Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Introduction to the Study of Elizabethan English

Introduction

            Elizabethan English is a part of Early Modern English and what follows is an introduction to the study of these languages, with a focus on Elizabethan English. This study is with the future in mind of reproducing the language in a written format. The fact that a written format has been specified is important as there will be very little if no discussion on those subjects which are associated with vocal considerations, such as pronunciation. The idea of the research is to seek the true language at its core without the external influences of modern language practices. However, in order to study the language such influences need to be taken into account.

            The language needs to be studied as it was in its essence. This means that it needs to be studied and appreciated without judging the language on the basis of modern norms of language such as a spelling, punctuation and grammar. These influences are the prime ones which will affect the study of the language and while they need to be accepted as important and significant, it is the core language which is sought. In order to achieve this real focus is needed.

            The focus will be on Elizabethan English; this is not Early Modern English as this is a much broader subject covering a much broader period (c.1400 – 1800). Elizabethan English forms a part of this period and as such some of the reference will be more general, especially where specific references are not available. As stated, the focus is primarily on Elizabethan English, or to be more precise the English of the reign of Elizabeth I (1558 -1603). The language was flexible and this needs to be noted in order to truly appreciate it, so to will parts of the research. While this is an introduction and uses secondary materials, in order to truly understand the language the research must come from primary materials. This allows for the least interference in the study. Secondary sources will be used to support the research in those areas of language technicalities in order to appreciate the rules of the language.

            For the purposes of the following discussion, there will be a three parts. The first part of this discussion will be modern considerations and evidences this presents the sort of evidence which is available for the researcher and also deals with some of the considerations which need to be made in such research. The second part will follow with an examination of the evidence from the period which is being researched in order to find the most useful parts of it. This will also examine how authors of the period which have come through to the modern can be used as useful resources. Finally will be a discussion of the language in general with a focus on those issues which are present in the language itself. These need to be considered especially considering the changes over time in the language.

Bibliographic Note


            For the most part, the references for this investigation of the language will come from a single author with others in support. The author whose work will be the primary focus of the investigation is David Crystal. This would seem to limit the research and possibly only give it a single point of view, however, after reading the information present from this and other authors, the approach given by Crystal in his various texts is the most supported. The other material available either repeats or reinforces the theory and information presented by Crystal in his various works. Further information about this author can be found at http://www.davidcrystal.com/.

Considerations of the Modern Era


“Most of Early Modern English is the same as Modern English.” (Crystal, 2008:230). The important word here is “most” as there are important differences which must be highlighted in order to understand the language as it was in the period in which it was created and used, using modern norms of language results in a slanted view of the language and an inaccurate appreciation of the language. This particular aspect is even so true in the discussion of rules by which the language should be understood.


“it took some 400 years before a ‘standard English’ evolved – a variety of English in which educated people all came to use the same rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation.” (Crystal, 2010:8)


            This four-hundred year period existed from about 1400 to about 1800, or to give a more literary approach from the time of Chaucer until about the time of the writing of the first real recognised dictionary by Johnson. Shakespeare is found in the middle of this period in a time where the language was in its most tumultuous time of change. This is one of the things that make studying the language of this period so interesting.

            What needs to be noted by the investigator of the language is that there were different varieties of Early Modern English (EModE) depending on subject, audience and speaker, this is actually similar to today, the language is dependent on the situation in which it is used (Crystal, 2008:221). Evidence for this can be found in comparing the language used on the street in comparison to that used in the courts. While Present Day English (PDE) is more homogeneous, it still carries some important differences depending on the audience and the speaker. The advantage that is present in the study of language in this particular instance can be found in the written language.


“scripts can be called ideographic … since they are not subject to sound change, they can remain stable over a long period of time and thus permit readers to understand older texts (in principle).” (Görlach, 1997:33)


            This is an advantage of the type of script that was used to write the language in the period. Unlike Asian scripts which are pictographic, and thus a single character can mean a variety of things, most western scripts are ideographic meaning that they mean the same thing regardless of where or when they were printed. Thus there is a less likelihood of misinterpretation when it comes to the script and thus reduces the likelihood of misinterpretation.

Linguistic Detail



“in Shakespeare’s plays, especially after about 1600, the life of the piece, of the whole business of personation, is in large part not in the gesture but in linguistic detail;” (Kermode, 2000:6)


            The period being studied here is, as stated, the period of Elizabeth I’s reign, as such 1600 is on the later edge of the period, but the highlighting of linguistic detail applies very much to the language of the period in general. The language of the period was specific to the purpose it was designed for. It is these linguistic details that must not get lost in order to more completely understand the language. “The study of the English language relies on an accumulation of tiny details” (Crystal, 2010:8).

