TheEnglishLanguage:AVeryShortIntroduction

VERYSHORTINTRODUCTIONSareforanyonewantingastimulatingandaccessiblewayintoanewsubject.Theyarewrittenbyexperts,andhavebeentranslatedintomorethan45differentlanguages.

Theseriesbeganin1995,andnowcoversawidevarietyoftopicsineverydiscipline.TheVSIlibrarynowcontainsover550volumes—aVeryShortIntroductiontoeverythingfromPsychologyandPhilosophyofSciencetoAmericanHistoryandRelativity—andcontinuestogrowineverysubjectarea.

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ANCIENTWARFAREHarrySidebottomANGELSDavidAlbertJonesANGLICANISMMarkChapmanTHEANGLO-SAXONAGEJohnBlairANIMALBEHAVIOURTristramD.WyattTHEANIMALKINGDOMPeterHollandANIMALRIGHTSDavidDeGraziaTHEANTARCTICKlausDoddsANTISEMITISMStevenBellerANXIETYDanielFreemanandJasonFreemanTHEAPOCRYPHALGOSPELSPaulFosterARCHAEOLOGYPaulBahnARCHITECTUREAndrewBallantyneARISTOCRACYWilliamDoyleARISTOTLEJonathanBarnesARTHISTORYDanaArnoldARTTHEORYCynthiaFreelandASIANAMERICANHISTORYMadelineY.HsuASTROBIOLOGYDavidC.CatlingASTROPHYSICSJamesBinneyATHEISMJulianBagginiTHEATMOSPHEREPaulI.PalmerAUGUSTINEHenryChadwickAUSTRALIAKennethMorganAUTISMUtaFrithTHEAVANTGARDEDavidCottingtonTHEAZTECSDavídCarrascoBABYLONIATrevorBryceBACTERIASebastianG.B.AmyesBANKINGJohnGoddardandJohnO.S.WilsonBARTHESJonathanCullerTHEBEATSDavidSterrittBEAUTYRogerScrutonBEHAVIOURALECONOMICSMichelleBaddeleyBESTSELLERSJohnSutherlandTHEBIBLEJohnRichesBIBLICALARCHAEOLOGYEricH.ClineBIGDATADawnE.HolmesBIOGRAPHYHermioneLeeBLACKHOLESKatherineBlundellBLOODChrisCooperTHEBLUESElijahWaldTHEBODYChrisShillingTHEBOOKOFMORMONTerrylGivensBORDERSAlexanderC.DienerandJoshuaHagen

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METAPHYSICSStephenMumfordTHEMEXICANREVOLUTIONAlanKnightMICHAELFARADAYFrankA.J.L.JamesMICROBIOLOGYNicholasP.MoneyMICROECONOMICSAvinashDixitMICROSCOPYTerenceAllenTHEMIDDLEAGESMiriRubinMILITARYJUSTICEEugeneR.FidellMILITARYSTRATEGYAntulioJ.EchevarriaIIMINERALSDavidVaughanMIRACLESYujinNagasawaMODERNARTDavidCottingtonMODERNCHINARanaMitterMODERNDRAMAKirstenE.Shepherd-BarrMODERNFRANCEVanessaR.SchwartzMODERNINDIACraigJeffreyMODERNIRELANDSeniaPašetaMODERNITALYAnnaCentoBullMODERNJAPANChristopherGoto-JonesMODERNLATINAMERICANLITERATURERobertoGonzálezEchevarríaMODERNWARRichardEnglishMODERNISMChristopherButlerMOLECULARBIOLOGYAyshaDivanandJaniceA.RoydsMOLECULESPhilipBallMONASTICISMStephenJ.DavisTHEMONGOLSMorrisRossabiMOONSDavidA.RotheryMORMONISMRichardLymanBushmanMOUNTAINSMartinF.PriceMUHAMMADJonathanA.C.BrownMULTICULTURALISMAliRattansiMULTILINGUALISMJohnC.MaherMUSICNicholasCookMYTHRobertA.SegalTHENAPOLEONICWARSMikeRapportNATIONALISMStevenGrosbyNAVIGATIONJimBennettNELSONMANDELAEllekeBoehmerNEOLIBERALISMManfredStegerandRaviRoyNETWORKSGuidoCaldarelliandMicheleCatanzaroTHENEWTESTAMENTLukeTimothyJohnsonTHENEWTESTAMENTASLITERATUREKyleKeeferNEWTONRobertIliffeNIETZSCHEMichaelTannerNINETEENTH‑CENTURYBRITAINChristopherHarvieandH.C.G.Matthew

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THESCIENTIFICREVOLUTIONLawrenceM.PrincipeSCOTLANDRabHoustonSEXUALITYVéroniqueMottierSHAKESPEARE’SCOMEDIESBartvanEsSHAKESPEARE’SSONNETSANDPOEMSJonathanF.S.PostSHAKESPEARE’STRAGEDIESStanleyWellsSIKHISMEleanorNesbittTHESILKROADJamesA.MillwardSLANGJonathonGreenSLEEPStevenW.LockleyandRussellG.FosterSOCIALANDCULTURALANTHROPOLOGYJohnMonaghanandPeterJustSOCIALPSYCHOLOGYRichardJ.CrispSOCIALWORKSallyHollandandJonathanScourfieldSOCIALISMMichaelNewmanSOCIOLINGUISTICSJohnEdwardsSOCIOLOGYSteveBruceSOCRATESC.C.W.TaylorSOUNDMikeGoldsmithTHESOVIETUNIONStephenLovellTHESPANISHCIVILWARHelenGrahamSPANISHLITERATUREJoLabanyiSPINOZARogerScrutonSPIRITUALITYPhilipSheldrakeSPORTMikeCroninSTARSAndrewKingSTATISTICSDavidJ.HandSTEMCELLSJonathanSlackSTRUCTURALENGINEERINGDavidBlockleySTUARTBRITAINJohnMorrillSUPERCONDUCTIVITYStephenBlundellSYMMETRYIanStewartTAXATIONStephenSmithTEETHPeterS.UngarTELESCOPESGeoffCottrellTERRORISMCharlesTownshendTHEATREMarvinCarlsonTHEOLOGYDavidF.FordTHINKINGANDREASONINGJonathanStB.T.EvansTHOMASAQUINASFergusKerrTHOUGHTTimBayneTIBETANBUDDHISMMatthewT.KapsteinTOCQUEVILLEHarveyC.MansfieldTRAGEDYAdrianPooleTRANSLATIONMatthewReynoldsTHETROJANWAREricH.Cline

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SimonHorobin

THEENGLISHLANGUAGEAVeryShortIntroduction

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ForJennifer,Lucy,Rachel,andFlorence

Contents

Acknowledgements

Listofillustrations

1 WhatisEnglish?

2 Origins

3 Authorities

4 Standards

5 Varieties

6 GlobalEnglishes

7 Whydowecare?

Furtherreading

Index

Acknowledgements

IamverygratefultoAndreaKeeganwhocommissionedthisbookandtoanonymousreviewersfortheirincisivecommentsonpreviousdrafts.IalsowishtothankJennyNugee,whoprovidedmuchhelpfulguidancethroughoutthewritingprocess.IamgratefultothePresidentandFellowsofMagdalenCollege,Oxford,forpermissiontoreproduceMSlat.105,andtoChristineFerdinandandJamesFishwickfortheirassistance.Thisbookhasbenefitedfromtheinsightsandadviceofnumerousfriendsandcolleagues;inparticularIwishtothankDeborahCameron,whoreadtheentirebookindraftandmademanyhelpfulsuggestions,LyndaMugglestone,CharlotteBrewer,JeremySmith,DavidCrystal,TimMachan,andSethLerer.Iamalsogratefultomystudents,especiallyLucyDiver,RosieDurkin,JohnPhipps,MollyJanz,AliceRichardson,LucRosenberg,JackSolloway,AliceTheobald,andAliceTroy-Donovan,formanyfruitfuldiscussionsoftheissuesraisedherewhileIwaswritingthisbook.Ialoneremainresponsiblefortheopinionsandforanyinaccuraciesthatremain.

Listofillustrations

1 ThefutureofEnglish?CartoonStock.com.

2 TheIndo-Europeanlanguagefamilytree

3 AmanuscriptofBede’sHistoriaEcclesiasticaGentisAnglorumMagdalenCollege,Oxford,MSlat.105,f.99r.ThePresidentandFellowsofMagdalenCollege,Oxford.

4 ThelanguageofmedicineCartoonStock.com.

5 Thegreengrocer’sapostropheDuncanCumming.

6 TheproblemofliterallyTheNewYorker,CondéNast.

7 Theultimateauthority?H.W.Fowler,ADictionaryofModernEnglishUsage(1926),titlepage.PublicDomain.

8 ListoftopsourcescitedintheOxfordEnglishDictionary,3rdeditionOED.com.

9 Dialectmap:wordsusedtorefertoacow-shedinEnglandandWalesANATCECTpublication,courtesyoftheUniversityofSheffield.

10 CalvinandHobbeson‘verbing’CalvinandHobbes©1993Watterson.ReprintedwithpermissionofANDREWSMCMEELSYNDICATION.Allrightsreserved.

11 Kachru’smodelofglobalEnglishesPublicDomain.

12 AdvertisementinSinglish.PulaiUbin,SingaporeMichaelElleray/Wikimedia.

13 Fewerorless?TheNewYorker,CondéNast.

Chapter1WhatisEnglish?

ENGLISH.adj.BelongingtoEngland;thenceEnglishisthelanguageofEngland.

SamuelJohnson,DictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage(1755)

SamuelJohnson’sstraightforwardidentificationofEnglishasthelanguageofEnglandhardlybeginstocapturethediversityandcomplexityofthelanguage’suseinthe21stcentury;Englishtodayisspokenbyapproximately450millionpeopleallovertheworld.Butthelanguageusedbyitsmanyspeakersvaries,inpronunciation,spelling,grammar,andvocabulary,tosuchanextentthatitseemsnecessarytoaskwhetherthesepeoplecanallbeconsideredtobespeakingEnglish.EvenmorepeoplespeakEnglishasasecondlanguage,withfiguresvaryingfrom1billionto1.5billionpeople,andwithconsiderablygreaterlevelsoflinguisticdivergence.Areallthesepeoplespeakingthesamelanguage,orarewewitnessingtheemergenceofnewEnglishes?Sincemorethanhalfoftheworld’snativeEnglishspeakersliveintheUSA,wemightwonderwhetherthebalanceofpowerhasshiftedsuchthattospeak‘English’todayistospeakGeneralAmericanratherthanStandardBritishEnglish.DoesEnglishnolonger‘belongtoEngland’,asDrJohnsonconfidentlyclaimed,butrathertotheUSA,ortoeveryonewhowishestoemployit?

Englishhasbeeninusefor1,500years;duringthattimeithaschangedtosuchanextentthattheformofthelanguageusedbytheAnglo-SaxonsisunrecognizabletocontemporaryEnglishspeakers.Todaywerefertothis

languageasOldEnglish,butshouldweperhapsthinkofitasadifferentlanguagealtogether?ModernItalianisdescendedfromtheLatinspokenbytheRomans,buttheseareconsideredtobedifferentlanguages.MightthatnotalsobetrueofOldEnglishandModernEnglish?

ThefollowingsectionscontainfivedifferenttranslationsofthesamepassagefromtheNewTestament(Luke15:11–16).Despitebeingverydifferent,eachofthesehasaclaimtorepresentakindofEnglish.ButaretheyallformsofEnglish,ordifferentlanguagesintheirownright?Whatcriteriashouldweapplywhenattemptingtomakesuchdistinctions?

OldEnglishHecwæð:soðlicesummanhæfdetwegensuna.þacwæðseyldratohisfæder;Fæder.sylememinnedælminreæhteþemetogebyreð:þadældehehimhisæhte;þaæfterfeawadagumeallehisþinggegaderudesegingrasunu:andferdewræcliceonfeorlenrice.andforspildeþarhisæhtalybbendeonhisgælsan;þahehighæfdeealleamyrredeþawearðmycelhungeronþamriceandhewearðwædla;þaferdeheandfolgudeanumburhsittendanmenþæsricesðasendehehinetohistuneþætheheoldehisswyn;þagewilnodehehiswambegefyllanofþambiencoddunþeðaswynæton.andhimmannesealde.

GivenhowdifferentthelanguageofthisextractisfromModernEnglish,youmaybewonderinghowitcouldbeconsideredaformofEnglishatall.ItistakenfromatranslationintoOldEnglish—thescholarlytermthatreferstothelanguageusedbytheGermanictribeswhoinvadedandsettledinBritaininthe5thcenturyADuptotheNormanConquestin1066.But,whileitsvocabularymayappearquiteunrelatedtothatofModernEnglish,thisisinparttheconsequenceofadifferentspellingsystem—includingtheletters‘þ’‘thorn’,‘æ’‘ash’,and‘ð’‘eth’,whicharenolongerusedinEnglish.Ifwelookclosely,wecanspotanumberoffamiliarwords,suchassunu,fæder,andtune,whicharetheancestorsofModernEnglishson,father,andtown.Otherwordsarehardertorecognize,butareneverthelessdemonstrablytherootoftheModernEnglishequivalent:mycel‘much’,twegen‘two’,dæl‘dole’.AlloftheseareEnglishwords,yettheirspellingsandpronunciationshavechangedsothatwenolongerimmediatelyrecognizethemassuch.

Inothercases,itisnotjustthespellingandpronunciationthathavechanged.ThewordsylleistheoriginofourModernEnglishwordsell,buthereitmeans‘give’;similarly,wambeisModernEnglishwomb,buthereitreferstothestomach.Ifweturnfromthelexical,orcontent,wordsinthepassagetoitsgrammaticalitems—prepositions,pronouns,andconjunctions—wefindthatmanyareidenticaltotheirModernEnglishequivalents:he,him,his,me,and,to.But,despitetheseclearcorrespondences,thisOldEnglishextractremainssignificantlydifferentfromModernEnglish,totheextentthatcontemporaryspeakersofEnglishareunabletoreaditwithoutspecialstudy.

EarlyModernEnglishAndheesaid,Acertainemanhadtwosonnes:Andtheyongerofthemsaidtohisfather,Father,giuemetheportionofgoodsthatfallethtome.Andhediuidedvntothemhisliuing.Andnotmanydayesafter,theyongersonnegatheredaltogether,andtookehisiourneyintoafarrecountrey,andtherewastedhissubstancewithriotousliuing.Andwhenhehadspentall,therearoseamightyfamineinthatland,andhebegannetobeinwant.Andhewentandioynedhimselfetoacitizenofthatcountrey,andhesenthimintohisfieldstofeedswine.Andhewouldfainehauefilledhisbellywiththehuskesthattheswinedideate:&nomangauevntohim.

Thissecondexample,takenfromtheAuthorized,orKingJames,VersionoftheBiblepublishedin1611,ismuchclosertoModernEnglish.Consideringitwaswrittenfourhundredyearsago,itisstrikinghoweasyitisforacontemporaryEnglishspeakertounderstand.Althoughsomeofthevocabularysoundsold-fashioned,mostofthewordsarestillinuse,albeitnotalwayswiththesamemeaning.Wordslikeliuing,substance,swine,fain,andvntolendthepassageanarchaicandformalfeel,butpresentfewbarrierstocomprehension.Bycontrast,theuseofthewordbellystrikesadiscordantnote,sinceitseemsoddlycolloquialforsuchaseriouscontext.

Theseeminglyrandomsprinklingof‘e’sattheendsofwordscontributestotheoldeEnglisheappearance;otherspellingdifferencesincludetheinterchangeableuseof‘u’and‘v’—comparegaueandvnto—and‘i’whereModernEnglishemploys‘j’,iourney—theModernEnglishdistributionofi/jandu/vwasnotestablisheduntilthe18thcentury.Grammaticaldistinctionsareminor;insteadofdideat,ModernEnglishwouldnowsayate.ThesyntaxofthepassagevariesfromModernEnglishtranslationsinpreferringaparatacticsentencestructure—onethatbeginseachnewsentencewiththeconjunctionand—adevicethatiscondemnedbymodernstyleguidesasclumsyandchildish.

ScotsThis,tae,hesaidtaethem:‘Therewisainceamanhedtwasons;anaedaytheyungsonsaidtilhim,“Faither,giemethefaa-shareoyourhaudinatIhaearichttil”.Saethefaitherhaufedhishaudinatweeshhistwasons.Nolangefterhintheyungsonniffertthehaillohisportionforsiller,anfuirawafurthtilafaur-affkintra,whaurhesperfelthissillerlivinthelifeoaweirdlesswaister.Efterhehedganethrouthehailloit,afellfaiminbrakoutiyonlaund,anhefaundhimselinuncomister.Saehegaedanhiredwianindwallerithatkintra,anthemangiedhimthewarkotentinhisswineoutbyeithefields.Gledliewadhepangedhiswamewithehuilsattheymaitittheswinewi,butnaebodiegiedhimahaet’.

ThisthirdversionismuchlessclearlyrecognizableasaformofEnglish;itisinfactatranslationintoModernScotsbyWilliamLaughtonLorimer,publishedin1983.But,aswiththeOldEnglishtranslation,manyofthemostbasicwords—grammaticalitemsandcommonnouns—areidenticaltothoseofModernEnglish:this,he,said,them,there,man,your,and,the,andsoon.OtherwordsareevidentlyrelatedtoModernEnglishequivalents,oncewemakeallowanceforthedifferentspelling:richt‘right’,faither‘father’,gie‘give’,twa‘two’,aince‘once’,lang‘long’.Someofthesereflectdifferentspellingconventions,whileotherspointtoalternativepronunciations.

ButthisisnotsimplyEnglishwithanaccent,sincenotalldifferencescanbeexplainedastheresultofspellingandpronunciationchanges.SomeofthewordshavenorecognizableEnglishequivalent.ThisistheresultofScotsborrowingwordsfromotherlanguages,suchasniffert‘exchanged’,fromOldNorse,sperfelt‘scattered’,fromOldFrench,andpanged‘stuffed’,fromMiddleDutch.Thewordfell‘cruel’(relatedtothewordfelon)doessurviveintoModernEnglish,butonlyinthephraseonefellswoop—oftenmistakenlyconfusedwithfoul.

Aswellastheselexicaldifferencestherearegrammaticaldistinctions,suchastheuseofthedemonstrativepronounyon,notfoundinStandardEnglish.Eventheinnocuousprepositiontil‘to’,aborrowingfromOldNorse,atteststoadifferenthistoryforthisvariety;althoughtilisnotusedinStandardEnglish,itisstillfoundinnortherndialectsofEnglish,testifyingtotheclosehistoricalrelationshipbetweenScotsandnorthernEnglish.WhileScotsandEnglishevidentlyhavemuchincommon,ScotsismoreintimatelyconnectedtothenorthernEnglishdialectsratherthanitsstandardform.OtherdifferencessetScotsapartfromEnglishentirely,testifyingtoitslonghistoryasanindependent

language.

TokPisinNaJisasitokmoaolsem,‘Wanpelamanigattupelapikininiman.Nanamba2pikininiitokimpapaolsem,“Papa,mitinglongolgetasamtingyulaiktilimlongmiwantaimbratabilongmi.Hapbilongmi,milaikbaiyugivimlongminau”.Oraitpapaitilimolgetasamtingbilongenigolongtupela.Inolongtaim,nadispelanamba2pikininiibungimolgetasamtingbilongennaisalimlongolman.Naemikisimmaninaigoistaplongwanpelalongweples.Emistaplongdispelaples,naemimekimolkainkainhambakpasin,naolgetamanibilongenipinis.Nataimolgetamanibilongenipinis,taimbilongbikpelahangreikamaplongdispelaples.Naeminogatwanpelasamting.Olsemnaemigokisimwoklongwanpelamanbilongdispelaples.Nadispelamanisalimemigolongbanispikbilongenbilonglukautimolpik.Emilukimolpikikaikaiolskinbilongbin,naemigatbikpelalaiktrulongkisimsampelanapulapimbelbilongen.Tasolinogatwanpelamanigivimkaikailongem’.

ThisfourthextractisundoubtedlythehardesttojustifyasanexampleofEnglish,sinceitappearstobearfewsimilaritiestothelanguagespokentoday.ThetranslationisinTokPisin,oneofthreeofficiallanguagesspokeninPapuaNewGuinea.But,whilethelanguageofthisextractmayappearentirelyforeign,someofthegrammaticalandcorelexicalitemsarethoseofModernEnglish:man,yu,mi,bilong,gat,samting,albeitwithdifferencesinspellingindicativeofalternativepronunciations.Thereareotherwordsthat,althoughtheirEnglishoriginisnolongerevident,arederivedfromModernEnglishequivalents;thewordpela,forinstance,originatesintheEnglishwordfellow.But,whilesuchconnectionspointtoasharedheritage,theroleofthewordpelasetsTokPisinapartfromEnglish.InTokPisin,pelafunctionsasagrammaticalendingaddedtonounstomarkwhentheyareplural,demonstratingamajordifferenceinthegrammaticalstructuresofTokPisinandEnglish.

ThereasonfortheconnectionswehaveobservedisthatTokPisinisanEnglish-languagecreole—atermusedtorefertoasimplifiedversionofEnglishmixedwithoneormoreotherlanguages,employedbynon-nativespeakersasalinguafranca(alanguageusedasameansofcommunicationbyspeakersofdifferentlanguages).AreEnglish-languagecreoleslikeTokPisinadditionalformsofEnglish,orlanguagesintheirownright?Giventheirreducedvocabularyandsimplifiedgrammar,isitappropriatetothinkofcreoles,andthemorebasicformknownasapidgin,aslanguagesatall?AretheybetterconsideredasevidenceofidiosyncraticandfailedattemptstoacquireEnglish,similartothecrudeeffortsfoundinthespamemailsofferinghighlylucrativebusinessproposalsthatfloodourinboxes?

ModernEnglishJesuscontinued:‘Therewasamanwhohadtwosons.Theyoungeronesaidtohisfather,“Father,givememyshareoftheestate”.Sohedividedhispropertybetweenthem.Notlongafterthat,theyoungersongottogetherallhehad,setoffforadistantcountryandtheresquanderedhiswealthinwildliving.Afterhehadspenteverything,therewasaseverefamineinthatwholecountry,andhebegantobeinneed.Sohewentandhiredhimselfouttoacitizenofthatcountry,whosenthimtohisfieldstofeedpigs.Helongedtofillhisstomachwiththepodsthatthepigswereeating,butnoonegavehimanything’.

