDS. THE FIRST OF THESE WAS A LITTLE BOOK OF 120
PAGES BY ROBERT CAWDREY, CALLED A TABLE
ALPHABETICALL OF HARD WORDS (1604), EXPLAINING
SOME 3,000 TERMS.
 IT WAS FOLLOWED IN 1616 BY JOHN BULLOKAR'S
ENGLISH EXPOSITOR AND IN 1623 BY THE ENGLISH
DICTIONARIE OF HENRY COCKERAM
 BLOUNT'S GLOSSOGRAPHIA (1656), EDWARD PHILIPPS'
NEW WORLD OF WORDS (1658), AND OTHER LATER
COMPILATIONS CONTINUED TO TREAT ONLY THE MORE
DIFFTCULT WORDS UNTIL THE TIME OF BAILEY

23. SHAKESPEARE’S PRONUNCIATION
 TO APPRECIATE THE IMPACT OF THE RENAISSANCE ON
ENRICHING THE ENGLISH VOCABULARY, IT'S ESSENTIAL
TO UNDERSTAND THE MAGNITUDE OF THE LINGUISTIC
CHANGES DURING THIS PERIOD. APPROXIMATELY
12,000 NEW WORDS WERE ADDED TO THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE, WITH ABOUT HALF OF THEM BECOMING
PERMANENT. THE MAJORITY OF THESE ADDITIONS
WERE FROM LATIN, MARKING THE LATIN INFLUENCE OF
THE FOURTH PERIOD.
 THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW WORDS WAS FACILITATED
BY THE PREVALENCE OF THE PRINTING PRESS, WHICH
CONTRIBUTED TO THE EASE WITH WHICH PRINTED
WORDS TRANSITIONED INTO EVERYDAY SPEECH.
DESPITE SOME WORDS HAVING A LEARNED
CHARACTER INITIALLY, THEY QUICKLY BECAME PART OF
COMMON LANGUAGE USAGE

25.  SHAKESPEARE, KNOWN FOR HIS EXTENSIVE VOCABULARY, READILY EMBRACED NEW WORDS,
CONTRIBUTING TO THE EXPANSION OF THE ENGLISH LEXICON. SOME WORDS HE USED WERE
VERY RECENT, AND IN SOME INSTANCES, HE WAS THE FIRST TO EMPLOY THEM IN THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE.
 SHAKESPEARE'S USE OF NEW WORDS ALSO HIGHLIGHTS AN INTERESTING LINGUISTIC
PHENOMENON—THE TENDENCY FOR THESE WORDS, UPON INTRODUCTION, TO RETAIN
MEANINGS CLOSER TO THEIR ETYMOLOGICAL ROOTS. THE EVOLUTION OF WORD MEANINGS
OVER TIME DEMONSTRATES THE DYNAMIC NATURE OF LANGUAGE.
 IN TERMS OF PRONUNCIATION, WHILE SOME DIFFERENCES EXISTED COMPARED TO
CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH, SHAKESPEARE'S PRONUNCIATION WAS MORE SIMILAR TO OURS
THAN OFTEN RECOGNIZED. VARIATIONS IN VOWEL SOUNDS, LIKE [E] FOR [I], INDICATE
ONGOING SOUND CHANGES. PRONUNCIATION DIFFERENCES IN CERTAIN WORDS,
INFLUENCED BY ACCENT AND REGIONAL FACTORS, EXISTED BUT DID NOT HINDER OVERALL
COMPREHENSION.
 THE SUBJECT OF SOUND CHANGES IS INTRICATE AND INVOLVES DETAILED EXAMINATION OF
EACH VOWEL SOUND'S DEVELOPMENT, CONSIDERING INFLUENCES SUCH AS NEIGHBORING
SOUNDS, ACCENT, AND DIALECTAL VARIATIONS. WHILE SOME SOUNDS REMAINED RELATIVELY
STABLE, OTHERS UNDERWENT SIGNIFICANT SHIFTS DURING THE GREAT VOWEL SHIFT THAT
BEGAN IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.