            It is not appropriate to approach the study of Elizabethan English with the broad strokes which can be made of the modern language as the rules were very much in flux at the time. This allowed for a great deal of malleability in the language and much more movement for authors to express themselves in. Details must be found and examined in and of themselves in order to understand the language.

Sources


            For a complete understanding of the language, authors are required from different parts of the period in order to properly understand the language and appreciate all its elements (Nevalainen, 2006:13). This is in order to completely cover the period and thus gain a much better idea about how and where the language changed and also did not change. It is also important that different types of sources are used both verse and prose in order to completely understand the language. This becomes even more important when it is realised that the two had separation between them, “the trade of the dramatic poet was different and increasingly remote from the conventional, bookish rhetorical display.” (Kermode, 2000:10). The authors of the day would write to what was required of them, much as is done today.

            With regard to the sources chosen for research, it is, as always, important to access those sources which are as close to the originals as possible in order to gain the greatest understanding of the language. Many books have been facsimiled and placed in the public for access, this is a great boon to the study of the language, however the authenticity of such documents must be examined especially where they have been changed for ease of reading. Transliteration is less useful as some meaning is lost in the “modernisation” of the text in the process. (Görlach, 1997:34). The only way to ensure that the document is as it was is to use a facsimile of the original document, unchanged, or as close to the original as possible.

Dictionaries


            Dictionaries are a most useful resource for the study of language as they present words in a format in which they can be understood and thus used. Dictionaries have even been produced for the understanding of previous and foreign languages, however they are not infallible. “All dictionaries should be regularly revised, to take account of new findings and methods,” (Crystal and Crystal, 2002: vii). Updates of language happen even in the modern period and with research into previous forms of English the same needs to be made of those languages and thus the dictionaries which are available.

            Further, the inclusion of one word or another must be considered. Just as with any document it is up to the author to decide wether or not something is included in the document, the same can be said for dictionaries. “It is, one must always remember, a matter of judgement. Lexicographers are as human and as creative as anyone else” (Crystal and Crystal, 2002: vii). This is not to say that such resources are useless it is merely to say that consideration needs to be made by the researcher as to the approach taken by the author and care taken. Such resources should be used to supplement the research and findings of the researcher. Of course the best kind of resource for the investigator is after all the one which is produced through their own work and understanding and thus gains them the greatest insight.


“a dictionary is not a substitute for editorial notes, which focus on extracting the full meaning of a word in its individual context, … they [dictionaries] attempt to make generalizations about the meaning of words.” (Crystal and Crystal, 2002: vii)

Learning Words


            Past languages are foreign languages, even if this is not recognised by some. The language is different in many different ways and needs to be taken note of in the research. Just as with any foreign language the words need to be learnt in a similar fashion (Crystal, 2008:152). This means that there needs to be some focus in the process in order to completely understand the language.

            For the most part people will only come across languages of the past in the investigation of some other subject. This results in a haphazard approach to learning the language and only gaining enough understanding for what is required at the time. With such limited, spaced learning it is difficult to build up intuition about “normal” vocabulary of EModE (Crystal, 2008:152), or any language for that matter. The investigation of the language must be approached as with any project with completeness.

            Writing down a word and then investigating it later takes the word out of context in much the same way that an artefact removed from the presence of others destroys some of its meaning. It is better to discover a word and then investigate it as it is found in order to retain its contextual situation (Crystal, 2008:153). This enables the researcher to gain a much more complete understanding of the word than if it is taken out of its context. Indeed the other words around such words assist in the understanding of the word, thus the context assists with the understanding of the word. The associations between words assist with their comprehension such things as antonymy, synonymy, and collocation or specific associations between words (Crystal, 2008:154). The words really need to be learnt and understood individually and in association with other words in order for a complete understanding of the word and thus the language as a whole.

Evidence for Past Languages


            The first place an investigator needs to look with regard to any piece of research is the evidence which has been left behind. In the case of Early Modern English, and by default, Elizabethan English there is a large amount of printed material which can be useful. This is even taking into account those problems which can be encountered mentioned above. With regard to this it is most useful to examine the reason for what has been left for the researcher, and how this can be used to increase understanding.