Thisfinalexamplemayseemuncontroversial,sinceitisself-evidentlyatranslationintostandardModernEnglish.But,whilewecallthisEnglish,manyofthekeytermsitemploys,estate,property,divided,spent,famine,country,citizen,andstomach,areborrowingsfromotherlanguages.SinceEnglishincludesnumerousloanwordsofthiskind,manyofwhichhavebeeninuseforcenturies,thisrelianceuponforeignwordsmayappearentirelyunobjectionable.YettheextenttowhichtheEnglishlanguageshouldrelyonwordsborrowedfromforeignsources,ratherthanpreferringonesofOldEnglishorigin,hasbeenhotlydebatedforcenturies,andcontinuestobecontestedtodaybyproponentsofpureEnglish.

AttemptstocreateapurerformofEnglishcanbetracedbacktothe16thcentury.SirJohnCheke(1514–1557),notedlinguistandProfessorofGreekatCambridgeUniversity,wassodeterminedthattheEnglishtongueshouldbepreserved‘pure,unmixtandunmangeledwithborowingofothertunges’thatheproducedatranslationofthegospelofStMatthewusingonlynativewords,forcinghimtocoinneologisms(‘newwords’)suchasmooned‘lunatic’,hundreder‘centurion’,andcrossed‘crucified’.ThispolicyrecallsanOldEnglishpracticeinwhichLatinwordslikediscipuluswererenderedusingnativeformationslikeleorningcniht,or‘learning-follower’,ratherthanbyborrowingtheLatinword,asModernEnglishdoeswithdisciple.

AttemptstofashionapurerformofliteraryEnglishcanbeseeninthepoetryofEdmundSpenserinthe16thcenturyandWilliamBarnesinthe19thcentury.Barnes’argumentsagainstborrowingwereprimarilydirectedatperspicuityandeaseofunderstanding—althoughhisproposedreplacements,suchastwo-hornedrede-ship‘dilemma’,one-headthing-name‘propernoun’,andfore-beggedthought-putting‘hypotheticalproposition’,werearguablynolessopaque.Yetthedebateaboutlinguisticpuritycannotbedivorcedfromoneofnationalism;

forBarnes,borrowing,orwhathedismissivelyreferredtoas‘Gallicizing,Latinizing,andHellenizing’,wasa‘proofofnationalinferiority’—anadmissionthatEnglishwasinsufficientforitspurposesandmustrelyonotherlanguagestomakegooditsweaknesses.

TheconcernwithclaritywastakenupbyGeorgeOrwellinhis1945essay,‘PoliticsandtheEnglishLanguage’.Orwelllamentedthewaybadwritersare‘hauntedbythenotionthatLatinorGreekwordsaregranderthanSaxonones’.Today’splainEnglishmovementscontinuetocampaignfortheuseofstraightforwardwordsinplaceofpompousjargon—frequentlyacaseofpreferringanativewordoveraforeignborrowing.

WhatisthestatusofforeignwordsinEnglishtoday?Shouldweberestrictingthenumberofwordsadoptedfromotherlanguages?AreforeignwordscorruptingthepurityoftheEnglishtongue,leavingitimpoverishedandcapableonlyofunintelligiblegobbledygook,ordoborrowedwordsaddtothediversityandrichnessofEnglish?

ImighthaveaddedafurtherversiontothetranslationsoftheBiblequotedintheprevioussections:onerenderedintotextspeechbytheBibleSocietyofAustralia.Commissionedin2005inordertomaketheBiblemoreaccessibletoyoungpeopleandtoharnessnewtechnologytofacilitatedistribution,thisversionemploystheabbreviationstypicalofSMStexting.Itopens:‘IndaBginninGodcre8ddaheavens&daearth.’DoestheprevalenceofthiskindofwritingheraldtheemergenceofanewkindofEnglish,oraresuchcreativereworkingsmerelyapassingfad?Isthisanacceptableformofcommunication,oracorruptionofcorrectEnglishspellingandgrammar?Bygivingtextspeechlegitimacyinthisway,areweacceptinglowerstandardsofliteracy,andtherebycondemningfuturegenerationstoalifetimeofunderachievement?OristhishowwewillallbewritingEnglishinthefuture,asdigitalmediabecomeincreasinglycentraltolearningandcommunication?(SeeFigure1.)

1.ThefutureofEnglish?

EachofthesetranslationsraisesdifferentquestionsaboutthestatusoftheEnglishlanguage,itslinguisticforebears,andprogeny.Toanswerthesequestions,thefollowingchapterswilllookbackatwhereEnglishcamefrom,andhowithasdevelopedintothelanguageusedthroughouttheworldtoday.Asthebalanceofpowershiftsfromthetraditionalauthorities—dictionaries,styleguides,andtheBritishupperclasses—wewillconsiderwhatthefutureholdsforStandardBritishEnglish.WillitretainitsstatusasaprestigevarietyofEnglish,recognizedandvaluedthroughouttheworld,orwillotherregionalstandardschallengeitsposition?Willthefutureseemorepidginization,ascompromisevarietieslikeEuroEnglishemerge,forgedintheboardroomsofinternationalbusinessandthecorridorsoftheEuropeanparliament?AsAmericanEnglishincreasesitsdominance,willitcometoreplaceBritishEnglish,orwillthetwolanguagesdevelopindependently,sothatGeorgeBernardShaw’squipabout

EnglandandtheUSAbeing‘separatedbyacommonlanguage’willbecometruerthanheimagined?

Chapter2Origins

WheredoestheEnglishlanguagecomefrom?SincetherearemanycorrespondencesbetweenModernEnglishandModernFrench—thinkofcommonwordslikemoney,fruit,chamber,table—itisoftenthoughtthatthetwolanguagesarecloselyrelated.SinceFrenchisaRomancelanguage,onederivedfromLatin,itispresumedthatEnglishisfromthesamesource.ThisassumptiongainssupportfromthelargenumberofEnglishwordsofLatinorigin;commonwordslikevillage,picture,andfigurealldescendfromLatin.Butthesecorrespondencesrelatetoindividualwordsratherthangrammaticalstructure,andconsequentlyareoflesssignificancewhentracingtheoriginsofalanguage.

Whileitistruethatalanguageinheritsmuchofitsvocabularyfromearlierstagesinitshistory,itisalsocommonforwordstobeborrowedfromother,unrelated,languages.ModernEnglishincludeswordsfromavarietyofdifferentlanguages,suchastea(Chinese),curry(Tamil),sugar(Arabic),butthesewordsaretheresultoflatercontactthroughtraderatherthangeneticinheritance.Suchwordsmaygivetheappearanceofageneticaffiliation,but,todeterminewhethersuchcorrespondencesareindicativeofagenuinerelationship,wemustturntotheearliestformsofthelanguage.

BeginningsTheearliestrecordedformofEnglishisknownasOldEnglish—alanguageusedbytheAnglo-Saxons,aswellasotherGermanictribes,whocametoBritainfromcontinentalEuropeinthe5thcentury,followingthewithdrawaloftheRomanlegions.DespitethedisparateoriginsofthevariousGermanictribeswhosettledintheBritishIslesduringthisperiod,theyeventuallycametoconsiderthemselvesasinglepeopleandadoptedthenameoftheAngles,fromwhichthewordEnglishisderived.

TheGermanicdialectsspokenbythesetribesdescendfromasingle,commonancestor,knowntolinguistsas‘Proto-Germanic’,whichdatesbacktoaround200BC.SincethespeakersofProto-Germanicwereilliterateandsoleftnowrittenrecords,wehavetorelyentirelyonaprocessof‘hypotheticalreconstruction’—theestablishmentofaplausibleformbasedoncomparisonofattestedformsinrelatedlanguages—togaininsightsintothelanguageatthisstageinitshistory.Proto-GermanicisitselfpartofalargerlanguagefamilyknownasIndo-European,whichistheoriginofmostmodernEuropeanlanguages,aswellassomeusedtodayinAsia.Therelationshipsbetweenthesevariouslanguagegroupsmaybeschematizedusingthefamily-treemodelshowninFigure2—amodelalsoemployedbygenealogistsandevolutionarybiologists.

2.TheIndo-Europeanlanguagefamilytree.

Comparisonoftheearliestrecordedstatesoftheselanguagesrevealsacommoncoreofwordsthat,despitedifferencesinspellingandpronunciation,reflectasinglesharedancestor.EquivalentsoftheModernEnglishkinshiptermsmother,brother,andsisterarerecordedinmostIndo-Europeanlanguages,andtakeusbacktotheremoteststagesofthatlanguage.

AlthoughamemberoftheIndo-Europeanlanguagefamily,theGermanicgroupunderwentaseriesofchangestoitsconsonantsthatsetitapartfromtheotherconstituentlanguages.BecausethefirstsystematicdescriptionofthischangewastheworkoftheGermanfolkloristJacobGrimm,itisknownasGrimm’sLaw.ThisshiftexplainswhyGermaniclanguageshave‘f’whereotherIndo-Europeanlanguageshave‘p’.CompareEnglishfather,GermanVater(where‘v’ispronounced‘f’),Norwegianfar,withLatinpater,Frenchpère,Italianpadre,Sanskritpita.FollowingitssplitfromtheIndo-Europeanfamily,theGermanicgroupdividedintothreebranches:WestGermanic(English,German,Dutch,andFrisian),EastGermanic(Gothic—thelanguageoftheGoths,spokeninthe4thcenturyADintheBlackSeaarea,butnolongerinuse),andNorthGermanic(Norwegian,Danish,Swedish,Icelandic).

ReturningtoouropeningquestionabouttheoriginsofEnglish,wecannowseethat,whileEnglishisdistantlyrelatedtobothLatinandFrench,itisprincipallyaGermaniclanguage;itsclosestmodernlinguisticrelationsareDutch,German,andFrisian.ThisbecomesespeciallyclearwhenweexaminetheearliestOldEnglishwrittenrecords,whichcontainveryfewwordsofLatinoriginandalmostnonefromFrench.TheOldEnglishvocabulary,or‘lexicon’,consistsofwordscreatedusingmethodsofwordformationthatarecharacteristicofGermaniclanguages:compoundwords,formedbyjoiningtwoexistingwords,suchasdægesege,literally‘day’seye’,ModernEnglishdaisy,haligdæg,‘holyday’,ModernEnglishholiday,andwordsformedbyaffixation—theadditionofprefixesandsuffixes.TheOldEnglishwordunbrad,‘narrow’,wasformedbyaddingthenegativeprefix‘un-’totheadjectivebrad,‘broad’—literally‘unbroad’.AnothercommonmethodofformingwordsinOldEnglishwasconversion:transferringawordfromonewordclasstoanother;thiscanbeseenintheformationoftheverbdagian,‘todawn’,fromthenoundæg,‘day’.

Althoughcontactwithotherlanguageshasradicallyalteredthenatureofitsvocabulary,EnglishtodayremainsaGermaniclanguageatitscore.Thewordsthatdescribefamilyrelationships—father,mother,brother,son—areofOldEnglishdescent(compareModernGermanVater,Mutter,Bruder,Sohn),asarethetermsforbodyparts,suchasfoot,finger,shoulder(GermanFuß,Finger,Schulter),andnumerals,one,two,three,four,five(Germaneins,zwei,drei,vier,fünf),aswellasitsgrammaticalwords,suchasand,for,I(Germanund,für,Ich).

ThesourcesofitslexiconarenottheonlycluetotheEnglishlanguage’sheritage;itsGermanicoriginsarealsoapparentfromitsgrammaticalstructure,suchastheformationofthepreterite,orpast,tense.ModernEnglishhastwomethodsofformingthepreterite:changingthestemvowel,asinride–rode(knownas‘strong’verbs),oraddingasuffix,asinwalk–walked(‘weak’verbs).Thestrongverbistheolderofthetwoclasses;thepracticeofchangingthestemvoweltoformdifferentpartsoftheverbcanbetracedbacktoproto-Indo-European.Theweakverbclassisanewerinnovation,probablyformedbyaddingapartoftheverbdotothestem,andisfoundonlyintheGermaniclanguages;comparemodernGermanmach‘do’–machte‘did’.WeakverbsarenowthedominantclassinModernEnglish,sothatnewcoinagesautomaticallyformtheirpasttensethisway.ThepasttenseoftoGoogleisGoogled;evenaverblikejive,whichwouldfitneatlyintotheride–rodeclass,becomesjivedratherthanjove.

But,whilethisgrammaticalfeaturelinksEnglishwiththeGermanicfamily,thereareotheraspectsofGermaniclanguagesthataremissingfromEnglish.PerhapsmoststrikingisthecomparativelylittleuseEnglishmakesoftheendings,or‘inflexions’,employedbyotherGermaniclanguagestocarrygrammaticalinformationsuchasnumber,case,andgender.Butwhileinflexionalendingsarelimitedtothepossessiveandplural‘-s’endingsinModernEnglish(boys,boy’s),muchgreateruseismadeoftheminOldEnglish.

LikemodernGermaniclanguages,OldEnglishemployedasystemofinflexionalendingsthatdistinguishednumber(singular,plural,andthedual—usedtorefertotwoandonlytwo)andfourcases:nominative(subject),accusative(directobject),genitive(possession),dative(indirectobject).OldEnglishalsohadasystemwherebynounswereclassifiedintothreeseparatecategories,knownasgenders:masculine,feminine,andneuter;thisthree-waygrammaticalgendersystemisstillfoundinModernGerman.Thechoiceofcategoryhadnothingto

dowithsex,orreal-worldgender,sothatthenounwif,‘woman’,wasneuter(justasGermanWeib‘woman’isalsoneuter),whilewifmann,theoriginofModernEnglishwoman,wasmasculine.OldEnglishalsoatteststoasystemof‘agreement’;whereModernEnglishhasjustonedefinitearticle,the,OldEnglishhadalternativeformstoenablethearticletoagreewithitscorrespondingnounaccordingtocase,gender,andnumber.

Byturningtoitsearliestrecordedforms,wecanseethattheEnglishlanguagebeganlifeasatypicalmemberoftheGermaniclanguagefamily.SincetheOldEnglishperiod,Englishhasundergoneanumberofsubstantialchanges,whichhaveradicallyaltereditsstructure,vocabulary,pronunciation,andspelling.Thefollowingbriefhistoryofthelanguagewillgiveanaccountofthemostimportantofthesechanges.

OldEnglish(AD650–1100)AlthoughIhavehighlightedtheGermanicoriginsoftheEnglishlanguage,itisimportanttobeawareofthemultilingualnatureofBritainfromtheAnglo-Saxonperiodtothepresentday.ContactwithspeakersofdifferentlanguageshasresultedinnumerouschangestoEnglish—especiallyitsvocabulary.

InhisHistoriaEcclesiasticaGentisAnglorum(AD731)(EcclesiasticalHistoryoftheEnglishPeople),theAnglo-SaxonhistorianBedelistedfivelanguagesusedinBritain:English,British(Welsh),Irish,Pictish(spokeninnorthernScotland),andLatin(seeBox1).ContactbetweenspeakersofCelticlanguagesandtheAnglo-SaxonshasleftfewtracesinModernEnglish.Thisisbecause,followingtheAnglo-Saxoninvasions,CelticspeakerstookrefugeintheextremewestandnorthofBritain—locationswhichhaveremainedCeltic-speakinguntilthepresentday,or,inthecaseofCornwall,untilthe18thcentury.WheretherewascontactbetweenCelticspeakersandAnglo-Saxons,thebalanceofpowerwasfirmlyinthedirectionoftheAnglo-Saxons,forwhomtheCeltsservedasslaves.ThisisevidencedbytheuseoftheOldEnglishwordwealh,theancestoroftheplace-nameWalesandthesecondelementofCornwall,whichcouldmeanbothBritonandslave.Becauseofthis,Celticinfluenceislargelyrestrictedtonamesofplacesandrivers,suchasAvon,fromtheCelticwordfor‘river’,andOuse,theCelticwordfor‘water’.ThecountynamesKentandDevonarebothofCelticorigin,asisthefirstelementofCumberland,whosenametranslatesas‘landoftheWelsh’.

Box1TheearliestEnglishpoem

AlthoughBedewroteinLatin,hisHistoriaincludesaremarkableaccountoftheoldestsurvivingpoemcomposedintheEnglishlanguage.Thestoryrecountshowanilliteratelay-brotheratthemonasteryatWhitby,namedCædmon,wasmiraculouslygiventhegiftofpoetrybyanangelwhoappearedtohiminadream.MuchofCædmon’ssubsequentoutputhasbeenlost,althoughashortpoeminpraiseofcreationsurvives,knownasCædmon’sHymn.BedetranslatedthepoemintoLatin,butlaterscribesaddedtheworkinitsoriginalformintothemarginsofmanuscriptsoftheHistoria.Figure3showsaleaffromamanuscriptofBede’sHistoriaproducedinEnglandduringthe12thcentury.InthemarginyoucanseewheretheOldEnglishtextoftheHymnhasbeenadded.

TranslationintoModernEnglish:

Nowwemustpraisetheguardianoftheheavenlykingdom,theOrdainer’smightandhisconception,theworkoftheFatherofglory:ashe,theeternalLord,establishedthebeginningofeverywonder;he,holyCreator,firstcreatedheavenasaroofforthechildrenofmen;he,mankind’sguardian,eternalLord,almightyRuler,afterwardsmadeformenthemiddle-earth,theworld.

3.AmanuscriptofBede’sHistoriaEcclesiasticaGentisAnglorum.MagdalenCollege,Oxford,MSlat.105,f.99r.

Aswehaveseen,OldEnglishdrewuponitsownresourcestocoinnewterms,ratherthanborrowingwordsfromotherlanguages.TheprominenceofLatin,especiallyinitsroleasthelanguageofChristianity,broughttoBritaininAD597bymissionariessentfromRomebyPopeGregorytheGreat,did,however,triggertheadoptionofanumberofwordsrelatingtothenewfaith.Mostofthesearespecializedterms,unlikelytohavefiguredmuchinthespokenlanguage:apostol,‘apostle’(Latinapostolus);abbod,‘abbot’(Latinabbas);scol,‘school’(Latinschola);magister,‘master’(Latinmagister).Insomecases,technicaltermsborrowedfromLatinreplacedthenativeequivalent,ashappenedwiththeOldEnglishcompoundstæfcræft‘letter-craft’—thatis,‘grammar’—whichwasoustedbygrammaticcræft.

LatinenjoyedalonglifespaninEngland,thanksparticularlytoitsuseasthelanguageofscholarshipandtheChurch,thoughitwasneverafirstlanguage,andwasemployedmoreinwritingthaninspeech.DespitethepredominantlyscholarlyandliterarynatureoftheLatinloansadoptedinOldEnglish,somewordsenteredthecorevocabularythroughdirectcontactwithRomansoldiers,perhapsdatingbacktotheperiodbeforetheAnglo-Saxoninvasions.Latininfluenceofthiskindcanbeseenintheadoptionofwordslikewin,‘wine’(Latinvinum);stræt,‘street’(Latinviastrata‘pavedroad’);andceaster,‘city’(Latincastra),foundinmodernplacenameslikeWinchesterandManchester.

TheAnglo-SaxonsalsocameintocontactwithaNorthGermaniclanguageknowntodayasOldNorse,spokenbytheDanesandNorwegianswhoravaged,andeventuallysettledin,thenorthandeastofEnglandfromthe870suptotheendofthe11thcentury.WhereLatinloanwordswerelargelyrestrictedtotheecclesiastical,writtenmedium,OldNorsepenetratedEnglishinamoreradicalway.WhileLatinwasaspokenlanguage,itremainedanacquiredsecondlanguageratherthananativetongue,whoseusewasmostlyconfinedtothecloister.OldNorsewasprimarilyaspokenvernacular—onethatwouldhavebeenfrequentlyemployedininteractionsbetweenVikingsandAnglo-Saxons.Becausethetwolanguageswerecloselyrelated(asmembersoftheGermanicgroup),itislikelythattheywouldhavebeenmutuallycomprehensible,furtherencouragingthetransferofwordsfromonelanguagetotheother.

WhereLatinloanwordswerepredominantlylexicalwords—nouns,verbs,adjectives,adverbs—OldNorseloansincludedgrammaticalitemssuchaspronouns,conjunctions,andprepositions.WhereLatinborrowingswerehighly

specializedwordsfoundexclusivelyinwriting,OldNorsesuppliedeverydaywordscommonlyfoundinspeech;theseincludecast,egg,husband,ill,knife,leg,take,though,ugly,want,window;eventhekinshiptermsisterisaNorseborrowing(OldEnglishusedtherelatedsweostor).ThemoststrikingeffectofthiscontactistheadoptionintoEnglishoftheOldNorsethird-personpluralpronouns,they,their,andthem,whichreplacedtheOldEnglishequivalentstoenableclearerdistinctionsbetweenthethird-personpluralpronounshie(‘they’),hira(‘their’),him(‘them’),andthepronounshe,her,andhim.

OwingtoamajorpronunciationdifferencebetweentheNorthandWestGermaniclanguages,OldNorseistheoriginofmanywordsthatbeginwithahard‘sk’soundinEnglishtoday,suchasskyandskin;inWestGermaniclanguageslikeOldEnglish,thissoundbecame‘sh’.Thisexplainstheexistenceofpairsofwordslikeskirtandshirt;thesewordsderivefromthesameGermanicroot,butthefirstcomesviaOldNorseandtheseconddirectlyfromOldEnglish.OldNorsealsoleftitsmarkonplacenames,particularlyintheareasofdensestVikingsettlement(theEastMidlandsandthenorth).Theseincludeby,‘farm’;thorp,‘village’;thwaite,‘clearing,meadow’;toft,‘pieceofground’—foundinthenamesofplacessuchasEnderby,Grimsthorpe,Bassenthwaite,andSibbertoft.

AnothereffectofcontactbetweenspeakersofOldEnglishandOldNorsewasthesimplificationoftheOldEnglishsystemofgrammaticalinflexions:theendingsaddedtowordswhichcarrygrammaticalinformation.Whiletherewasconsiderableoverlapinthevocabularyofthesetwolanguages,OldNorseemployedadistinctsetofinflexionalendings.Inordertofacilitatecommunication,thetwogroupsofspeakersmusthaveplacedlessstressontheinflexionalendings;asaconsequence,theOldEnglishsystemofinflexionsbegantobreakdown.

BytheendoftheOldEnglishperiod,Anglo-Saxonmanuscriptsshowconsiderableblurringofthesedistinctions;by1500themajorityoftheendingshadbeenlostentirely.Theonlytracesofthesystemofnouninflexionthatremaintodayarethe‘s’endingaddedtoindicatepossession(thegenitivecase)—theboy’sbook—andthe‘s’addedtomarkplurality—thebooks(alongsidethemuchlesscommon‘-en’endingpreservedinoxenandchildren).

Theerosionoftheseinflexionalendingsalsotriggeredthebreakdownofthe

grammaticalgendersystem,whichrelieduponthissystem.Afurthercontributingfactorwasthetendencyforspeakerstodefaulttoreal-worldgenderwhenmakingreferencetoanimateobjects;ratherthanreferringtoawomanasit,itbecamecommonforspeakerstousethefemininepronounshe.

