The English Language

1. The English Language Today

16th century = 5-7 million of English speakers 1952 = 250 million of speakers use English as a mothertongue 21th century: the figures continue to creep up = WHY? And HOW many people exactly have learned English to a reasonable standard of fluency? English as a 'secong language' 1. Countries where English has some kind of special status (e.g. Ghana, Nigeria): People have their mother tongue to begin with and then they start learning English. They can then use English for communication when their mothertongue is inadequate. Why English? (1) Because if they choose one of the many indigenous languages, there would be inter-tribal tension. By giving official status to an outside language, all internal languages are places on the same footing. (2) And because of the weight of historical tradition from the British colonial era English is an official or semi-official language in over seventy countries. BUT we can't obtain an estimate of the world's second-language English speakers because most of these countries are in undeveloped parts of the world and only a fraction of the population may be given an opportunity to learn it (e.g. India). Estimates = around 400 million speakers about as many as the total of mother-tongue users. BUT we shall not forget that the population increase in these countries is three or four times as great as that found in mother-tongue countries (= within a generation mother-tongue English use will have been left far behind). English as a 'foreign' language 2. Countries where English has no official status: People learn English as a foreign language in schools or institutes, BUT there are no reliable figures that tell us about the number of people learning English as a foreign language. Figures are vague because (1) It is hard to tell when an English learner has learned enough English and (2) statistics are unable to keep up with the extraordinary growth in learning English in many countries (e.g. China explosion of interest in China no reliable figures but if only a fraction of China's population is successful in learning English, this will be enough to make a significant impact on the total for world foreign-language use). People in different countries all over the world are motivated to learn English because English has become the dominant language of world communication (advertising, business, air traffic control, airports, scientists, etc.). It is not the number of mother-tongue speakers which makes a language important in the eyes of the world, but the extent to which a language is found useful outside its original setting. In the cours of history, other languages have acheived widespread use throughtout educated society (Latin, French and now English). This could only be reversed by a massive change in the economic features of America and in the overall balance of world power. 1

Consequences English speakers = 1.5 billion = of the world's population 'everyone speaks English now' = an overstatement BUT one in four is an impressive proportion having as consequences more grammars, diccionaries, manuals, programmes on television, books, etc. AND people become increasingly critical and concerned about language matters e.g. Seeing what happens to the language as it spreads around the world public anxiety, especially in Britain, where people are frustated because their English was dominant, but has now become a minority dialect. ===> What will happen to the language, as it manifests its worldwide presence in the form of new varieties? (in mother-tongue countries, but also in second-language areas. In many cases, people feel that English expresses their identity, and they sense a need to find fresh language. It also appies to new regional standards of pronunciation. ) Great deal of pessimism, so far proved to be unfounded, But English may be some day transformed into a family of new languages. Such changes would be natural, but there are strong counter-pressures in modern society which did not exist in earlier times; there is an urgent need to communicate at world level (keeping at least one channel open- writen English).

Pidgins and Creoles

Definitions Pidgin = a language made up of two or more languages, used as a way of communicating by people whose first languages are different from each other. Creole = a language that is a mixture of a European language and one or more other languages, spoken as the first language of a people. Pidgin Languages (Me Tarzan you Jane) In many parts of the world pidgin languages are used routinely on daily matters (news broadcasts, safety instructions, etc). All pidgin languages originally start when people who don't have a common language try to communicate with each other. Most of the present-day pidgins grew up along the trade routes of the world. We talk of Pidgin English when the pidgin derives from English. Pidgin Englishes are mainly foudn in two big families: a) The Atlantic varieties: developed in West Africa and transported to the West Indies and America during the years of the slave trade (Ghana, Sierra Leone, Togo, etc.). b) The Pacific varieties: from the cost of China to the northern part of Australia (Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, etc.). Pidgins often have a very short life span. It disappears when people stop being in contact (e.g. Americans in Vietnam) or if contact builds up, the people will stop using the pidgin and start learning each other's language.

Creoles HOWEVER, the pidgin can become a common language (= lingua franca) when the pidgin is found to be so useful that the peoples in contact find they cannot do without it (e.g. Papua New Guinea Tok Pisin). Its form then changes dramatically. First a pidgin language functions with a few words, a few simple constructions helped along with gestures and miming, but then when a pidgin becomes widley used, its vocabulary increases and it develops its own grammatical rules in order to be used in everyday life. Then people start using the pidgin at home, and children are brought up using the pidgin as their mother tongue. The pidgin now starts to compete with other languages instead of beign seen as subordinate to them. We can now talk about creoles. Creolized varieties of English are very important throughout the Caribeean (and found among Black Americans people). BUT there is often conflict between the creole and standard English. The creole gives its speakers their linguisitc identity, but the standard English enables them to communicate with the rest of the English-speaking world (questions: road signs, education, literature, etc?) BUT standard English users should not be dismissive towards creole speech as it is a major variety of modern English.

PART I THE STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH

2. Grammar
One of the most widespread fallacies about the English language = there's no grammar worth bothering about. People are contemptous about English grammar because: a) The influence of Latin: for centuries, people had to know Latin and its grammar to be accepted in educated society. When people started to analyse English grammar in the eighteenth century, it seemed logical to look at the language, using the terms and distinctions which had proved to be so useful in studying Latin. English had no word-endings and therefore it had no grammar. BUT English has less than a dozen types of regular ending (the plural -s, the genitive -'s, the past -ed, etc. And there are exceptions among certain nouns and adjectives and a long list of irregular verbs). BUT the English language makes very little use of word structure or morphology (these endings make up only a fraction of the grammar). On the contrary, English grammar is much more taken up with the rules governing the syntax (word order is crucial e.g. Word order ('I walked to town' instead of 'I to town walked', complex constructions such as the use of 'respectively'). Mother-tongue speakers use these rules instinctively. Grammar in speech and writing b) The widespread feeling that only the written language is worth bothering about, and that spoken English has 'less' grammar because it does not 'follow the rules' that are found in writing. There are many differences between the way grammar is used in writing English and the way is used in speaking it. When we are writing we have time to plan ahead, to revise, to reflect, to pause. BUT in everyday conversation there is no time for such things to happen (because of the listeners and we have to allow for a host of other disturbances.) As a result we make use of all kind of grammatical features that wouldn't be necessary in writing (mind you, you see, I mean, and, but, etc.). spoken grammar differs from written (e.g. P 25). However, it is important not to overestimate the differences between speech and writing. About 95 per cent of the grammatical constructions in English appear in both spoken and written expression. ===> Spoken English may be different but it certainly does not lack grammatical structure. Knowing grammar and 'knowing about' grammar When you learn a language, you don't need to know any grammatical terminology. The teachign method seems to be an 'oral' approach. Students do not learn rules by heart. They spend a lot of time practising and the hope is that they will pick up the right forms of expression, and gradually develop a sense of what the rules are. This method of learning can work (e.g. Small children BUT more controversial issue among adults).

The English language has suffered badly at the hands of the grammarians over the centuries. Many have left school with the impression that English grammar is a dull, pointless subject. Some even say that they don't know any grammar or that they can't use it ===> WHY? 18th century: after a chaotic period of expansion and experiment (Shakespeare added new words, etc.), the new dictionary-writers and grammarians felt it was their duty to sort out what had happened. From 1760s: grammarians such as Robet Lowth and Lindley Murray laid down rules (Preferring I shall, It is I, avoiding a double negative, etc.) Schoolchildren were taught to analyse a sentence , etc. ; the correct usage. A failure to write or speak correctly would lead in the long term to social criticism and reduced career prospects. BUT people saw problems with this approach. Such argued that it was impossible to reduce all the variation in a language to a single set of rules. There would always be exceptions (even in Shakespeare) to the rules, and these reflected variations in society, or individual patterns of emphasis. The controversy continues to this day. People still argue over whether grammar should be approached from a descriptive or a prescriptive point of view. In the descriptive approach: information is gathered about the way English is used, and then the analyst tries to understand why such variation exists, and the different effects that come from choosing one construction rather than another. In the prescriptive approach: one construction is considered to be a sign of educated speech or writing, and is recommended for use. These days, there are osgns of a compromise position being worked out (schoolchildren learn to develop a sense of variation that exist, and at the same time it is pointed out to them the value of learning those styles which carry extra prestige within society. ===> Whichever approach is used, it is going to be necessary to talk about English grammar, a bit of terminology is essential (subject, noun, preposition, object, word order, etc.).

The top ten complaints about grammar (page 30-31). Grammar and you (page 32-33)
What are your preferences? And are they the same as everyone else's? One way of finding out how people use their language is to check to see whether all words of a certain type actually behave in the same way. We can show this by working out how one of these words behaves grammatically, and then seeing whether the other words behave in the same way.

3. Vocabulary
How many words are there in English? Complicated question because: should certain words be written in one or two words or hyphenated (e.g. Flowerpot)?, Are verbs with get different words? Are all the items in 'idioms' considered as different words? The same word with different meanings or different words (e.g. Ring)? Whose English are we counting? The question would soon arise about the kind of vocabulary to include in the count. No problems with words part of standard English. What about words that are not found everywhere (restricted to a particular country or to a part of a country)? Regional words have every right to be included in an English vocabulary count. BUT no one knows how many words there are and little research has been carried out. Surveys are expensive and lengthy, ans as a result, most regional vocabulary is never recorded. The most colloquial varieties of English, and slang in particular, also tend to be given inadequate treatment. Because in dictionary-writing, the tradition has been to take material only from the written language, and this has led to the compilers concentrations on educated, standard forms leaving out non-stadard expressions such as everyday slang, as well as slang of specific social groups. Keeping track of slang is one of the most difficult tasks in vocabulary study, because it can be so shifting and short-lived. The life-span of a word may be only a few years or even months. Some word-lovers have made collections, but the feeling always exists that the items listed are only the tip of a huge lexical iceberg. >> Some marginal cases: Estimating the size of the English vocabulary is complicated by the existence of uncertain cases words which wouldn't feel part of the central vocabulary. The abbreviations: some do not include them as they depend on bigger words, but some, like AIDS, are more important than the original word. The names of people, places and things in the world. You might include them as they are sometimes different in other languages, but usually these names are not included as they can appear in any language. The names of people, animals and objects. Proper nouns are not part of any one language, but some words take special meanings (e.g. Whitehall = the Governement) and are included in diccionaries. Fauna and flora. The largest diccionaries include already thousands of technical and scientific terms, but include only the most important species of insects, birds, fish, etc.

Types of vocabulary How are new words form? 1. Words are taken over from other languages = borrowings or loan-words. e.g. Apartheid (from Afrikaans), ketchup (from Chinese), banana (from Spanish), etc. 2. Words are created by adding prefixes and suffixes to old ones. Prefixes = anti-, co-, de-, ex-, non-, super-, ultra-, unSuffixes = -able, -ation, -eer, -ful, -ish, -let, -ness, -ly 3. Conversion = to change the way words are used in a sentence. Verbs converted from nouns: To butter some bread Nouns converted from adjectives: He's a natural, They are regulars Adjectives converted from nouns: Liverpool accent 4. To join two words together to make a different word = a compound e.g. Blackbird, shopkeeper, air-conditioning BUT the meaning is often different from the one found by adding the meaning of its parts and not always written in a single word. 5. Abbreviations shortening a word (phone), using its initial letters (NATO) or blending two words (brunch). AND by repeating an element (goody-goody, mishmash). New words for old English has always been a 'vacuum-cleaner' of a language sucking in words from other languages at every opportunity. Thanks to periods of contact with foreign languages and its readiness to coin new words out of old element, English has far more words in its core vocabulary than other languages. There is often an antagonistic reaction to new words (computer jargon, rural dialexcts, slang). Vocabulary and especially changes in vocabulary is one of the most controversial issues in the field of language study. The history of the language shows how thousands of words have altered their meaning over times, or added new meanings (e.g. Pretty = ingenious, villain = farm labourer). These changes are not even noticed now. Objections are thus made to words that are currently in the process of change (e.g. Gay = homosexual and joyous) and to over-use of words. (The worst judgement is to call an expression, a clich). We need to keep a careful eye on our use of words BUT careful, because a critical monitoring, is not the same as a objections, a blind opposition to all new words. Do such objections do any good? It remains unclear whether they can raise public consciousness to influence the cours of language change (e.g. Strong opposition to verbs ending in -ize, but still many were accepted into the language.)

>> The etymological fallacy When people object to the way a word has taken on a new meaning, they usually apeal to the word's history for support. The older meaning is the correct one (e.g. Decimate = to destroy a lot off, but it comes from Latin = to destroy one tenth of); Such reasoning is unacceptable, has its limits. Because it is impossible to find the exact origin of words (Indo-European), it is impossible to trace all the changes endured by a word. What a word meant at one point is history is thus not relevant for later periods. Etymology is not a true guide to meaning. To believe the opposite is to engage in the 'etymological fallacy'. How large is your vocabulary? There seems to be no more agreement about the size of an adult's vocabulary than there is about the total number of words in English. > Take a dictionary, and test your knowledge of a fair sample (different letters, full page, no prefixes, scientific terms) of the words it contains. Draw up a table of words. Two colums: (1) I know the word from having heard or seen it used > passive vocabulary (2) I use the word in my speech and writing. Results (sample of two percent > we multiply by fifty) BUT far from reality. >> Passive vocabulary is much larger than active. Which diccionary? Does it have the words you want to look up? (number of items mentioned on the cover is not a true guide. Is it up-to-date? Does it have good international coverage? (other varieties of English) Can you find the word or phrase you want? (idioms, alternative spelling) Are the entries clearly laid out? (get, have) Are the definitions clear? (intelligible and examples) Does it contain lists of related words? (cross-reference to words of related meaning) Does it give guidance about usage? (stylistic level, grammatical use) What information does it give about where a word comes from? Does it contain enclyclopedic information? Will it last? (quality of paper).