Printed Material


            For most modern languages there is a large amount of printed material and even hand-written material which is useful to the researcher. However as the language gets older the presence of certain materials begins to wane as much of it is perishable, this is the reason that the most ancient languages are studied from stone inscriptions as parchments often did not survive. In the case of the English of the sixteenth century, printed material forms only a small part of what would have been written as the printing press was still relatively new. Domestic news was passed by word of mouth or by private letter quicker than could be printed in sixteenth century (Nevalainen, 2006:20). So much of this information is not available to us. However much can be gained from what has been left behind.


“Students of Shakespeare’s language need to be aware of the layers of uncertainty surrounding the texts we have available, and understand the bibliographic variables involved,” (Crystal, 2008:40)


            Shakespeare is one of, if not the most, prolific and recognised writers of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. This makes his works useful in examining the language of the period. However, as stated above there are issues which need to be contended with and these applying not only to Shakespeare but any document of the period? As soon as a document passes from on person to another and is reproduced there is the chance of change in the text, and this can come from the actual printing of the document, not only the spelling and grammar of the printer but typesetting and letter form also changes spelling of words (Crystal, 2008:34). These are issues which need to be taken into account.

Bibles



“Because they [bibles] are all translations of the same core set of texts, the different versions can throw special light on changes in orthography, grammar and vocabulary throughout the period.” (Crystal, 2003:59)
 

            One of the best places to gain information about languages is from documents which have a recognised core text. Bibles are a perfect example of this and the prevalence of bibles from the sixteenth century allows the researcher to examine the changes in language through this medium. This makes them a great resource for the period with regard to the language of the period. However, even with these documents the researcher has to approach a particular document with care in order that his research is not deviated by a particular form in a particular text.


“they [bibles] display great variation, not only in theological slant and stylistic level, but also in typography, presentation, editorial matter, and mode of presentation.” (Crystal, 2003:59)

Shakespeare as a Tool


            One of the greatest tools, aside from the bibles mentioned above, which has been passed down from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries are the works of Shakespeare. Even taking into account the variations and problems mentioned above they allow the researcher access to the language in a positive way. However the language and Shakespeare need to be studied together not separate from one another, “we should study Early Modern English alongside and through the medium of Shakespeare.” (Crystal, 2008:231).

            Shakespeare’s works are an example of Early Modern English and thus allow an examination of the language, but also allow an examination of the author as well and both of these aspects need to be taken into account for the full appreciation of the works. Even for the researcher of the language in general, as is more of the focus of this investigation, Shakespeare’s works allow for an insight into a single author but several approaches to the language and how it was used. Shakespeare’s gift is to demonstrate how the language can be manipulated for a purpose (Crystal, 2008:232). The manipulation of the language demonstrates changes in the language which are most useful, but also demonstrate where the language was stable which is even more useful in creating an idea of the norms of the language.

            It is the norms of the language which form its core principles and allow for the understanding of the language. These are places where the language is common across different documents and authors, and even within an author. Shakespeare was a great manipulator of the language but he also demonstrated where the language had stabilised and both of these are essential for the complete understanding of any language. “The more we understand the linguistic norms of his [Shakespeare’s] age, the more we will be able to appreciate his departures from these norms;” (Crystal, 2008:230). With the evidence examined and an examination of the issues which are present in the study of the language it is now possible to begin to appreciate the language as it was.

Elizabethan English


            With considerations made of approach and the evidence presented it is then possible to begin to look at examining the target of the research, Elizabethan English. There are things that the researcher needs to be aware of before diving headlong into this sort of research. As much as the language is in its whole English, it is still to a degree foreign, this is because the past is a foreign country and thus the language is also foreign and this will result in language difficulties.

            Language changes over time and quite dramatically, often unnoticed by those who are speaking the language. The most evident place for this in the modern world is in the area of slang. How this relates to the study of a previous version of a current language is to acknowledge the changes that have taken place between then and now. On a more focussed example, words individually and used together also need to be considered; as the words used are a reflection of the language as a whole, no more important with regard to this is in the consideration of the changes in meaning over time.

Language Difficulty



“We also need to remember how quickly the language of quite ordinary people grows strange, recedes into the past, along with other social practices and assumptions taken for granted in one age yet hard for a later age to understand.” (Kermode, 2000:4)


            There are many expressions which were used in the past which will be unfamiliar to those of the present. This can even happen with the relatively recent past. When discussing a language which was current centuries ago the importance of this can not be emphasised enough, and this will result in difficulties for the researcher, “the language can admittedly be difficult, even baffling.” (Kermode, 2000:4). Evidence for this can be found when a student at school comes across Shakespeare for the first time and the questions about the language which eventuate.