AnotherlinguisticconnectionbetweentheAnglo-SaxonswhosettledintheBritishIslesandotherGermanictribesistheiruseoftherunicalphabet,developedonthecontinentforscratchingshortmessagesontowoodorstone.ButrunicwritinghadonlyalimiteduseinBritain;theconversiontoChristianitybroughtwithittheRomanalphabet,whichwasestablishedastheprincipalmediumforOldEnglishwrittenrecords.BecauseitwasdevisedforwritingLatinratherthanEnglish,theRomanalphabetwasnotaperfectfitfortheOldEnglishsoundsystem.Latinhadno‘th’soundandconsequentlynolettertorepresentit;tofillthisgaptheAnglo-Saxonsimportedtheletter‘thorn’,‘þ’,fromtherunicalphabet.ThisletterremainedinuseforwritingEnglishuntilthe15thcentury,whenitdevelopeday-shapedappearance;itnowsurvivesinthismodifiedforminfauxarchaicyeoldeteashoppesigns,whereyeshouldproperlybepronounced‘the’.

Englishspellingbeganlifeasacomparativelytransparentwayofencodingthespokenlanguageusingwrittensymbols,butasitbecamemorefixeditceasedtokeepstepwithchangesinpronunciation.SinceAnglo-SaxonscribesestablishedtheconventionsforwritingOldEnglish,thespellingofOldEnglishtendstobemorephoneticthanthatofModernEnglish.WhereModernEnglishspeakershavebecomeaccustomedtothefrustrationspresentedbythesilentlettersinwordslikeknight,gnat,andwrite,suchspellingswouldhavebeenentirelylogicaltoanAnglo-Saxonforwhomthesewordswerepronouncedwithinitial‘k’,‘g’,and‘w’.Thespellingofvowelswassimilarlytransparent,sothatwordsspelledwithadouble‘oo’werepronouncedwithalong‘oo’soundinOldEnglish.SubsequentchangesmeanthatthespellingofsuchwordsisnolongerareliableguidetotheirpronunciationinModernEnglish—comparegood,food,andblood.

MiddleEnglish(1100–1500)TheshiftfromOldEnglishtoMiddleEnglishisusuallydatedto1100,sincetheNormanConquestof1066,andthesubsequentimpactoftheFrenchlanguage,weremajorfactorsintriggeringthechangesthatcharacterizethislinguistictransition.TheNormanswereoriginallyScandinavians—thenameNormanderivesfromtheearlierNorthman—buthadsettledinnorthernFranceintheearly10thcentury.TheFrenchusedinEnglandimmediatelyaftertheconquest,knowntoscholarsasAnglo-Norman,wasoriginallyrestrictedtothearistocratsandnoblemenwhosupportedWilliamofNormandy.Overthefollowingtwocenturiesthislanguagewasadoptedbyawidersocialgroup,thoughbythe14thcenturyithadceasedtobeacquiredasanativetongueandwaslargelyrestrictedtoadministrativeuse.

DuringthisperiodalargenumberofwordswereborrowedintoEnglishfromFrench.DifferencesintheirspellingandpronunciationfromtheequivalentsintheCentralFrenchdialect(theancestorofStandardFrenchtoday)demonstratethattheywereadoptedfromtheNormanFrenchdialect:theModernEnglishwordwarderivesfromNormanFrenchwerreratherthanfromstandardFrenchguerre.InsomecasesboththeNormanFrenchandCentralFrenchformshavebeentakenintoEnglish,asinthecaseofwarrantyandguarantee,wheretheformertermhasbecomerestrictedtolegalusage.UnlikeOldEnglishandOldNorse,Anglo-NormanandMiddleEnglishwerenotmutuallycomprehensible.WhereNorsespeakerssettledamongtheAnglo-Saxons,Anglo-Normanspeakersoccupiedpositionsofpowerandauthority.Thisisreflectedinthepatternsoflexicalborrowing;theearliestFrenchloansrecordedinEnglishareconcernedwiththeestablishmentofAnglo-Normangovernment,andincludewordslikejustice,chancellor,prison,noble,crime,andcourt.

Duringthefirsttwocenturiesfollowingtheconquest,Englishwaslargelyrestrictedtospeech,andmostwritingofthisperiodwasinoneofthemoreauthoritativelanguages—FrenchorLatin.Bythe14thcentury,thestatusofEnglishhadbeguntochange,asaresultofmajorsocialupheavalsfollowingtheBlackDeath,andtheemergenceofaccomplishedEnglish-languagewriterssuchasGeoffreyChaucer(c.1343–1400).

FrenchcontinuedtooccupyaprestigiousplaceinEnglishsociety,especiallytheCentralFrenchdialectspokeninParis.ThispromptedanincreaseinthenumbersofFrenchwordsborrowed,especiallythoserelatingtoFrenchsocietyandculture.Asaconsequence,Englishwordsconcernedwithscholarship,fashion,thearts,andfood—suchascollege,robe,verse,beef—areoftendrawnfromFrench(eveniftheirultimateoriginslieinLatin).ThehigherstatusofFrenchinthisperiodcontinuestoinfluencetheassociationsofpairsofsynonymsinModernEnglish,suchasbegin–commence,look–regard,stench–odour.Ineachofthesepairs,theFrenchborrowingisofahigherregisterthanthewordinheritedfromOldEnglish.

ButFrenchdidnotsimplyaddwordsofahigherstatus;inmanycasestheFrenchwordwasresponsibleforoustingtheEnglishwordentirely,asinthecaseofOldEnglishwlonc,replacedbyModernEnglishpride.Evensomekinshipterms,suchasOldEnglisheamandsweostor–sunu(‘sister–son’),wereoustedbytheFrenchequivalentsuncleandnephew.

LatinwordscontinuedtobeborrowedduringtheMiddleEnglishperiod,thoughtheseweremostlydrawnfromthespecializedareasofreligion,learning,andthelaw:scripture,history,allegory,client,executor.BecauseFrenchisitselfderivedfromLatin,itisnotalwayspossibletodeterminewhetherawordenteredEnglishdirectlyfromLatinorviaFrench.Theverbincline,forinstance,whichwasspelledbothasenclinenandinclineninMiddleEnglish,mayrepresentFrenchenclinerorLatininclinare,orboth.

TheMiddleEnglishperiodalsowitnessedmajorchangestothespellingsystem.FollowingtheNormanConquest,FrenchscribesbegantodrawupontheirownspellingconventionswhenwritingEnglish:theOldEnglishpracticeofusing‘cw’inwordslikecwenwaschangedto‘qu’,givingModernEnglishqueen.FrenchfurthercomplicatedEnglishspellingbecausemanyborrowingswereintroducedwiththeirspellingunchanged.ThespellingofloanwordswaslessofaproblemduringtheAnglo-Saxonperiod,whenfewerwordswereborrowed,andwhenthetendencywastorespellthemaccordingtoOldEnglishpractices.HenceaGreekloanwordlikephoenixwasspelledfenix,preservingtheOldEnglishuseof‘f’ratherthan‘ph’.ButinMiddleEnglish,adoptionsfromFrenchretainedtheirspellings,introducingnewsetsofcorrespondences,suchastheuseof‘c’torepresent‘s’inFrenchloanslikecentre,or‘ch’for‘sh’inwordslikechef.

EarlyModernEnglish(1500–1750)TheEarlyModernperiodwitnessedthebiggestimpactofLatinuponEnglish—adirectconsequenceoftherediscoveryofclassicallearningassociatedwiththeEuropeanrenaissance.Duringthisperiod,Latincontinuedtoflourishasthelanguageofscholarship:itwasthemediumofinstructioningrammarschools,andthelanguageofcompositionforscientificliterature;IsaacNewton’sfoundationalworkongravity,PhilosophiaeNaturalisPrincipiaMathematica(1687),waswritteninLatin.

However,duringthisperiodthefunctionsofEnglishwerefurtherelaborated,sothatEnglishcametobeemployedforawiderrangeofpurposes;NewtonwrotehislaterworkOpticks,publishedin1704,inEnglish.TheexpansionofEnglishwasfurtherencouragedbytheProtestantReformation,whichpromotedthetranslationoftheScripturesintoEnglishasameansofenablingdirectaccesstothewordofGod.ThisvernacularizationofspecialistareasofscienceandreligioncreatedaneedfortechnicalterminologyinEnglish,suchasradius,lens,calculus,andvacuum.TheprominenceofLatinmeantthatmanywordsthathadbeenborrowedfromFrenchduringtheMiddleEnglishperiodwerereintroduceddirectlyfromLatin.Theseincludetheverbcompute(Latincomputare),whichhadalreadyappearedinEnglishascount(OldFrenchconter)inthe14thcentury.

ThehighstatusaccordedtotheclassicaltonguesintheEarlyModernperiodmeantthatLatinandGreekwordswereadoptedwiththeirspellingsintact—sowefindGreek‘phi’spelledwitha‘ph’ratherthanan‘f’inphilosophyandphysics.AreverenceforLatinatespellingspromptedtherespellingofanumberofwordspreviouslyborrowedintoEnglishdirectlyfromFrench,whoseoriginslayinLatin.Asilent‘b’wasaddedtodebtanddoubttoalignthemwiththeLatindebitumanddubitare;asilent‘c’wasinsertedintoscissors(Latinscissor);‘l’wasintroducedintosalmon(Latinsalmo),andasilent‘p’intoreceipt(Latinreceptum).Inmostcasesthesesilentlettersdrovespellingandpronunciationfurtherapart,thoughinsomeinstances,likeperfectandadventure(MiddleEnglishparfaitandaventure),theinsertedletterisnowsounded.

Theexpansionoftradeandtravelduringthisperiodledtocontactwithspeakers

ofotherEuropeanlanguages,especiallyItalian,Spanish,andDutch.Thisresultedinfurtherborrowings,especiallyrelatingtotradedcommodities.Italianloansadoptedduringthisperiodincludeparmesanandartichoke,aswellasarchitecturaltermslikebalconyandcupola,andwordsrelatingtothearts:stanzaandviolin.Spanishloansreflecttradingrelatedtocolonization—anchovy,apricot,banana,cocoa,potato,tobacco—whileDutchwordsincludeguilderandexcise.TravelbeyondEuroperesultedintheintroductionofwordsofPersianandArabicextraction,borrowedviaTurkish—sherbet,yogurt,turban,divan—andIndianloans:cot,pundit,bungalow,dungaree,pukka,shampoo.SettlementinNorthAmericaledtotheintroductionofwordsfromnativeAmericanlanguages:moccasin,moose,wigwam,skunk.

TheEarlyModernperiodwitnessedthemostdecisiveandfar-reachingchangesinthehistoryofEnglishpronunciation:asystematicreorganizationofthelongvowelsystem,knowntodayastheGreatVowelShift.Thisprocessbeganinthe15thcenturyandwascompletedby1700;itisthemainreasonwhyChaucer’spronunciationwouldsoundverydifferenttoustoday,whereasitispossibletowatchaShakespeareplayinareconstructedOriginalPronunciationwithfewbarriersofcomprehension.

TheGreatVowelShiftwastriggeredbyachangefrom‘uu’(asinModernEnglishflew)to‘ow’inwordslikenowandcow,and‘ii’(thesoundinModernEnglishsee)to‘iy’inwordslikefineandlife.Thesereplacementssetinmotionafurthersetofshiftsthatsawwordslikegooseandfood,previouslypronouncedwithalong‘oo’sound(asinroad),beingpronouncedwithalong‘uu’sound,asinsouthernEnglishaccentstoday.Inasimilarway,wordslikegreenandbeen,whichinMiddleEnglishwerepronouncedwithalong‘ay’sound(similartoModernEnglishway),begantobepronouncedwiththelong‘ii’sound,stillusedtoday.Sincenocorrespondingchangesweremadetothespellingsystem,afurtherimplicationoftheGreatVowelShiftwastheincreaseddisruptionoftherelationshipbetweenspellingandpronunciation.

LateModernEnglish(1750–1900)Duringthisperiod,theextensionofscientificwritinginEnglishcontinued,indisciplinessuchasbiology,chemistry,physics,andmedicine,resultingintheexpansionofspecialistvocabulary.ThiscomprisedwordsborroweddirectlyfromLatinandGreek,aswellasneologismsformedbycombiningclassicalelementstoproducepseudo-classicalcoinages.Examplesincludeinvertebrate(Latinin‘not’+vertebra‘joint’),chlorophyll(Greekchloros‘palegreen’+phyllon‘leaf’),andwordsthatmixLatinandGreekelements,suchashaemoglobin(Greekhaima‘blood’+Latinglobulus‘globule’).Thisiswhyavisittothedoctortodaycanbesuchalinguisticchallenge,evenforanativeEnglishspeaker,forwhomtermslikegynaecology(Greekgyne‘woman’),obstetrics(Latinobstetrix‘midwife’),andgeriatrics(Greekgeras‘oldage’),areentirelyopaque(seeFigure4).

4.Thelanguageofmedicine.

Duringthe18thcentury,afondnessforFrenchcultureandmannersledtotheintroductionofnumerousFrenchwords.WheremanyoftheFrenchwordsadoptedduringtheMiddleEnglishperiodnowhaveanglicizedpronunciations(forexample,centreandtable),wordsintroducedatthistimehavegenerallyretainedtheirFrenchspellingandsound,asinliaison,beau,andfauxpas.TheprominenceofFrenchcultureinthe18thcenturypromptedtherespellingofsomeexistingEnglishwordstoreflectFrenchpractices;bisketbegantobewrittenbiscuit,andblewwaschangedtoblue.

TheconsequenceofextensiveborrowingfromFrench,Latin,andGreekthroughoutthehistoryofEnglishisthecreationofgroupsofsynonymsoccupyingdifferentregisters(contextswithinwhichtheymaybeused):freedomandliberty;happinessandfelicity;depthandprofundity.Insightsintothe

relationshipsbetweensuchsynonymscanbegleanedbycomparingtheirusesinformingnewwords.TheOldEnglishwordbirdgivesusatermofabuse,birdbrain,Latinavisisthesourceofmoretechnicalwordssuchasaviationandaviary,whileGreekornithistherootofexclusivelyscientificformations,suchasornithology.

FollowingthecompletionoftheGreatVowelShift,anotherchangeaffectedthelongvowelsystem,bringingitclosertothesystemspokentoday.Upuntil1700therewasadistinctioninpronunciationbetweenwordsspelledwith‘ea’,likemeat,andwordswrittenwith‘ee’likemeet(asisimpliedbythedifferentspellings).Duringthe18thcenturythesetwogroupsofwordsmerged,producingtheModernEnglishsituationwhereseaandseearepronouncedidentically.Thismergerledtoafurtherconfusionofthesound–spellingrelationshipinModernEnglish,sinceitmeantthatwordswithdifferentspellings,likemeet/meat,sea/see,werepronouncedidentically.Thereremainahandfulofwordswhichdidnotundergothischange;break,great,steak,yea,allpreservetheearlierpronunciation.

Duringthisperiod,thestandardizationofEnglishspellingwaslargelycompleted;textsprintedduringthe18thand19thcenturiesshowfeworthographicvariationsfromModernEnglish.Differencesinpunctuationarefew,althoughmodernreadersof18th-centurytextsareoftenstruckbytheapparentlyrandomusemadeofcapitalization.Farfrombeingrandom,thecustomdevelopedofusingcapitallettersasameansofmakingawordmoreprominent,ortoemphasizeitsgeneralityofreference,asinwordslikeTruth,Beauty,andAmbition.Becauseprinters,facedwiththetaskofconvertinganauthor’shandwrittenmanuscriptintotype,struggledtodeterminewhenawordwasintendedtobecapitalizedornot,theyadoptedtheexpediencyofcapitalizingallnouns.Sincethispracticehadtheeffectofremovingthepotentialforcapitalstoconveysubtlenuancesofmeaning,authorsrespondedbyabandoningthecustomsothatbythe19thcenturyourmodernpracticehadbeenestablished.

Onefurtherdifferencefrommodernpunctuationhabitswasthetendencytousetheapostrophewhenaddingtheplural‘s’endingtoforeignborrowings,suchasfolio’sandopera’s.Thisusage,knownasthe‘greengrocer’sapostrophe’becauseitisthoughttobeparticularlycommoninshopsadvertisingpear’s,orange’s,andapple’s,ishighlystigmatizedtoday(seeFigure5).

5.Thegreengrocer’sapostrophe.

ThisbriefoverviewofthehistoryofEnglishhasshownthat,whilethefamily-treemodelisausefulwayofschematizingthelanguage’sorigins,itcannotaccountfullyfortherelationshipbetweenEnglishandotherlanguages.ThisisbecauseEnglishhasbeenaffectedatalllinguisticlevels—pronunciation,spelling,grammar,andvocabulary—bytherichvarietyoftongueswithwhichitsusershavecomeintocontact.

WebeganbycategorizingEnglishasamemberoftheGermaniclanguagefamily;butwhilethisishistoricallyaccurate,itfailstocapturethediverserelationshipsapparentinModernEnglish.Bycontrast,alanguagesuchasModernGerman,withitscontinuedemploymentofinflexionalendingstoindicatenumber,case,andgender,preservesitsGermanicstructuremuchmorefaithfully.LikeOldEnglish,ModernGermanstillfavoursinternalmethodsofwordformation—affixationandcompounding—overborrowingfromotherlanguages.ComparetheEnglishwordtelevision,acompoundoftwoclassical

elements(Greektelos‘far’+Latinvisio‘see’),withtheGermanFernseher,formedfromtheequivalentGermanwordsfern‘far’andseher‘seer’.

ThisoverviewhasalsorevealedhowEnglishhasbeensubjecttofar-reachingchangestoitsstructureandvocabularythroughoutitshistory.Thesearetheresultofcontactwithspeakersofotherlanguages,majorsocialupheavals—invasion,conquest,plague—andthelanguage’schangingroleinsociety.Likeanylivingvernacular(anativelanguage,notacquiredartificially),thefortunesoftheEnglishlanguagehavebeencloselyboundupwiththoseofitsspeakers.

Thisshouldnotsurpriseus;alanguageisacommunicativetoolmanipulatedbyspeakerswithinsocialnetworks.Asthesespeakers,theircommunities,andsocietiesvary,sothelanguageanditsfunctionsarechanged.Yet,despitethisfact,manypeopleviewsuchalterationsasevidenceofcorruptionanddecay,appealingtosomeformofEdenicperfection,fromwhichtheEnglishlanguagehasfallen,owingtothemisuseandneglectofitsspeakers.LiketheBiblicalaccountofBabel,inwhichanattempttobuildatowerreachingtoheavenresultsinGodconfoundingtheirsinglelanguagesothatitsspeakerscannolongerunderstandeachother,speakersofEnglishareconsideredtobecorruptingtheirlanguageinawaythatisdestinedtoresultintotalincomprehension.

Butifalanguageisinthehands,ormouths,ofitsspeakers,thenwhoistosaythataparticularusageisacceptablewhileanotherisnot?Wheredoestheauthoritylieformakingsuchjudgements?Orshouldthatbejudgments?ThesearequestionswewilladdressinChapter3.

Chapter3Authorities

Inthischapterwewillconsiderhowtherulesofusageareestablished—wheredoestheauthorityliewhenquestionsofcorrectnessaredebated?Wheredoweturntofindanswerstovexedquestionsofusage,suchaswhetheritshouldbe‘garidge’or‘garaadge’,disinterestedoruninterested,minusculeorminiscule,andinmanyotherfamiliardebates?OnwhatgroundscanwestatethatSarahPalin’sneologismrefudiateandGeorgeW.Bush’smisunderestimatearenotgenuinewords,butthatLisaSimpson’smehis?

Themostobviousplacetoturnistoadictionary,frequentlyheldtobetheultimateauthorityindiscussionsofusage.Butthisisnotasstraightforwardasitmayseem.Wheremanypeoplereferto‘thedictionary’asiftherewereasinglesuchpublication,therealityisconsiderablymorecomplex.CollinsEnglishDictionary(2014)includesanentryforthewordadorkable,definedas‘sociallyineptorunfashionableinacharmingorendearingway’;yetthisworddoesnotappearintheOxfordEnglishDictionary.Doesthismeanitisalegitimatewordornot?Consultingadictionaryforanauthoritativepronouncementisnotasstraightforwardasolutionasmightinitiallyappear.

DictionariesTheviewthatadictionaryshouldsetstandardstobefollowedcanbetracedbacktoDrJohnson’sDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage(1755).Intheplanwrittenbeforehehadbegunworkontheprojectin1747,addressedtohispatronLordChesterfield,Johnsonsetouthisconceptionofthework’sfunction:‘This,myLord,ismyideaofanEnglishdictionary,adictionarybywhichthepronunciationofourlanguagemaybefixed,anditsattainmentfacilitated;bywhichitspuritymaybepreserved,itsuseascertained[fixed],anditsdurationlengthened.’

JohnsonbasedhisdictionaryuponexamplesextractedfromwritersbeforetheRestoration,whoseworksheconsidered‘thewellsofEnglishundefiled’.ByfocusingonearlierEnglishsources,Johnsonsoughtto‘recall’theEnglishlanguagetoitsoriginal‘Teutonick[Germanic]character’andawayfromthe‘Gallick[French]structure’towardswhichithadbeenheading.YetintheprefacetotheDictionaryitself,writtenwiththebenefitofyearsoflexicographicalexperience,Johnsonrecognizedthefutilityofhishopesthathisworkwouldpreservethelanguagefromfurtherchange(seeBox2).

Box2FromthePrefacetoJohnson’sDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage(1755)

‘Thosewhohavebeenpersuadedtothinkwellofmydesign,requirethatitshouldfixourlanguage,andputastoptothosealterationswhichtimeandchancehavehithertobeensufferedtomakeinitwithoutopposition.WiththisconsequenceIwillconfessthatIflatteredmyselfforawhile;butnowbegintofearthatIhaveindulgedexpectationwhichneitherreasonnorexperiencecanjustify.Whenweseemengrowoldanddieatacertaintimeoneafteranother,fromcenturytocentury,welaughattheelixirthatpromisestoprolonglifetoathousandyears;andwithequaljusticemaythelexicographerbederided,whobeingabletoproducenoexampleofanationthathaspreservedtheirwordsandphrasesfrommutability,shallimaginethathisdictionarycanembalmhislanguage,andsecureitfromcorruptionanddecay,thatitisinhispowertochangesublunarynature,orcleartheworldatoncefromfolly,vanity,andaffectation.’