4. Pronunciation
How fast do we talk? In everyday conversation, people speak at about five or six syllables a secons around 300 syllables a minute. BUT it depends on the people (some talk naturally faster or slower) and on the context (news > slower; exciting story > faster). To understand what happens in English pronunciation, we have to remember the speed at which speech normally takes place. (Many people think that it is essential to pronunce every sound in a word, but this view is some distance from reality). The segments of pronunciation People learn about the written language before the spoken language (they learn to call some letters vowels and others consonants), even if people learn to speak and listen long before they learn to write and read. >>> People think of speech in the same frame of reference as they do writing; they use the same terms even if the meaning is different >>> Problem... It is necessary to develop a special system of transcription a phonetic transciption because there are not five vowels, but twenty vowels sounds in most English accents (most prestigious accent = Received Pronunciation). There are 21 consonant letters in the written alphabet, and there are 24 consonant sounds in RP (several of these sounds would be spelled with two letters in writing e.g. Thin; th = ). Vowels and consonants provide us with the basic building blocks of speech (= segments) as they do of writing. By changing these segments, we alter the shape of the words, and thus their meaning. In linguistic studies sounds which can change the meaning of a word by changing one of the segments are called phonemes. The result of thinking of language as written language is that many people think that the speech is made up of a sequence of single sounds, and that the words are separated by tiny pauses. In reality, it is not at all like this. There is no tiny pause between each word. And we do not make first one sound with our vocal organs, then move on to the next, and so on. In fact, in pronunciation sounds run together. So a better impression of how speech works would be to write a transcription of a sentence with no separation between words. This much more conveys the speed at which the sentence would be said. Moreover, changes in pronunciation are inevitable when we start to speed up our speech and run words together. So as we begin to speak a word and make the first sound, our brain is already planning the next sounds. And this planning may be so advanced that the brain may have already sent signals to the vocal organs telling them to get ready for these later sounds. There comes a certain point when we simply do not try to keep the pronunciation separate (assimilation or elision). In phonetics textbooks, when one sound is influenced by another in this way, it is called assimilation. Example of assimilation: I should be surprised if John and Mary were late: the /n/ sound is affected by the following /m/ and blends with it to produce a single /m/. When the sound is dropped completely, it is called elision. Example of elision: I should be surprised if John and Mary were late: when "and" is used before an /m/ sound, at normal conversational speed, the /d/ is dropped. 9

Other examples: In shoe (/u:/) - the brain knows that a vowel is due later in the word, and that it has to be pronounced with the lips rounded, so it sends instructions to the lips to get ready, right at the beginning of the word. As a result the boundary between the two sounds is extremely difficult to draw. In "that boy", the last sound of the first word is affected by the first sound of the second: /t/ sound changes into a /p/. Two sounds influence each other, so that they both change "would you" the /d/ of would and the /j/ of you = //. A sound can be added: "linking r" the r spelling at the end of a word is not sounded where the word is said on its own (four, mother, etc), but the /r/ is pronounced when it is followed by a vowel (four o' clock).

Pronunciation worries
It is possible to speak English in a way which avoids making most of these effects. Actors Professional voice users such as news broadcasters, radio announcers, priests, judges and politicians. The listeners do not get clues from the movement of the lips, so to be sure that their speech is understood, they must speak slowly and distinctly. The most common of all complaints to the BBC concerns the topic of pronunciation. Many listeners expect precise articulation over the air because, according to them, a letter is there in the spelling, and so it should be pronounced belief that speech is a poor relation of writing. They also expect a perfect pronunciation >>> (1) no sloppy speech (normal pronunciations in everyday speech use by everyone e.g. Febry for February, reconize for recognize, etc.). Let's not forget we learn to speak before learning to write! People get angry when sounds are left out, or when sounds are put in which they think ought not to be. >>> Most famous case = (2) the intrusive "r". The most common pronunciation lapse by speakers of Received Pronunciation is the use of an intrusive r i.e. the insertion of an /r/ between vowels when there is no r in the spelling (law and order). Unless RP speakers are taking extreme care and speaking very self-consciously, they automatically put an /r/ into such phrases as Africa(r) and Asia, an area(r) of disagreement, and drama(r) and music. > Where does the intrusive r come from? This is the result of these speakers unconsciously extending a pattern already present in their accent, as found in the linking r sequence described above (Africa(r) and Asia,...). It is important to notice that, although there are thousands of English words which end in the letter r, only four kinds of vowel are involved. Over the years, the linking /r/ has been extended to all of words ending in one of these four vowels, when they are followed by another vowel. /:/ as in four (most noticeable: law and order). /:/ as in car /:/ as in fur // as in mother.

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Why do people hate it? The reason is likely to be something to do with the way one social group, at some time in the past, adopted a usage in order to keep themselves apart from another social group which did not >> an accent comes to be used like a badge, showing a person's social identity. Also: (3) The problems of changes in stress (e.g. Dispute vs. Dispute). (4) The pronunciation of individual words (e.g. Saying recognize with or without the g). (5) Foreign words, names of people and places, etc. (+ p. 62) Either broadcasters speak in a normal informal way and speed their speech up and introduce assimilations and elisions, or they avoid this and their speech will sound formal, clipped and controlled. As long as society contains divisions, there will be differences in pronunciation, and, as a consequence, arguments about which form is best and which accent is most acceptable.

Received Pronunciation
= One accent that stands out above all others in England, conveying associations of respectable social standing and a good education. It is often associated with the south-east of England, where most RP-speakers live or work. But, in fact, it can be found anywhere in the country. Accents usually tell us where in the country a person is from; RP tells us only about a speaker's social or educational background. Indeed, in the late middle Ages, the ancestral form of RP developed in London and the south-east as the accent of the court and the upper classes. It was well established over 400 years ago. Most people anxious for social advancement would move to London and adopt the accent they found there. As a result, the accent soon came to symbolize a persons high position in society. During the nineteenth century, RP became the accent of the public schools in Eton, Harrow and Winchester, and was soon the main sign that the speaker had received a good education. Then it spread throughout the Civil Service of the British Empire and the armed forces. It became the voice of authority and power. In the 1920s it came to be adopted by the BBC. During the Second World War, the accent became the voice of freedom The BBC and RP became synonymous. Today, it is no longer the preserve of the social lite it is now best described as an 'educated' accent or 'accents' (different varieties, but most widely used variety is the one heard on the BBC + old-fashioned and trend-setting forms of RP). No accent is immune to change RP is no longer as widely used as it was fifty years ago > most educated people have developed an accent which is a mixture of RP and various regional characterstics = 'modified' Rps. In late Victorian times, regional accents were heavily stigmatised, but times are changing Regionally modified speech has begun to make a come-back in educated British society. RP continues to be a widely used accent in the Court, Parliament, the Church of England, the legal profession, and in other natonal institutions. It is still the only accent taught to foreigners who wish to learn a British model, and it is thus widely used abroad. 11

 Probably the main challenge to the position of RP in contemporary England is the rise of a modified accent which since the 1980's has come to be called "Estuary English". The estuary in question is that of the River Thames, and the term tries to capture the emergence of an accent in the counties surrounding that river, in which various features of traditional London English (Cockney) have merged with RP or with local regional accents. "Estuary" did not suddenly emerge in the 1980s, but is the outcome of several processes of pronunciation change which can be traced over several decades. The accent seemed to be emerging in two groups of people associated with different class backgrounds, and thus might be taken as an indicator of a significant change in social class. Mobility was a crucial factor (people coming from (upwardly mobile people) or moving into London adapted their language, accent --> mixture). Public attitudes towards these modified accents began to change. RP is seen as posh and distant, while Estuary English seems warm. Many kinds of regional accents are nowadays perceived to be warmer than they used to, because they are given public exposure. Today, in Britain, regional accents are commonplace on radio and television. (Still, some accents are the preferred voices (Yorkshire, Edinburgh Scots), while some accents are not attractive (Birmingham, Liverpool). RP is now less likely to be heard. The 'prestige' accent has begun to pick up some of the negative aura which traditionally would have been associated only with some kinds of regional speech.

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5. Spelling
How chaotic is the English spelling?
English spelling isn't totally chaotic. There seems to be both regularity and irregularity in English spelling. It isn't easy to arrive at a definite figure, to say that X per cent of English words are irregular in their spelling. How many words are there? Which words to considered? (proper names, scientific terms, etc.) If we restrict the question to 'everyday vocabulary', there is still a problem. How do we deal with related words (friend friends)? How to calculate? If we calculate the irregularity based on word types (different words), the percentage would be very much smaller than any count based on word tokens (we count all the times the same word appears). >>> We can say that English spelling is mad. There are only about 400 everyday words in English whose spelling is wholly irregular. The trouble is that many of these words are among the most frequently used words in the language (they are thus constantly before our eyes as word tokens). As a result, English spelling gives the impression of being more irregular than it really is. >>> The answer to the question (how irregular is English spelling?) depends on what is counted and how. English is much more regular in spelling than the traditional criticisms would have us believe. The suggestion that English spellin is fundamentally chaotic seems to be nonsense.

Spelling rules
Many people have unhappy memories of 'learning to spell'. Why? Children are rarely taught how to spell they must learn spellings off by heart1. In order to understand the spelling system of English, children need to be given reasons for why the spellings are as they are, and told about how these spellings relate to the way they pronounce the words. As a result, they never develop a sense of the system which is present, so that when they encounter new words, they have to resort to guesswork, and spelling becomes a boring memory task. Failing to know just one word would produce a large number of errors. Teachers assume that reading, once taught, automatically means that spelling will be caught. But there is no correlation between reading ability and spelling ability. Totally different skills are involved. Spelling involves a set of active, productive, conscious processes. In reading, we can read selectively, spot a few letters and guess the rest of the word. The task facing a speller is far greater than that facing a reader (one way to read a word, but several ways to spell a word). >>> Spelling is a matter of relating letters to sounds (not a visual matter).

1 It is not possible to see and understand the spelling system as regular and irregular words are put side by side with little apparent order.

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HOWEVER, learning about the predictable links between spelling and pronunciation, the principles on which the spelling system is based the spelling rules is far from commonplace. > Most traditional rules are based on the written language only (e.g. To form the plural of nouns ending in -y, change y to i and add -es). These rules don't go very far and need to be supplemented by more basic rules which tell the learners to relate what they see to what they hear. Example: One consonant letter or two, when adding -ing to a verb that ends in a consonant, such as hop and sit. It is essential to hear the difference between vowels which are very short in length, as in sit, set, sat, cot, cut, full, and those which are much longer, as in me, car, say, go. It then emerges that the consonant sound is spelled with a double letter if the verb contains one of the short vowels, and it is kept single if the verb contains a long vowel. Short Long hop - hopping hope - hoping can - canning cane - caning sham shamming shame - shaming bet - betting beat - beating man - manning mean meaning (The rule relates many words other than verbs) When longer words are brought in, we have to hear whether the preceding syllable is stressed or not. If it is, there is usually doubling; if it isn't, there isn't. occur - occurring enter - entering patrol - patrolling visit - visiting permit- permitting develop - developing Exceptions to be learnt: If the verb already ends in a double consonant, it keeps it, even if it has a long vowel sound, e.g purr - purring, err - erring Verbs with a short vowel sound spelled with two vowel letters don't double the consonant, e.g dread - dreading Verbs ending in l, m, g and p tend to double the consonant anyway, e.g cancelling, programming, humbugging, kidnapping. Usage varies between British and American English. Doubling is normal in British English, for such words as travelling and worshipping. US English prefers the single consonant letter: traveling and worshiping. With a very few verbs ending in -s, both forms are possible, e.g focusing/ focussing, biasing/ biassing. With verbs ending in a vowel followed by c, the doubling of c is spelled ck, e.g panic panicking. >>>> There is a system there are several rules, even though there are exceptions. But why are there so many rules? Where do the exceptions come from?

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Where do the irregularities come from?

The complications we are left with today are the result of the major linguistic and social events which took place 1,000 years ago until nowadays. In Old English; English was first written down by the Roman missionaries. They used the 23-letter Latin alphabet, our modern alphabet except some differences. But as there were not enough letters to cope with the Old English, the missionaries used the local runic alphabet2 to write sounds that were different from Latin, such as th, or they used some letters for more than one sound. They also represented some sounds by combinations of letters. After the Norman conquest; The French scribes brought their own ideas about spelling to bear on the language. Several Old English spellings were replaced by French ones. The French introduced qu instead of the Old English's cw (queen), gh instead of h (night, enough), ch instead of c ( church). They used ou for u (house), c before e or i (circle, cell). As u was very similar to v, n and m, it was replaced by o (son, love) At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the spelling was a mixture of Old English and French. The introduction of printing in 1476; There were then many ways of spelling words, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation. William Caxton chose a system for his printing house that reflected the speech of the London area. As a result, many words were stable for the first time, and the notion of a 'correct' speeling began to grow. Although spelling stayed relatively stable, pronunciation did not. Before the advent of printing, the scribes would have heard a new pronunciation and changed the spelling to suit. But now, such changes were no longer acceptable. Our modern spelling reflects the way words were pronounced in Chaucer's time (15th). This explains many of the silent letters (letters which are not pronounced know). The spelling continued to reflect the older sounds. In the 16th century; Learned writers wanted to show the history (etymology) of a word in its spelling. That's why for example there is a b in debt (debitum in Latin), in doubt (from dubitare) and a g in reign (from reigno). These new spellings became standard. In addition, there was a concern to 'tidy up' the spelling (gh in night and light so there should be one in delight and tigh). In the late 16th and early 17th century There was a new wave of loan-words in English from such languages as French, Latin, Greek, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. These languages brought un-English-looking spellings, strange combinations of vowels and consonants ( brusque, canoe). English spelling is a curious mixture of different influences, but much regularity retained, as the changes took place over a lenghty time scale, and many spelling were tried out for long periods before they were finally adopted.

The runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using letters known as runes to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialized purposes thereafter.

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A Dozen Confusibles
Words that sound the same but which are spelled differently. to accept: to agree to except: not including to prophesy: to predict a prophecy: prediction the allusion: reference, mention the illusion: false impression to emend: to correct to amend: to modify to be borne: to bear (carry, endure) to be born: - in 1986 to complement: to harmonize the compliment: kind word the council: assembly the counsel: advise a license (GB), licence (USA): permit to license: allow, authorize the lightning: flashes to lighten: to reduce stationery: material for the office stationary: immobile principal: main the principle: theory to sew: with the sewing machine (clothes) to sow: to plant seeds

Spelling Reform
The main movements in favour of reform in both America and the UK can be traced back in the nineteenth century. The arguments in favor of the reform: Children and foreigners would save much time and emotional effort in learning to read and write. People using the language would save time and money (more rapidly with fewer letters). The arguments against the spelling reform: How to persuade people to learn a new system? How to represent the different regional accents? ... The disadvantages have proved overwhelming. The nearest the Simplified Spelling Society came to success was in 1949 when the 'Nue Spelling' was presented to Parliament. The bill was defeated. One of the biggest problems facing the spelling reform movement is the lack of universal agreement as to what the best alternative system might be; Nue Spelling : familiar letters. George Bernard Shaw's Proposed British Alphabet = new symbols. The spelling reform movement has made little progress since then.

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PART II THE USES OF ENGLISH

6. Language Variety
'The English Languages' >>> The language changes depending on which people are usig it, where they are, and what they are doing.