            Parts of Elizabethan English will be familiar and other parts will not be so familiar. In order to begin to understand the language it is useful to look at the areas in which the language is familiar in order to understand those parts which are less comprehensible. What needs to be noticed with regard to this is that these areas of confusion will often be in clusters, these clusters result in variability of comprehension, resulting in patches of difficulty (Crystal, 2008:165). It is these patches of difficulty which emphasise the difference between what is in this and what is in the present language. People will become focussed on these patches of difficulty without considering their context and it is here where help can be found in understanding what is meant. Read the entirety of a speech or passage before worrying about difficulty in part of it (Crystal, 2008:177). This will also assist in the understanding of individual words which may be causing difficulty.

Consideration of Words


            In the examination of a language, individual words need to be considered. They need to be considered on their own, but also in relation to other words. Glossaries are assembled to take into account words and their meanings in order to make it easier for the researcher. These glossaries focus on difficult and different words, some are words which are now unused and others are simply the same words with different meanings, difficult and different are not the same (Crystal, 2008:146).

            There are several different categories of words, easy, difficult and different being the primary ones. Easy words are still used today in special context, or very familiar for example oft, perchance, and morrow (Crystal, 2008:147). These words do not tend to find their way into glossaries due to their familiarity and use even in the modern language, however they should not be ignored as they may be used differently. This aspect of the language will be considered further along.


“‘difficult’, either because it was an Elizabethan usage no longer current or because it would pose a problem to a modern readership despite its continued currency.” (Crystal and Crystal, 2002: viii)
 

            Difficult words tend to be the focus as they cause the most problems for researchers and readers of the texts. It is significant that whether a word is considered difficult or not is up to the author of the glossary, and thus words may be added or left out depending on the experience and knowledge of the author.

Background is also significant with regard to the words themselves as understanding them may require experience in other fields of endeavour. Some words are “difficult” due to previous knowledge required such as classical study or different language (Crystal, 2008:147). These are often words which have been brought into the language from others or from ancient or classical sources. For the most part without some idea of their origin, figuring these words out can be difficult for the researcher and it is this which determines the difference between “difficult” and “different”. Difficult are for “words where it is not possible to deduce from their form what they might mean” (Crystal, 2008:152), whereas different words are usually those which have taken on a different meaning in the modern language or used in a different way than expected.

Usage


The way in which words are used is significant in a language as the meaning and understanding of a word can change significantly depending on how an author uses a particular word. This is even more important when examining Elizabethan English as the authors were less constrained in their use of words in comparison to later periods.


“When we study Shakespeare’s vocabulary, it is important to recognize that his period of the language – as all other periods – is not linguistically homogeneous.” (Crystal, 2008:159)


            This lack of a homogeneous language can make things difficult for the researcher to understand exactly what is being meant and how the word is being used. However, it is also due to this that there is so much flexibility in the language. This allowed Shakespeare to experiment with the language in order to achieve their desired end. Words would be converted from nouns to verbs in a process called conversion (Crystal, 2008:148), thus their usage could be completely changed. This is only a simple example of the different usage in words for the language being discussed. How words are used is at the discretion of the author and this is significant, however this can create difficulties as has been noted, indeed some of the words have even had extra syllables added for the verse, though the meaning is kept (Crystal, 2008:150). This changes the pronunciation of the word and can significantly affect it even if the word’s meaning is not changed. Changes in meaning over time are also significant. The researcher cannot assume that a word means the same as it does now.

Meaning


            The meaning of words is their purpose, as we use language to create understanding through the expression of meaning. Problems occur when the understanding is lost often due to a different meaning of a word. This can only exacerbated by the author and reader being separated by an expanse of time as the modern researcher is separated from those authors of the Elizabethan period.

            Even simple words can change meaning over time and develop their own meaning which is different from an earlier one (Crystal and Crystal, 2002: viii). This is a problem which the researcher needs to be acutely aware of in the examination of a previous language. Words can seem very familiar, but can have different meaning due to a change over time these words are often termed false friends (faux amis) where the modern meaning different from the period meaning, these are familiar words which actually are not in this the context of the word is important for its definition (Crystal, 2008:156).

The context allows the researcher to see how the word is being used and thus assists in creating understanding of the word. The researcher needs to see the words as the author did and in the same context in order to really understand what the author was attempting to convey. Words which have come through to the modern language which have developed new meanings are the prime example of where the researcher needs to be careful with regard to this. Perspective is important, much of Shakespeare’s language is very similar if not the same as modern (Crystal, 2008:175).