26. FROM OLD TO MIDDLE ENGLISH
 INVOLVED RELATIVELY SLIGHT QUALITATIVE CHANGES IN PRONUNCIATION,
PARTICULARLY WHEN COMPARED TO LATER DEVELOPMENTS
 CONSONANTAL CHANGES WERE LIMITED, CONSISTING MOSTLY OF VOICED AND
VOICELESS CONSONANT ALTERATIONS AND OCCASIONAL CONSONANT LOSSES.
FOR INSTANCE, "W" BEFORE "O" WAS LOST WHEN FOLLOWING ANOTHER
CONSONANT, AND "SC" BECAME "SH"
 SHORT "Æ" BECAME "A" AND THE ROUNDED VOWEL "Y" [Y] WAS UNROUNDED TO
"I" IN MANY REGIONS
 OTHER SHORT VOWELS (Ă, Ĕ, Ĭ, Ŏ, Ŭ) LARGELY REMAINED UNCHANGED
 AMONG LONG VOWELS, A NOTABLE CHANGE WAS THE SHIFT OF OLD ENGLISH "Ā"
TO "O," AS EXEMPLIFIED BY "BŌN" BECOMING "BONE" AND "BĀT" BECOMING
"BOAT”
 WHILE THE QUALITY OF OLD ENGLISH VOWELS REMAINED RELATIVELY STABLE,
THEIR LENGTH EXPERIENCED MORE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES

27. FROM MIDDLE ENGLISH TO MODERN
 SIGNIFICANT CHANGES OCCURRED IN THE PRONUNCIATION OF LONG VOWELS
 A NOTEWORTHY OBSERVATION IS THAT CHAUCER'S SHORT VOWELS CLOSELY
RESEMBLE THOSE IN MODERN ENGLISH, WITH ONLY TWO NOTABLE CHANGES
IN THE PRONUNCIATION OF "A" AND "U."
 BY THE TIME OF SHAKESPEARE (LATE SIXTEENTH CENTURY), CHAUCER'S "A"
HAD TRANSFORMED INTO THE [Æ] SOUND IN WORDS LIKE "CAT," "THANK,"
AND "FLAX.“
 IN CHAUCER'S TIME, THIS VOWEL WAS PRONOUNCED LIKE THE "U" IN "FULL."
HOWEVER, BY THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY, IT HAD GENERALLY SHIFTED TO THE
SOUND FOUND IN WORDS LIKE "BUT," AS SEEN IN EXAMPLES SUCH AS "CUT,"
"SUN," AND "LOVE," WHERE THE ANGLO-NORMAN SPELLING OFTEN REPLACED
"U" WITH "O”
 THE SHORT VOWELS HAVE REMAINED RELATIVELY CONSISTENT

28. THE GREAT VOWEL SHIFT
 A SIGNIFICANT PHONOLOGICAL CHANGE IN ENGLISH, OCCURRED DURING THE FIFTEENTH
CENTURY
 Ē (E IN THERE) SHIFTED TO [I:] (AS IN MEET)
 Ī (I IN RIDE) SHIFTED TO [AI] (AS IN FIVE)
 Ā (A IN FATHER) SHIFTED TO [E:] (AS IN NAME)
 Ō (O IN NO) SHIFTED TO [U:] (AS IN ROOT)
 Ū (U IN RUDE) SHIFTED TO [AƱ] (AS IN DOWN)
 BY THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY, MOST LONG VOWELS HAD ATTAINED APPROXIMATELY THEIR PRESENT
PRONUNCIATIONS. AN EXAMPLE OF THE SHIFT CAN BE SEEN IN THE COMPARISON OF CHAUCER'S
AND SHAKESPEARE'S PRONUNCIATION:
 CHAUCER: M.E. [FI:F] (FIVE) > SHAKESPEARE: [FAIV]
 CHAUCER: M.E. [KLΕ:NƏ] (CLEAN) > SHAKESPEARE: [KLE:N] (NOW [KLI:N])
 CHAUCER: M.E. [NA:MƏ] (NAME) > SHAKESPEARE: [NE:M]
 CHAUCER: M.E. [RO:TƏ] (ROOT) > SHAKESPEARE: [RU:T]
 CHAUCER: M.E. [DU:N] (DOWN) > SHAKESPEARE: [DAUN]