Accents and dialects

Regional accent = a way of pronouncing the words and sentences of the language that identifies the speaker's geographical origin. Everyone has an accent (very general country; or more specific cities, counties). Within a country, an accent may become so much an educated standard that it conveys little or no regional information. E.g. Received Pronunciation: you can't tell where RP speakers are from, but on the world stage, RP speakers are not accent-less > British. These days, it is much less usual for people to live their whole livess in one place, and 'mixed' accents have become more widespread (or hybrid). It shows features associated with these different areas, and it is not entirely consistent. RP has been affected: 'modified' form of RP an accent which shows the influence of the regions (RP speakers influenced by regional accents) especially the variety known as 'Estuary English'. At the same time, there are changes at work in the opposite direction. People with a regional background come into contact with RP, and their speech becomes influences by it. If people want to be accepted and respected, they must adopt some of the norms of pronunciation used by the new community to which they belong (they try to make their accent less distinctive); Everyone is affected, but some more than others. The changes take place unconsciously, over several years. Less changes in old people and comedians Noticeable changes in teenagers and people at an early stage in their careers. Women change their accents more easily. >>> Factors: age, sex and social class. Dialect: accents are restricted to matters of pronunciation, whereas dialects include variations in grammar, vocabulary and spelling. Just as everyone has an accent, so everyone speaks a dialect. >>> (1) Rural dialects, (2) Urban dialects (increasing) and (3) National dialects (American, British, etc.). Dialect signals are an inevitable part of speech, and are often reflected in writing. However, it is important not to overstate the extent to which dialect features are used, especially in the written language. (Most dialect words tend to be restricted to informal speech or to literature; small number compared to the extent of the vocabulary of standard English; even smaller non-standard variations of grammatical forms). 17

Speech and writing

Differences between spoken and written varieties of the language: CONVERSATION Conversational language is inexplicit, because the participants are face-to face (e.g. That one over there) Conversations are usually spontaneous, that's why the grammar is often poor, containing a lot of repetitions and rephrasing. No structure and lenghty sentences are commonplace. The vocabulary of everyday speech tends to be informal, domestic and more limited. Slang, nonsense words and taboo words are often used in conversations. Manoeuvring: there are special ways of opening a conversation (Excuse me), of checking that the listener is following (Are you with me?), of changing a topic (That reminds me) and ending (Nice talking to you). Conversations can use a wide range of tone of voice, which are impossible in writing. There are many sounds that cannot be written down. WRITING On the other hand, writers must make their language sufficiently clear and precise that it can be interpreted on its own. Phrases as you know, I mean, you see are common in speech, but not in writing. The writer has time to plan out > structure, linking words, etc. On the contrary, writers can look a word up before writing it and the vocabulary tends to be more precise. Such strategies are unnecessary in writing, which has its own ways of organizing the exposition of the text (prefaces, summaries, indexes). However, writing has a wide range of graphic features that do not exist in speech (colour, layout, capitalization) and written effects which cannot easily be spoken (train timetables, graphs, formulae).

(The pauses, rhythms, and melodies of speech provide the basis of our punctuation system. There is usually a broad correspondence between the way we punctuate our sentences and the way we speak them. >> Failure to preserve this correspondence tends to be noticed). Written language is usually much more permanent and formal than speech. Because of its permanence, it also has a special status, being used when it is necessary to make something legally binding or to provide a means of identity or authority.

Group identities
The variety of the English language encompasses all social situation. As soon as people come into regular contact with each other, the language they use is likely to develop features which reflect the bonds that exist between them, and which distinguish them from other social groups (grammatical constructions, special vocabulary, a distinctive typography, etc.). They will develop their own slang. We all belong to a number of different 'gangs', and have learned the distinctive language of each of them.

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The more a group of people are given the status of a social institution within a community, the more distinctive their language is likely to be. The most idiosyncratic varieties of English are those associated with the church and the law. (Archaic vocabulary, special locutions, special tones of voice, etc.). The language of government, science, medicine, advertising, broadcasting and journalism. 'Domestic' varieties recipes, instruction leaflets, knitting patterns. Technology-influenced varieties, the Internet increasingly important.

Within each category, there are many 'sub-varieties'. Advertising: 'hard' sell and 'soft' sell Journalism: 'quality' press and tabloids. And within these sub-varieties there may be further distinctions the style of individual newspapers. When writing a grammar or diccionary, it is easy to focus on the 'common core' of words and structures, but this is to miss out a great deal of what makes the language real and dynamic. There are vast differences in the range and organization of the many varieties of English. Legal language (see p 101). Effective courtroom strategies: Lawyers: Vary the way in which you ask questions Convey a sense of organization in your interviews of witnesses and your remarks to the jury Remain poker-faced (impassible) throughout; do not reveal surprise even when an answer is totally unexpected; save dramatic reactions for special occasions Repetition can be useful for emphasis but it should be used with care so as not to bore the jury Adopt different styles of questioning with different kinds of witnesses Avoid interrupting a witness Rythm and space are important; do not bore the jury with slowness; use silence strategically Witnesses: Vary the way in which you give answers. Give long answer wherever possible Try to confuse the organization which the opposition lawyer has planned for the worssexamination. Adopt different styles of answering questions asked by different questioners. Do not show surprise even when questions are unexpected Use rhythm and pace to advantage. Trucker talk: Wrapper = car; Super cola = beer; Copy? = Understand?; Affirmative = yes; Bears = police; Doughnuts = tyres; Jockey = driver; etc. 19

7. English at Play
There are also linguistic conventions to be followed for our leisure acitivities especially whenever we play with language to convey effects. The main characteristics of English at play is its readiness to depart from the norms of usage found elsewhere in language. We break the rules to create a special effect. The effect may be located at a single point or it may be continuous. In many cases there is a linguistic structure to the genre.

Jokes:
Jokes often have stereotyped openings: There was an Englishman... What do you get if you cross an (animal) with an (animal)? Children's jokes rely on a predictable internal structure: Knock knock > Who's there > Arthur.

Graffitis:
E.g. The '- rules Ok' motif (Anarchy, no rules, ok?; procrastination will rules one day, ok?)

Riddles:
Riddle = a type of question which describes something in a difficult and confusing way, and which has a clever or funny answer, often asked as a game (= devinette, nigme) Riddling is an intellectual verbal game: an utterance is made which is intended to mystify or mislead. Events, people, animals or objects are described in such a way that the description suggests something different. The recipient of the riddle has to resolve the ambiguity. In English, riddles are usually quite short (longer ones can be found as well). 'What has two legs and flies? A pair of trousers. Riddles can express a more serious purpose, such as in narratives where they are a test of a hero's wisdom or worthiness. Oedipus: What has one voice, and walks on four legs in the morning, on two at noon, and on three in the evening? A man, seen as a baby, an adult and an old man with a stick. The competitive element in riddling relates it to verbal duels and speech events where linguistic skills confers social status (fast talking or 'rapping' - USA). In more aggressive displays, taunts, boasts, name-calling and various kind of insults may be traded in lengthy exchanges e.g. Among Black American youths, such exchanges take place (='sounding', 'playing the dozens'); a sequence of ritual insults (raps) is followed by a series of replies (caps); such duels act as a way of finding out the social structure of the peer group without recourse to fighting. Insults duels, politeness contests and boasting rituals have a long history in English. Some exchanges are even recorded in Old English. Such verbal attacks were known as 'flyting' (= a contest consisting of the exchange of insults, often conducted in verse between two parties).

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Word-plays
It is of course possible to insult people in more direct and subtle ways, using sarcasm, loaded language, metaphor, puns, and other such devices. It is all word-play, whether the intent is jocular or serious. And word-play has an enormous range, being found in every conceivable linguistic context and used to express most emotions and subject-matters. Puns: wide range of context > everyday conversations, stock-in-trade of comedians, advertising ('Stick with us', advertising glue), newspapers, Shakespeare, New Testament (Tu es Pierre, et sur cette je btirai mon glise). Word-play graces the most revered literature, but they are not found with equal frequency in all parts of the Englishspeaking world: less popular in the USA than in Britain. (Puns = a humorous use of a word or phrase which has several meanings or which sounds like another word (= jeu de mots)).

English laughs at itself

Riddles, puns and jokes can take as subject life, the unvierse and everything. But there are also many books, in which people laugh at the accents and vocal mannerisms of English users from different parts of the country or from different contries. Few distinctive accents and dialects have escaped this kind of treatment. Nor are the upper class accents exempt.

Comic alphabets
The English alphabets has often been the butt of humour. There are hundreds of poems and puns based on reciting the letters in order. (G for police (chief of police) H for beauty (age before beauty).

Word games
Word puzzles and competitions are to be found in newspapers and on television. In fact, the majority of TV games seem to contain some kind of language element. The crossword is the most popular of all word games. (The main problem seems to be devising clues which are ambiguous, but do not unintentionally mislead > several conventions). Acrostics = They are compositions which arrange certain letters within a text to form a word, phrase or special pattern. Generally, the initial letter of each line provides the clue. They are commonly used in mnemonics. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour- one way of remembering the names of the notes on the lines in the treble clef (=la clef de sol) Word squares = They are sequences of letters using words of equal length which read in horizontal, vertical, and occasionally diagonal directions. Usually the words are the same in each direction. Anagrams = They rearrange the letters of a word or phrase to make new words. It was thought that the letter could carry information about someone's character or even mystical meaning. Astronomers moon-starers; conversation voices rant on.

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Rebuses = They mix letters, pictures and graphic symbols to make words and sentences, which often only make sense when read aloud. Several of the words are used in text-messaging. I C U R = I see you are; Y Y U R = Too wise you are Tongue twisters = Words are juxtaposed which contain the same or similar sounds, and the excecise is to say them as rapidly as possible. She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore. Palindromes = They are words or phrases which read the same in both directions. The challenge is to construct long sequences which make sense. Madam; Eve; Draw, o coward. Pangrams = They are sentences which contain every letter of the alphabet ideally, a single instance of each. Lipograms = They are compositions which omit a letter of the alphabet. Univocalics = They are compositions which use only one vowel. Doublets = A game where one word is changed into another in a series of steps, each intervening word differing from its neighbours by only one letter. The challenge is both to form the chain of linked words, and to do so in as few steps as possible. (Invented by Lewis Carroll) 'Drive PIG into STY' = Pig-wig-wag-way-say-sty. Syzygies = Another Lewis Carroll game where one word is changed into another in a series of steps, with each intervening word having several letters in common with the preceding word. Man permanent- entice ice OR Fireman mankind kindness. Words within words = A game whose aim is to make as many words as possible from the letters of a single words. Grid games = They all operate on the principle of building up words on a pretermined grid. Word Search (a large letter grid in which words have to be found by moving from one square to the next, in any direction), Lexicon, Scrabble (points are assigned based upon how many letters are used, the rarer the letters score higher points, certain squares are more valuable than others). Gematria = A technique which substitutes numbers for letters, and compares the 'values' of words in order to provide insights into the meaning of life. In English, the 26 letters are valued 1 to 26 in order. All kinds of curious and significant correlations can be obtained. Such calculations can persuade people to allow their lives to be influenced by the hidden numbers. Bible and holy spirit score the same; Not + same = different: All + vote = democracy.

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Code games
Most of these games are based on spelling (heard among children, but also among adults, especially in contexts where secrecy is required): Back slang = Words are spelled backwards, and then the new arrangement of letters is given a plausible pronunciation. E.g. Among soldiers, shopkeepers, thieves: kew (week), tenip (pint). Centre slang = The central vowel of a word, along with its following consonant, is placed at the beginning, and a nonsense syllable added: ightri (right); eekcher (cheek). Eggy-peggy or aygo-paygo speech = An extra syllable is added (Pugut thagat begook dowgun = put that book down) or an extra vowel or consonant between each syllable (Wheref aref youf gofing = where are you going). Pig Latin = The first consonants are put at the end of the word, and ay or e added (Utpay atthay ookbay ownday) T-ing in i (talking in initials) = Certain words are replaced by their first letters (It's time for b (bed)).

Sound symbolism
Sounds don't have a meaning. But we often encounter words where there seems to be some kind of relationship between the sounds and what is going on in the real word. We link a particular kind of sound with a particular kind of meaning > Sound symbolism or onomatopoiea (in poetry). In children's literature: story-book characters (Mr Snoozle) or the sound effects in comic strips (Pow!, Screeeeeech!). Single-syllable words ending in a short vowel + ck often convey a sense of sudden movement and sound (e.g. crack, click, flick, kick,...) Words ending in -le often imply smallness or slightness (e.g. Bubble, beetle, little,...) Words with -ee are also sometimes associated with smallness (e.g. Teeny, seed, peek,...) Words beginning with -sl are said to convey unpleasant or negative association (e.g. slim, slab,...) But, we should not overestimate sound symbolism. The vast majority of words in English are made up of sounds that bear no obvious relationship to the objects, events, sensations and ideas which give content to our physical and mental words.

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8. The Effects of Technology

A new technology alsways has a major impact upon language, whether written or spoken. Written: The arrival of printing: fresh range of contrasts, growth of typography, impact of conventions of word-spacing, hyphenation, line-breaking, punctuation, capitalization et new sets of graphological conventions. Since the nineteenth century the range has increased yet again, with each new visual telecommunicative technology the telegraph, typewriter, word-processor. Speech has had its expensive range immensely enriched by the arrival of new technology: The telephone > new set of linguistic conventions (before no face-to-face): saying 'hello' and checking of numbers at the conversation outset. Radio broadcasting > new varieties of spoken expression: the commentary, the news broadcast, the weather forecast, the commercial. Television > co-occurrence of speech and vision has altered the options for linguistic expression made available to its practitioners ('You can see'). Satellite television > time-references became ambiguous (Monday morning) and the word foreign is forbidden. 21th century: expansion of technologies will have consequences on the English language (the Internet), expanding the language, and the range of varieties in the language.

A new medium
The Internet = genuine new medium of linguistic communication, taking some of the properties of the two traditional mediums, speech and writing, synthesizing them in a novel way, and adding further properties. This amalgam of properties = Netspeak. Manifestation of Netspeak in five communicative situations: Email = use of computer systems to transfer messages between individual users. It far exceeds the Web in terms of the number of daily individual transactions. The World Wide Web = full collection of all the computers linked to the Internet which hold documetns that are mutually accessible through the use of a standard protocol (HHTP). Synchronous chatgroup = people 'talk' in real time with others from around the world. Asynchronous chatgroup = people leave messages in an electronic location which can then be read or responded to by other people at any subsequent time. Virtual worlds activities = people can construct an imaginary world. The participants send text messages to each other or interact with programmed 'objects' located within thier virtual world, simulating real-life situations, playing competitive games, etc. >> The 'core linguistic properties' in none of these situations can the communicative activities be seen as equivalent to traditional writing or speech, because: Most of the interactions are in the form of a dialogue doing the job of speech, only in written form. It is a fast-moving dialogue where people are exchanging messages as fast as they can type The language is that of a face-to-face conversation: emails are dialogic in character. 24

Internet described as 'written speech'?

>> Writing? Web pages look most like traditional writing (e.g. Electronic version of newspapers). BUT The language of Web sites is fundamentally unlike traditional print: animation and movement possibilities exist (lines can appear and disappear, words and images can change size and shape, and new text can appear while you are watching). >> Speech? Basic differences: The limitations of the keyboard enable only certain of the properties of spoken language to be expressed on the screen essentially the segmental properties (the vowels, consonants, and punctuation marks) It is not really possible to convey the intonation, stress, speed, rhythm and tone of voice of speech. But users do their best exaggerating punctuation marks, repeating letters, altering capitalization and spacing, and addign other symbols. It is not possible to convey the other semiotic properties which add so much meaning in face-to-face conversation the facial expressions and gestures, for example. A great deal of Internet language is thus ambiguous, in just the way that writing is attempts have been made to express on screen the meaning conveyed by these non-verbal aspects of communication, notably the use of emoticons or smileys. It is unable to employ the feedback features (a nod, an uh-uh, etc.) that play such an important role in face-to-face conversation. The receipient cannot react to our message while it is being typed, and the participant cannot get a sense of how successful a message is while it is begin written. >>> Netspeak is like neither speech nor writing? It is a medium of language which communicates in unique ways. Electronic texts are more dynamic, with variable boundaries, and they allow a fresh range of communicative possibilities; Examples of the dynamic character of e-texts which contributes to their uniqueness: In e-mails, we can manipulate a received message while responding to it. And, as a consequence, e-mail exchanges become extremely complex, with a typically nested appearance (messages within messages within messages). We can cut and paste parts of the received message and edit the received text in any way we wish, for example (this 'quoting procedure is called framing). In chatgroups, we can talk to an indefinite number of people and pay equal attention to everything each of them is saying. This contrasts with traditional multi-party conversational settings people are involved in individual conversations, but it is impossible to attend to all of them at once. Messages are persistent they stay on the screen for a period of time. It is possible to browse a past conversation, in ways that spontaneous conversation does not permit. Everything you say has been taken down and, of course, may one day be used against you.