            There are examples of this which can be made in order to demonstrate the changes in the meaning of a word over time. To begin with “blot”, often used in the modern language to present a mistake made by a person whereas in Early Modern English “blot” was to make a correction or erasure (Crystal, 2008:34), thus correct a mistake rather than make one. This is a very subtle change in the language which results in a difference in meaning. Politician comes from politic which meant “shrewd” and then gradually developed a double-meaning as “crafty”, thus the word develops as two-faced describing a political office but also as “schemer” (Gooden, 2009:78). This presents a short timeline from one meaning to another demonstrating the changes in the meaning of the word over time. In order to understand a language as it was, it must be put in context.

Conclusion


            The language of the Elizabethan period holds many familiar elements which each reader will recognise, however it also has many elements which are not familiar to many, and it is the balance between these which is important. Assumptions must not be made about elements of the language should not be made without evidence to support them and it is here that the investigation into the language begins. The context of the language is important and assumptions must not be made about how the language may work or the meanings of words without evidence to support these findings. In some ways the familiar elements of the language can lead the researcher into traps with regard to meaning and how the language works and this is something in which care must be taken.

            In order to discover the elements of a language and how the work they must be seen first in their original context in order to understand them properly as they were. This means that the primary material for research and examination of the language should be from the period which is being studied. Secondary sources about the technical aspects of the language are useful and can assist the researcher greatly, but it is only through reading the language of the period that an understanding of the flow and tempo of the language can be appreciated. This process will also allow for the familiar and the different parts of the language to make themselves known to the researcher in order that a greater appreciation can be made of the language.

            There are considerations that must be made before research is begun as each has its own impact upon the research. One of the things that must first be established is an appreciation of the language as it was, and not in comparison to the current language. The differences based upon rules which may or may not apply are some of the aspects which give the language its richness and allow the researcher an appreciation of what the language was. The language must be learnt and appreciated as it was, and as such learnt like any unfamiliar language. The way in which the language is approached will colour the investigation.

            In the search for evidence of a language the best place to go for this is the source. In the case of languages such as Early Modern English, this means written texts the best place for this is from primary ones. Primary sources give the researcher a direct door into the language to see it as it was originally presented without any interpretation, and this is where the researcher must be careful. There are many sources which will claim to be direct copies of the originals, but even minor changes in order to make the language more readable can have an impact on the language, especially with regard to spelling and punctuation.

Secondary sources from recognised authors on the language are useful in that they give some insight into the language from a more technical point of view. This is useful as they describe how the language works, however in using a secondary version of an original text the researcher must be careful as the form of the language may have changed, and thus the meaning also. These may be used in order to gain some of the feel of the language but should not be relied upon. Just as dictionaries are used as a tool so too should other secondary sources be used in the same fashion. Secondary sources should be used to confirm or assist the investigation of the language, hence their use here.

Languages change over time and this is one of the exciting things about them. Seeing changes in language demonstrates a change in the understanding of how things work. Following these changes through a language can gain the researcher a deeper understanding of their own language in the process. In the case of the study of Elizabethan English, as is the case of all languages, words are only the beginning. Individual words must be placed into context in order to gain their full meaning and a real understanding of the language, thus punctuation and even the form of the text are important. This is the reason that dictionaries and lexicons only form one part of understanding a language as words will have different meanings depending on their circumstances, and thus to understand the language it must be appreciated in its entirety.

Elizabethan English forms only a small section of the subject which is Early Modern English and thus the investigation of this language needs to be focussed, but also must take into account the elements on a larger scale. In order to appreciate the language of the period being discussed, only the sources from that period should be used. For primary sources this is relatively easy, for secondary ones dealing with the technical aspects of the language this is more difficult. This is the reason why aspects of the overall language need to be taken into account, especially to fill in those aspects which otherwise may not be taken into account. However with careful use of these sources and an understanding of where the language fits into the overall picture a real feeling for the language and understanding can be made.

Bibliography


Crystal, D. (2003) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (2nd ed), Cambridge University Press, New York, USA

Crystal, D. (2008) ‘Think on my Words’: Exploring Shakespeare’s Language, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK

Crystal, D. (2010) Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices, The British Library, London, UK

Crystal, D. and Crystal, B. (2002) Shakespeare’s Words: A Glossary and Language Companion, Penguin Books, London, UK

Gooden, P. (2009) The Story of English: How the English Language Conquered the World, Quercus Publishing Plc, London, UK

Görlach, M. (1997) The Linguistic History of English, Macmillan Press Ltd, London, UK

Kermode, F. (2000) Shakespeare’s Language, Penguin Books Ltd, London UK

Nevalainen, T. (2006) An Introduction to Early Modern English, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, Scotland

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