Thursday, August 23, 2012

Standardisation of Language

Greetings,

This is the fifth entry for my investigation into the history of Elizabethan English. The post following flows on from the previous one about the reformers to look at the standardisation of the language and how this was started in the Elizabethan period.

Introduction

            Standardisation is a process in which something is made to create a normal or standard form. This idea is usually applied to physical objects rather than theoretical concepts however the idea behind it applies to language just as much. In order to understand this process, an idea of what it means must be established first. This enables a common ground for understanding.
            Fluctuations in language relate to the changes in the language which can come about through various processes. It is actually the state of fluctuation, especially in a language, that results in the desire for standardisation so that all the rules are the same, creating commonality in the language. In the case of Elizabethan English and also Early Modern English (EModE) printers and editorial decisions had a great impact upon this process, both on the production of documents and also the writers themselves.
            The history of the standardisation of EModE lays the foundation for the process of standardisation and this actually started previous to it. There were influences from abroad due to the social history previously and also in the contemporary period to EModE which had a great effect on the language. It was through this history that the language eventually became more standardised.
            The dialect of a language and that which becomes dominant is usually the one which eventually becomes the commonly accepted standard. This was also the case for English in England. The dominance for this would come from the centres of learning and commerce in the south and then spread north. This presents an example of the standardisation of a language as other dialects fade out and are taken over by a stronger one.

What is Standardisation?


“In general, it is helpful to think of standardisation as a sociolinguistic process which expands the range of the uses to which a language is put, but restricts its internal variability.” (Nevalainen, 2006:8)

            Standardisation is a concept which is most often used to describe physical products rather than more fluid phenomena such as language, however it is useful to consider this as a concept applied to language as its elements become more commonly used, or standard. In the case of language the concept of it becoming standard implies practices and spellings which become more and more common usage, defining the language by these aspects. Indeed, Nevalainen (2006) gives a very useful definition of a standard language.

“Standard language has been defined as one that shows maximal variation in function and minimal variation in form. Maximal variation of function means that a language community uses its language for all purposes, both locally and nationwide.” (Nevalainen, 2006:29)

           This was the unknown target of the reformers such as John Hart and Richard Mulcaster when they attempted to reform the language and make rules as to how it should be formed. The process of standardisation of the language did not occur quickly. In fact there was quite a bit of fluctuation in the language before this was to occur.

Fluctuation in Language


“there is no doubt that, throughout the early decades of the 17th century, the English writing system was widely perceived to be a mess … there was not generally recognized standard.” (Crystal, 2003:66)

           The evidence for this can be found clearly in the documents of the period. There was no standard for spelling, punctuation or grammar established leaving such matters up to the authors and publishers of the documents. With no recognisable standard it is of little surprise that writing system would be considered a mess and this fluctuation in the language was not assisted by the printers of the period who became the target for criticism.

“There were many unfavourable comments about the chaotic nature of the writing system at the time, and printers in particular came in for a great deal of criticism.” (Crystal, 2003:66)

           Some of the criticism levelled at the printers was unjustified while some of it could be seen to be. Authors also had their part to play in the absence of standard language and their expectations to have their works printed as they were. However, with the introduction of printers from outside England and unfamiliarity with the language some of the inconsistencies in the language were clearly as a result of the printers’ presentations. This is especially the case where changes were made to the original texts,

“arbitrariness also crept in when printers altered spelling (such as adding or deleting a final –e) in order to make a line of words end neatly at the right-hand margin.” (Crystal, 2003:66)

           The addition of the final –e as an editorial consideration is one that needs to be examined and others along with this. Examples of this sort of decision on the part of the printers can be found in many documents from the Elizabethan period. It is due to these inconsistencies that reformers attacked the printers and the language that was being produced by them, as this did nothing for encouraging the authors to take care with their own. What is most interesting is that even though the language was in such a state of flux in the Elizabethan period, the process of standardisation actually started years beforehand.