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Netspeak features
A large number of words and phrases have already emerged which are needed to talk about Internet-restricted situations, operations, activities, and personnel, making this one of the most creative lexical domain in contemporary English. Most of these words are everyday terms which have been given a fresh sense in an Internet context. Many terms are associated with the software logiciel - (to designate screen areas and functions and to specify user options and commands): file, efit, view, home, send, help, search, etc. Some terms appear depending on circumstances: when things go wrong > illegal operation, not found, error. Many terms are associated with the use of computer hardware the machine, not the user bomb, freeze, lock, hang, etc. Terms emerged for the population of Internet users > wizards, netizens, netters, cybersurfers, etc. A popular method of creating Internet neologisms is to combine two separate words to make a compound: Some elements turn up repeatedly: mouse (mouseclick), click (double-click); ware (firmware); web (webcam, webzine); net (netnews, hypernet); hot (hotmail, hotspot); bug (bugtracker). Cyber- and hyper- as prefixes or combining forms (cyber rights, cyberculture) and the suffixal use of -bot (mailbot, chatterbot). At or @ as prefixe: @-address, @home Blends (part of one word is joined to part of another): netiquette, netizen. Replacement of a word-element by a similar sounding item: e-tailing (electronic retailing) or Retaining of the period found in electronic addresses within certain compounds, as a kind of infix (net.legend, net.abuse). The various types of abbreviation found in Netspeak have been one of its most remarked features. Acronyms such as FAQ (frequently asked questions), Names of firms such as IBM, Letterplus-number combinations such as W3C (World wide Web consortium). The chatgroups and virtual worlds, and newer technology such as WAP-phones also have their abbreviations. The acronyms can even be sentence-length: CIO = check it out. Distinctive graphology is also an important feature of Netspeak (the range extends from an enhanced system to a reduced system with virtually no typographic contrastivity). All orthographic features have been affected. The status of capitalization varies greatly. Most of the Internet is not case-sensitive, which motivates the random use of capitals or no capitals at all. There is a strong tendency to use lower-case everywhere; words in capitals add extra emphasis. Indeed, a distinctive feature of Internet graphology is the way two capitals are used (DreamWorks) = bicapitalization.

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Spelling practice is also distinctive. US spelling is more common than British (typing economy). New spelling conventions have emerged (-s replace by -z to refer to pirated versions of software). Non-standard spellings, penalized in writing, is used without sanction (spelling errors = typing inaccuracy). Use of non-standard spellings which reflect pronunciation (expressions of shock, horror or like > varying numbers of vowels and consonants; dollar sign for S and for L is some sort of dig is being made about costs). Teenagers have also introduced some deviant spellings (c%l, d00dz (dudes)). But there is no evidence that such usages have extended beyond the Internet situation. Punctuation tends to be minimalist in most situations, and completely absent in some emails and chat exchanges. A lot depends on personnality. There is an increase use of symbols not normally part of the traditional punctuation system such as #. Unusual combinations of punctuation marks can occur (... = pause). Emphasis and attitude can result in exaggerated or random use of punctuation.

Language change
In everyday conversation, terms from the underlying computer technology are given a new application among people who want their talk to have a cool cutting edge. Are you wired? (ready to handle this), let's go offline for a few minutes (let's talk in private). @, dotcome and e- has become widespread: Dotcom has come to be used as a general adjective, as in dotcom organization3 and dotcom crisis. It has also come to be used in a variety of ludic way -e.g. Similarity between .com and come > .com and get it (offer to win a car). Many firms and organizations have replaced the letter a or at in their names by an @ : @llgood, @tractions, @cafe, @Home,... And it has been seen turning up in other settings where traditionally the word at would be used. For example, Bill Gates1999 book: Business @ the speed of thought. It has even been added to text where the word at would not normally appear: postcard to a house: Crystals @ followed by the address. By now the e-prefix must have been used in hundreds of expressions (e-text, e-zine, ecash, e-money, e-government, e-therapists (therapists on the Internet...). Several are likely to establish themselves in standard English. The speed with which Internet usages are taken up is unprecendented in language change another manifestation of the influence of the technology on English. Before it would have taken a decade or more for a word to enter the language. But in hte case of the Internet, a new usage can travel the world and receive repeated exposure within a few days. It is likely that the pace of language change will be much increased through this process. It is also likely that the amount of linguistic innovation will increase (audience much greater). But by no means all innovations will become permanent feature of the English language. Nor is it solely a matter of vocabulary: new spellings, grammatical constructions, patterns of discourse, and regional preferences can also be circulated.

3 Dotcom = a company that uses the Internet to sell its products and services.

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Texting
The abreviation SMS stands for Short Messaging Service, referred to as texting or text messaging. This new medium introduced a new language variety. The nature of the variety illustrates how a new technology has immediate linguistic consequences (three years). The challenge is the small screen and its limited character space has motivated the evolution of an even more abbreviated language than emerged in chatgroups and virtual groups. Abbreviations appeared: because of their obvious rebus-like potential (2day, C U l8r) or because the youthful population of users were familiar with Netspeak shorthand in its other situations (Msg, BRB (be right back)). Basic smileys are used. Capital letters can be given syllabic values (thN (then), nEd (need)). Examples: The medium has motivated some new forms (e.g c%l [cool], l8r [later],...) and a new range of direct-address items such as F2T (free to talk?), PCM [please call me], RUOK [are you OK],.... Multi-word sentences and sequences of response utterances can be reducted to a sequence of initial letters : SWDYTC [So what do you think], HHOJ (ha, ha, only joking). Some words are reduced to vowel-less items as TXT [text] or XLNT [excellent].

The process saves a great deal of time and energy. It is impossible to say whether texting, as a language variety, is a passing phase or something permanent. Certainly it will change, and 'we ain't seen nothing yet' (we are only beginning to sense the effects of computer-mediated technology on the English language). Some abbreviations: afaik = as far as I know asap = as soon as possible bbfn = bye bye for now cu = see you nc = no comment oic = oh I see wu = what's up, yiu = yes I understand ptmm = please tell me more sol = sooner or later

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9. Personnal English
There are several cases where the individuality of someone's use of English their personal style is considered to be a matter of importance. Individualistic features: favourite words or turns of phrase, a preference for certain kinds of grammatical construction, a tendency to develop certain points in a certain way.

Authorship research
How to establish that a certain manuscript has been written by an author? The main way would be to select a number os stylistic features from the works of the author and compare their use with the same features in the new text. Such techniques never make a cast-iron case, but a close stylistic correspondence would make a very strong case for identical authorship. Ellegard case: An investigation of this kind was carried out by the Swedish linguist Ellegard, in an attempt to discover the authorship of a series of political letters. The letters were signed Junius. But it was never discovered who Junius was. Ellegard counted the words in the letters, and compared them with a million-word norm of political literature from the same period. Some words were found to be more common in the letters than in the norm, and some were found to be less common. 458 lexical features were used along with 51 synonym choices. For example, Junius preferred until to till in 78 per cent of possible instances a feature shared by only one in seven contemporary writers in Ellegards sample. These features were then compared with a sample of over 230 000 words taken from the known works of the most likely contender for authorship, Sir Philip Francis. The similarities were so significant that Ellegard was able to conclude with confidence, We have identified Junius with Francis. Mendenhall case: His aim was to discover if Shakespeare's plays could have been written by his contemporary Francis Bacon. He investigated the question by using 'word spectra' profiles of the way in which authors used words of different lengths. He took a sample of words from Shakespeare's plays and another from the writings of Bacon. He concluded that Bacon could not have written the plays, as he found that Shakespeare used more four-letter words than three-letter words, and that Bacon used more three-letter words than four-letter words. Application of authorship research: 'forensic linguistics' In court cases, the prosecution argues that incriminating utterances heard on a tape-recording have the same stylistic features as those used by the defendant, or conversely, the defence argues thhat the differences are too great to support this contention. Arguments based on stylistic evidence are usually very weak, because the sample size is samll, and the linguistic features examined are foten not very discriminating. But in several cases they have certainly influenced the verdict: the Timothy Evans case. Timothy Evans case: In 1950, Evans was hanged for the murder of his wife and child. Three years later, following the discovery of several bodies at the house, John Christie was hanged. After considerable discussion of the case, a public inquiry was held, which led to Evans begin granted a posthumous pardon. 29

A central piece of evidence against Evans was the statement he made to police in which he confessed to the murders. Evans was illiterate and the statement was written down by the police. At the trial he denied having anything to do with the murders. Later, a linguist made an analysis of the Evans statements. It proved possible to show that the language contained many conflicting stylistic features (some being non-standard speech and others not expected to come from an illiterate person). The linguist found that the paragraphs which he later claimed were untrue were very different from the rest of his statement, which to the end he continued to assert was the truth.

Deviant English
Stylistic analyses of the above kinds need large samples to worl on, because the features of laguage they are looking for are part of the basic structure of English, and everyone uses it. But there is another way in which personal linguistic identity can be established, and that is to find features which are unique deviations from the normal structure of the language that are used by only one person. This kind of evidence can be discovered from very small samples. Literature and poetry in particular is the domain where English devaites most markedly from the norms we are used to in everyday conversation. Humour also break the normal rules of the language. Advertising. Less noticeably, religious language deviates from normal usage (tThose believing in God are continually trying to say what cannot be said, and thus have to bend the language in order to express their sense of something that exists beyond language. Words which in other situations would seem meaningless or absurd are accepted in everyday religious context as potentially meaningful.) I eat your body and drink your blood. Clinical field of language dsability. A major preoccupation is to draw up profiles of people whose command of English is inadequate, in order to define precisely the symptoms of this condition (e.g. Adults who have suffered brain damage or children who fail to learn English along normal lines). The field of psychiatric disturbance also provides many exmaples of language which deviates often in meaning rather than in structure from standard English. Poetry: It is in poetry where deviant uses of English really come into their own. In which way does it deviate? Its use of lines and verses: the line length becomes part of the poem (visual effect - shape) and and the lines have a rhythmical identity, and provide a means of distributing the meaning into units of different 'weights'. The repetitive use of sounds 'alliteration' (repetition of sounds at the beginning of words), 'assonance' (repetition of vowel sounds) and 'rhyme' (repetition of syllables at the ends of words). These repetitions may be pleasing or the similarities od osund make the reader relate the meanings of words that would otherwise be kept apart. Such effects are unusual in conversation. The uses of spelling and typography (Two and two, necessrye coniunction) 30

 The use of punctuation (James Joyce's Ulysses not using any at all). The use of grammar and vocabulary the constraints of working within a fiwed rhythm or rhyme scheme can force the grammar in all kinds of unexpected directions. Abnormal use of a specific construction: All the SUN long, all the MOON long. Abnormally constructed vocabulary: wild words (Oftwhile balbulous, mithre ahead...) or powerful compounds (Heaven-flung, heart-fleshed, maiden-fruled Miracle-in-Mary-offlame). Literary linguistic ingenuity, and thus identity, knows no bounds. Rules are there to be broken in the interests of insight. But the process is not random, nor arbitrary. In a poem, there is always a unifying theme.

Statistical Laws?
Several researchers have been interested to know if there are properties of the language which do not vary at all. They have tried to find laws governing the way people use sounds, letters and words laws which will hold not only for English, but for all languages. Examples: A strong statistical tendency in language is the relationship between how long a word is and how often it occurs. Zipf: the more frequently a word is used in language, the shorted it will be. He seems to be right. Zipf: the rank order (order of the words in terms of frequency) multiplied by the frequency > the total in each case is similar (around 30,000). But the figures don't always come out to 30,000. words of very high frequency or very low frequency produce some different results. Generally speaking, it is very difficult to discover simple statistical regularities that work for all kinds of text. Zettersten: the frequency orders of the letters in the English alphabet. The order is different in press reporting, religious writing, scientific writing, etc. Similar differences emerge when we try to find out the frequency of English words. A great deal depends on the kind of material used.

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PART III THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH

10. Old English
Old English or Anglo-Saxon?
There is an account in Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation reporting the invasion of Britain in AD 449 by warlike tribes from north-west Europe the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes, who lived in the regions now known as the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. The invaders were first called 'Saxons', and then they were referred to as 'Angles', regardless of which tribe they belonged to. The nation was called 'Angelcynn'. From around AD 1000, the nation was called Englalond. The language was referred to as Englisc. The label 'Anglo-Saxon' began to be used after the Renaissance, when it referred to all aspects of the period people, culture and language. 'Anglo-Saxon' is still used to referred to the cultural history, but since the nineteenth century, when the history of languages came to be studied in detail, 'Old English' has been preferred for the name of the language. The name reflects a view which emphasizes the continuing development of the language. >>> If we want to stress the continuity, the points of similarity between the modern and older periods of the language, we use the term 'Old English'. However, if we want to stress the contrast between Anglo-Saxon and present-day culture, we use the term 'Anglo-Saxon'.

Some features of Old English

At first the language seems alien because of its distinctive spelling, there is a great deal of unfamiliar vocabulary, and there are many points of grammatical difference. With a small amount of training, we begin to not a very large number of points of similarity. Extract from the Venerable bede's Ecclesiastical History: Differences and similarities between the language then and now: The spelling has an alien appearance, but this is a fairly superficial difference. Most of the strangeness is due to the use of the symbols representing sounds not present in the Latin alphabet. The vocabulary presents a mixed picture. The majority of the words in Old English are closer than we might think to present-day English. The similarity is sometimes obscured by the spelling, or by the use of a prefix or a suffix that has since disappeared. Most of the prepositions and pronouns are identical in form. On the other hand, some of the words look very strange, because they latter fell out of use. Some words begin to make sense only when we take them apart. The language contains many long compound words, especially in its poetry, where the coining of vivid figurative phrases was a particular feature (a person's body is described as a bone house, e.g.). From the point of view of grammar, Old English shows a fascinating mixture of (to modern eyes 32

and ears) the familiar and the unfamiliar. The word order is much more varied than it would be in present-day English, but there are several places where it is strikingly similar. Adjectives usually go before their nouns, as do prepositions, articles and similar words (the, this, etc.), just as they do today. Sometimes, whole sentences are identical in the order of words-or nearly so. The main differences in word order affects the placing of the verb in the sentence. Often, the verb appears before the subject or the verb is also often put at the end, with the object and other parts of the sentence coming before it. In present-day English, word order is relatively fixed. The reason why the order in Old English could vary so much is that the relationships between the parts of the sentence were signalled by other means. Old English was an inflected language: the job a word did in the sentence was signalled by the kind of ending it had. Today, most of these inflections have died away. Moreover, there are far more irregular verbs in Old English than in the language today.