AlthoughJohnson’sDictionaryisoftencelebratedasthefirstsuchworkinEnglish,earlierinstancesofthemonolingualdictionarycanbetracedinlistsofhardwords.TheoldestexampleisRobertCawdrey’sTableAlphabeticall(1604),whosefulltitleestablishesitsremit:ATableAlphabeticall,conteyningandteachingthetruewriting,andvnderstandingofhardvsuallEnglishwordes,borrowedfromtheHebrew,Greeke,Latine,orFrench.&c.ThisisalongwayfromthemoderndeskdictionarywhichaimstocoverthemostcommonEnglishwords,leavingmoretechnicalterminologytospecializedlexicons.Farfrombeingdesignedtoassistwiththecorrectuseofwordsinregularuse,Cawdrey’slistbeganatraditionofglossingthosetermsborrowedfromforeignlanguages:wordslikeconcinnate,deambulate,pactation,refractarie,whosemeaningswouldhavebeenparticularlyopaquetothosewhohadnotbeeneducatedinLatinandGreek—anaudienceCawdreyhimselfcharacterizesas‘Ladies,Gentlewomen,oranyothervnskilfullpersons’.

Inannouncinghisintentiontosupplythe‘truewriting,andvnderstanding’ofthewordsheincluded,Cawdreyestablishedthedictionaryasarepositoryoflinguisticauthorityforreadersinsearchofcertainty.Yetcontemporarylexicographersrejectsuchanapproach,preferringinsteadtoofferadescriptiveaccountofcurrentusage.Asaresult,moderndictionariesarecontinuallyrevisedtoreflectnewdevelopmentsinspelling,pronunciation,andusage.ThisiswhatStevenPinker,inhisessayprefacingtheAmericanHeritageDictionary,callslexicography’s(thecraftofdictionary-making)‘dirtylittlesecret’:‘There’snooneincharge;thelunaticsarerunningtheasylum.’

Today,theinclusionofslangwords,acronyms,andtermsderivingfromsocialmedia,suchasamazeballs,YOLO,andselfie,intoupdatededitionsofdictionariesoftenprovokeconsternationamongthemediaandthegeneralpublic,whoseesuchwordsasunworthyofinclusioninsuchanauthoritativerepository.But,sincethesewordsareinwidespreaduseamongEnglishspeakers,itisproperthattheyshouldfeatureinadictionary.

AlongerlifespanisrequiredforawordtofindaplaceinthevenerableOxfordEnglishDictionary;nevertheless,newinclusionsandrevisionstothisworkcanprovokedistressamongitsusers.Anadjustmenttotheentryfortheadverbliterallytoincludethesense‘figuratively’,reflectingitswidespreaduseasanintensifier—‘Iwasliterallygutted’—providesaclassicexample.AccordingtoaheadlineinTheTelegraphnewspaperin2013,‘pedantswillbeinuproarafteritwasconfirmedthattheOxfordEnglishDictionaryhadincludedtheerroneoususeoftheword“literally”’.

Typicalofsuchreportsisaconvictionthataparticularusageisincorrect,andthatitshouldbethejobofthelexicographerstoruleagainstit.Byappearingtoendorsethissupposedmisuse,theOxfordEnglishDictionary’seditorsareconsideredtobecavingintothelowstandardsofsportspunditsandteenagers,withwhomthisusageistraditionallyassociated.But,sincetherevisionbeingreportedhadinfactbeenimplementedtwoyearsbeforethestorymadetheheadlines,itappearsnottohavetriggeredtheoutragepredictedbyTheTelegraph.

AlsomissingfromTheTelegraph’saccountisthefactthatthisuseisaccompaniedbythelabel‘colloquial’,andthefollowingrider:‘Nowoneofthemostcommonuses,althoughoftenconsideredirregularinstandardEnglish

sinceitreversestheoriginalsenseofliterally(“notfigurativelyormetaphorically”)’(seeFigure6).

6.Theproblemofliterally.

Thepopularviewthatadictionaryshouldupholdstandardsandprescribe,ratherthanreflect,usagewasperhapsmoststronglydemonstratedbythefurorethatsurroundedthepublicationofWebster’sThirdNewInternationalDictionaryin1961,inwhichlabelswhichhadtraditionallycommentedontheacceptabilityorotherwiseofcertainwordswererecastinamoreneutraltone,reportingratherthandictatingusage.

ThischangeinpolicyprovokedconsiderablehostilityintheAmericanpress.TheNewYorkerprintedacartooninwhichthereceptionistattheMerriam-Webstercompanyinformedavisitorseekinganappointmentwiththedictionary’seditorPhilipGove:‘Sorry,Dr.Goveain’tin’.Thiscartoonreferstothedictionary’sapparentendorsementofthewordain’t,whichlaunchedavolleyofshocked

newspaperheadlines:‘Youmayhavebeentaughtitisuncouthtosay“ain’t.”Butitain’t.’Themedia’srepresentationofthedictionary’streatmentofain’tpromptedtheeditortoreleaseastatementintendedtoclarifyhisposition.Henotedthatthewordhadbeeninusesincethe17thcentury,andhadappearedinWebster’sdictionariessince1890.Healsodrewattentiontotheaccompanyingusagenotewhichhighlighteditsdubiousstatus:‘disapprovedbymanyandmorecommoninlesseducatedspeech,usedorallyinmostpartsoftheUSAbymanycultivatedspeakers.’

Webster’sThirdwasbaseduponextensiveanalysisofusage,backedupbymillionsofcitations;but,sinceAmericanswereusedtoamoreopenlyprescriptiveapproach(apreviouseditionofWebster’shadbrandedain’t‘illiterate’),manyweredismayedbythetolerancebeingshowntousagestheyconsideredtobeflatlywrong.

Butwhilewemightbetemptedtodismisssuchresponsesasdrivenbyamisunderstandingofthefunctionofadictionarybythoseunwillingtoconfrontthefactsofusage,thiswouldtobetoosimplistic.Thedictionary’streatmentofain’t—whichincludedcommentsexplicitlyalertingitsreaderstotheword’snon-standardstatus—wasevidentlynotsufficientlydogmaticforitsshockedreaders,whowereespeciallydistressedbytheclaimthatitwascommoninthespeechofcultivatedAmericans.

Thisresponseremindsusthatpeopledolooktodictionariesforguidanceofthiskind;tofailtooffersuchwarningsisclearlyunhelpful.Whetherweagreewiththisattitudeornot,itclearlyspeakstoawiderpublicdisapprovalofthisword;despiteitstreatmentbyWebster’sThird,morethanfortyyearsonain’tisstillconsideredunacceptableincorrectusage.Thecontinuedstigmatizationofthiswordisparticularlystrikinggiventhatitwasfrequentlyusedbyupper-classspeakersinEngland—suchasDorothyL.Sayers’fictionaldetectiveLordPeterWimsey—inthe19thand20thcenturies.

InhisModernEnglishUsageof1926,H.W.Fowlerexpressedhisdisappointmentthat,sinceitfunctionedasanaturalcontractionofamnotI,ain’tshouldbefrownedupon.Fowlersuspectedthat‘theshamefacedreluctance’withwhichspeakersresortedtoamnotI,betrayedtheir‘sneakingaffectionfortheain’tIthathe(orstillmoreshe)fearswillconvicthimoflowbreeding’.NoticehowFowleridentifiestheconcernwithain’twithquestionsofclassandgender.

Yet,inspiteofFowler’ssupportforthisnaturalcontraction,OxfordDictionariesonlinecontinuestowarnitsreadersthatain’t‘doesnotformpartofstandardEnglishandshouldneverbeusedinformalorwrittencontexts’.

Ratherthanplacingtheauthorityinasingleeditor,theAmericanHeritageDictionarydrawsupontheexpertjudgementsofaUsagePanel,comprisingsometwohundredauthors,journalists,editors,andacademics,whoissueadjudicationsonquestionsofpronunciation,meaning,andusage,whichfeedintothedictionary’susagelabels.InhisprefacetothedictionaryStevenPinkersumsupthedictionary’spolicywithregardtotheverdictsofitsUsagePanelwiththeboldclaim:‘TheUsagePanelisalwaysright.’

Whilethecombinedauthorityofthisdistinguishedpaneliscertainlyconsiderable,onewonderswhetherallthedictionary’suserswouldconcurwiththisstatement.AschairoftheUsagePanel,Pinkeriswellplacedtoobserveitsworkings;though,atthesametime,heisperhapsleastwellplacedtoofferadisinterestedviewoftheauthorityofitsjudgements.

AcademiesThedesiretoplacesuchdecisionsinthehandsofanauthoritativecommitteehasitsrootsintheconceptofthelinguisticacademy—agoverningbodythatmakespronouncementsaboutcorrectusage.Suchacouncil,knownasL’AcadémieFrançaise,wasestablishedfortheFrenchlanguagebyCardinalRichelieuin1635.TheAcadémieremainsresponsibleforregulatingtheFrenchlanguagetoday,issuingedictsgoverningacceptableusageasdeterminedbyitsbodyoffortyacadémiciens,knownasthe‘immortals’.ProposalstofoundasimilarlegislativebodyfortheEnglishlanguagehavebeenmadeinthepast,thoughthesehaveneverbeenimplemented.

In1664theRoyalSocietyestablishedacommitteetaskedwith‘improving’theEnglishlanguage.Inaseriesofmeetings,itsmembers,whichincludedJohnDrydenandJohnEvelyn,debatedthedesirabilityandremitofanEnglishAcademyalongthelinesofthatestablishedinFrance.Thediscussionscametonothing,thoughtheideaofanacademydidnotdisappear.

Inanessayof1697DanielDefoecalleduponKingWilliamIIItosetupanacademy‘topolishandrefinetheEnglishTongue’,andtoestablisha‘PurityandProprietyofStile,andtopurgeitfromalltheIrregularAdditionsthatIgnoranceandAffectationhaveintroduc’d.’Membershipofthisacademywouldbedrawnfromgentlemenandmembersofthenobility,whosenaturalauthoritywoulddiscouragethecoiningofunlicensedwords,whichwouldbecriminalizedinthesamemannerasfalsecurrency.

Defoe’ssuggestionreceivedfurtherimpetusfromJonathanSwiftinhis‘ProposalforCorrecting,ImprovingandAscertainingtheEnglishTongue’(1712).SwiftobjectedtothewaytheEnglishlanguagewasbeingcorruptedbythemany‘Abuses’and‘Absurdities’inflicteduponitbyplaywrights,courtfops,half-wittedpoets,universityboys,andscribblers.Heexhortedhisputativeacademytoignorecustomandpractice,whichistaintedby‘grossImproprieties’;thecommittee’sremitshouldbetorootoutwordswhichdeservetobeejected,correctothers,andrevivesomewhichhavefallenoutofuse.

ForSwift,thekeytaskofsuchanacademywouldbetostabilizeandfixthe

Englishlanguage,preventingitfromfurtherchange:‘ItisbetteraLanguageshouldnotbewhollyperfect,thanthatitshouldbeperpetuallychanging.’SimilardevelopmentswereproposedintheUSA,thoughwithacomparablelackofsuccess.JohnAdams,afuturepresident,wrotealettertoCongressin1780,proposingtheestablishmentofanacademyfor‘refining,correcting,improving,andascertainingtheEnglishlanguage’,whichfellondeafears.

PerhapstheclosestEnglandhascometohavinganinstitutionalizedacademyistheSocietyforPureEnglish,foundedin1913bythepoetRobertBridges,whowasconcernedbythe‘advancingdecay’ofEnglishcausedbythelazinessofitsspeakers.Bridgesattractedanimpressivenumberofdistinguishedacademicsupportersforhismissiontoimprovethelanguageasanaidfor‘theintercommunicationofideas’.Yet,alongsidehisdesiretopromoteinterculturalharmonywasadarkerpurposethatsoughttorootoutthe‘blunderingcorruptions’causedbythose‘communitiesofother-speakingraces’whoseimperfectacquisitionoftheEnglishlanguagewasinfectingandmutilatingthesuperiortongue.Bridges’conflictedaimsdemonstratehowattemptstopurifyandcontrolEnglishareoftendrivenbysocial,moral,andracialagendas;byseekingtokeepEnglishpure,Bridgeswasreallyconcernedwiththepurityofitsspeakers.

CallsforagoverningbodyoftheEnglishlanguagecontinuetobevoicedtoday.In2010,theQueen’sEnglishSocietyproposedtheestablishmentofanAcademytoestablish‘aclearstandardofgood,correct,properEnglish’.Whilesomejournalistswelcomedthestatedaims,manyquestionedthecredentialsoftheself-appointedcommitteemembers:‘bywhatauthoritywouldtheysitinjudgment?’askedDavidMitchell,writinginTheObserver.

Allsuchproposalsshareadesiretoinvestauthorityinthehandsofasmall,selectedminority,whowouldhavethepowertoissuepronouncementsaboutcorrectandincorrectusage.But,whileostensiblyconcernedwithacommongood—thefuturehealthoftheEnglishlanguage—thereisalwaysapersonalagendalurkingbehindsuchproposals.WhiledirectinghisanxietiesatthefutureoftheEnglishnationanditslanguage,Swift’sproposalrevealsaconcernthatachanginglanguagewouldresultinhisownworksbecomingunintelligibletosubsequentgenerations.Despiteespousingacommongoal,theseproposalsarebesetbypersonallinguisticprejudicethatunderminesanypossibilityofagreeingasharedsetoflinguisticnorms.WhereSwiftchastisedthepronunciationofthe

court,thiswaspreciselythevarietythathadbeenendorsedandrecommendedasamodelbyearlierwriters.

UsageguidesIfdictionariescannotbetrustedtoprovidethekindofprescriptiveauthoritythatpeopleseek,andwithoutanacademyofdistinguishedscholarstodrawupon,whereshouldwelookforreliableandauthoritativelinguisticpronouncements?Analternativesourcetothedictionaryistheusageguide,whichtendstoadoptamoreprescriptiveapproachandwhichfocusesonasmallsubsetoffrequentlydisputedpointsofusage.Butwherewemightturntosuchaguideinsearchofasingle,unassailableviewpoint,therealityisawealthofconflictingadviceinarangeofpublications.

Themostsuccessfulandlong-lastingofsuchguidesisundoubtedlyH.W.Fowler’sModernEnglishUsage(1926),belovedoflanguagepuristsinsearchofunambiguouslyprescriptivestatements(seeFigure7).FowlerwasaClassicsteacherwhoturnedtolexicography,workingonthefirsteditionsoftheConciseOxfordDictionary(1911)andPocketOxfordDictionary(1929).ModernEnglishUsagegrewoutofausageguidethatheco-wrotewithhisbrotherFrank,TheKing’sEnglish(1906);someofitsentries—‘Shall&Will’,‘OnHyphens’,‘SplitInfinitives’,‘FusedParticiples’—wereissuedastractsintendedtoprovideguidanceforwritersbytheSocietyforPureEnglish.ButwhileFowler’sapproachreflectedtheprescriptiveattitudeofhistime,hewasalsoconsciousoftheimportanceofusage,orwhathereferredtoas‘idiom’(seeBox3).

Box3H.W.Fowler,ModernEnglishUsage(1926),fromtheentryfor‘Idiom’

‘Inthisbook,“anidiom”isanyformofexpressionthat,ascomparedwithotherformsinwhichtheprinciplesofabstractgrammar,ifthereissuchathing,wouldhaveallowedtheideainquestiontobeclothed,hasestablisheditselfastheparticularwaypreferredbyEnglishmen&thereforepresumablycharacteristicofthem.“Idiom”isthesumtotalofsuchformsofexpression,&isconsequentlythesameasnaturalorracyorunaffectedEnglish;thatisidiomaticwhichitisnaturalforanormalEnglishmantosayorwrite.’

7.Theultimateauthority?H.W.Fowler,ADictionaryofModernEnglishUsage(1926),titlepage.

Thereisacontinualtug-of-warbetweenthesetwosidestoFowler’sapproach—adesiretoobserveandrecordontheonehand,animpulsetoregulateandprescribeontheotherhand.ThatFowlerwasawareoftheparadoxattheheartofhisenterprisecanbeseeninhisentryonthatandwhich:‘Whatgrammarianssayshouldbehasperhapslessinfluenceonwhatshallbethaneventhemoremodestofthemrealize;usageevolvesitselflittledisturbedbytheirlikesanddislikes.Andyetthetemptationtoshowhowbetterusemighthavebeenmadeofthematerialtohandissometimesirresistible.’

Fowler’ssuspicionthathisprescriptionswouldhavelittleimpactonfuturebehaviourispartlyborneoutbyhistory;theOxfordEnglishDictionaryrevisiontoliterallydiscussedearlierrunsentirelycountertoFowler’sattempttocurbthiserroneoususage:‘Wehavecometosuchapasswiththisemphasizerthatwherethetruthwouldrequireustoinsertwithastrongexpression“notliterally,ofcourse,butinamannerofspeaking”,wedonothesitatetoinserttheverywordthatweoughttobeatpainstorepudiate.’

Butagainstsuchfailuresshouldbeweighedhissuccessinbringingattentiontovariouscontestedareasofusage,suchasthedistinctionsbetweenwillandshall,differentfromvs.differentto,owingtovs.dueto,whichcontinuetoinfluencepopularusagetoday.

Fowler’sworkwasrevisedbyErnestGowersinasecondeditionof1965,andamoreradicalrevisionandupdatingappearedin1996,undertheeditorshipofR.W.Burchfield.AsaformereditoroftheOxfordEnglishDictionary,Burchfieldbroughtadescriptiveapproachtothetask,recastingmanyofFowler’sprescriptionsinlightofestablishedprecedent.ThethirdeditionwasstronglycriticizedbymanyreviewerswhofeltletdownbyBurchfield’smorepermissivestance.ReadersviewedBurchfield’spassiveacceptanceofthemisusesthathadbecomesoprevalentasaderelictionofduty;ratherthanpredictingthattoday’serrorswouldbecomeacceptabletomorrow,Burchfieldshouldbefightingtopreservestandardsofcorrectness.Areviewerof‘ThoroughlyModernBurchfield’intheAmericanjournalNewCriterionwrote:‘ItwouldbebetterforBurchfieldtobeprovedwrongbythefuturethantoproveadoormatinthepresent.ThefuturemighteventurnoutdifferentiftheBurchfieldsofthisworldtookamorecourageouslycombativestand.’

TherecentpublicationofafourtheditionofFowler’sADictionaryofModernEnglishUsage(2015),editedbyJeremyButterfield,testifiestothedurabilityofthebrandaswellasthemarketabilityoftheprescriptiveapproach.Whiletheguideitselfoffersareasonedaccountofdifferentattitudestovariantusages,anarticleinTheGuardiannewspaperpublicizingthevolumeadoptedamuchmoreopenlypartisanstance.HereButterfieldrailsagainstthosewhopronouncetheletter‘aitch’as‘haitch’:‘Theeighthletterofthealphabetispronounced“aitch”.Lookitupinadictionaryifyoudon’tbelieveme.Ichallengeyoutofindan“h”soundinthepronunciationshownthere.Peoplebornfromthe1980sonwards

apparentlyfavourthispronunciation;youthisnoexcuseforilliteracy.’

If,however,youfollowButterfield’sadviceandlookup‘haitch’inthedictionaryhehimselfhasedited,youfindanexplicitrecognitionthatthepronunciationoftheletter‘h’as‘haitch’haslongbeenconsideredperfectlyacceptableinUKdialects.Theentryclaimsthatthispronunciationisoftenconsidered‘unspeakablyuncouth’byolderReceivedPronunciationspeakers,butthisissimplyarecognitionoftheprejudicesandignoranceofsuchspeakers,whoconsiderregionalspeechtobeinferiortotheirown.

TheprescriptiveusageguidehasenjoyedalongerlifespanintheUSA;theAmericanequivalenttoFowlerisStrunkandWhite’sTheElementsofStyle.Baseduponaworkfirstpublishedin1920byWilliamStrunkJr,TheElementsofStylewasupdatedandexpandedbyE.B.White(authorofchildren’sfavouritesCharlotte’sWebandStuartLittle)in1959.Theworkhasappearedinthreefurthereditionsandhassoldovertenmillioncopiessinceitsfirstappearance.In2011,Timemagazineincluded‘StrunkandWhite’initslistofthehundredmostinfluentialnon-fictionbookspublishedsincethemagazine’sfoundationin1923.Thelongevityofthispublication,evenintheUK,iswelldemonstratedbytherecentsuccessofGwynne’sGrammar,nearlyhalfofwhichisastraightreprintoftheoriginalTheElementsofStyle.

Acommonfeatureofusageguidesisatendencytoissueipsedixit(literally‘hehimselfsaidit’)prescriptions,baseduponlittlemorethanpersonalpreference.Giventheidiosyncrasyoftheirjudgements,itiscommontofindsuchauthoritiesdifferingintheirpronouncements.Insuchcases,howarewetodeterminewhoiscorrect?

Anexampleofsuchdisagreementconcernsthechoicebetweentheadverbsfirstandfirstlywhenenumeratingalistofpoints:shouldonewrite‘firstbreaktheeggs,secondlyaddthesugar,thirdlybeatthemixture’,orshoulditbe‘firstlybreaktheeggs’,andsoon?H.W.Fowlerprefersfirstlyinsuchcontexts,describingtheinsistenceuponfirstinstrikinglytoleranttermsas‘oneoftheharmlesspedantriesinwhichthosewholikeodditiesbecausetheyareoddarefreetoindulge,providedthattheyabstainfromcensuringthosewhodonotsharetheliking’.But,whiletheremayappearalogictosuchclaims,sincethereisaclearsymmetrytofirstly,secondly,thirdly,NevileGwynnerejectsFowler’sdismissaloffirstas‘outrageous’,callinguponanalternativeauthority:Eric

Partridge’sUsageandAbusage(1942),whichstatescategorically,‘Firstlyisinferiortofirst,evenwhensecondly,thirdly,followit’.

Typicalofsuchdebatesisanabsoluteconvictioninthecorrectnessofone’sownposition,evenwhenitisatoddswiththatofotherauthoritiestowhomonedefersonotheroccasions,asGwynnefrequentlydoeswithFowler.Atthecoreofsuchdebatesisabeliefthat,wheretwoormorevariantsexist,therecanbeoneandonlyonecorrectform.Butthisassumptioncouldbequestioned:iffirstisperfectlyacceptable,doesthatnecessarilyrequirefirstlytobewrong?Mightnotbothfirstandfirstlybeequallyacceptablevariants?

SourcesAnotherwayofdeterminingacceptabilityistoturntoexamplesofactualusage.DrJohnsonwasthefirstlexicographertoincludecitationstoillustrateusesofthewordshedefined.ButJohnsonwasconfessedlyprescriptiveinhischoiceofthesourcesfromwhichheextractedthesecitations,preferringtorestricthimselftowriterswhoseworksheconsideredtopreservethe‘puresourcesofgenuinediction’.

Johnsonsawacloselinkbetweenauthorityandauthor;correctusageshouldbebasedupontheexamplesofgreatliterarywriters:Shakespeare,Milton,andSpenser.SincetheselectionofwhichliteraryauthoritiestochoosewasmadebyJohnsonhimself,albeitdrawinguponanestablishedcanon,hewastherebyintroducinghisownsubjectiveopinionsviaanalternativeroute,whilesimultaneouslyappearingtogroundhislexicographicaljudgementsinanobjectiveauthority.