History of Standardisation


“In English the process of standardisation began in the late Middle Ages with the expansion of the vernacular to many functions earlier occupied by French or Latin.” (Nevalainen, 2006:8)

           The influence of French was due to the Norman invasion of 1066, and the influence of Latin was through the influence of the church where the primary education came from in the Middle Ages. The fact that English began to expand into the areas occupied by these two languages in the Middle Ages demonstrates the growing influence and importance of English even in this period. Aside from this growing influence other parts of the language had become standardised by this period, grammar by word-order for example (Smith, 2005:12). This was heavily based on the Latin grammar, but this is no surprise and continues to be the same even in the modern period.
            The standardisation processes would only have more and more of an impact as elements became more and more commonly used. The process which began in the Middle Ages was in full flight by the time of Shakespeare. The standardisation of written English and emergence of pronunciation became standard in sixteenth century (Smith, 2005:9). This was toward the later part of this period and was influenced by the reformers of the middle to late sixteenth century. It was London which would lead the charge and set the standards. This should be of little surprise considering the population and being a centre of culture and learning.

“Spelling, in public texts at any rate, became much more fixed. It was modelled on the usages adopted by the early printers, broadly those current in sixteenth-century London.” (Smith, 2005:124)

           As in all cases private texts are less controlled as they were not typically for public consumption and thus less likely to be affected by public opinion. The printers began to adopt those practices presented by reformers such as John Hart and Richard Mulcaster in order that the language was better suited to perform the functions it was designed for. The changes in language were extremely impressive over the period of the sixteenth century, but toward a standard. “As Caxton would have predicted, the English language changed a great deal between 1500 and 1700; but dialect levelling also took place.” (Nevalainen, 2006:31).

Dialect

            Dialects form a kind of standard form of the language which is usually isolated to a particular social group or particular area of a country. This can be seen especially in countries as vast as China in which the dialect can change in a short time of travelling. The same was the case for English in England at the time of Shakespeare, the “language of England and lowland Scotland, but it had barely penetrated into Wales, Ireland, and the Scottish Highlands and islands” (Bryson, 2009:58). What is most interesting is that it was due to population and economic pressures that the lowland dialect or that of London would eventually dominate.

“George Puttenham noted that the English of London stretched not much more than sixty miles from the city [London]. But its influence was growing all the time.” (Bryson, 2009:52)

           London was a centre of commerce and learning and also had one of the largest populations in the period. These factors allowed the language to spread and become common within London in a relatively short period of time and then allowed it to spread. Indeed the English of London went from a medieval to a modern language in a relatively short period of time, taking about twenty years (Bryson, 2009:52). This is the dialect which would eventually dominate most of England and become the standard form of English which is known today.

Conclusion

            In order for a language to become standardised, it must first take control of and indeed defeat the forces of fluctuation in the language. This is a long and trying process and was the goal of reformers such as Richard Mulcaster and John Hart. This standardisation process establishes benchmarks for the language as to see what is accepted as part of the language and what is considered to be against the accepted rules of the language.
            The process of standardisation is exactly that, a process and this takes time. The fact that the process started in the Middle Ages and continued well into the Renaissance period, and even beyond demonstrates the extended nature of this process. This process allows a standard form of the language to form and thus allow for deeper examination and further development of the language. In most cases what will eventuate is that one dialect will eventually become more common and become more dominant than others and thus become the standard.
            In the case of EModE the process was a long one and proceeded with many fluctuations in the language as can be seen in Elizabethan English. This makes the language difficult to pin down but also allows for great experimentation and thus development in the language. In this way fluctuation expressed in the language allows for a better form of the language when it is finally standardised. Needless to say in the history of Elizabethan English the process of standardisation was an on-going one and did not finally come about until after its period, however examples of this process can be seen as the language becomes more established.

Bibliography

Bryson, B. (2009) Mother Tongue: The Story of the English Language, Penguin Books Ltd, London, UK

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

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

Smith, J. (2005) Essentials of Early English, Routledge, New York, USA

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