The story of Old English

Before the Anglo-Saxon invasions, the languages of Britain were Celtic, spoken in many dialexcts by people who had themselves invaded the islands several centuries before. Many Celtic tribes has been subjugated by the Romans, but it is not known just how much Latin - if any was spoken in daily life in the province. The only linguistic sign of their presence proved to be the place names of some of their major settlements (- chester). The Romans left in the early fifth century. Celtic communities were destroyed, assimilated or gradually pushed back westwards and northwards, into the areas we know now as Cornwall, Wales, Cumbria, and perhaps also Scotland. Here the Celtic dialects were to develop in separate ways, resulting in such modern languages as Welsh or Gaelic. But one thing is clear: the Celtic language of Roman Britain had hardly any influence on the language spoken by the Anglo-Saxon (Only a handful of Celtic words came into English at the time e.g. Tor (speak) and very few Celtic place names, e.g. Thames, Avon (river), Dover (water).). There is a dark age between the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons and the first Old English manuscripts. The literary age began after the arrival of the Roman missionaries, led by Augustine, who came to Kent in AD 597. large numbers of Latin manuscripts were produced, especially the Bible and other religious texts. Old English manuscripts also began to be written. The earliest texts are glossaries of Latin words translated into Old English, and a few early inscriptions and poems, dating from around AD 700. But very little material remains from this early period (many manuscripts were burned during the eight-century Viking invasions). The main literary work of the period, the poem Beowulf, survives in a single copy made aound AD 1000 possibly some 250 years after it was first composed. Most extant Old English texts date from the period following the reign of King Alfred (9th century). But the total corpus is very small.

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 The texts which have survived come from all over the country and provide evidence that they were several dialects of Old English. (There was no single system of spelling the scribes would spell words as they sounded). The main dialects divisions reflect the settlements of the invading tribes with their different linguistic backgrounds, and these divisions are still apparent in the country today (p 174!) The Angles > Mercian (in the Midlands as far as the boundary with Wales) and Northumbrian (to the north of Mercian as far as the boundary with Scotland). The Jutes > Kentish (area of present-day Kent and the Isle of Wight) The Saxons > West Saxon (the rest of England). The Celtic still present in present-day Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Most of Old English manuscripts are written in West Saxon as it was the kingdom of Wessex, under King Alfred, which became the leading political and cultural force at the end of the ninth century. However, modern standard English is descended from Mercian, as this was the dialect spoken in the area around London, when that city became powerful in the Middle Ages. There is a clear line of descent from Old English to the English of the present day. About a third if the words we use are of Old English origins, but what about the two other thirds? In the Anglo-Saxon period, there were two major invaders who brought their own language with them, and left a fair amount of its vocabulary behind: 1. The Christian missionaries They introduced literacy and brought a huge Latin vocabulary, some of which was taken into Old English. The Anglo-Saxons had encountered Latin before, but only a handful of Latin words had entered their language. By contrast, the missionary influence resulted in around 450 new words into the language (to do with the church and its services, and many domestic and biological words). The vast majority have survived in modern times. At the same time, many Old English words were given new meanings. 2. The danish raids (Vikings) The Danish raids began in AD 787, and continued at intervals until the beginning of the eleventh century. Within a century, the Danes controlled most of eastern England. They were prevented from further gains by their defeat by King Alfred in 878. A treaty was draw up in which the Danes agreed to settle only in the north-east third of the country (this area was subjected to Danish law and known as Danelaw 176!). In 991 a further invasion brought a series of victories for the Danish army, and resulted in the English king beign forced into exile, and the Danes seizing the throne. England stayed under Danish rule twenty-five years. Many words of Scandinavian origin entered the language during this period, and are still to be found in present-day English. There are also a large number of Danish settlements with Scandinavian names (places that end in by, end in throp) and many scandinavian personal names (ending in son).

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Nevetheless it takes time for words to become established, and to be used in literature. Most of the words became established during the tenth and eleventh centuries, but written evidence for them is largely lacking until the thirteenth century, at the beginning of the Middle English period. The closeness of the contact between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danish settlers during this period of 250 years is clearly shown by the extensive borrowings. >>> Some Scandinavian loan words: bank, sky, slaughter, take, harbour, egg, die The Anglo-Saxon age was a time of enormous upheaval. Each ivnasion was followed by a long period of social change which left its mark on the language. But none of the linguistic changes were as great as those which followed the most famous invasion of all, led by Duke William of Normandy in 1066, and which came to identify the second main period in English language history, Middle English.

Casting the Runes

Old English was first written using the runic alphabet: It was used in northern Europe, in Scandinavia, present-day Germany, and the British Isles. It dates from around the third century AD. It is a development of one of the alphabets of southern Europe, probably the Roman. It could well have been invented in the Rhine area. It consisted of 24 letters, 'futhorc = name of the first six letters. It was written both from left to right and from right to left. The version found in Britain used extra letters to cope with the range if sounds found in Old English. It has been preserved in inscriptions and manuscripts. They are found on weapons, jewellery, monuments from the fifth or sixth centuries. They would be used in rituals by rune-masters, whjere the symbols wouls be given magical or mystical significance. The very name runes means secret. When runes came to be used in manuscripts, they were commonly used to convey 'secret' information. Runes continued to be used in Scandinavia until as late as the nineteenth century. The msot famous runic inscription in Britain appear on the Ruthwell Cross, near Dumfries, and around the sides of a small bone box known as the Franks Casket (8th century).

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11. Middle English

The year 1066 marks the beginning of a new social and linguistic era in Britain, but it does not actually identify the boundary between Old English and Middle English. It was a long time before the effects of the invasion worked their way in to the language, and in the meantime, Old English continued to be used. The Peterborough Chronicle illustrates the period of change. The monastery was destroyed by a fire along with all the manuscripts in 1116. The monks immediately began to replace the writings which had been lost until 1131. Then the writing stopped probably because of the chaotic conditions of civil war. When the writing begins again in 1154, after the death of Stephen, the style is quite different. The vocabulary, grammar and spelling were different, and the language seems closer to modern English. The Peterborough Chronicle is the earliest extensive text written in the East Midland dialect (Mercian), from which modern standard English developed. Grammar : The system of Old English word endings is beginning to die away. The word order is now critical. But remains of Old English: often the subject follows the verb, and a lot of use of double negatives (the extra negative words increase the emphasis, making the negative meaning stronger). Spelling : Mixture. There are some special features (the use of g). The old English runic symbols are still being used, but there is inconsistency. The th spelling is occasionally used; the word 'was' is spelled with a and sometimes with ae; the runic is used for w, but sometimes uu is a common spelling for that sound. Semantics : Some words still need to be glossed for their meaning to be clear. Several words have since dropped from the language, and of the words which are found today, several have an altered meaning. There is a problem with false friends : some words dont have the same meaning as in modern English ('wonder' = 'atrocity' as well as 'marvel'). This problem does not happen so often in reading Old English, where the vocabulary seems less familiar. At the same time, because of the spelling some words look stranger than they really are. French words are absent (yet it is almost a century since the French arrived). The Peterborough Chronicle looks back towards Old English and ahead towards Middle English. The text illustrates the difficulty of drawing a sharp boundary between different stages in the development of a language.

The story of Middle English

The period of Middle English runs from the beginning of the twelfth century until the middle of the fifteenth. The main influence of the language was French. Following the accession of William of Normandy, French was rapidly established in the corridors of power. The written records show very little use of English among the hierarchy (appointement of French-speaking barons, bishops, etc). The links remained strong with Normandy, where the nobles retained their estates. In 1204, the situation changed. King John of England came into conflict with King Philippe of France, and was obliged to give up control of Normandy. The English nobility lost their estates in france, and antagonism grew between the two countries. The status of French diminished as a spirit of English nationalism grew. During the twelth century, English became more widely used among the upper classes. By the end 36

of the twelth century, some children of the nobility speak English as a mother tongue, and had to be taught French at school. French continued to be used in Parliament, the courts, and in public proceedings, but translations into English increased in frequency through the period, as did the number of handbooks written for the teaching of French. In 1362 : English is used for the first time opening the Parliament. By the end of tje 14 th century, English is used for the Kings speeches. By about 1425, it appears that English is universally used in England, in writing as well as in speeches. The language managed to survive the French invasion because the English language in the eleventh century was too well established for it to be supplanted by another language. Unlike Celtic, it had a considerable literature and a strong oral tradition. Moreover the good relations between England and France lasted only for 150 years. This 150 years is something of a 'dark age' in the history of the language. There is hardly any written evidence of English, and we can thus only speculate about what happened to the language during this 150 years. In the 12 th century, French was the language of governement, law, administration, and the church, with Latin also used as a medium of education and worship. In the 13th century, an increasing number of sermons, prayers, romances, songs, letters and other documents were written in English. And in the 14th century, we have the main achievements of Middle English literature, culminating in the writing of Geoffrey Chaucer.

Vocabulary
This dark age was followed by the linguistic influence of French. An enormous number of French words came into the language. The words were largely to do with the mechanisms of law and administration, but they also included words from such fields as medicine, art and fashion. Many of the new words are everyday terms and most still being in use today. Some french loan words in ME: Baron, prince, noble, parliament, trinity, virgin, heresy, miracle, arrest, warrant, felon, attorney, lieutenant, siege, soldier, diamond, jewel, bacon, biscuit, veal, lettuce, grammar, geometry, chimney, leisure, spaniel, action, chair. As the new vocabulary arrived, there were many cases where it duplicated a word that existed already in English from Anglo-Saxon times. There were two main outcomes: either one word supplant the other, or both would co-exist in the language, but with slightly different meanings. Hundreds of Old English words were lost this way. But at the same time, Old English and French words often both survived. The 14th and 15th centuries were also a time when several thousand words came into the language directly from Latin (professional or technical terms religion, medecine, law and literature; many words were borrowed also by a writer in a deliberate attempt to produce a high-flown style). However, the vast majority died almost as soon as they were born. Some Latin borrowings in ME: history, include, quiet, nervous, pulpit, testimony, solar.

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The result of the simultaneous borrowing of French and Latin words led to a highly distinctive feature of modern English vocabulary sets of three words which all express the same fundamental meaning, but which differ slightly in meaning or stylistic effect. OLD ENGLISH Kingly Ask Fast Rise Holy Time Royal Question Firm Mount Sacred Age FRENCH LATIN Regal Interrogate Secure Ascend Consecrated Epoch

There are distinctions in the way the words are used. Thus we talk about royal blue, a royal flush, the Royal navy, but a regal manner and a regal expression. English has thousands of words which are almost synonymous, thanks to the co-existence of these parallel items, and it is because of this that English is said to have a larger core vocabulary than that of other modern languages.

Grammar
All but a few of the Old English noun endings finally died away during the period, and the corresponding modern ways of expressing grammatical relationships, using prepositions and fixed patterns of word order, became established along the lines familiar to us today. > The only noun case ending to survive into modern English was the genitive. Some of the personal pronouns also kept the old accusative form (he v. him) The endings of the verbs, however, remained close to those of Old English during this period. Also at this time, new verb constructions began to appear (shal be) and the to to mark the infinitive form of the verb was used. One other important change was the way many of the irregular forms of Old English lost their irregularity and began to follow the pattern of the regularly constructed words. Similarly, many verbs which were irregular in Old English became regular.

Spelling and pronunciation

Spelling: there were major changes in the way the language was spelled. The Norman scribes listened to the English they heard around them, and began to spell it according to the conventions they had previously used for French. Some distinctive Old English letters fell out of use. Pronunciation: The /h/ which appeared at the beginning of many Old English words was dropped early on in the Middle English period. The /v/ sound became much more important, because of its use in French loan words. The ng sound at the end if a word also began to distinguish word meanings. And the vowel qualities which originally distinguished the word endings no longer did so.

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'Classical' Middle English

The many linguistic developments which identify the period of Middle English are most clearly in evidence in the poetry and prose of the second half of the 14 th century. There are several surviving prose texts, especially on religious themes, notably the Bible inspired by John Wyclif. Most attention has been paid to the major poetic creations of the time. The universally recognized pinnacle of poetic achievement in Middle English is the work of Geoffrey Chaucer (The Canterbury Tales). Middle English does not stop suddenly in 1400, but major changes do take place in the language after this date. By the end of the 15 th century, the advent of printing had fundamentally altered the character and quality of written texts. And the pronunciation of the language has radically changed; the six long vowels began to vary their sounds, in a series of changes known as the 'great Vowel Shift'. The Great Vowel Shift is a series of changes that is part of the major changes which took place in the language after 1400. It is called so because the advent of printing radically altered the pronunciation of the language so that the six long vowels began to vary their sounds. These changes took place very quickly and they amounted to a completely fresh sound being given to the language. To get an impression of the cumulative effect of these changes, we need to translate the long vowels of a sentence into their medieval equivalents. For example, the sentence so it is time to see the shoes on the same feet now would have sounded more like this, in Middle English: "saw it is team to say the shows on the sarm fate noo." The loss of immediate intelligibility is striking. The Great Vowel Shift marks the last major barrier between early English and the standard language of the present day. Once it was complete, there seems to be a lull in the pace of linguistic change. Changes in grammar do not affect the basic structure and sounds change less dramatically. Only in vocabulary are there further major developments.

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The Origins of Modern Standard English

The main dialect divisions of Middle English correspond broadly to those found in Old English: Kentish: South-East (Kent) Southern (former West Saxon) : South Northern (former Northumbrian) : North ( more or less the territory of Scotland) Mercian dialect area split in two: - eastern dialect: East Midland - western dialect: West Midland (map p 204!!) The evidence of the existence of these dialects lies in the distinctive words, grammar, and spellings of the manuscript texts (verb endings, distinctive uses of individual vowels and consonants). There are many manuscripts where the solution is not that obvious. The modern language is in fact a mixture, but by far the most dominant influence was the dialect of the East Midlands. The East Midland area was the largest of the dialect areas, and contained more of the population. In particular, it contained London, Cambridge and Oxford - the main social and political centre, and the main seats of learning. The presence of the Court in London was a compelling attraction for those who wished for social prestige or career opportunities. The East Midlands triangle was a wealthy agricultural area, and the centre of the growing wool trade. And it was also conveniently positioned between the Northern and Southern dialects, acting as a kind of communication bridge between them. The clinching factor was William Caxton who set up his printing press in Westminster, and chose to use the speech of the London area as the basis for his translations and spelling. By th end of the 15th century, the distinction between 'central' and 'provincial' life was firmly established. It was reflected in the distinction between 'standard' and 'regional' speech which is still with us today.