Formanyofhisreaders,however,Johnson’sworkprovidedtheguaranteeofauthoritytheywereseeking.Onpublication,Johnson’sinitiallyreluctantpatron,LordChesterfield,submittedhimselfentirelytoitsjudgements:‘IherebydeclarethatImakeatotalsurrenderofallmyrightsandprivilegesintheEnglishlanguage,asafreebornBritishsubject,tothesaidMrJohnson,duringthetermofhisdictatorship.’ButnotallJohnson’sreaderswerequitesosubservient.Whenchallengedbyaladyatadinnerpartyabouthiserroneousdefinitionofpasternas‘thekneeofanhorse’,Johnsonwasforcedtoadmitthatitwasdueto‘ignorance,pureignorance’.(Thepasternisproperlythepartbetweenthefetlockandhoof.)

Thedictionary’sfiercestcritic,however,wasJohnsonhimself.Despitehavinggroundedhisworkinauthoritativeusage,heremainedscepticalofitspotentialtopreservethepurityofthetongue.Althoughheembarkedonthistaskwithhopesoffixingthelanguageandpreventingfurtherchange,helaterrecognizedthefollyoftryingto‘enchainsyllables’and‘lashthewind’.

ThefirsteditionoftheOxfordEnglishDictionary(publishedunderitsoriginaltitleofTheNewEnglishDictionaryonHistoricalPrinciplesandissuedina

seriesoffasciculesfrom1884to1928)differedfrompreviousworksinbeingahistoricaldictionary.Insteadofsimplydocumentingcontemporaryusage,theOEDsetouttochartthehistoryofEnglishvocabularyfromOldEnglishtothepresentday.Includedineachentryarelargenumbersofquotationsfromitssources,illustratingchangesinspelling,meaning,andusageovertime.Toenablecoverageofthisvasthistoricalspectrum,theOEDeditorsreliedupontheeffortsofanextensivevolunteerreadingprogramme.In1879,theeditor,JamesMurray,issuedanappealtotheEnglish-speakingandEnglish-readingpublic,callingforvolunteerstosubmitinstancesofindividualwordsacrossawholerangeofpublishedworks.Thecallreceivedsome800Britishand500Americanresponses;contributorsincludedrenownedscholarsbutalsoretiredarmyofficers,schoolteachers,clergymen,housewives,and,inDrW.C.Minor—oneofthemostprolific—aconvictedmurdererandinmateofBroadmoorpsychiatrichospital.Intotal,thesevolunteerreaderssuppliedoveramillioncitationsintheyearsrunninguptothepublicationofthefirstinstalment.

ButwhilethecoveragethisenabledwasconsiderablymoreinclusivethanthatofDrJohnson,itremainednecessarilylimitedandpartial.Moresignificantly,theOEDhastendedtoperpetuatetheprominenceofgreatliterarywriterssuchasShakespeare,whoseworkswereexhaustivelyminedforinclusion.SinceShakespeare,Chaucer,andMiltonwereviewedasfoundationaltotheformationofEnglishliterature,itseemednaturaltotheOEDreadersandeditorsthattheirworksshouldbefullyrecordedinthedictionary’sentries.Thevalidityofthisprocedurewasapparentlyendorsedbythecompleteddictionary,whichshowedthatShakespeareandChaucerwereindeedtheearliestcitedauthorsformanyinnovativeusages.Butthisiscircularreasoning:sincetheirworkshadbeenprivilegedinthemakingofthedictionary,itwasinevitablethatthedictionaryshouldendorsetheirlinguisticimportance.

Theongoingthirdedition(publishedonlineininstalments)drawsuponamuchmorediversecollectionoftexts;whilethereadingprogrammecontinuestoday,OEDeditorsalsodrawuponahugeelectroniccorpus—asearchablecollectionoftextsinelectronicformat.Thiscorpus,currentlystandingat2.5billionwords,comprisestextsspanningavarietyofgenresandmedia:literaryworks,magazines,newspapers,journals,blogs,websites,andemails.WhereearliereditionsoftheOEDtendedtofocusontheEnglishoftheBritishIsles,theOxfordcorpusincludestextsfromallovertheEnglish-speakingworld.

Despitethis,thelegacyoftheprivilegingofcanonicalwritersintheoriginaldictionarycontinuestoloomlarge.Eventhoughthislarge-scalerevisionofthedictionaryhasbeenunderwaysince2000,Figure8revealsthatShakespeareremainsthesecondmost-quotedauthor(afterTheTimesnewspaper),whileChaucerisplacedatnumber6,andMiltonatnumber7.

8.ListoftopsourcescitedintheOxfordEnglishDictionary,3rdedition.

Theimportanceofthecanonofgreatliterarywriterscontinuestoinfluencedebatesovercorrectusagetoday.Appealingtosuchprecedentsremainsacommontacticamongwritersseekinganauthoritativebasisuponwhichtosanctionoroutlawaparticularusage.EspeciallycommonisrecoursetotheworksofShakespeareortheAuthorizedVersionoftheBible(1611),consideredtobetwoofthegreatmonumentsoftheEnglishlanguage.

In‘PoliticsandtheEnglishLanguage’(1945),GeorgeOrwellsatirizedcontemporaryprosestylebycontrastingitwiththatoftheAuthorizedVersion.Todemonstratemodernwriters’tendencytooverusepolysyllabicloanwords,OrwellplacedaversefromtheAuthorizedVersionalongsidehisownparodicrenderingofthesametextintoModernEnglish(seeBox4).

Box4GeorgeOrwell’srenderingofEcclesiasteschapter9,verse11,intoModernEnglish

AuthorizedVersion:

Ireturned,andsawunderthesun,thattheraceisnottotheswift,northebattletothestrong,neitheryetbreadtothewise,noryetrichestomenofunderstanding,noryetfavourtomenofskill;buttimeandchancehappenethtothemall.

Orwell’sversion:

Objectiveconsiderationofcontemporaryphenomenacompelstheconclusionthatsuccessorfailureincompetitiveactivitiesexhibitsnotendencytobecommensuratewithinnatecapacity,butthataconsiderableelementoftheunpredictablemustinvariablybetakenintoaccount.

Rathermoreplayfully,MarkForsyth,authorofthebestsellingEtymologicon,proposestwomethodsofdeterminingtheacceptabilityofacontestedusage.ThefirstistoapplytheSWANStest(SoundsWrongtoaNativeSpeaker)andthesecondtheGAStest(GodandShakespeare):doestheconstructionappearintheworksofShakespeareorintheAuthorizedVersionoftheBible?

AttemptstomakepronouncementsaboutcontemporaryusagefoundedonthelanguageofShakespeareandtheAuthorizedVersionoftheBiblefailtotakeaccountofthefactthattheseworkswereproducedintheearly17thcentury.SinceStandardEnglishnolongerusesdoth,ye,thou,andmethinks,ithardlyseemsrelevanttoholdupsuchtextsasguidestomodernusage.

Shakespeare’slanguageiscreativeandinnovative,producingmanywordsandidiomsthatarenolongeracceptableinModernEnglish;bycontrast,the

AuthorizedVersionconsciouslyadoptedamarkedlyconservativeformofthelanguage,preservingthe‘eth’endingsonthird-personsingularpresent-tenseverbs,andemployingearlierhisinsteadofits(‘Ifthesalthavelosthissavour’),whichwouldhavesoundedold-fashionedeventoitsfirstreaders.

Shakespeare’susagehasnotalwaysheldtheauthorityithastoday.RatherthanviewingShakespeare’sworksasamodelofcorrectness,18th-centuryeditorsfrequentlyemendedhistextstoensurethattheyconformedtocontemporarygrammaticalstandards.Forinstance,Shakespearemadefrequentuseofthedoublecomparativeanddoublesuperlative:‘Tosomemorefitterplace’(MeasureforMeasure),‘Thiswasthemostunkindestcutofall’(JuliusCaesar).Theseconstructionswerecondemnedby18th-centurygrammariansongroundsoflogic:sinceitwasimpossibletohavedegreesofcomparativeandsuperlative,suchconstructionsmustbeincorrect.

ThepoetanddramatistJohnDrydenwasanespeciallyvocalcriticofthegrammaticalsloppinessheencounteredintheworksofsupposedgreatwriterslikeShakespeareandBenJonson,claimingthateverypagecontainedsome‘SolecismofSpeech’or‘notoriousflawinSence’.RatherthanviewShakespeare’suseoftheseconstructionsasevidencefortheiracceptability,18th-centuryeditorssuchasAlexanderPopesimplyremovedthem;inPope’seditiontheselinesread:‘Tosomemorefittingplace’and‘This,thiswastheunkindestcutofall’.

LogicThis18th-centuryprioritizingoflogicoverhistoricalusageretainsanappealforsomegrammarianstoday.IntheprefacetoGwynne’sGrammar,N.M.Gwynneinsiststhat,informulatinghisprescriptions,heisnotrelyinguponhisownjudgements,butratheronlogic.ForGwynne,Englishgrammaris‘notahaphazardcollectionofrulesthat(a)happentohavebeenputtogetheroverthecenturies,and(b)happentoexistintheirpresentformatthispointoftimeinourhistory.Therulesalwayshavealogicunderpinningthem.’Aswehaveseen,theideathatcorrectnesscanbedeterminedbyapplyingtherulesoflogicisnotanewone,butwemightquestionwhetheritcanlegitimatelybeappliedtolanguage.

Onegrammaticalfeaturethatisoftenstigmatizedongroundsofillogicalityisthedoublenegative.Itsopponentsarguethatconstructionssuchas‘Ididn’tgetnoanswer’areself-evidentlywrong,sincetheyimplytheoppositeofwhattheyattempttosay:thatis,notgettingnoanswerlogicallymeansthatyoudidgetananswer.SimonHeffercounselsthereadersofhisStrictlyEnglish(2011)to‘Avoiddoublenegatives.Theyareoffencesagainstlogicand,iftheyareanattemptatbeingfunny,theyfail.’

But,whilethismaybeavalidargumentaccordingtologic,ortherulesofmathematics—wheretwonegativesdoindeedmakeapositive—isitappropriatetoapplysuchstricturestolanguage?Surelynospeakerwhoheardtheconstruction‘Ididn’tstealnocar’wouldunderstanditasaconfession;theuseofthedoublenegativewouldbetakentofunctionasanintensifier—justasitwasintendedbythespeaker—vehementlydenyinganaccusation.WhenwehearMickJaggeroftheRollingStonessing‘Ican’tgetnosatisfaction’,wedonotrespondwith:‘Well,ifyou’reperfectlysatisfiedwhatareyoucomplainingabout’;weunderstandthistobeanintensifiedstatementofdissatisfaction.

Humanlanguageisnotlikeacomputerlanguage,whereeveryvaluemustbeeitherpositiveornegative;languageallowsformanymorecomplexgradationsthanarepossibleinasimplebinarysystem.Wecanseethatthemathematicalmodelfailsifwetryitonasentencewithatriplenegative.Ifitistruethatdoublenegativescanceleachotherout,suchsentencesshouldbenegative.But,

ifthatisso,whichnegativeremains?Takethesentence:‘Ididn’ttellnobodynothing’.Doesthismean‘Itoldsomebodynothing’,or‘Ididn’ttellsomebodysomething’?

Likemanyrulesthatareapparentlybasedonlogic,theviewthatdoublenegativesareillogicalisanartificialruleintroducedinthe18thcentury.ItfirstappearsinJamesGreenwood’sAnEssayTowardsaPracticalEnglishGrammar(1711),wherewefindthestatement:‘TwoNegatives,ortwoAdverbsofDenying,doinEnglishaffirm.’Asisusualinsuchworks,nosupportfortheclaimisoffered;itiscertainlynotbasedonpractice,sincedoublenegativeshadbeencommonsinceOldEnglish.AfamousinstanceappearsinGeoffreyChaucer’sdescriptionoftheknightintheCanterburyTales,who‘nevereyetnovileynye[evil]nesayde…untonomanerwight[person].’Sincetherearefournegativeshere(nevere,no,ne,no)aprescriptivistmightbeinclinedtoclaimthatChaucerissignallingtheknight’srudeness,butthisisself-evidentlynottheimplication;theincrementalbuild-upofnegativesisintendedtounderlinetheknight’spurityofspeechandgoodmanners.

ThisisnotjustaquirkoftheEnglishlanguage;multiplenegationasaformofreinforcementisfoundinotherlanguages,likeFrench,where‘jeneveuxrien’usesboththenegativeneandrien‘nothing’—‘Idon’twantnothing’.

WhereDrydenandPopeobjectedtoShakespeare’sdoublecomparativesandsuperlatives,modernusagepunditsoutlawthetreatmentofwordslikeperfectanduniqueasgradableadjectivesongroundsoflogic.H.W.Fowlerclaimed:‘Itisnonsensetocallanythingmore,most,very,somewhat,rather,orcomparativelyunique.’InTheKing’sEnglish(1999),KingsleyAmisdenouncedthis‘misuse’,whichheconsideredtobe‘notoriousamongthealmost-literate’.SimonHefferagrees:‘Toarguethatsomethingismoreunique,orthatitisthemostuniqueintheworldisliterallymeaningless.Scarcelylessvacuousarephraseslikealmostuniqueornearlyunique.Somethingiseitheruniqueoritisnot.’

But,whileitistruethatuniquehasacoremeaningwhichdescendsfromamathematicallyprecisesense‘oneofakind’,derivingfromitsoriginintheLatinunus‘one’,thewordiscommonlyusedinasecondary,loosersenseof‘unusual’.Whileitisclearlyimpossibletohavegradationsofuniquenessintheprimarysense‘oneofakind’,itisperfectlyacceptabletowritemoreorless

uniqueinthesense‘unusual’.

EtymologyButifcorrectnesscannotbediscernedbylogic,howshoulditbedetermined?Oneansweristhatitshouldbedefinedbyhistory;older,establishedusagesaresurelymorecorrectthannewerinnovations.Thiswascertainlytheviewoftheancientswhocoinedthetermetymology,whichisderivedfromtheGreeketumos‘true’,andreferredtoaword’sprimary,ortrue,meaning.But,ifweweretoapplysuchaconcepttothemajorityofcommonEnglishwordstoday,thiswouldresultinconsiderableconfusion;thewordsillyisfirstrecordedinthesense‘pious’,nicemeant‘foolish’,andbuxommeant‘obedient’.

DrJohnsonwasattractedbythelogicofsuchanapproachwhenheembarkedonhisdictionary,referringtoetymologyasthe‘naturalandprimitivesignification’ofaword.Butexperienceledhimtorecognizethefallacyofthisapproach,asisapparentfromtheillustrationheincludedintheentryforetymology:‘Whenwordsarerestrained,bycommonusage,toaparticularsense,torunuptoetymology,andconstruethembyDictionaries,iswretchedlyridiculous’.H.W.Fowlerwassimilarlyawareofthelimitationsofthisview,notingthat,whileetymologyisaninterestingsubjectofstudyforitsownends,itisnotavalidmeansforunderstandinghowwordsshouldbeusedtoday.

Yetthisapproachisstillurgedbyusagepundits,whoinsistonpreservingtheetymologicalsensesofwordssuchasaggravate(makeworse),decimate(reductionbytenpercent),dilemma(choicebetweentwopropositions),andchronic(long-lasting).Butwheremodernpunditsarguethatthesupposedmisusesaretheresultofcontemporarysloppiness,theevidenceshowsthemtobemuchmoreestablished;thefirstrecordeduseofaggravatetomean‘irritate’datesfromthe16thcentury.

Thedifficultyofenforcingsuchrestrictionsbecomesapparentwhenweobservethateventhoseadvocatingsuchsemanticrestrictionsstruggletoobservethem.InStrictlyEnglishSimonHefferisverywillingtoinsistuponrulesandtoridiculethosewhodon’tobservethem.Concerningtheuseofenormityhewrites:‘Anenormityissomethingbad,atransgression:itisnotsimplysomethingbig.Oneshouldspeaknotoftheenormityofthetask,butofitsenormousness:evenifoneisthePresidentoftheUnitedStates’.Thisisa

referencetothewaythatBarackObamacameunderfirefromtheusagepolicewhenhealludedhumblytotheenormityofthetaskaheadinhispresidentialacceptancespeechin2008.ButinhisownbiographyofThomasCarlyle,MoralDesperado,SimonHefferhimselfwrites:‘Hewasabouttoembarkonhisfirstlarge-scaleliteraryproject,alifeofSchiller,andwasoverwhelmedbytheenormityofthetask.’Thisshowshowstandardsaremucheasiertopolicethantheyaretoobserve.

Whoiscorrecthere?Heffertheusagepundit,orHefferthewriter?Asisoftenthecase,whenweturntotheevidenceofetymology,thewatersgetmurkierratherthanclearer.EnormityandenormousarefromthesameLatinroot,ex‘outof’+norma‘norm,rule’,whichenteredEnglishviatheFrenchwordénormité.Upuntilthe18thcentury,bothwordswereusedinthesenseof‘abnormal’,‘non-standard’,‘irregular’,whetherreferringtobehaviourortosize.Itwasonlythenthatanartificialdistinctionwasintroducedbetweenenormityandenormousness.So,whilethisdistinctionhashistoricalauthority,itisnotadistinctionthatcanbetracedbacktothewords’origins;itisratheran18th-centuryattempttoregulateusagebyconstructinganartificialrule.Tojudgefrometymology,then,itisperfectlycorrecttouseenormitytorefertosize,justasitwouldalsobeacceptabletouseenormoustorefertoagreatwickedness.

Descriptiveorprescriptive?Thetensionbetweendescriptiveandprescriptiveattitudesthatareatthecentreoftheissuesdiscussedinthischapterisnoteasilyresolved.Whilelexicographerscontinuetoinsistthatthedictionariestheyproduceshouldnotbeseenasaguidetocorrectusage,thatispreciselyhowmanypeopleusethem.

Evenastheyrenouncesuchauthority,dictionarymakersrecognizethecommercialvalueofthismarket.IntheprefacetothethirdeditionoftheOED,itseditordismissesthemyththatthedictionaryisacomprehensiveaccountofallEnglishwordsandtheirmeanings,sincesuchcoveragewouldbeimpossible.Butitisunderstandablehowsuchmythscontinuetobepropagated,sincethedictionary’sownhomepagecarriesthestrapline:‘thedefinitiverecordoftheEnglishlanguage’.

Whilelexicographersjustifytheirinclusionofnewwordsonthegroundsoftheirwideuse,itissurelysignificantthatupdatesthatincludecontroversialnewwordsaremorelikelytogenerateheadlinesthanmundaneones.In2014,Collins’dictionarybecamethefirsttoallowTwitteruserstovoteonwhichwordswereincludedinitsnextupdate—acontestthatresultedintheinclusionofadorkable.Isthisevidenceofashiftinauthorityfromthelexicographerstoitscommunityofusers?Oristhisjustaclevermarketingstuntbyacompanyseekingtoextenditsonlinepresenceandtoexploititsadvertisingpotential?

Placingauthorityinthereaders’handsisafeatureofonlinedictionariessuchasWiktionaryandtheUrbanDictionary.Herethecommunityofusersisresponsibleforsupplyingdefinitionsandquotations,aswellaschoosingwhichwordsareincluded.Wheremodernprintdictionariesaimtosupplyneutraldefinitionsthatreportthefactsofcontemporaryusage,theUrbanDictionary’scontributionsfrequentlyreflectthesubjectivebiasandpersonalprejudicesofitsusers.TheUrbanDictionaryentryforadorkablepresentsalengthydefinitionfromacandidlypersonalperspective:‘Thebestkindofguys!Aguythatisanerd,butinaverycute/adorablewaythatisveryattractive.Theyarenotafraidtobethemselvesandareusuallyverysweet,smart,andhavethebestsenseofhumoronceyougettoknowthem.Bestofall,theyknowhowtotreatagirlwellandappreciateher.Plus,theyarereallygoodtohavearoundwhenthecomputer

breaks.’

ThisformofdefinitionreturnstoaJohnsonianapproach,wherepersonalopinionsandprejudicesareopenlyoffered;compare,forexample,Johnson’sdefinitionofpatron,ablatantdigatthedilatorinessofLordChesterfield’ssupport:‘Onewhocountenances,supportsorprotects.Commonlyawretchwhosupportswithinsolence,andispaidwithflattery.’

Whilethesubjectivityofsuchdefinitionsisimmediatelyapparent,inothercasessuchpartisanshipcanbehardertospot,especiallywhereitisapparentlyjustifiedwithreferencetoauthorityortohistory.But,sincethereisnosinglelinguisticauthority,itisimpossibletomakesuchanappealwithoutallowingsomedegreeofpersonalbiasandprejudicetocreepin.Referencestohistory,orthe‘genius’ofthelanguage,similarlyfail,sincethisissimplyanunwillingnesstorecognizethattoday’srulesaretheresultofnormativedeterminationsthatwereestablishedatearlierperiodsinthehistoryofEnglish.

Thosewhoobjecttotheuseoftheyasasingularpronounappealtohistoryasjustificationfortheemploymentofthemasculinepronounhetoincludethefemininepronounshe.Castingthis‘abominable’useoftheyasarecentfad—‘anattemptmadeinthelastcenturyorso’—SimonHefferinsistsuponapreferencefor‘theoldrulethat“themasculinewillbetakentoincludethefemininewherevernecessary”’.Butbycastingthisuseoftheyasanewfangledilliteracyimposeduponthelanguagebythepressuresofpoliticalcorrectness,whileappealingtoanoldrule—placedinquotationmarksasiftoimplyitistakenfromsomeunnamedauthoritativesource—Heffermisrepresentsthelinguisticevidence.Theuseofthey,their,andthemtorefertoasingularsubjectofindeterminategendercanbetracedbacktotheMiddleAges,andhasbeenusedbymanycanonicalliterarywriters,includingShakespeare.

TheoutlawingofsingulartheytowhichHefferappealsistheresultofalinguisticprescriptionofthe19thcentury—aperiodofmaledominancethatviewedthetreatmentofmasculinegenderasadefaultpositionasunexceptional.Toadoptwithoutquestionthegrammaticalrulesthatwerecodifiedinthepastistacitlytoaccepttheseconcomitantprejudicesandassumptions.

AsamoreextremeexamplewemightconsiderThomasWilson’sinsistence,inhisgrammaticalhandbookArteofRhetorique(1553),thatamalesubjectshould

alwaysprecedeafemaleone,therebymaintaininga‘naturalorder’:‘Somewillsetthecartebeforethehorse,asthus.Mymotherandmyfatherarebothathome,euenasthoughethegoodmanofthehousewarenobreaches…letvskepeanaturalorder,andsetthemanbeforethewomanformanerssake.’