29. WEAKENING OF UNACCENTED VOWELS +
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES
 THE GREAT VOWEL SHIFT HAD A LASTING IMPACT ON ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION,
WHILE SUBSEQUENT CHANGES HAVE BEEN MINOR, IT IS ESSENTIAL TO NOTE
THAT THE SHIFT CONTRIBUTED TO THE DIVERGENCE BETWEEN ENGLISH SPELLING
AND PRONUNCIATION
 THE WEAKENING AND REDUCTION OF VOWELS IN UNACCENTED SYLLABLES
HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT FEATURES THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH. IN
UNACCENTED SYLLABLES, VOWELS TEND TO WEAKEN AND MAY EVEN
DISAPPEAR, LEADING TO DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPELLING AND
PRONUNCIATION. FOR INSTANCE, IN RAPID SPEECH, WORDS LIKE "AGO," "UPON,"
AND "OPINION" MAY ALL BE PRONOUNCED WITH A SIMILAR SCHWA SOUND
([Ə]). SIMILARLY, IN WORDS SUCH AS "INTRODUCE," "ELEGANT," "DRAMA,"
"COLOR," "KINGDOM," "BREAKFAST," AND "MONDAY," THE UNSTRESSED
SYLLABLES MAY EXHIBIT WEAKENED VOWELS ([Ə] OR [ɪ])

30. USAGE AND IDIOM
 EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSIDERING NOT ONLY WORDS AND INFLECTIONS
BUT ALSO THE CONVENTIONAL FEATURES, IDIOMS, AND USAGE PATTERNS THAT
CHARACTERIZE A LANGUAGE AT A GIVEN TIME. IT HIGHLIGHTS SEVERAL INSTANCES OF
IDIOSYNCRASIES IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLISH THAT DIFFER FROM CONTEMPORARY USAGE.
 ARTICLE OMISSION: SHAKESPEARE'S USE OF PHRASES LIKE "CREEPING LIKE SNAIL"
OR "THY BEAUTY’S FORM IN TABLE OF MY HEART" WITHOUT ARTICLES (A, AN, THE)
CONTRASTS WITH MODERN IDIOM, WHERE ARTICLES ARE TYPICALLY REQUIRED. THIS
REFLECTS A VARIATION IN THE USE OF ARTICLES THAT WAS ACCEPTABLE IN THE
ELIZABETHAN ERA.
 PREPOSITION USAGE: CHANGES IN PREPOSITION USAGE OVER TIME ARE EVIDENT
IN PHRASES SUCH AS "I’LL RENT THE FAIREST HOUSE IN IT AFTER THREEPENCE A BAY,"
WHERE MODERN ENGLISH MIGHT USE "AT" INSTEAD OF "IN." SIMILARLY, "OUR FEARS IN
BANQUO STICK DEEP" MIGHT BE EXPRESSED AS "OUR FEARS ABOUT BANQUO STICK
DEEP" IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH.

31.  PLACEMENT OF NEGATIVE: THE PLACEMENT OF NEGATIVES BEFORE
THE VERB, AS IN "I NOT DOUBT" OR "SHE NOT DENIES IT," WAS PERMISSIBLE
PERMISSIBLE IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLISH. TODAY, THIS STRUCTURE IS
CONSIDERED ARCHAIC, AND NEGATIVES ARE TYPICALLY PLACED BEFORE
THE AUXILIARY VERB.
 DOUBLE NEGATIVES: SHAKESPEARE'S USE OF DOUBLE NEGATIVES, LIKE
"THOU HAST SPOKEN NO WORD ALL THIS WHILE—NOR UNDERSTOOD
NONE NEITHER," WAS A FEATURE OF ELIZABETHAN ENGLISH. IN MODERN
ENGLISH, DOUBLE NEGATIVES ARE GENERALLY CONSIDERED
NONSTANDARD OR COLLOQUIAL.
 EVOLUTION OF PREPOSITIONAL MEANINGS: THE USE OF THE
PREPOSITION "OF" HAS EVOLVED, AS SEEN IN EXPRESSIONS LIKE "BROUGHT
"BROUGHT UP OF A PUPPY" (FROM), "CAME OF AN ERRAND" (ON), OR
"SHOW THEE OF A FOOL" (AS). THIS ILLUSTRATES THE SHIFTS IN COMMON
IDIOMS AND PREPOSITIONAL MEANINGS OVER TIME.

32. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PERIOD
 CONSCIOUS INTEREST IN ENGLISH: DURING THIS PERIOD, THERE WAS A
HEIGHTENED AWARENESS AND INTEREST IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. UNLIKE
THE PREVIOUS CENTURY, WHERE INDIVIDUAL ATTEMPTS WERE SPORADIC, THE
SIXTEENTH CENTURY SAW A CONSIDERABLE BODY OF LITERATURE DEFENDING
ENGLISH AGAINST UNFAVORABLE COMPARISONS WITH LATIN OR OTHER
LANGUAGES. AUTHORS PATRIOTICALLY RECOGNIZED ENGLISH AS THE
NATIONAL SPEECH, URGING ITS USE IN EDUCATION AND EMPHASIZING
CORRECT PRONUNCIATION.
 DEVELOPMENT OF A STANDARD: THE GREAT VOWEL SHIFT AND THE
INFLUENCE OF THE PRINTING PRESS CONTRIBUTED TO A MORE STANDARDIZED
FORM OF BOTH SPOKEN AND WRITTEN ENGLISH. THE EFFORTS OF SPELLING
REFORMERS AND THE ADDITION OF NEW WORDS RESULTED IN A
RECOGNIZABLE "MODERN" FORM OF THE LANGUAGE. LITERARY WORKS BY
WRITERS LIKE SPENSER AND SHAKESPEARE REFLECTED A STANDARD LITERARY
LANGUAGE FREE FROM LOCAL DIALECT VARIATIONS.

33.  PLASTICITY OF ENGLISH: ENGLISH IN THE RENAISSANCE WAS MORE FLEXIBLE AND
PLASTIC THAN IT IS TODAY. THERE WAS A FREEDOM TO MOLD THE LANGUAGE ACCORDING
TO INDIVIDUAL PREFERENCES. WORDS DID NOT CONFORM STRICTLY TO GRAMMATICAL
CATEGORIES, AND PARTS OF SPEECH WERE USED INTERCHANGEABLY. THIS FLEXIBILITY WAS
IN LINE WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE, CHARACTERIZED BY VIGOR, EXPERIMENTATION, AND
A WILLINGNESS TO TRY NEW THINGS.
 UNSETTLED FEATURES: DESPITE PROGRESS TOWARD A UNIFORM STANDARD, MANY
FEATURES OF THE LANGUAGE REMAINED UNSETTLED. THERE WAS STILL A CONSIDERABLE
VARIETY OF GRAMMATICAL FORMS, EXPERIMENTS WITH NEW WORDS, AND VARIATIONS
PRONUNCIATION AND SPELLING. SPEAKERS, EVEN THOSE WITH EDUCATION AND SOCIAL
STANDING, HAD SOME LATITUDE IN THEIR LANGUAGE USE.
 VARIABILITY IN USAGE: THE PASSAGE NOTES THAT CERTAIN LINGUISTIC FEATURES,
SUCH AS ALTERNATIVE GRAMMATICAL FORMS, EXPERIMENTS WITH NEW WORDS, AND
VARIATIONS IN PRONUNCIATION AND SPELLING, WERE STILL UNSETTLED. THIS VARIABILITY
WAS PRESENT NOT ONLY IN COLLOQUIAL ENGLISH BUT ALSO IN THE WRITTEN LANGUAGE.