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12. Early Modern English

The pace of English language history quickens after William Caxton introduced the technology of printing into England in 1476. Apart from its role in helping to develop a standard form of English spelling and punctuation, the new invention provided more opportunities for people to write, and gave their works much wider circulation. As a result, more texts of the period have survived. The story of English thus becomes more definite in the 16th century, with more evidence available about the way the language was developing, both in the texts themselves, and in a growing number of observations dealing with the grammar, vocabulary, and writing system. In the century, scholars seriously got down to talking about the English language at least, in its standard form. Caxton's first publications were translations from French or Dutch. He faced several major problems concerning the use of foreign loan-words, the variety of English, the spelling and punctuation not yet settled, etc. He made his decisions. A consensus arose based on the speech of the London area. The distinction between what was standard and what was non-standard became more clear-cut. Within 100 years, there was remarkable uniformity in the appearance of printed texts, though some matters of spelling and punctuation were not finally settled until the 17 th century.

The Renaissance
The 'English Renaissance is the period that lasted from the time of Caxton until around 1650. The remarkable flood of new publications was due to the renewed interest in the classical languages and literatures, and in the rapidly developing fields of science, medicine, and the arts. This was also the age of the Reformation, of Copernicus, and the discovery of America. The effects on the language were immediate and far-reaching. The focus of interest was vocabulary. There were no words in the language to talk accurately about the new concepts, techniques and inventions which were emerging in Europe, and so writers began to borrow them. Most of the words which came into the language at the time were taken from Latin, and a goodly number from Greek, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. But the period of world-wide exploration was well under way, and words came into English from over fifty languages, including several American Indian languages and the languages of Africa and Asia. Some words came into English directly; others came by an intermediary language. Many words came indirectly from Latin or Italian by way of French. Some writers went out of their way to find new words, in order to enrich the language. There were many translations of classical works during the 16 th century and thousands of Latin and Greek terms were introduced as translators could not find an English equivalent. Some Renaissance foreign words: species, virus, expectation, catastrophe, alienate, climax, crisis (from Greek and Latin); anatomy, chocolate, volunteer (from French); balcony, embargo, guitar, opera, violin (from Italian); alligator, cocoa, banana, tobacco, hurricane (from Spanish and Portuguese). The influx of foreign vocabulary caused hackles to rise. Purists objected to the way classical terms were pouring into the language they interfered 41

with the developement of native English vocabulary. Some writers intended to revive obsolete English words and to make use of little-known words from English dialects. The rhetorician Thomas Wilson was one of the most fericious critics of new foreign words. Some went to the opposite extreme, and objected to the use if any English at all in the expression of new learning. English could never compare with the standards of Latin or Greek, especially in such fields as theology and medicine. Purist opinion had no influence on what happened, and the merits of English were strongly defended by writers as Richard Mulcaster. The Mulcaster view triumphed. Latin continued to be used by several scientists during the 16th century, but went out of general use during the 17th century, apart from its continuing status in the Roman Catholic Church. Nor did purist opinion stem the influx of new words. The influx of foreign words was the most noticeable aspect of the vocabulary growth in the Renaissance. At the same time, of course, the vocabulary was steadily expanding in other ways. In fact, far more new words came into English by adding prefixes and suffixes, or by forming new compounds. In addition, increasing use was made of the process of conversion turning one word class into anther without adding a prefix or suffix.

Shakespeare and the Bible

From a linguistic point of view, the two main influences of the final decades of the Renaissance are the works of William Shakespeare and the King James Bible (the Authorized Version) of 1611. What was their effect on the language? Shakespeare was more influential than the King James Bible. His use of a word put this word into circulation, whether he was the first to use it or not. He used newer forms and constructions. This is not just a matter of the way these works use language in a memorable way ('the quotability'), but the fact that their use of a word put it into circulation, in a way that had not happened before (Shakespeare's use of obscene). Not all the new words in Shakespeare were taken into the language as a whole. Some words stayed: assassination, accomodation, courtship, premediated. But some disappeared. A large number of idiomatic phrases are also found for the first time in his writing. Beggars all description A foregone conclusion Hoist with ones own petard In my minds eye Its Greek to me Salad days More in sorrow than anger Play fast and loose (with) A tower of strength To be beyond the powers of language to describe A result that is or was certain Made to suffer by some evil plan by which one had intended to harm others In my imagination I dont understand anything Ones time of youth and inexperience In a way which shows that one is sad or disappointed rather than angry about the situation mentioned To treat in a selfishly careless way Someone who can always be depended on to give help, sympathy and support in times of trouble 42

Make a virtue of necessity Dance attendance (on/upon someone) Cold comfort At one fell swoop To the manner born There are more things in heaven and earth Brevity is the soul of wit Hold the mirror up to nature I must be cruel only to be kind

To accept responsibility for or do with interest sth that one cannot avoid To pay someone a lot of attention Sth that does not give comfort, no consolation All at once In a natural way, as if one is used to from birth There is more than this to live Les plaisanteries les plus courtes sont les meilleures Cela reflte la nature Qui aime bien chtie bien

The Authorized Version of the Bible introduced many idioms into the language in a more conservative and dignified language than Shakespeare. The group of translators paid attention to the English translations which had already appeared in order to make a better one. They aimed for a dignified, not a popular style, and often used older forms of the language. Shakespeare vs. Bible: It did not contain a lot of new words in comparison with Shakespeare. The vocabulary looked backwards, rather than forwards. Similarly, the Authorized Version of the Bible looked backwards in its grammar, and preserved many of the forms and constructions which were falling out of use elsewhere. There was no much basic change in grammar. The main developments the loss of word endings and the fixing of word order had largely run their course in the medieval period, and in Early Modern English, what we see is the residue of this period of change. In Shakespeare, on the other hand, much greater use is made of the newer forms and constructions. The religious sources (a more preserved, conservative style) are a good way of displaying the differences between 16th century and modern English grammar, the distance the language still had to travel to reach its present-day form: Many irregular verbs are found in their older forms (digged for dug, gat for got) Older word orders are still used. The modern use of do with negatives and in questions is missing they knew him not (it became a standard in 1700 by contrast, both old and new constructions are used in Shakespeare). The third person singular of the present tense of verbs is always -eth. It is being replaced by -s elsewhere it is often found in Shakespeare along with the older ending (comes and cometh). The second person pronouns were changing (ye: subject form and you: as object the distinction is preserved in the Bible, but in most other writings, by the end of the 16 th century you was already being used for ye). Thou was used for addressing one person, ye/you for more than one. But usage changed: thou became intimate and informal and ye/you polite and respectful. Thou ceased to be in general use at the end of the 17th century. 43

 Use of his for its. Use of the genitive was not established (Christ his sake). Use of shall for all persons(will was used only in informal contexts) Use of a double superlative (the most Highest) Different uses for some prepositions (tempted of instead of by). Shakespeare and the King James Bible were by no means alone. Other dramatists writing at the time such as William Tyndales's translation of the Bible and Coverdale's were important. The influence of these other writers on the language was less obvious but it cannot be ignored. The great age of Elizabethan literature resulted in an unprecedented breadth and inventiveness in the use of the English language.

The age of the dictionary

The problem was the existence of new and learned words which many people did not understand. Before, the publication of the 'Universal Etymological English Dictionary' by Nathaniel Bailey in 1721, there were several attempts to do something about his problem. The first 'dictionary of hard words' was published by Robert Cawdrey in 1604. It was a commercial success and was followed by other compilations. By the end of the 17th, there was a strong feeling of unease about the way the language was going. The language was changing too fast. Latin was viewed as a model of fixed and definite structure and use, but in English there seemed to be no orer in it. The critics were worried about the uncontrolled way in which foreign words had come into the language. There was no order in the creative way in which the Elizabethan dramatists and poets had used language. They saw an increasing variety in everyday usage such as a fashion for abbreviations or for contracted forms. There were no norms of spelling or punctuation. Some writers had added extra letters to words, for instance. Writers were worried. At this rate, their work would not be understandable in the next generation given the pace at which English was changing, and the absence of any controls. >>> Out of this sense of chaos and confusion came several lines of thought. Some scholars attempted to reform the spelling such as John Hart. Some tried to develop an universal language without irregularity. Some scientists tried to develop a plain, objective style. The issue which dominated discussion was whether the English language should be placed in the hands if an Academy??? An academy existed in Italy (16 th) and in France (17th), and during the same period, there came proposals for an English academy. Jonathan Swift was in favour of the creation of an Academy. Change was synonymous with corruption and language needed protection, and only dictionaries, grammars and other manuals could provide it. The language needed to be purified, its rules clearly stated, providing standards of correctness for all to follow. But the idea of an Academy never got off the ground. A language cannot be kept static, and standards change.

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Dr Johnson proposed the first part of the solution, an English dictionary. It came from Johnson himself in 1755. It conferred stability on the language, at least in respect of spelling and meaning of words. It has a great influence on the history of lexicography. At about the same time, the first attempts to define the field of English grammar began to appear. Robert Lowth with his Short Introduction to English Grammar and Lidlay Murray's English Grammar. This is the age when many of the rules of 'correct' grammar were first formulated, such as those governing the use of shall and will. But in these books, we find the origin of many of the grammatical controversies >> Should a grammar evaluate usage (Lowth) or should it reflect usage (Priestley)? That was the controversy in the 1760s, but the same sentiments are still widely expressed today. At the end of the 18th century, any English language history has to adopt a fresh perspective. In the early modern English period, it becomes increasingly unreasonable to focus on England alone as the basis of a historical account. There were important parallel developments in the rest of Britain, especially in Scotland and Ireland. And a new perspective is required in order to take account of the linguistic consequences of the discovery of America and other parts of the world the colonization of some of these areas by English-speaking people, and the development of regional linguistic standards different from those in use in England.

45

Words Then and Now

Even if there have been no fundamental alterations in the structure of the language during the past 300 years, the language hasn't stood still. The vast social and technological changes since the Industrial Revolution have had their linguistic consequences in the form of thousands of new words. The flow of new words into the language has continued without interruption, especially in the fields of science and technology: Scientific terms in English: anaesthsia, molecule, faune (18 th); dynamo, chromosome, ozone (19 th); allergy, penicillin, radar, vitamin, photon (20 th). Vocabulary change is always the most frequently notices aspect of language development, and it affects all sections of society (VAT, aerobics, childproof, gay, disco not all these words refer to new concepts or inventions). The process of new word formation continues relentlessly, reflecting trends in society and technology. (e.g. In the 1980s and 1990s, increase of new words to do with computer technology and the Internet). The Internet is also having an impact on the speed at which new words enter the language. But looking at new words from our generation does not provide a strong sense of the recent history of vocabulary. If we look back at the literature of previous decades, dated, archaic and old words are easy to spot. The contrast between old and modern meanings is usually clear, but there are aspects of vocabulary change which are much more difficult to sense, such as the way in which words have changed their social status, coming into favour, or falling out of favour. E.g. To discuss words in terms of their social prestige; Nancy Mitford: 'U and non-U came into being'. U stand for upper-class usage in Britain. Nowadays there are still many words considered to be U and non-U ('U' = luncheon, sick, vegetables, riding, table-napkin and 'non-U' = dinner, ill, greens, horse-riding, serviette). Some of the U/non-U distinctions have been a source of debate for decades (should we call females ladies or women, and males men or gentlemen? - still today our preferences in this area of usage are little understood).

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13. English Around the World Scotland

During the Old English period, msot of Scotland was Celtic-speaking, but the number of English speakers in the sourthern part of the country was much increased in the 11th century, following the French invasion of 1066. Many English noblemen became refugees and fled north (MacBeth's time). During the 12th century, the move north continued. Sourthern families were welcomed to settle in the new royal estates known as burhs (e.g. Edinburgh and Aberdeen). These places were largely English-speaking and gradually English spread through the whole lowlands area, with Gaelic remaining beyond the Highland line. This Scots English became increasingly different from that used in England, especially in pronunciation and vocabulary and many of these differences are still heard today. There were also some distinctive grammatical endings. Many Gaelic words were assimilated. And there were a number of words from other languages which did not enter the standard English of England. In the 13th century the differences between Scots English and the one of England were increased by the split between the nations which followed Edward I of Englands attempt at annexation, and the subsequent long period of conflict. By the late Middle Ages, Middle Scots had evolved as far from Old English as had the Middle English of England, and in different direction. Some writers on the period refer to the two varieties as distinct languages. The point is controversial, as the question of whether two kinds of speech are one language or two depends as much on social and political considerations as on linguistic ones. From the end of the 14th century to the beginning of the 17th, there was a flowering of literature in Scots. But during the 17th century, the Scots literary language began to decay, as it fell increasingly under the influence of the southern standard. The main factor was the uniting of the crowns of Scotland and England in 1603, and the move to London of James VI and the Scottish Court - a move which led in due course to the adoption among the upper classes of southern English norms of speech. As James I of England, the new King ordered that the Authorized Version of the Bible be used in Scotland, thus spreading further the influence of the southern standard as a prestige form. Lowland Scots was kept alive in literature (the poetry of Robert Burns, and the tales of Walter Scott), and there is today a considerable reawakening of interest in i.. But in the educated spoken language, it was largely replaced by standard southern English, spoken with any of wide range of Scots accents, and containing a few grammatical differences and varying amounts of regional vocabulary and idiomatic phrasing. It is this variety which is these days referred to as standard Scottish English. Some words and phrases from everyday Scottish English: aye = yes; loch = lake; Away to your... = Go to your...

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Ireland
Gaelic was spoken in Ireland when the English first settled the country. Ireland was invaded by Anglo-Norman knights, and King Henry II imposed his rule. English law was introduced, but the new settlers were to adopt Irish ways of living. Despite attempts to halt this trend, the area of English control known as the 'Pale' was relatively small by the end of the 16th century. In the 17th century, renewed efforts were made by the Tudor monarchs to establish English control throughout the country. For instance, plantation schemes were set up to encourage English settlers in the north. The Irish chiefs were defeated in a series of wars during the reign of Elizabeth I, and this was followed by a renewed influx of Protestant settlers, mainly from the Scottish lowlands. There were different campaigns took place to quell Irish rebellion: James I developped plantations, and Oliver Cromwell. In 1803, the Act of Union made Ireland part of the United Kingdom, a situation which remained until the 1920s, when there was partition between north (Northern Ireland often referred to as Ulster) and south. These events led to a steady development in the use of English, and a corresponding decline in the use of Gaelic. Today, English and Gaelic are the official languages in the Irish Republic. English is used everywhere, and Gaelic is mostly spoken in rural parts of the west. There have been several attempts to encourage the spread of Gaelic since the 19 th century, but these have not affected the dominance of English. There is yet little sign of a regionally distintive educated standard in Ireland, but there are many cases of words, idioms, and grammatical patterns in informal, non-standard speech, which are characteristic of the area, some of which have been influenced by Gaelic. Much that is special about Irish English has been given literary expression in W.B. Yeats' poems, J.M. Synge's plays and James Joyce's novels. Some irish English words: garda = police; airy = light-hearted; bold = naughty. Some grammatical features: the use of let in commands (Let you have a try), the use of after to express recent past time (I'm after going to town). Map p.238!!!