Whiletheactivepromotionofinclusiveformsofaddress,suchastherecentcoinageMx,isoftendismissedasamisguidedefforttopervertthenaturaldevelopmentofthelanguage,suchattemptsarenomoreartificialthanthekindsofdeliberateinterferencecarriedoutinthe18thand19thcenturies.Yetthenotionthattheprocessesofstandardizationandcodificationofthepastareofadifferentorderfromthoseoftodaycaneventripupprofessionallinguists.WhentheLinguisticsAssociationofGreatBritainproposedamotiontoamenditsconstitutionbyrenamingthechairmanasthechairpersonandremovinggenericmasculinepronouns,itwasvoteddownbyitsmembersonthegroundsthatlinguists,whoseroleistoobserveanddescribelanguage,shouldnotbeseenengaginginprescriptivepractices.

Despitethemanycontroversiesthatwehaveidentifiedinthischapterconcerningcorrectusageandhowitshouldbeestablished,eachoftheauthoritiesdiscussedwouldagreethatthereisasingleauthoritativeformofthelanguage,knownasStandardEnglish.Buthowdidthissituationarise?WheredidStandardEnglishcomefrom,howdiditcometowinsuchwidespreadacceptanceinthefaceofsomuchdisagreement,andwhatisitsstatustoday?ThesearethequestionstobeaddressedinChapter4.

Chapter4Standards

InChapter2wetracedthehistoryoftheEnglishlanguage,fromitsbeginningstothepresentday.ButthiswasessentiallyahistoryofjustoneformofEnglish,StandardEnglish:thedominantformofthelanguagetoday.StandardEnglishisthevarietytaughttochildreninschools,usedinprestigiousinstitutionssuchasthegovernment,thelaw,theBBC,andthelanguageoftheprintedmedium.Itisafixedvariety,intolerantofvariation,andisusedthroughoutthepopulationofEnglishusers,irrespectiveofgeography.

Howeveraccustomedwemaybetothissituation,itisanartificialone,sincehumanlanguageisnaturallypronetovariationandchange.Wecanseethisifweconsideronlythespokenlanguage,whichexistsinnumerousdifferentdialectsspokenacrossBritainandtheEnglish-speakingworld.ThesevarietiesofEnglishvaryintermsoftheirpronunciation(accent),grammar,andvocabulary.StandardEnglishissimplyonesuchdialect,albeitonewhichhasbeenaccordedamuchhighersocialstatusthananyother.

Despitethis,manypeopletodayinsistthatStandardEnglishisinherentlysuperior.Suchaviewimpliesamisunderstandingofastandardlanguage,whichissimplyanagreednormthatisselectedinordertofacilitatecommunication.WemightcompareStandardEnglishwithothermodernstandards,suchassystemsofcurrency,weightsandmeasures,orvoltage.Noonesystemisinherentlybetterthananother;thebenefitisderivedfromthegeneraladoptionofanestablishedsetofnorms.

Anotherusefulanalogyiswiththerulesoftheroad.Thereisnoreasonwhydrivingontheleft(asinEngland)shouldbepreferredoverdrivingontheright-handside(asonthecontinentandintheUSA).Thekeyreasontochooseoneoveranotheristoensurethateveryoneisdrivingonthesamesideoftheroad.

Theapplicationoftheadjectivestandardtorefertolanguageisfirstrecordedinthepresent-daycentury,adevelopmentofitsearlierusetorefertoclassicalliterature.AdesiretoassociateEnglishliteraturewiththeClassicspromptedawishtoseetheEnglishlanguageachieveastandardform.ThisambitionwasmostclearlyarticulatedbyJonathanSwift:‘ButtheEnglishTongueisnotarrivedtosuchadegreeofPerfection,astomakeusapprehendanyThoughtsofitsDecay;andifitwereoncerefinedtoacertainStandard,perhapstheremightbeWaysfoundouttofixitforever’(AProposalforCorrecting,ImprovingandAscertainingtheEnglishTongue,1712).Bythe19thcentury,thetermStandardEnglishreferredspecificallytoaprestigevariety,spokenonlybytheupperclasses,yetviewedasabenchmarkagainstwhichthemajorityofnativeEnglishspeakersweremeasuredandaccusedofusingtheirlanguageincorrectly.

TheidentificationofStandardEnglishwiththeeliteclasseswasovertlydrawnbyH.C.Wyld,oneofthemostinfluentialacademiclinguistsofthefirsthalfofthe20thcentury.Despiteembarkingonhisphilologicalcareerasaneutralobserver,forwhomonevarietywasjustasvaluableasanother,Wyld’slaterworkclearlyidentifiedStandardEnglishasthesoleacceptableformofusage:‘ItmaybecalledGoodEnglish,Well-bredEnglish,Upper-classEnglish.’TheseapplicationsofthephraseStandardEnglishrevealatellingshiftfromthesenseofstandardsignalling‘ingeneraluse’(asinthephrase‘standardissue’)tothesenseofalevelofquality(asinthephrase‘toahighstandard’).

FromthiswemaydiscernthatStandardEnglishisarelativelyrecentphenomenon,whichgrewoutofan18thcenturyanxietyaboutthestatusofEnglish,andwhichpromptedaconcernforthecodificationand‘ascertaining’,orfixing,ofEnglish.Beforethe18thcentury,dialectvariationwasthenorm,bothinspeechandinwriting.

StandardEnglish:whatitisandwhatitisn’tIndefiningastandardlanguage,itisusefultobeginbyhighlightingwhatitisn’t.Forinstance,thedistinctionbetweenstandardandnon-standardEnglishdoesnotcorrelatewiththedifferencebetweenformalandcolloquialusage.ItisperfectlypossibletospeakcasuallyusingStandardEnglish,toemploytaboowords—so-called‘badlanguage’—withoutfloutingthegrammaticalprinciplesofStandardEnglish.Similarly,itisalsotheoreticallypossibletospeakStandardEnglishinanyaccent,sinceaccentrefersonlytofeaturesofpronunciation,whereasdialectencompassesvocabularyandgrammaraswell.Itismorelikely,however,thatspeakersusingbroadlocalaccentswillemployfeaturesofgrammarandvocabularycharacteristicoftheirlocaldialect.

AlthoughthereiswidespreadagreementthatthereissuchathingasStandardEnglishtoday,thereisconsiderableconfusionastoexactlywhatthislabelrepresents.Suchconfusioncommonlystemsfromafailuretodistinguishbetweensocialandlinguisticfactors.AlinguisticdefinitionofStandardEnglishfocusesonitsintoleranceofvariationandinsistenceonfixity.Sincethefunctionofastandardlanguageistoaidcommunicationoverawidegeographicalarea,allowingvariationwouldclearlybedysfunctional.RegionalvariationfoundinMiddleEnglishcouldbetoleratedbecauseduringthatperiodwrittenEnglishfunctionedasapurelylocallanguage;communicationonanationallevelwashandledinFrenchandLatin.

Anotherfunctionalaspectofastandardlanguageisthatitis‘elaborated’,sothatitbecomesthevarietyemployedforarangeofdifferentlinguisticfunctions.StandardEnglishisusedbythegovernment,legal,andeducationalsystems,whichallhelptoreinforceandsustainitscontinuedacceptanceasthesingleacceptableformofwrittenEnglish.

TheassociationofStandardEnglishwiththesevariousinstitutionslendsitprestige,sothatithasbecomethevarietythatpeopleassociatewithsocialadvancement.SuccessintheeducationsystemandaccesstotheprestigiousprofessionsrequireacompetenceinthehandlingofStandardEnglish.Asaconsequenceitisthisvarietythatistaughtinschools,thoughthereremainsmuchdebateabouttheextenttowhichStandardEnglishshouldbeallowedto

dominateoverlocalformsofEnglish.SomeeducatorsconsideritthejobofteacherstoreplacealldialectusewithStandardEnglish,whereasotherssupportthetoleranceofdialect.Sincedialectiscloselylinkedtoidentity,attemptstoeradicateitsuseamongchildrenruntheriskofbeingbothculturallyandpsychologicallydamaging.

Becauseofitsstatusasasuperposedvariety,StandardEnglishisuniqueamongthevariousdialectsofEnglishinhavingsocialprestige,leadingmanypeopletoviewitascoterminouswiththeEnglishlanguageitself.ThosewhodonotuseStandardEnglisharefrequentlyconsideredilliterate,andthevarietytheyemployisviewedasinferiortothestandard.ButthisdominanceofStandardEnglishisaconsequenceofitssocialelevation,nottheresultofanylinguisticsuperiority.Inpopularusage,thetermdialectisoftenemployedtorefertoanon-standard,orevensub-standard,formofthelanguage.Butforlinguiststhetermdialectisneutral—ScouseEnglish(thedialectofthecityofLiverpool)andStandardEnglisharesimplytwoequivalentdialects,althoughoneswithdifferentsocialconnotations.

Inmanycases,objectionstoregionaldialectoraccenthavelittletodowithlinguisticissues.Moreoften,suchjudgementsreflectsocialprejudice,whichseekstodenigrateanotherperson’sspeechsimplybecauseitisdifferenttoone’sown.AYouGovpollcarriedoutin2014askedBritishpeoplewhichaccenttheyfoundmostattractive,thoughnoexplanationwasofferedastowhatthecriteriaforanattractiveaccentmightbe.ThehighestrankedaccentswereSouthernIrish,ReceivedPronunciation,andWelsh,whilethe‘ugliest’accentswereMancunian,Scouse,andBrummie(spokenrespectivelyinthecitiesofManchester,Liverpool,andBirmingham).AnarticleinTheMirrornewspapercarriedtheheadline‘SorryBrummies,therestoftheUKdon’tlikeyou’,exemplifyingthewaythathavingtherightaccentiscloselylinkedwithsocialacceptance.Inanotheraccountofthereport’sfindings,ajournalistsuggestedthatthosewhowishtoimpresstheirbossshouldconsciouslyadoptBBCEnglish,orevenIrishEnglish,openlyadvocatingthatthewaypeoplespeakshouldbeconditionedbytheprejudicesoftheiremployers.

Forothers,thesolutiontosuchentrenchedsocialprejudiceistoensurethatchildrenarealertedtothesocialdisadvantagesattachedtoregionalvarietieswhileinschool.InhisbookDoesAccentMatter?(1989),JohnHoneyadvisedthatchildrenshouldbewarnedtoexpectthat‘intherealworldtheiraccentsmay

beusedasanindicatoroftheirorigins,theextentoftheireducatedness,thesystemofvalueswithwhichtheyidentifyandwhethertheseareassociatedwithanarrowlocalgrouporwiththewidersociety’.Butwhilelocalspeechpatternsarenecessarilyindicativeofaperson’sorigins,thereisnointrinsicreasonwhytheyshouldbemarkersoftheirlevelofeducation,valuesystem,andsocialposition.Honey’sproposalthatsuchpeopleoughttoacquireStandardEnglishtoavoidsuchstigmaishardlythesolution;whyshoulddialectspeakersbeexpectedtoshedtheiraccenttoavoidbeingsubjectedtosocialprejudice?

TherespectiverolesofStandardEnglishandlocaldialectineducationweresubjecttopublicdebatein2013,whentheheadteacherofaschoolinMiddlesbroughwrotetoparentsurgingthemtocorrecttheirchildren’suseofimproperphraseslike‘Idonethat’,‘Gizit’ere’,‘Idunno’,‘It’snowt’,pronunciationssuchas‘freefifteen’insteadof‘threefifteen’,andthepluralpronounyous.Theheadteacherexplainedthattheletterwasmotivatedbyadesiretoequipchildrenfortheworkplace,wheredialectscanbeseenasdisadvantageous.

Thiscontroversialattempttostampoutlocaldialectinthehomewonthesupportofmanyparents,whowereinfavouroftheschool’seffortstoeducatetheirchildreninStandardEnglish.Theletterwasopposedbyprofessionallinguists,however,whoarguedthatsuchanapproachdoesnotimproveachild’scommandofthewrittenstandard,andhasthepotentialtodamagetheirsocialandeducationaldevelopment.Childrenusedialecttosignalbelongingwithintheirpeergroups,families,andlocalcommunities;toinsistontheunacceptabilityofsuchformsinspeechintheclassroomrunsthefurtherriskofcausingchildrentoavoidaskingandansweringquestionsforfearofspeaking‘incorrectly’.

SimilardebatesweresparkedwhentheboardofaschoolinOakland,California,votedtochangeitspolicyregardingtheeducationofAfricanAmericanchildreninStandardEnglish.Giventheirconsistentlylowlevelofachievementinthestandardlanguage,theboardresolvedtoextendgreaterrecognitiontothevernacularspokenbythechildrenthemselves—avarietyknowntoscholarsasAfricanAmericanEnglish(AAE),andmorewidelyasEbonics,ablendofebonyandphonics.

InproposingtouseAAEasabridgetotheacquisitionofStandardEnglish,the

OaklandboardsoughttorecognizethedifficultiesexperiencedbyEbonicsspeakerswhowerebeingeducatedinalanguageverydifferentfromtheirownvernaculardialect.Thislegislationprovedhugelycontentiousandreceivedwidespreadcondemnationinthepress,whicherroneouslyreportedtheboard’sproposalasaplantoviewAAEasequivalentinstatustoStandardEnglish.Formanypeoplethiswasseenasbothunhelpfulandinsulting,consigningthechildrentoalifetimeofunderachievement.Somejournalistsweresympathetictothemotivationbehindthedecision,butquestionedthestrategyitself:ifchildrenaretoldthattheyarespeakingadistinctlanguage,whyshouldtheybothertoacquireStandardEnglishatall?

Theseexamplesunderlinethefactthat—whateverourattitudetowardsnon-standarddialects—schoolshaveadutytoteachStandardEnglishtochildren,irrespectiveoftheirbackgroundandlinguisticheritage.Nottodosowouldbeaderelictionofduty,sinceStandardEnglishisanessentialtoolforenablingchildrentopassexams,andequippingthemfortheworldofwork.

RatherthansimplyignoringdifferencesbetweenstandardanddialectalformsofEnglish,abetterresponsewouldbetohighlightthemasameansofeducatingchildreninthediversityofEnglishanditsvariousfunctions.TeachersshouldaimtoenableallpupilstoreadandwriteStandardEnglish,butshouldalsobetolerantof,evensupportiveof,theuseofanon-standardvarietyinothercontexts.JustasmanyEuropeannationalsgrowupspeakingmorethanonelanguage,soEnglishchildrencanbeencouragedtobe‘bidialectal’—thatis,tobeabletousedistinctdialectsfordifferentfunctions.

TheheadteacheroftheMiddlesbroughschoolappealedtothegovernment’sliteracyframeworkindefenceofherlettertoparents,whichrequireschildrentowriteinStandardEnglish.Butthekeywordhereiswrite—childrencanstillbetaughttowriteStandardEnglishwhilebeingallowedtospeakintheirlocaldialect.Centraltosuchanapproachisthenotionof‘appropriateness’—learningwhenitispermittedtousedialectandwhenonlyStandardEnglishisacceptable.

RightwritingModernEnglishspellingistheclearestexampleofanareaofthelanguagethathasbeenfullystandardized,thoughevenherethereremainsroomforvariationanduncertainty.Shoulditbejudgementorjudgment,yoghurtoryogurt,standardizeorstandardise?IfwecompareStandardEnglishspellingtothatfoundinMiddleEnglish,wecanseehowfartheprocesshasadvanced.BecausetherewasnosinglestandardvarietyofMiddleEnglish,dialectsdevelopedtheirownlocalspellingconventions.Asaconsequence,therewerehundredsofvariantspellingsofcommonwordslikethrough,includingdrowgh,yhurght,trghug,andtrowffe.

Theprocesswherebythisextensivevariationwasreducedtojustonesinglecorrectspellingformostwordscanbetracedbacktothe15thcentury,whenEnglishbegantoreplaceLatinandFrenchasanationallanguage,creatingarequirementforgreaterconsistencyinspelling.Anothermajorfactorindeliveringastandardspellingsystemoccurredlaterinthecentury,whenWilliamCaxtonintroducedtheprintingpressandpublishedthefirstbooksinEnglish.Uptothispoint,bookswerewrittenbyhand(hencemanuscripts)andweresusceptibletobothconsciousandsubconsciouslinguisticinterference.

Thetechnologyofprintingenabledtheproductionoflargenumbersofcopiesofbookswithidenticalspelling.Theadventofprintingwasalsoafactorinloweringthecostofbooks,whichhadtheeffectofraisingliteracylevels.SinceprintingworkshopswereinitiallylocatedinWestminster,theLondondialectusedbytheearlyprinterswasthevarietyencounteredbyreadersthroughoutthecountry.But,whileearlyprintedbooksusedamoreconsistentformofspellingthantheirhandwrittenpredecessors,theycontinuedtotolerateconsiderablevariation.

Thissituationpersistedforcenturies,anditisnotuntilthe18thcenturythatweseeamovetowardscompletefixityinthespellingofprintedbooks.But,evenafterspellinghadbecomefullystandardizedinprint,non-standardspellingscontinuedtobeusedindiaries,journals,privateletters,andmanuscripts.EvenDrJohnson,whosenamehasbecomesynonymouswiththefixingoftheEnglishlanguage,employednon-standardspellingsinhisprivatewritings.Johnson’s

Dictionary(1755)isalsosurprisinglytolerantofvariation.Hemadenoattempttoregulatebetweensuchpairsaschoakandchokeorsoapandsope,andincaseslikecompleteandcompleetheevenwenttothetroubleofinsertinganentryunderbothspellingsasanaidtohisreaders(seeBox5).

Box5FromthePrefacetoJohnson’sDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage(1755)

‘InadjustingtheORTHOGRAPHY,whichhasbeentothistimeunsettledandfortuitous,Ifounditnecessarytodistinguishthoseirregularitiesthatareinherentinourtongue,andperhapscoevalwithit,fromotherswhichtheignoranceornegligenceoflaterwritershasproduced.Everylanguagehasitsanomalies,which,thoughinconvenient,andinthemselvesonceunnecessary,mustbetoleratedamongtheimperfectionsofhumanthings,andwhichrequireonlytoberegistered,thattheymaynotbeincreased,andascertained,thattheymaynotbeconfounded:buteverylanguagehaslikewiseitsimproprietiesandabsurdities,whichitisthedutyofthelexicographertocorrectorproscribe.’

TalkingproperIntheprefacetohisplayPygmalion(1912),GeorgeBernardShawclaimedthat‘ItisimpossibleforanEnglishmantoopenhismouthwithoutmakingsomeotherEnglishmanhateordespisehim.’Thisstatementretainssometruthtoday,sincemanypeoplemakejudgementsaboutaperson’ssocialbackground,education,personality,andevenmorality,basedupontheiraccent.

But,despitetheubiquityofsuchviews,theconceptofbetterandworseaccentsisarelativelyrecentphenomenon.Theearliestremarksaboutthesocialsuperiorityofoneaccentoveranotherappearinthe16thcentury.Inahandbookforwriters,ArteofEnglishPoesie(1589),GeorgePuttenhamadvisedhisreaders:‘YeshallthereforetakethevsuallspeachoftheCourt,andthatofLondonandtheshireslyingaboutLondonwithinlx[sixty]myles,andnotmuchaboue.’GiventheprominenceofLondonandthecourtitishardlysurprisingthatPuttenhamshouldidentifyitsspeechasthepreferredaccentforbuddingpoets.Butthisisasocialratherthanalinguisticpreference—anisolatedremarkmadebya14th-centurychroniclerpromotesthemidlanddialectratherthanthatofthecapital,onthegroundsthatitismoreeasilyunderstoodbyspeakersofbothsouthernandnortherndialects.

Itwasnotuntilthesecondhalfofthe18thcenturythatwritersbegantolamentthevariablestateofEnglishpronunciation,andtoattempttoimposeafixedstandarduponit.Sinceinconsistencyinpronunciationwasseenasbeingattheheartofthelanguage’sdecline,asystemofcorrectpronunciationwasconsideredcrucialtofixingthelanguageandhaltingthisdownwardtrend.But,whiletheestablishmentofastandardaccentwaspromotedinthecauseofmutualunderstanding,thedebatewasdrivenmorebyadesiretoalignoneselfwiththecorrectgroupatatimeofrapidsocialchange.

Itisnocoincidencethatthetermmalapropism—theridiculousmisuseofaword—wascoinedduringthisperiodofsocialandlinguisticanxiety.ThetermisnamedafterMrsMalaprop,fromtheFrenchphrasemalàpropos‘inappropriate’,acharacterinRichardBrinsleySheridan’splayTheRivals(1775),whoselinguisticblundersinclude‘theverypineappleofpoliteness’,‘myaffluenceisverysmall’,and‘She’sasheadstrongasanallegoryonthebanksof

theNile’.

Wherespeakingincorrectlyincurredsocialexclusionandhumiliation,talkingproperlywasawayofdemonstratingmembershipofthemostelitesocialcircles.Aprovincialaccent,incontrast,wasseenasabarriertoentrytothemostprestigiousprofessions,suchasthelawandthechurch,wherearefinedandconsistentdeliverywasconsideredessential.

Theurgetocodifyusageledtothepublicationofnumerouspronouncingdictionaries,beginningwithAGeneralDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage(1780)byThomasSheridan,fatheroftheplaywright.Sheridanalsodeliveredahugelypopularcourseoflecturesonelocution,publishedin1762.Sheridan’smethodwashighlyprescriptive;heisthefirstwritertocommentnegativelyonthedroppingofinitial‘h’—ahabitthatcontinuestobehighlystigmatizedtoday.Tocounteractthisunfortunatetendency,Sheridanproposedthefollowing‘cure’:‘ReadoverfrequentlyallthewordsbeginningwiththeletterHinthedictionary,andpushthemoutwiththefullforceofthebreath’tillanhabitisobtainedofaspiratingstrongly.’SuchmethodsanticipatethephoneticexercisestowhichElizaDoolittleissubjectedinthemusicaladaptationofShaw’sPygmalion,MyFairLady(1956),wheresheismadetorepeatthephrase:‘InHertford,Hereford,andHampshire,hurricaneshardlyeverhappen’.ButwhereSheridananticipatedthatthecodificationandpromotionofastandardaccentwouldcontributetonationalunityandremoveprejudice,theresultwastheopposite.

Manualsofpronunciationcontinuedtoappearthroughoutthe19thcentury,helpingtoenshrinefurtherthenegativesocialandmoralconnotationsofnon-standardspeech.CharlesDickens’novelsdrawabundantlyuponthesocialembarrassmentattachedtomarkedfeaturesofanon-standardaccent,includingthedroppingof‘h’stigmatizedbySheridan,aswellastheuseofcertainproscribedpronunciations,suchascowcumberforcucumber,foundinMrsGamp’sspeechinMartinChuzzlewit:‘Incasethereshouldbesuchathingasacowcumberinthe’ouse,willyoubesokindasbringit,forI’mratherpartialto’em,andtheydoesaworldofgoodinasickroom.’