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America
The first settlement: Expeditions commissioned by Walter Raleigh. The first venture was a failure. In 1584 the first group of explorers landed in North Carolina and established a small settlement. But there was a conflict with the Indians and it proved necessary for a ship to return to England for help and supplies. By the time those arrived, in 1590, none of the original group of settlers could be found. The first permanent English settlement dates from 1607, when an expedition arrived in Chesapeake Bay, and called the settlement Jamestown, after James I. Further settlements quickly followed along the coast, and also on the nearby islands- Bermuda, and later the Bahamas. >> Linguistic consequences: The sourthern explorers came mainly from the West Country, and brought with them the characteristic west-country accent. This 'tide away accent' can still be heard in some of the islands in the area in Chesapeake Bay. Then, in 1620, the first group of Puritan settlers (Puritan fathers) arrived on the Mayflower, searching for a land where they could found a new religious kingdom purified from the practices which they found unacceptable in the English Church of the time. They landed at Cape Cod, in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and established a settlement there. >> Puritans came mainly from East Anglia. Their accent was quite different and can be heard in the New England area today. Other features of the dialects of 17th century England can be identified in modern American speech, such as a short a. Several older wirds or meanings were retained (mad for angry, or fall for autumn). (Map p 242) Durint the 17th century, the colonies remained separated. During this time increasing contacts and new patterns of settlement caused the sharp divisions between accents to begin to blur. In 1681, the Quakers, whose origins were mostly in the Midlands and North of England settled in Pennsylvania. In the early 18th century, there was a vast wave of immigration from northern Ireland. Many moved inland through the mountains in search of land. The opening up of the South and West was largely due to the pioneering spirit of this group of settlers (such Davy Crockett). Much of the movement west had been led by the Scots-Irish. The accent which emerged can now be heard all over the so-called 'Sunbelt', and is the accent most commonly associated with present-day American speech. The main population movements preserved the three major dialect areas of the east coast: The New England (northerners) people moved west into the region of the Great Lakes The southerners moved along the Gulf Coast, and into Texas The midlanders spread out throughout the whole of the vast, mid-western area, across the Mississippi and ultimately into California. There are many mixed dialect areas because of the north-south movements within the country and the continuing inflow of immigrants. But the main divisions of North, Midland and South are still demonstrable today. (Map p 244) 49

An important aspect of American life, its cosmopolitan character, was present from the beginning, and this had linguistic consequences too. >> Spanish, French (Louisiana and St Lawrence), Dutch (New York), Germans (Pennsylvania), and black slaves from Africa. During the 19th century, these immigration patterns increased, with many people fleeing the results of revolution and famine in Europe. >> Irish following the potato famine, Germans and Italians (failure of the revolutions of 1848), and Central European Jews (pogroms of the 1880s). The chief linguistic result of this multilingual setting was a large number of loan words, which added to the many new-words that were introduced as a consequence of the first epriod of settlement. Until now, many words had to do with fauna and flora, or with notions deriving from contact with the Indian tribes. Now, there were many words from Spanish, French, German or Dutch which were increasingly becoming part of the American environment. Indian languages: chipmunk, opossum, racoon, skunk Dutch: coleslaw,boss french: crevasse, praline, saloon German: no way, kindergarten, pretzel italian: expresso, pizza Spanish: cafetaria, coyote, mustang, marijuana Yiddish: Enjoy!, scram At the same time, an enormous number of coinages were introduced words or phrases based on earlier English elements which reflected the many social and cultural developments in American history. Specific events and activities added thousands of new words, senses, and idioms to the language (bartender, caucus, cowboy, groundhog, bite the dust, hit the jackpot). Many of these words and phrases have entered the standard language, and are used wherever English is spoken. But there remains a substantial distinctive vocabulary restricted to the United States, along with several features of grammar, spelling and pronunciation. Noah Webster. Its the teacher Noah Webster (1758-1843) who published An American Dictionary of the English Language which is known simply as Websters. this work was the foundation of American lexicography. His aim was to show the way the language was developing independently in America. He introduced several spelling reforms, he's one of the few people ever to have done so successfully.

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Canada
After the American Revolution of 1776, those who had supported Britain went into exile in the Ontario region. Then they spread to all parts of the country. There were soon followed by many thousands who were attracted by the cheapness of land. Within fifty years, a lot of people from the United States went to Upper Canada. Much earlier, the Atlantic Provinces in the east (Newfoundland) had been settled with English speakers but they have only a marginal role in the development of the Canadian norm as they contain a tiny part of the population. (Map p 251!) In Quebec, the use of French language and culture remains from the first period of exploration, with the majority of people using French as a mother-tongue; here, English and French coexist. Canadian English has a great deal in common with the rest of the English spoken in North America. To British people, Canadians may sound Americans, but to Americans, they may sound British. The vocabulary looks very mixed with American and British items coexisting. Tap and porridge, but gas and billboard. There is a greater likelihood of encountering British spellings but the American model is gradually becoming more widespread, especially in popular publications. In pronunciation, Canadian English has several important identifying features. Most Canadians rhyme such pairs as cot and caugt, as do many US speakers and most Scots. There is also a social preference for the British pronunciation of words like news, with a [j] after the first consonant, rather than using the U.S. nooz. Common feature of Canadian English the use of eh? as a tag with rising intonation at the end of a sentence (So she went into Lincoln, eh?) There are many words originating in Canada, often borrowings from American Indian languages, some of which have entered English directly. E.g. Caribou, kayak, parka, slot, kerosene. The regional dialects of Canada, noth rural and urban, have been little studied. There is a widespread impression that Canadian speech is uniform from oen end of the continent to the other, but this is a superficial impression, which ignores important differences.

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Black English
During the early years of American settlement, a distinctive form of English was beginning to develop in the islands of the West Indies and the southern part of the mainland, spoken by the incoming black population. The beginning of the 17th century saw the emergence of the slave trade. Ships from Europe travelled to the West African Coast, where they exchanged cheap goods for black slaves. The policy of the slave-traders was to bring people of different language backgrounds together in the ships, to make it difficult for groups to plot rebellion. The results was the growth of several pidgin forms of communication, and in particular a pidgin between the slaves and the sailors, many of whom spoke English. Once arrived in the Caribeean, this pidgin English continued to act as a major means of communication between the balck population and the new landowners. The pidgin soon became the children's mother tongue, producing the first black creole speech. Similarly, creolized forms of French, Spanish and Portuguese emerged in the Caribbean. The different Caribbean islands have since developed their own varieties of creole English, and display a range if dialects which have been influenced by the standard language to varying degrees. There are many identifying features of pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. Pronunciation: rhythmic difference. Grammatical differences: nouns often do not mark plurals or possessives, verbs do not use the -s ending, and be may be absent,... No final s in the third-person singular form of the present tense e.g. he walk. No use of forms of the verb be in the present tense, when it is used as a linking verb within a sentence, e.g. They real fine. Use of double negatives involving the auxiliary verb at the beginning of a sentence, e.g. Wont nobody do nothing about that. Vocabulary: duppy = ghost, susumba = plant, so-till (until). In recent years, West Indian speech has moved well outside the Caribbean, with large communities now to be found in Canada, the United States and Britain. These new locations have brought new speechs styles. Similar pattern of development in the US: Black English Vernacular is spoken by 80 per cent of present-day black Americans. It is the language used by lower-class blacks in urban communities. The remainder use a range of varieties influenced by the standard language, reflecting a gradual process of integration and the rise of a black middle class. History of black English in the United States: After the American Civil War (1861-5), the slaves received civil rights for the first time. There was a widespread exodus to the industrial cities of the northern states and black culture became known throughout the country, especially for its music and dance. The result was a large influx of new, informal vocabulary into general use. (rap, soul brother, dig (understand), chick (girl)).

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Australia and New Zealand

Australia: It was discovered by James Cook in 1770. Prisoners were transported. 'Free' settlers then began to enter the country. By the mid-19 th century, the immigrantsd came in increasing numbers. New Zealand: The official colony was established in 1840. there was then a considerable increase. The main source of settlers, and thus the main influence on the language was Britain. Many of the convicts came from London and Ireland. Irish English can be traced in the characteristic pronunciation patterns still heard today. Many of the words now thought of as Australian in fact started out in Britain, and some can still be heard in British local dialects. In recent years, however, the influence of American English has been apparent, so that the country now displays a curious lexical mixture. We find American truck, elevator ad freeway alongside British petrol, boot and tap. The English settlers took very few words from the native languages spoken in the two countries. WHY? Neither the Aborigines of Australia nor the Maoris of New Zealand were very numerous when the Europeans arrived. The Aborigines were nomadic, contact was occasional, and there were many language differences. As a result, hardly any Aboriginal words came into English, most of the ones that did being plant or animal names. Similarly, there are few Maori words in New Zealand English. In relation to pronunciation, Australians and New Zealanders can tell each other apart, though the differences are not very great. But within each country, few regional dialectal differences have been noted. The absence of dialect differences within Australia and New Zealand may be more apparent than real, given that very little detailed regional study has taken place. A few regional lexical differences have been noted, but this kind of variation should be on the increase as cities grow, and immigrants arrive. Although there seems to be little regional speech variation, factors to do with social prestige are important. There are 3 main linguistic forms in Australia. The variety known as cultivated Australian English used by about 10 per cent of the population shows; in some speakers the accent is very close to educated southern British, with just a hint in certains vowels and in the intonation of its Australian origin. At the opposite extreme, there is the broad Australian accent, used by some 30 per cent, and most clearly identified as Australian in the popular mind. In between, there is a continuum of accents often called simply general Australian, used by the majority of the population. A similar situation exists in New Zealand, though the country tends to be rather more conservative in speech style, with RP-influenced accents more dominant, and it lacks the extremely broad accent found in Australia. The accent variations have provoked controversy in recent years, with the broad accent in particular having its critics nd its defenders. There is an ongoing debate about whether the Australians should be proud of their accent or whether they should aspire to a more conservative style associated with the traditional values of educated British speech. Some Australian words and phrases: bathers = swimming costume; biggie = big one; outback; sheila = girl; goodday = hello. Some New Zealand words: gully = valley; tramping = hiking; back = holiday cottage. 53

South Africa
British involvement dates from 1795 when an expeditionary force invaded. British control was established in 1806, and a policy of settlement began in earnest in 1820, when some 5,000 British were given land in the eastern Cape. English was made the official language of the region in 1822, and there was an attempt to anglicize the large Dutch-speaking population. English became the language of law, education, and most other aspects of public life. Immigrants, many of them English-speaking arrived in the country during the last quarter of the 19th century. The English language history of the region has many strands. Initially there was a certain amount of regional dialect variation among the different groups of British settlers, but in due course a more homogeneous accent emerged. At the same time, English was being used as a second language by the Afrikaans speakers, and many of the Dutch colonists took this variety with them on the Great Trek of 1836, as they moved north to escape British rule. An African variety of English also developed, spoken by the black population. In addition, English came to be used, along with Afrikaans and other languages, by those with an ethnically mixed background (Coloured). It was also adopted by the many immigrants from India, who arrived in the country from around 1860. Present-day South African English thus comprises a range of varieties, but from a social point of view they are unified by the tension which exists between the use of English and the use of Afrikaans. English is a minority language. Afrikaans, which was given official status, is the first language of the majority of whites. It is also the first language of most of the Coloured population. English is used by the remaining whites and by increasing numbers of the majority blakc population. There is thus a linguistic side to the political division which marked South African society for several decades. Afrikaans was perceived by the black majority as the language of authority and repression; English was perceived by the white government as the language of protest. Many blacks saw English as a means of achieving an international voice, and uniting themselves with other black communities. But it is far more complex than this opposition suggests. For the white authorities too, English was important as a means if international communication, and 'upwardly mobile' Afrikaners became increasingly bilingual. As a result, a continuum of accents arose during the apartheid era, ranging from those strongly influenced by Afrikaans to those very close to RP, and there were corresponding variations in grammar and vocabulary. Such complexity is inevitable in a country where the overriding issue is social and political identity. Some South African English words and phrases: Afrikaner, commando, gogga = insect; trek; dorp = village; robot = traffic light,...

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British and American English

Pronunciation AmE: /r/ after vowels Schedule (sk in AmE and sh in BrE) Tomato (car in AmE and mate in BrE) Route (out in AmE and root in BrE)

Many AmE speakers stress certain words differently from BrE speakers (address in AmE and address in BrE; magazine in AmE and magazine in BrE). And several words which have one main stress in BrE have two in AmE (secretary instead of secretary; laboratory instead of laboratory). Some US pronunciations have come to be increasingly used by young British people in recent years. Spelling (Some American spelllings are now in use in BrE, and some BrE spellings are used in the US.) BrE ou (honour, labour) and AmE o (honor, labor). BrE en- (ensure, enquiry) and AmE in- (insure, inquiry) ae (Br) > a (Am) (encyclopaedia > encyclopadia) re (Br) > er (Am) (centre > center) -ce (Br) > -se (Am) (defence > defense) ll (Br) > l (Am) (travelling > traveling fulfill > fulfil)

And there are many individual words ( cheque (Br) > checkl; gaol (Br) > jail; tyre (Br) > tire. Non-standard spellings are much more in public use in AmE in advertisements, shop signs, road signs, etc. (donuts, thruway, kool). Grammar British Twenty to four Look out of the window I'm visiting her tomorrow I want to get out There were six millions Come and take a look Vocabulary There are many words which are use in both AmE and BrE, but with a difference in meaning. Dumb Nervy Pants Homely AmE Stupid, mute Cheeky Trousers Plain (people) BrE Mute Nervous Underpants Domestic American Twenty of four Look out the window I'm visiting with her tomorrow I want out There were six million Come take a look

55

Words with the same meaning:

AMERICAN Alumnus Apartment Attorney Automobile Baby buggy/carriage Ballpoint Bar Can Candy Changepurse Check (mark) Checkers Closet Corn Couch Cracker Crib Custard Davenport Dessert Detour Diaper Billboard Biscuit Broil Buffet Cab Call (phone) Call collect Outlet Overalls Overpass Pacifier Pants Pantyhose Peek Pitcher Potato chips Pullman car Public school Purse Railroad Raise (salary) Realtor Dish towel Drug store Eggplant Elevator ENGLISH Graduate Flat Solicitor/barrister Motor car Pram Biro Pub Tin Sweets Purse Tick Draughts Cupboard Maize/sweet corn Sofa Biscuit (savoury) Cot Egg custard Sofa Sweet/pudding Diversion Nappy Hoarding Scone Grill Sideboard Taxi Ring Reverse the charges Point (power) Dungarees Flyover Dummy Trousers Tights Peep Jug Crisps Sleeping car State school Handbag Railway Rise Estate agent Tea towel Chemist Aubergine Lift

56

Fall Faucet Fender First floor Flashlight Garbage Garter Gas Gear shift Generator Grade school Hobo Hood(car) Intersection Janitor Jello Jelly Kerosene Lawyer Line Liquor store Mail Mailbox Math Molasses Mortician Movie Muffler Oil pan Schedule Second floor Sedan Shorts (men) Sick Sidewalk Sneakers Sophomore Spigot Station wagon Suspenders Term paper Thread Thumbtack Tightwad Traffic circle Transportation Trash Trashcan Truck Trunk(car)

Autumn Tap Wing/mudguard Ground floor Torch Rubbish Suspender Petrol Gear lever Dynamo Primary school Tramp Bonnet Crossroads Caretaker Jelly Jam Paraffin Solicitor/barrister Queue Off-licence Post Pillar-box Maths Treacle Undertaker Film Silencer Sump Timetable First floor Saloon car Underpants, shorts Ill Pavement Plimsolls, trainers Second-year student Tap (outdoors) Estate car Braces Essay (school) Cotton Drawing pin Miser Roundabout Transport Rubbish Dustbin Lorry Boot

57

Tuxedo Underpants Undershirt Vacation Vest Washcloth Windshield Wrench Yard Yield (road sign) Zipper Zucchini

Dinner jacket Knickers/ pants Vest Holidays Waistcoat Face flannel Windscreen Spanner Garden Give way Zip Courgettes.

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14. English Today

The regional and the social diversification of the English language. The language has become heterogeneous in its sounds, grammar and vocabulary has it come to be adopted by different communities around the world. At the same time, each community has had to respond to the pressure of social change. Different social groups make demands on society for recognition and use distinctive language as a means of achieving public identity. And everyone is affected by the political, economic and cultural pressures which come from abroad, causing societies to change in unprecedented ways, and to adopt the language that comes with such change.

English loan words

The best-known current example of external influence causing language change is the 'Americanization' of world culture. The Americanization of world culture has caused English words to appear prominently in city streets all over the world. The American way of life is considered modern, fashionable and desirable to be younger, trend-setting generations of society found in all developed and developing countries, and the language associated with these three trends is eagerly taken up. For example: in popular music (foreign groups often record in English). Depending on your point of view, English loan words are a good or a bad thing. People who do not approve of American values or who are disturbed by rapidity of change are often strongly critical of the impact of English on their language. e.g. In France: a law banning the use of English words in official contexts, but the law seems to be honoured more in the breach than in observance. Commercial firms and advertisers are well aware of the potential selling power that the use of English vocabulary can bring. Example: In Japan, English is used in television commercials, despite the fact that the majority of viewers would not understand exactly what was being said: the prestige connotations attached to the mere use of English are apparently enough to commend the strategy to the advertisers. Most of the influence of English is upon the vocabulary of foreign languages, but in some cases, word order or word structure has been affected. E.g. El seor y la seora X instead of El seor X y seora following English word order (Mr and Mrs X). When English words and constructions are frequently used by foreign speakers, we sometimes get the impression that a 'mixed' language has emerged, and this is often given a name which reflects the mixture (Spanglish, Anglikaans, Japlish, etc). In communities where there is regular contact between people of different language backgrounds, a mixed language may emerge. For example, in the parts of Texas bordering on Mexico, the phenomenon of Tex-Mex is often heard (an informal speech style in which English and Spanish words and phrases are combined). > Dnde est el thin-sliced bread? It appears that switching is much more widespread than was previously imagined. It is probably to be found in varying degrees, in bilingual communities everywhere, enabling communication to take place satisfactorily. 59

English loan words in Europe: baseball, semi-final, taxi, picnic, jeep, sightseeing, briefing, marketing, cowboy, striptease, showbiz, heavy metal, baby-sitter, jogging, callgirl, WC, smoking, bulldozer, chewing gum, science fiction, ok.

Social identity
Linguistic hybrids perform an important social identifying function. During a business lunch, the solidarity between two members of the group shows itself by the way they slip the occasional dialect words into their English when they addressed each other. People unconsciously vary their speech as they go through the day, depending on whom they are addressing, the formality of the occasion and so on. There is a strong tendency for people to express their identity by emphasizing features of their accent or dialect which convey where they are from. BUT regional identity is only one factor: Also important are the other facets of a person's background, which may find expression in linguistic form, such as age, occupation and, in particular, sex. The most important change happened to English since 1970; it has to do with the attitude society has adopted towards practices and consequences of sexism. There is now awareness, which was lacking a generation ago, of the way in which language identitfies social attitudes towards men and women. English has been affected more than most other languages, because of the impact of early American feminism. Both grammar and vocabulary have been affected by the rise of feminism. In vocabulary, attention has been focused on the replacement of male words by neutral words. Chairman becoming chair or chairperson Salesman becoming sales asssistant In certain cases, the use of sexually neutral language has become a legal requirement. There is a continuing debate should it affect traditional idioms (stone-age man). The vocabulary os marital status has also been affected (introduction of Ms). In grammar, the focus has been on the lack of a sex-neutral third-person singular pronoun in English, which becomes a problem when it is used after sex-neutral nouns (such as a student) or after indefinite pronouns (such as someone). If anyone wants to see me,---- should come at 4 oclock. A student should see ---- tutor at the beginning of term. To avoid the he bias, various alternatives have been suggested. He or she is sometimes used but this is often stylistically awkward. In informal speech, they is widespread after words like anyone, but this usage attracts criticism from those who feel that a plural word should not be mde to agree with a singular one. A common strategy is to recast the sentence structure to avoid the problem (people wanting to see me should...) or to turn the singular noun into a plural (students should see their tutors). And there have been proposals for brand-new pronouns. The linguistic effect of these changes in social attitudes has been far more noticeable in writing than in speech. In writing, the frequency with which such forms as he and man were used in American English fell. However, it will take much longer before we can say whether the changes 60

are having any real impact on the spoken language. Someone will spot a sexist pronoun in writing, but there is no such control available in the rush of conversational speech.

New regional Englishes

In recent decades, increasing attention has been drawn to the emergence of new varieties of English around the world, spoken by people fro whom English is a second language (in India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka where English is used officially or semi-officially as a means of communication). Large numbers of people are involved, and as a consequence, there is an inevitable tendency to develop new local norms of usage that in the course if time become taken up by educated speakers and thus form new local standars the same process as affected the development of new mother-tongue varieties of English. In the subcontinent of India, many varieties of English are spoken (ranging from pidgin English to a standard English that is very close to British, including the use of Received Pronunciation). Some of these varieties have developed over a long periods of time, deriving from the period of colonial rule. As a result, there are hundreds of distinctive lexical items; some derive from local Indian languages, some are new combinations of English words which have been given new senses. Especially when the subject matter is specialized for instance, in relation to religion, agriculture, politics- a newspaper account can appear unintelligible to outside eyes. In several of these varieties, there are marked differences in pronunciation, due mainly to the different rhythm of the Indian languages native to the area (no strong and weak syllables). In grammar, there are several points of difference (e.g. Use of the progressive form os such verbs as have, know, think (he is knowing the answer) or Unfamiliar compound nouns (key-bunch, schoolgoer). English words and phrases from India: jungle, guru, curry, swadeshi (indigenous), stir (demonstration), ayah (nurse). Because of the length of the British presence in India, and the countries' vast populations, South Asian English has developed to a more distinctive level than is found in most other countries where English is used as a second language. It may only be temporary; Any country relying on English as its primary medium of communication will sooner or later find itself developing its own norms of pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. At one point, a critical question of identity is posed. Especially in education, should they teach the internationally recognizd standard English or the regional standard? In literary expression, should writers opt for standard English (to guarantee a readership throughtout the word) or for their regional standard (to give them a personal voice)? These questions are debated in all parts of the world where new varieties of second-language English are emerging. The problem is greater for writers, where there is often considerable antagonism towards English, seens as a symbol of colonial oppression. But the international standard is necessary to achieve international recognition. The solution is to concentrate on developing the English of their own region, making it into a language which belongs to them, and with which they can identify.

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World Standard English

Meanwhile, as English-speaking communities and individuals strive to make the language different, to reflect their own backgrounds and experiences, there is a string, persistent pull in the opposite direction. >>> The demand for a language medium which is universally intelligible is widely felt. English if the only language in a position to adopt the role of the world's first language. No language other then English carries universal appeal. And auxilialy languages (such as Esperanto) have not had success. The situation could change. Language is so intimately connected with power that any significant change in the world's political, military or economic balance could have immediate linguistic consequences. But there is little sign of such change. Due to primarily to the economic superiority of the United States, there is not competitor for English as w world language. Therefore a great deal of attention is being paid to devising standards of language use which will transcend regional differences and guarantee intelligibility when people from different English-speaking parts of the world communicate with each other. Many projects aimed at standardizing usage and eliminating differences have been the result, in such fields as science, fiance, industry, medicine, government, transport, and advertising. English is the official language of air traffic control, but it is widely recognized that this fact alone does not solve all communication problems. Some of the difficulty must be due to the considerable levels of noise and interference which are present in ground-to-air transmission, which will affect foreign-language learners more than native speakers. English is used as the international medium of communication at sea. It is essential that the language should follow clear rules, to reduce the possibilities to ambiguity and confusion when sending or receiving messages. In 1980, a British project was set up to produce Essential English for International Maritime Use known as Seaspeak. The guidelines relate mainly to communication by VHF radio and include procedures for initiating, maintaining and terminating conversations, as well as a recommended grammar, vocabulary, and structure for messages on a wide range of topics. But the language is still much more restricted than everyday English. Seaspeak recommends a set of standard phrases, to avoid the many alternative ways of expressing a meaning in everyday language. For example, What did you say?, I cant hear you., Please repeat that., and several other possibilities are all replaced by the single sentence Say again. A question is always preceded by the word Question, a warning by the word Warning, "Answer", "Reason", etc; Dates are signalled using prefixes (day onethree, month zero-two); Special marker words are used such as Mayday for distress. A similar tendency to eardicate idiosyncrasy and to opt for the most widely understood features of language is common to all areas of international communication. These pressures folster the developement of new varieties of the language. It seems likely that more rather than less standardization will results. We may, in due course, all need to be in control of two standard Englishes the one which gives use our national and local identity, and the one which puts us in touch with the rest of the human race.

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Plain English
One of the most important trends in contemporary language use is the move towards developing a 'plain' English in official speech and writing. The aim is to attack the use of unnecessarily complicated language by government departments, businesses and any other group whose role puts them in linguistic contact with the general public. Application forms, safety instructions, official letters, contracts, etc should be presented clearly, using language that people are likely to understand. The movements are very recent, growing up only in the late 1970s. But they have already played an important part in promoting puclic awareness of the problems, and led some organizations to change their practices. Today, the influence of the campaigns continues to grow. In addition, several research projects into the typographical design of forms have helped improve current practice. Annual publicity is given to the Plain English Awards in the UK. Positve side: The campaigners stress that clear language does not simply benefit the recipient; it can also save organizations time and money. Indeed, in some cases staff had to be employed to answer complaints about unclear letters and instructions. Another problem is the return of application forms which have been filled in wringly because the isntructions were too complex or ambiguous. There are firms and companies who have benefited from increased sales, once their publicity was revised in this way. More than money is involved: health and safety are affected. One of the campaign's focus is the kind of language found on medical labels. Negative side: Everyday language is itself very prone to ambiguity. If this language is used in official or legal documents, there could be problems. The public needs to have confidence in legal formulations, and that confidence can come only from using language that has been tried and texted in the courts over the years. These fears seem to be without foundation: there has been no sudden increase in litigation. However, it is too early to be sure that these radical changes are going to be problem-free. But there is no doubting the widespread beneficial effects of the campaign.

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Do you write plain English?

It is not easy to devise precise guidelines for writing plain English. Certains recommendations do recur, such as the preference for short words and paragraphs, the use of concrete rather than abstract words, and the avoidance of the passive voice. (George Orwell: no metaphor or other figure of speech, no long word, cut a word out if possible, no passive, no foreign phrase, scientific word, or a jargon word and break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.).

What's your readability score?

In recent years there has been a vogue for rating the readibility of written material using simple mathematical formulae. But such formulae cannot capture the linguistic complexity of a text (short words, but complex sentences, complicated syntax). It is there not wise to rely exclusively on readability scores in grading the difficulty of texts. An influential reading test was devised by Rudolf Flesch.

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15. English Tomorrow

The future of a language is closely bound up with the influence and prestige of its speakers and who can predict such things? The role of English has developed to such an extent, unprecedented in world history, that it is difficult to see how it can now be dislodged. But people must have thought that way about Latin once. The break-up of Latin into the modern Romance languages is often referred to by prophets of linguistic doom. Varieties of English are rapidly developing in different parts of the world. In addition, many voices argue the need for further language change in order to provide a badge of political, social, and literary identity. Some predict that within a generation or two international standard English will have fragmented into a range of only partly intelligible dialects. On the other hand, those who promote language change are underestimating the massive unifying forces at work in the world (international relations, world media). New varieties, when they emerge, no longer develop in isolation over long periods of time, they can be heard at almost any time. There is inevitably a 'levelling' which takes place in such circumstances. There is a greater interchange of words, and an enhacing of the levels of mutual comprehension. Whatever the features of regional English are, they are tiny compared with the mass of vocabulary and structure of 'world standard' English, which is within easy reach of all. But no one wants to lose their identity in a word melting-pot. In the course of this century we will see the emergence of a more universal bidialectism . People will use one variety of the language at home, and slip into another variety when they communicate with those from different communities. So maybe in a century or so we shall all be bilingual in our own language, with our home variety of English co- existing with an English international lingua franca. And in the course of time, maybe bilingual will not be too strong a word; for it is likely that the home varieties will develop along different lines from those follow by this lingua franca. Americans, Indians and Jamaicans may become mutually unintelligible, but the whole community is bound together by the coninuing existence of the lingua franca. Varying levels of unintelligibility already exist, with variations in vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. People from one part of a country can have difficulties understanding people from another, but still succeed in communicating when they speak slowly or write down what they are saying. It would be far more difficult to understand something in Malenglish (Malay and English). Many varieties have emerged in recent decades, often given a similar mixed name label (Japlish, Singlish, Spanglish, Chinglish). Some may condemn these varieties, but, though lacking English's prestige, are just as complex and efficient as the standard varieties. These new varieties have grown up because they are needed by regional communities to express their sense of local identity, in the face of the standard languages which have evolved to meet the demand for pannational and international intelligibility. Standard languages are important, because they foster outward- looking communication between a local community and the rest of the world; but they cannot replace non-standard varieties of language, which have evolve to meet the needs of group identity.

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Nations which can achieve a balance between the rwo promoting both intelligibility and identity have the best of both worlds. Such balances are difficult to establish, because traditional attitudes of contempot for non-standard varieties are hard to eradicate, and the different role of these varieties often fails to be understood. There need be no conflict: it is perfectly possible for a country to maintain the place of Standard English in its schools and social structure without denigrating the local accents and dialects which compromise its constituent group identity. This scenario is one of the most important features of the National Curriculum in English which was introduced into Uk schools during the 1990s. The days seems to be largely gone now when local dialects were ridiculed or banned, instead teachers are fostering in students a genuine interest in language variety and change. At an international level, such attitudes are still few and far between. Language variation and language change are too often blindly condemned. All this energy should be devoted to promote forward-looking language activities instead (immigrant teaching, the BBC, adult literacy programmes, plain English campaigns, etc.). Such activities need public support. The history, structure and use of the English language should lead us to consider the unfulfilled linguistic needs of communities at home and abroad.

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