Fromthisemergedtheconceptofareceived(inthesense‘generallyaccepted’)pronunciation(RP)—astandardaccentnotlimitedtoaparticulardialect—atermfirstemployedbythephoneticianAlexanderEllisin1869,whodefineditas‘notwidelydifferinginanyparticularlocality,andadmittingacertaindegreeof

variety.Itmaybeespeciallyconsideredastheeducatedpronunciationofthemetropolis,ofthecourt,thepulpitandthebar.’ItisstrikingthatEllis’RPisnotatotallyfixedentity,butratheranormthattoleratesinternalvariationdependinguponlocality.Ellisdifferedfromhispredecessorsinrefusingtomakejudgementsastotheacceptabilityofparticularpronunciations:‘Astothe“correctness”or“impropriety”ofsuchsoundsIdonotseeonwhatgroundsIcanofferanopinion…Neitherhistorynorpedantrycansetthenorm.’

TheauthorsofbestsellinghandbookssuchasDon’t:AManualofMistakesandImproprietiesMoreorLessPrevalentinConductandSpeech(1884)andPoorLetterH:ItsUseandAbuse(1859)werenotsoreluctanttoissueprescriptionsastowhatwasacceptableandwhatwasnot.Theextractfromtheformer(seeBox6)demonstratesthecloseassociationbetweencorrectspeechandgoodbreeding,andtheassumptionthatlinguisticsolecismswereindicativeofvulgarity.

Box6ExtractfromDon’t:AManualofMistakesandImproprietiesMoreorLessPrevalentinConductandSpeech(1884)

DON’Tspeakungrammatically.Studybooksofgrammar,andthewritingsofthebestauthors.

DON’Tpronounceincorrectly.Listentotheconversationofcultivatedpeople,and,ifindoubt,consultthedictionaries.

DON’Tcallyourservantsgirls.Callthecookcook,andthenursenurse,andthehousemaidsmaids.

DON’Tuseslang.Thereissomeslangthat,accordingtoThackeray,isgentlemanslang,andotherslangthatisvulgar.Ifonedoesnotknowthedifference,lethimavoidslangaltogether,andthenhewillbesafe.

DON’Tfallintothehabitofrepeatingworn-outproverbsandoverusedquotations.Itbecomesnotalittleirritatingtohavetolistentoonewhoceaselesslyappliesormisappliesathreadbarestockof‘wisesaws’andstupidsayings.

DON’Tnoticeinothersaslipingrammaroramispronunciationinawaytocauseablushortooffend.Ifyourefertoanythingofthekind,doitcourteously,andnotinthehearingofotherpersons.

TheregionalvariantstoleratedinEllis’definitionofRPweresubsequentlyreducedundertheinfluenceoftheEnglishboardingschools,whichhadahomogenizingeffectonthestandardaccent.Theimportanceofthisfactorwasrecognizedbyalaterphonetician,DanielJones,whoinitiallyemployedtheterm‘PublicSchoolPronunciation’forthestandardadoptedinhisEnglishPronouncingDictionary(1917),andrevertedtoRPinalatereditionof1926.

WhileJones’earlyworkwascharacterizedbyadisinterestedapproachtoastandardofspeech,hesubsequentlycametoviewtheestablishmentofsuchastandardasaprerequisiteforacivilizedsociety:‘Youcannotproduceauniformhighstandardofsociallifeinacommunitywithoutproducingauniformhighstandardofspeech.’Bythistime,RPwasestablishedasaclassaccent:aformofspeechwhichwasnotregionallyinflectedandwhichwasassociatedexclusivelywiththeupperclasses.

TheestablishmentofRPasastandardofpronunciationwasfurtherencouragedbytherequirementthatitbeusedbyannouncersemployedbytheBritishBroadcastingCorporation(BBC),whentheorganizationwasfoundedinthe1920s.Toensurethatstandardsofspeechweremaintained,LordReithestablishedtheCommitteeonSpokenEnglish,whoserolewastoadjudicatebetweenalternativepronunciations,andwhich,in1929,publishedalistofRecommendationsforPronouncingDoubtfulWords.Whilemanyoftherecommendationsitissuedremainrelevanttoday,includingtherequirementthatinitial‘h’issoundedinhotelandhumour,others,suchasthepronunciationofhousewiferyas‘huzzifry’andforeheadas‘forred’havechangedundertheinfluenceoftheirspelling.Inthecaseofgarage,theguide’sinitialrecommendation,‘garraazh’,waschangedto‘garridge’inarevisededitionof1931.

Althoughthecommitteewasdisbandedin1939,thepolicythatallannouncersmustbeRPspeakerswasonlyoverturnedinthe1960s.TherewasarelaxationofthisstrictureduringWorldWarIIwhenYorkshire-bornWilfredPickleswasemployedasanewsreader.ButthiswasnotamovedesignedtochallengethehegemonyofRPortopromoteregionalinclusivity;itwasinsteaddrivenbythebeliefthattheGermanswouldnotbeabletounderstandorimitatePickles’Yorkshirebrogue.Theexperimentwassoonabandonedunderpressurefromlisteners,whoclaimedtofinditimpossibletobelievenewsreadinsuchtones.Aslateasthe1980s,ScottishnewsreaderSusanRaefoundherselfdroppedbytheBBCfollowingcomplaintsfromthepublicaboutfallingstandardsofpronunciation.Shewasnotreinstateduntiltheearly2000s.

RPretainsitsstatusasaprestigiousformofspokenEnglishtoday,eventhoughitisonlyemployedbyaround5percentofthepopulationofBritain;itssocialcachet,however,isonlyrecognizedincertainsocialgroups.Intheopinionpollquotedearlier,itwaspredominantlyanoldergroupwhoexpressedapreference

forRP;youngerpeopleviewedRPspeakersascold,aloof,andsnobbish.ItisinrecognitionofthisperceptionthatsomeBritishpoliticianstodaytonedowntheirRPaccentswhenaddressingdiversegroupsofblue-collarworkers;andsincethisgenerallyinvolvesadoptingfeaturesoftheCockneyaccent,thisvarietyisknownhumorouslyas‘Mockney’.

ThismixingofRPandCockneyfeaturesliesbehindtheemergenceofagenuinesouth-easternvarietyknownasEstuaryEnglish.Firstappearinginthe1980s,EstuaryEnglishhasitsoriginsinthecountiesaroundtheThamesestuary,butisnowspreadingthroughoutthesouth-east.ItischaracterizedbyanumberofCockneyfeaturessuchas‘glottaling’,thereplacementof‘t’withaglottalstopinwordslikebottle;‘l-vocalization’,inwhich‘l’isreplacedbyavowel,foundinthepronunciationofmilkas‘miouk’;and‘th-fronting’,inwhich‘th’isreplacedby‘f’:‘fink’and‘fing’insteadof‘think’and‘thing’.

Becausethesefeaturesaretraditionallysociallystigmatized,thespreadofEstuaryEnglishistypicallyreportedasevidenceofsocialdeclinebytheBritishmedia.In1999,theDailyTelegraphcricketcorrespondent,MichaelHenderson,attackedthenewlyappointedEnglishcaptainNasserHussain’sglottalstops,claimingthat‘Somebodywhowenttoagooduniversityhasnoexcuseforspeakinginthatghastlyestuarysludge.Verbalimprecisionoftenrevealsmentallaziness.Beagoodchap,skipper,usetheletterT.It’snottherejusttokeepSandUcompany.’

Thereareanumberofmisconceptionsinthisattack,themostfundamentalofwhichistheideathatpronunciationshouldfollowspelling,andthatfailingtosoundaparticularletterisevidenceoflaziness;butinfact,theglottalstoprequiresgreaterphysicalexertionthanthe‘t’sounddoes.Butthisranthasnothingtodowiththelinguisticsofspeechandwriting;itisrathertheexpressionofadeep-rootedsocialprejudicethatdemandsthattheEnglishcricketcaptain,analumnusofDurhamuniversity,shouldspeakwithanRP,ratherthananEstuary,accent.

GoodgrammarFormanypeopletodaythetermgrammarsignifiesasetofprescriptionsgoverningcorrectusage:donotsplitaninfinitive,avoiddoublenegatives,neverbeginasentencewithaconjunctionnorenditwithapreposition.Butforlinguists,grammarreferstothesetofrulesbywhichwordsareorganizedintomeaningfulunits.

AnunderstandingofgrammarisacrucialstepinthedevelopmentofasophisticatedhandlingofEnglish;yet,formanypeopletheteachingofgrammarwashandledinanatomisticmanner:pupilsweretaughttoidentifypartsofspeech—nouns,verbs,adjectives—fornoclearpurpose.But,whilelearninghowtoidentifypartsofspeechmayhavefewbenefitsinitself,gaininginsightsintoEnglishgrammarisanimportantsteptowardsadeeperandmoresophisticatedunderstandingofhowEnglishworks,andhowtoemployiteffectively.

Whendiscussingthevalueofagraspofgrammar,itisimportanttodistinguishbetweencovertandovertknowledge.AllnativespeakersacquireacovertknowledgeofEnglishfromthelanguagespokenaroundthem.Asearlyastheageoftwo,childrenhaveacquiredtherulethatmostEnglishverbsformtheirpasttensebyaddingan‘ed’suffix,enablingthemtoformpasttensesofverbswithouthavingheardthembefore.ByhearingIwalked,atwo-year-oldchildiscapableofextrapolatingthatthecorrectpasttenseoftalkistalked.Weknowthatchildrenacquiretherule,ratherthansimplyrepeatformstheyhaveheard,becausetheytendtoovergeneralizeandproduceincorrectforms,suchasIsingedandIgoed.

Anovertknowledgeofgrammar—thatis,aconsciousunderstandingofthegrammaticalrulesthatunderpinsuchconstructions—mustbelearnedthroughspecialstudy.ThatsuchknowledgeisnotinnatebecomesclearwhenyouaskanativespeakerofEnglishtoexplainsomepointofgrammar,suchaswhythepasttenseofwalkiswalked,whereasthepasttenseofgoiswent.

Ifwecomparethiskindofgrammaticalrulewithoneslike‘donotsplitaninfinitive’,thereisacleardistinction;whererulesforformingpasttensescannotbebroken,thelatterkindofrulecanbe,andfrequentlyis,flouted.Whilethere

arenosituationsinwhichthephrase‘Igoedtoschool’isacceptable,itisquitecommontocomeacrossasentencelike‘Don’tforgettoquicklycallMum.’Infact,mostpeoplewouldnaturallychoosethisconstructionratherthanamoreawkward,andmoreambiguous,alternativelike‘Don’tforgetquicklytocallMum.’(Doesthequicklyrefertothecallingortheforgetting?)Thiscomparisonshowsthat,wherethefirsttypeofruleisagenuinegrammaticalrequirement,thesecondisastylisticpreference,whichhasnobearingupontherealstructureofthelanguage.

Evenwithoutanyformalgrammaticaltraining,nativeEnglishspeakersacquirevastnumbersofcomplexrules.Takethefollowingtwosentences.Whichiscorrect?

Thelittleyellowbook.Theyellowlittlebook.

AllspeakersofEnglishareabletoagreethatthefirstisthecorrectversionwithoutanydifficulty.Butfewcanexplainwhythisiscorrect,orwhythealternativeisunacceptable.Incaseslikethisweintuitthatcertainconstructionsareimpossiblebecausethey‘soundwrong’(recallMarkForsyth’sSWANStestinChapter3),butfinditveryhardtoformulatewhatrulestheycontravene.

Thereasonwhy‘Thelittleyellowbook’iscorrectisthatEnglishhasarulethatadjectivesreferringtosizeprecedecolouradjectives.Thisisnotarulewearetaughtinschool,noraremanypeopleawareofit.Itisaruleweinternalizeasachildbylisteningtoadultspeechandextrapolatingfromit.IfchildrencanlearnEnglishgrammarwithoutrealizingit,youmightbewonderingwhyweshouldwasteclassroomtimeteachingittothem.Onereasonisthat,whilethismethodofinternalizinggrammaticalstructuresworkswellforyoungchildren,itbecomesconsiderablyharderaswegetolder.Furthermore,thereisanaddedinterestinknowingwhyalanguageworksinthewayitdoes:understandingsuchrulesenablesamoresophisticatedawarenessofwhenitisacceptabletodeviatefromthem,andwhatkindsofdeviationarepermissible.

ItwasgaininganunderstandingofpreciselythisrulethatkindledthephilologicalinterestsoftheyoungJ.R.R.Tolkien.Havingbeeninformedbyhismotherthathecouldnotbeginhisstorywith‘agreengreatdragon’,theseven-year-oldTolkienwaspromptedtobeginalifetime’sponderingonthestructure

oflanguages.RecountingtheepisodeinalettertoW.H.Audenin1955,thesixty-three-year-oldTolkien,nowProfessorofEnglishLanguageatOxfordUniversity,added:‘IwonderedwhyandIstilldo.’

TheearliestgrammaticaldescriptionsofEnglishappearedinthe16thcentury,althoughmanyofthesewerewritteninLatin.GiventhatgrammaticalinstructionpriortothishadfocusedontheLatinlanguage,itisnotsurprisingthattheseearlygrammariansbasedtheirgrammarsofEnglishonthemodelofLatin.ThetitleofJohnHewes’workof1624neatlysummarizesitsagendainmakingEnglishgrammarconformtothatofLatin:APerfectSurveyofTheEnglishTongve,TakenAccordingtotheVseandAnalogieoftheLatine.SinceEnglishisnotderivedfromLatin,thisisnotahelpfulmodel.Despitethis,18th-centurygrammarianspersistedinimposingtheLatinatemodelonEnglish,asexemplifiedbythistreatmentoftheEnglishnoundeclensionbyWellsEgelshaminhisAShortSketchofEnglishGrammar(1780):

Singular PluralNominative alord lordsGenitive ofalord,or,alord’s oflordsDative toalord tolordsAccusative alord lordsVocative olord olordsAblative by,from,of,andwithalord lords

WhereLatinnounshavedifferentendingsforthesevariouscases,Englishmakesalmostnodistinctionbetweenthenominative,accusative,dative,vocative,andablativecasesinthisparadigm.

NotallgrammariansofthisperiodwereinthralltothemodelofLatin;AmericanlinguistandlexicographerNoahWebster(1758–1843)dismissedthecontentionthattheonlywayoftrulygraspingEnglishgrammarwasbyfirstlearningLatingrammaras‘astupidopinion’(seeBox7forthefullquotation).

Box7NoahWebster,PrefacetoAGrammaticalInstituteoftheEnglishLanguage(1784)

‘Weareapttobesurprised,thatmenwhomadethelanguagestheirprincipalstudy,andduringtheirwholeliveswereemployedinteachingyouth,shouldnotdiscoverthattheGrammarofonelanguagewouldnotanswerforanother;butourwonderwillceasewhenwereflect,thattheEnglishnationatlargehave,tillverylately,entertainedtheideathatourlanguagewasincapableofbeingreducedtoasystemofrules;andthatevennowmanymenofmuchclassicallearningwarmlycontendthattheonlywayofacquiring,agrammaticalknowledgeoftheEnglishTongue,isfirsttolearnaLatinGrammar.ThatsuchastupidopinionshouldeverhaveprevailedintheEnglishnation—thatitshouldstillhaveadvocates—naythatitshouldstillbecarriedintopractice,canberesolvedintonocausebuttheamazinginfluenceofhabituponthehumanmind.’

Despitesuchenlightenedopinions,theLatinatemodelwastosurviveintothe20thcenturyintheEnglishclassroom.OnegrammarusedinEnglishsecondaryschoolsintheopeningyearsofthe20thcenturyincludesexercisesinwhichpupilsarerequiredtoparse,ordiagram,sentences,identifyingwhetheranounisinthenominativeorobjectivecase.Gwynne’sGrammar(2013)continuesthistradition;itisshotthroughwithreferencestoLatingrammaranddrawsextensivelyonitsterminology.

AnunderstandingofarcanetermsofLatingrammarcontinuestoholdsocialcapitaltoday.InhisProposalsforPerfectingtheEnglishLanguage(1742),ThomasCookelamentedthatEnglishcannothopetoimitatetheexcellenceofLatinwithitsgerunds;despitebeingofveryminorimportanceforanunderstandingofEnglishgrammar,knowinghowtoidentifygerundsandgerundivescontinuestofunctionasthehallmarkofasoundgrammaticaleducation.Thetwelfthandfinalquestionofa‘goodgrammar’quizpublishedinTheTelegraphnewspaperin2013askeditsreaderstoidentify‘Whichofthesenamesisinfactthenominativefemininesingularofthegerundivemood

importeddirectfromLatin?’(Incaseyourmemoryofgerundivesishazy,theanswersareAmandaandMiranda.)

Theearliestgrammarbookswerecomparativelydescriptiveintheirapproach,recordingalternativeconstructionsinrecognitionofthewayspeakersmayvaryanutterancedependingonfactorssuchasregister,formality,andcontext.Althoughtheytendedtoignoredialectaldifferences,thesegrammariansdidnotcensurevariationwithintheemergingstandard,or‘general’,dialect.WilliamBullokar’sPamphletforEnglishGrammar(1586),forexample,thefirstsuchbooktobewritteninEnglish,includesalternativeformsoftheverbtobe,arandbe,third-personsingularpresent-tenseendings,hathandhas,andsecond-personpluralpronouns,yeandyou.Butthisdescriptivetolerancesoongavewaytoanincreasinglyprescriptiveagenda.Whilesome18th-centurygrammariansrecognizedthatalternativeconstructionsrarelyconveyedpreciselythesamemeaning,mostsubscribedtothe‘doctrineofcorrectness’,whichinsistedthateveryconstructionwaseitherrightorwrong,‘barbarous’,‘vulgar’,or‘improper’.

RobertLowth,whoseAShortIntroductiontoEnglishGrammar(1762)wasespeciallyinfluential,establishedtheprinciplethatagrammarshouldbebaseduponrulesratherthanoncustomandusage,sinceeventhegreatestauthorswereguiltyofcommittingerrors.ThishasgivenrisetothetendencytodaytojudgeallformsofEnglishaccordingtothestandardofformalwrittenEnglish.But,sincetheformalandinformalmodesaredistinct,withtheirownsetoffunctions,differentgrammaticalconventionsapply.Eventhisdichotomyistoocrude,however,sinceitignorestheconsiderableamountofstylisticvariationthatispossiblealongthecontinuumthatseparatesinformalfrommoreformaltypesofdiscourse.

TodemonstratetheimportanceofdistinguishingbetweenspeechandwritingforourunderstandingofStandardEnglishgrammar,considerthefollowingexample.Imagineansweringthetelephoneandreceivingthefollowingthreereplies:

Who’sthat?WhoamIspeakingto?TowhomamIspeaking?

Whatdifferentassumptionswouldyoumakeaboutthespeakerattheotherendofthelineineachcase?AllthreeoptionsareacceptablewithinStandardEnglish,buteachrepresentsadifferentlevelofformality.Thesecondisprobablythemostnaturalresponseinsuchacontext.Thefirstexamplecomesacrossasbrusque,suggestingimpatienceandalackofconcernforthenicetiesofpolitediscourse.Bycontrast,thethirdexampleisveryformal,employingaconstructionnowusuallyrestrictedentirelytothewrittenlanguage.

IfwejudgethesesentencesbytherulesofStandardEnglishgrammar,basedupontheformalwrittenmode,thethirdsentenceiscorrect.Thisisbecausewhomistheaccusativeformofthepronounwho,requiredhereaftertheprepositionto.Butthiswouldbetoinsistuponaveryforcedandartificialmodeofspeechthatwouldseemoverlyformalandpretentiousinmostinteractions.ToparaphraseAmericanjournalistCalvinTrillin,theresultwouldbetomakeeveryonesoundlikeabutler.

Thereplacementoftheaccusativepronounwhomwiththenominativeformwhohasbeenunderwaysincethe15thcentury;itisparticularlycommoninquestionsofthiskind,wherethepronounhasbeen‘fronted’—shiftedtothebeginningofthesentence.BecausethispositionistypicallyoccupiedbythesubjectinEnglish,speakersoftensubstitutethewhopronouninsuchpositions,especiallyinspeech.

Sowhatisthefutureforwhom?Willitbereplacedbywho,ordoesitcontinuetoplayausefulrole?Despitetheprovocativetitleofhisbook,ForWhotheBellTolls,GuardianstyleguruDavidMarsharguesthatlearningtodistinguishbetweenwhoandwhomremainsdesirable.Butthereasonheoffershasnothingtodowithgrammaticalorsemanticclarity;itisdrivenbyaconcerntoavoidembarrassinghowlers.Havingquotedastringofsupposedlygreatwriterswhocommitthisegregiouserror,Marshconcludes:‘Themainreasonyouneedtoknowthedifference,however,issoyoudon’tmakethemistakeofusingwhomwhenitshouldbewho.’ThisisaclassicinstanceofthedoctrineofcorrectnessinthetraditionofDon’t:AManualofMistakesandImproprieties;butsuchadviceisinherentlyself-defeating.Whywouldanyoneruntheriskofusingwhomwhengettingitwronginvitesintellectualandsocialridicule?

Thisexampleshowsthat,despitethepopularviewthatlearninggrammarisconcernedwithnegotiatingatightropeofrightsandwrongs,StandardEnglish

encompassesarangeofalternativeconstructionsfromwhichusersselectaccordingtofactorssuchasthemedium,thecontext,register,levelofformality,andsoon.Toinsistthatthereisoneandonlyonecorrectversioninallcontextsistoreducethelanguage’sflexibilityandcommunicativeandpragmaticfunctionsneedlessly.InChapters5and6wewillpursuethisideafurther,investigatinganumberofdifferentvarietiesofEnglishasevidenceoftherichnessofthelanguage,itsrangeofforms,anditsfunctions.

Chapter5Varieties

DialectsAlthoughtheworddialectislooselysynonymouswitharegionalformoflanguage,thewordtechnicallyreferstoanyspecifickindoflanguage,reflectingitsoriginsintheGreekworddialektos‘mannerofspeaking’.Aregionaldialectreferstothelanguagespokeninaparticularpartofacountry,whileasocialdialect,orsociolect,isthelanguageusedbyasocialgroup,suchastheStandardEnglishweexaminedinChapter4.Inthisfirstsectionwewillinvestigatehowlanguagevariesaccordingtoregion,andinasubsequentsectionwewillconsiderlanguagevariationaccordingtouse.

Althoughtheconceptoftheregionaldialectiswellestablished,itissurprisinglyhardtopindown.WecantalkaboutthedialectofalargeBritishcountysuchasDevon,butcantherereallybesaidtobejustonesuchdialect?AlargeareasuchasDevonmightwellcompriseseveraldialects,buthowmany,andwheredotheboundarieslie?WhiletheremaybecleardifferencesbetweenthedialectofDevonandthoseofneighbouringsouth-westerncountieslikeDorsetandSomerset,theseneednotnecessarilymapneatlyontocountyboundaries.IfyouweretotravelbetweenDevonandDorsetyoumightnoticeshiftsinlinguisticusage,buttheseareminorandfrequentlyimperceptibledistinctions.Thisgradualshadingofdialectsisknowntoscholarsasthe‘dialectcontinuum’.

Similarproblemsarisewhenwetrytodefinethedifferencebetweendialectandlanguage.Superficially,thisseemsamorestraightforwarddistinction,sincewecandefineGermanasthelanguagespokeninGermany,DutchasthelanguageoftheNetherlands,andsoon.Alanguageissometimesdefinedasadialectwithaflag;anaxiomthathelpstoremindusthatsuchdistinctionsaresociopoliticalratherthanlinguistic.

GermanandDutcharehistoricallyrelatedlanguages,derivingfromasingleancestorknownasWestGermanic(fromwhichEnglishalsoderives).Travellingacrosstheboundaryseparatingthetwocountriesmaynecessitateachangeintheofficialtitleofthelanguage,butinrealitythedialectsspokenonthebordersareremarkablysimilar.InthecaseoflanguageslikeDanishandNorwegian,thetwolanguagesaresufficientlysimilartobemutuallycomprehensible,asare,toalesserextent,DanishandSwedish.

SimilarissuescomplicateourdefinitionoftheEnglishlanguage,especiallynowthatitisspokeninsomanydifferentcountries.AreAmericanEnglishandBritishEnglishsufficientlydistincttobeconsidereddifferentlanguages,oraretheybothtypesofEnglish?ThisisaquestionthatwewillconsiderinChapter6.WhataboutthedistinctionbetweenvarietiesspokeninBritain?ThecaseofScotsandEnglishoffersaparticularlyvexedexample.

ScotsScotsisoneofseverallanguagesspokeninScotlandtoday.AlthoughithasmuchincommonwithEnglish,itdiffersinimportantwaysfrombothStandardEnglishandScottishStandardEnglish(essentiallyStandardEnglishspokenwithaScottishaccent).ThesimilaritiesbetweenEnglishandScotsaretheresultoftheirhistoricalties;ScotsisderivedfromtheNorthumbriandialectofOldEnglish,usedintheareabetweentheriversHumberandForth.AsthekingdomofScotlandbecameseparatedfromnorthernEngland,soitsdialectdivergedfromthatspokensouthoftheborder;thisvarietycametobeknownasScottis,ratherthantheearlierInglis.

ManyofthemajorlinguisticdifferencesbetweenScotsandEnglishcanbetracedbacktotheOlderScotsperiod(1100–1700).Wherethelong‘aa’soundinOldEnglishwordslikestan,ham(stone,home)cametobepronouncedwithlip-roundinginsoutherndialectsofMiddleEnglish(stoon,hoom),Scotspreservedthe‘aa’sound;thishasgivenrisetoModernScotsstaneandhame.TheMiddleEnglishlong‘oo’soundinfootwaspronouncedfurthertowardsthefrontofthemouthinOlderScots;thisisthesourceofModernScotsfuit‘foot’andguid‘good’.

OlderScotsdialectswereonlypartiallyaffectedbytheGreatVowelShiftthatrevolutionizedEnglishpronunciationinthe16thcentury(seeChapter2).WhereEnglishaccentsreplacedthelong‘uu’vowelinwordslikehousewithadiphthong(thetwoseparatevowelsoundsheardinthesouthernEnglishpronunciationofhouse),thischangedidnothappeninScots.Consequently,modernScotsdialectshavepreservedtheMiddleEnglish‘uu’inwordslikehowandnow;thinkoftheScotscartoonTheBroons(TheBrowns).

DifferencesinthepronunciationofconsonantsbetweenScotsandStandardEnglishincludethepreservationoftheMiddleEnglish‘hw’soundinwordslikewhich,when,andwhat—asoundthatwasdroppedinmostEnglishaccentsinthe15thcentury,althoughitwaspreservedinStandardEnglishspelling.

Althoughpronunciationisthemostobviousareaofdifference,therearemanyvariationsbetweenScotsandStandardEnglishgrammarandlexicon.

Grammaticaldiscrepanciesincludeverbconstructions:‘Yourhairneedswashed’,whereStandardEnglishwouldsay‘needswashing’;alternativepronouns:yous‘youplural’,thir‘these’,thae‘those’,andsyntacticconstructionslike‘thebackof6’,referringtoashorttimeafter6o’clock.

DifferencesinvocabularyincludetheuseofwordsonlyfoundinScots,suchaswee‘small’,dreich‘dreary’,fearty‘coward’,glaikit‘stupid’,andoxter‘armpit’,oftentheresultofborrowingfromotherlanguages,suchasGaelic,Norwegian,andFrench.AnumberofwordscloselyassociatedwithScottishculturederivedfromGaelichavenowenteredStandardEnglish;theseincludeclaymore(Gaelicclaidheamhmòr‘greatsword’)andwhisky(Gaelicuisgebeatha‘wateroflife’).

DespitetherichliteraryandlinguisticlegacyofOlderScots,theroleofScotschangedsubstantiallyfollowingtheascendancyofJamesVIofScotlandtotheEnglishthroneasJamesIin1603,andtheunionoftheparliamentsin1707.UnificationledtothereplacementofScotswithEnglish;whenavernacularBiblecametoreplacetheLatinVulgateinScotland,itwastheAuthorizedVersion—dedicatedtotheScottishKingJames—whichwasadopted,ratherthanatranslationintoScots.Asaconsequence,theprestigevarietiesinScotlandtodayareStandardEnglishandScottishStandardEnglish,althoughScotscontinuestobespokenwidelyandretainsconsiderableculturalcapitalamongScottishnationalists.

LikeEnglishandotherindependentlanguages,Scotscomprisesseveraldistinctdialects:Insular(thedialectsofOrkneyandShetland),Northern(includingtheDoric—spokeninAberdeenandthenorth-east),Central,andSouthern(spokenintheBorders).Scotshasitsowntraditionofcodification,beginningwithJohnJamieson’sAnEtymologicalDictionaryoftheScottishLanguage(1808).Jamieson’sdictionaryistheearliestinstanceofanattempttocodifyanon-standardversionofEnglish(althoughamanuscriptcontaininganearlierincompleteandunpublishedScottishdictionarybyDrJohnson’sbiographerJamesBoswellhasrecentlybeendiscovered);however,Jamieson’stextanddefinitionsareinStandardEnglish.

Thetwelve-volumeDictionaryoftheOlderScottishTongue(coveringtheperiodfromthe12thtotheendofthe17thcenturies)andtheten-volumeScottishNationalDictionary(comprisingmaterialfromthe18thcenturytothepresentday),nowmergedelectronicallyastheDictionaryoftheScotsLanguage,

providetheScotslanguageanditsspeakerswithparallelresourcesforstudyingthehistoryofScotsastheOEDdoesfortheEnglishlanguage.Despitetheseresources,nostandardvarietyofScotsexiststoday;a20th-centuryattempttoproduceanartificialstandardwrittenform,knownasLallans,hasnotwonwidespreadsupport.

IsScotsadialectofEnglish,oralanguageinitsownright?Thelinguisticevidencepointsbothways.Atsomeplacesonthedialectcontinuum,EnglishandScotsaremutuallycomprehensible,whileatothers(theinsularandDoricdialectsforexample)theyarelinguisticallyfurtherapart.But,ultimately,theanswerdependsmoreonpoliticalorientationthanlinguisticfactors.ThecomparisonwiththerelationshipsbetweenDutchandGerman,DanishandNorwegian—distinctlanguageswithconsiderablelinguisticsimilarities—withwhichwebeganseemsaparticularlyusefulparallelinthecaseofScotsandEnglish.ScotsspeakersseekingtheindependenceoftheScottishnationarelikelytoviewScotsasaseparatelanguage,whilethoseinfavourofpreservingtheunionwillbecontenttoviewtheirlanguageascloselyaffiliatedtoEnglish.

AttitudesDespitetheirstatusaslocalvarieties,ModernEnglishdialectsarefrequentlyviewedtodayassociallyinferiortoStandardEnglish.Thisstigmatizationofregionalvarietiesisarelativelyrecentphenomenon;itistheresultofsocialprejudiceratherthanlinguisticfactors.AsIstressedinChapter4,sincevariationisthenaturalstateofalanguage,wewouldexpectdifferencestoariseinformsofEnglishspokeninlocationsthataregeographicallyseparate.

IfwegobacktotheearliestexamplesofEnglish,thereisclearevidenceforatleastfourdialectsofOldEnglish:WestSaxon(associatedwiththekingdomofWessex),Kentish,Mercian(usedintheMidlands),andNorthumbrian(usednorthoftheriverHumber).BecausetherewasnosinglestandardvarietyofMiddleEnglishwefindhugevariationinthewrittenrecordsfromthisperiod;sincedialectvariationwassoprevalent,noonevarietywasconsideredsuperiortoanother.

Itisinthe15thand16thcenturiesthatwewitnessthebeginningsofdialectprejudice;anearlyinstancecanbetracedinthewritingsofachroniclernamedJohnTrevisa,whocomplainedthattheNorthumbriandialectwasso‘scharp,slitting[biting]andfrottynge[grating]andunshape[unshapely]’thatsouthernerslikehimselfwereunabletounderstandit.Intheearly17thcentury,AlexanderGill,writinginLatin,labelled‘Occidentalium’(orWesterndialect)the‘greatestbarbarity’andclaimedthattheEnglishspokenbyaSomersetfarmercouldeasilybemistakenforaforeignlanguage.

Despitesuchremarks,thesocialstigmatizationofdialectwasnotfullyarticulatedbeforethe18thcentury,whenaprovincialaccentbecameabadgeofsocialandintellectualinferiority.InhisTourThro’theWholeIslandofGreatBritain(1724–27),DanielDefoereportedhisencounterwiththe‘boorishcountryspeech’ofDevon—knowntothelocalsasjouring—whichwasbarelycomprehensibletooutsiders.HavingheardaschoolboyreadthefollowinglessonfromScripture:‘Chavadoffedmecooat,howshallIdon’t,chavawash’dmyveet,howshallImoil’em?’(SongofSolomon5:3),Defoerecordshisastonishmentatfindingthatthe‘dexterousdunce’wasreadingfromacopyoftheBibleinwhichthewordsandspellingwerethoseofthestandardtext:‘Ihave

putoffmycoat,howshallIputiton,Ihavewash’dmyfeet,howshallIdefilethem?’InthisbriefanecdotewewitnessmanyofthesameassumptionsandprejudicesthatareassociatedwithdialectspeechinEnglandtoday.

AccentsAlthoughthetwoareoftenusedlooselyassynonyms,thereisatechnicaldistinctionbetweenadialectandanaccent.Whereaccentrefersexclusivelytopronunciation,dialectincludesaccent,grammar,andvocabulary.AllspeakersofEnglishuseanaccent;despitethis,itiscommontohearRPspeakersdescribedashavingnoaccent.ThisviewisprobablyinfluencedbytheideaofRPasastandardbywhichotheraccentsaremeasured,anditsstatusasavarietythatisnotregionallydelineated.

AlthoughthevariousaccentsofEnglishdifferinnumerouscomplexways,thefollowingsentencewasproposedbylinguistPeterTrudgillascontainingthemajordiagnosticfeatureswhichenablespeakersofdifferentdialectstobedistinguished:Veryfewcarsmadeitupthelonghill.Includedherearesuchimportantdistinguishingcriteriaaswhetherthespeakerusesthesouthern‘up’orthenorthern‘oop’,dropstheinitial‘h’inhill,andthe‘r’incar.Thegeographicaldistributionofthesefeaturescanbepartlyexplainedbyreferencetolinguistichistory,aswecanseefromthedistributionofrhoticaccents(thosewhichpronounce‘r’aftervowels)andnon-rhoticaccents(whichdonotpronounce‘r’insuchpositions)today.

AsModernEnglishspellingimplies,therhoticpronunciationwasafeatureoftheLondonaccentwhenspellingwasstandardizedinthe15thcentury.Spellingevidenceshowsthatthenon-rhoticpronunciationfirstappearedinEastAnglia,spreadingtothecapitalinthe16thcentury.Itwasnotuntilthe19thcenturythatthenon-rhoticpronunciationwasfullyacceptedintoprestigiousspeech;thepoetJohnKeats(1795–1821)wascriticizedbyreviewersforrelyingon‘Cockneyrhymes’suchasthorns/fawns.

Whilethedroppingof‘r’hadspreadtomostotheraccentsofEnglandbythe18thcentury,rhoticityremainsafeatureofaccentsspokeninthegeographicallymoreextremeareasofEnglandtoday:thesouth-west,north-west,andnorth-east.Thisdistributionsuggeststhatthelossofthisfeaturehasbeenspreadingoutwardsfromtheeasterndialectssincethe15thcentury,buthasnotyetaffectedthesefewremainingstrongholds.Fromthisdevelopmentwemightpredictthatpostvocalic‘r’willatsomestagebeentirelylostfromaccentsof

English,thoughitisimpossibletodetermineexactlywhenthisprocesswillreachcompletion.

DialectgrammarsWhereregionalaccentscanevokepositiveassociations—attractive,friendly,trustworthy—regionalgrammarsarealmostalwaysviewednegatively.Whileaccentsareusuallyconsideredsolelyaccordingtoplace,discussionsofdialectgrammarsfrequentlyconfuseregionalandsocialfactors.Doublenegatives,forexample,havenowbecomesowidespreadthattheyareviewedsimplyasnon-standard,orwrong.Butrecentdialectresearchhasshownthatdoublenegativesareconsiderablylesscommoninnortherndialects,indicatingthatthisisaregionalphenomenon.

Anotherfrequentmistakeistoconfusenon-standarddialectswithinformalusage.ButitisperfectlypossibletospeakinformallyusingStandardEnglish,justasitispossibletoadoptaformalregisterusingaregionaldialect.Comparethefollowingtwosentences:

Youaremakingmebloodycross.Youismakingmeextremelyirate.

ThefirstiswrittenwithStandardEnglishgrammar,butusinginformalvocabulary,includingthetaboowordbloody.Thesecondsentenceemploysthenon-standardverbconstructionismaking;thewordchoice,however,indicatesamoreformalregister.

Inpracticeitwouldbeveryunusualtohearanon-standardvarietyspokeninaformalcontext.WhatwouldyourresponsebetohearingthefollowingobservationontheBBCweatherforecast:‘I’mstoodoutsidetheBBCweathercentre.Theweatherissomewhatinclementbutthereain’tnosignofprecipitation’?Thewordchoiceindicatestheexpectedformalregister,eventhoughthesentenceusesnon-standardgrammaticalfeatures.Thereisnolinguisticreasonwhythisshouldsoundsooddtoourears;thedisjunctionisapurelysocialphenomenon,causedbyourbeingaccustomedtoassociatingformallanguagewithStandardEnglish.Thisbecomesallthemoreapparentwhenweconsiderothercountries,suchasNorwayandSwitzerland,whereitwouldbeperfectlypossibletoheardialectspeechinsuchformalcontexts.

AlthoughtheyaredismissedaslinguisticallyinferiorversionsofStandardEnglish,dialectgrammarsarefrequentlytheresultofchangesthathavebeenartificiallyhaltedbythefixedformsofStandardEnglish.Forinstance,thereisatendencyfordialectstouseasimplifiedversionofthepresent-tenseverbconjugationfoundinStandardEnglish.StandardEnglishhasthefollowingforms:

ItakeYou(sg.)takeHe/She/IttakesWetakeYou(pl.)takeTheytake

ThisisareducedformoftheverbconjugationfoundinearlierstagesofEnglish,whichattestedarichersetofendings.Asacomparison,hereistheequivalentconjugationforthisverbinMiddleEnglish(c.1500):

ItakeThoutakestHe/She/IttakethWetakenYetakenTheytaken

InStandardEnglishthe‘est’and‘en’endingswerereducedto‘e’,andanortherndialect‘s’replacedthesouthern‘eth’endinginthethird-personsingular.Thisisachangethatwascompletedbytheearly17thcentury;itcanbeobservedinprogressduringShakespeare’slifetime:hisearlyplaysshowgreateruseof‘eth’thanhislaterworks.

AlthoughthestandardModernEnglishparadigmlacksmostofthedistinctiveendingsfoundinearliervarieties,eventhe‘s’endingitselfissomewhatredundant,sincethesameinformationcanbegleanedfromthesubject.ModerndialectsofEnglishhaveironedoutsuchredundancies,creatinganevenmoresimplifiedparadigm:

ItakesYoutakesHe/She/Ittakes

WetakesYoutakesTheytakes

Analternativesimplification,inwhichthe‘s’endingisomitted,sothatallpersonsoftheverbareendingless,isfoundinanumberofEnglishdialects,suchasthatofNorwich,andofAmericanEnglish,includingChicanoEnglish(aformofEnglishinfluencedbySpanish,discussedfurtherinChapter6)andAfricanAmericanEnglish.

ThereplacementofthesecondpersonpluralpronounyewithModernEnglishyouispartofalargerprocessthatwitnessedareductioninthenumberofpronounformsthataccompaniedthelevellingofinflexionalendings.Theyoupronounishistoricallytheobject(accusative)form;asthesystemofcase-markingwasreplacedbyonerelyinguponmorefixedwordorder,fewerdistinctpronounformswererequired.Thistriggeredamergeroftheformerlydistinctaccusative(directobject)anddative(indirectobject)pronouns.Inthespokenlanguage,thismergerevenaffectedthesubjectpronoun,eventuallyleadingtothecompletereplacementofyebyyou.

ThetendencytoreplacethesubjectwiththeobjectpronounremainscommoninspokenEnglishtoday,althoughitiscondemnedbypuristswhovehementlyopposeconstructionssuchas:‘MeandBillyaregoingtotheshops’.Despitethestrongopposition,thisisevidentlyanaturaltendencywhichcanbetracedbacktotheEarlyModernperiod,andwhichmightwellhaveresultedinthereplacementofIwithmeifithadnotbeenartificiallyhaltedby18th-centuryprescriptivism.

Notalldistinctionsbetweenstandardandnon-standardvarietiesaresimplifications.AnimportantdifferencebetweentheMiddleandModernEnglishpronounsystemsisthelossofthesingular/pluraldistinctiontriggeredbythedroppingofthesecond-personpronounthou.ThishasleftagapintheStandardEnglishpronounsystem,makingitimpossibletodistinguishbetweenyou(singular)andyou(plural);manydialects,however,havedevelopedalternativepluralpronouns,suchasyous,yez,andy’all,whichenablesuchadistinction;insomenorthernvarietiesofModernEnglishtheproblemwasavoidedbytheretentionofthethoupronoun.Suchinnovationsserveasausefulcorrectivetotheclaimthatdialectgrammarsarenecessarilysimplificationsand

corruptionsofthelinguisticallysuperiorStandardEnglish.

DialectvocabularyWheredialectgrammarsgenerallyhavenegativesocialconnotations,regionalvocabularyisoftenviewedwithaffectionandcloselyboundupwithlocalidentity.AlargeprojectconductedbytheBBC,TheVoicesProject,aimedtocollectlocalvocabularyfromacrosstheUKduring2004–5.Theprojectwasgreetedwithconsiderableenthusiasm,elicitingawealthofvarianttermsanddemonstratingthevibrancyandlongevityofdialectvocabulary.

Forjustoneofitschosencategories—wordsusedtorefertothesoftshoewornbychildrenforPhysicalEducation—morethanfiftydifferenttermsweresubmittedtotheproject’swebsite(seeBox8).Itisnotjustspecificobjectsforwhicharichcollectionofregionaltermswerereported;wordsforfeelingcoldincludednesh,shrammed,nobbling,foonert,chanking,andbraw.

Box8DialectwordscollectedbytheBBCVoicesProject

child’ssoftshoeswornforPhysicalEducation:pumps,daps,plimsolls,gutties,sandshoes,gymshoes,plimmies,sneakers,sannies,andrunners.

playtruant:skive,bunkoff,wag,skip,mitch,dog,hookey,twag,sag,nickoff.

lackingmoney:skint,poor,hardup,brassick,penniless,short,boracic,potless,strapped,stoney.

left-handed:cackhanded,lefty,lefthanded,southpaw,corriefisted,caggyhanded,sinister,caggy,lefthooker,keghanded.

Derogatorytermswerealsofoundtoincludeadiverseregionallexicon;thewordssubmittedtodescribea‘youngpersonincheaptrendyclothesandjewellery’reflectedarichrangeofinsultinglabels.Theaccompanyingmapsshowthatsomeofthese,suchaschav,areinwidespreaduse,whereasothersareassociatedwithparticularregionalpockets.PikeyismostfrequentlyusedinLondon,scallyisfoundmostcommonlyinthenorth-west,andcharvainthenorth-east,whereasnedispredominantlyrecordedinthewestofScotland.

ThefutureWhiletheBBCVoicesprojectsuggeststhatregionalvocabularyisflourishinginBritain,itremainsdifficulttogaugehowwidelythesewordsextendwithintheirlocalcommunitiesandacrossthegenerations.SincewesawinChapter4howEstuaryEnglishisspreadingthroughoutthesouth-eastandwellbeyond,wemightwonderwhethertraditionalruraldialectsofEnglisharedisappearing.

ThespreadofEstuaryEnglishisnottheonlythreattoregionalusage;ruraldialectdistinctionsarealsobeingreducedviaaprocessknownas‘levelling’:dialectswhichwereformerlydistinctarebecomingmoresimilar.Doesthismeanthatdialectdifferencesarebeinglostentirely,pointingtoafutureinwhicheveryonewillspeakStandardEnglish,orperhapsEstuaryEnglish?

Suchasuggestionisnotnew;thestigmatizationofdialect,combinedwithmajorsocialchangesassociatedwiththeIndustrialRevolutionandurbanization,promptedafearamong19th-centuryphilologiststhatregionaldialectswouldbeeradicated.Inresponsetothis,theEnglishDialectSocietywasfoundedbyW.W.Skeatin1873,launchingthecollectionofmaterialsthatledtothepublicationofJosephWright’sEnglishDialectDictionary(1898–1905)andEnglishDialectGrammar(1905).IntheprefacetoEnglishDialectGrammar,Wrightpredictedthatthedialectsrecordedinhisworkwouldfalloutofuseentirelywithintwentyyearsofitspublication.

Thenextsystematicattempttocollectdialectmaterialswaslaunchedinthe1940sbyHaroldOrton,aProfessorofEnglishatLeedsUniversity.ThissurveyconductedfieldworkinmorethanthreehundredlocationsacrossEngland,collectingthelanguageofolder,working-classmalesinruralcommunities(so-calledNORMs—Non-mobileOlderRuralMales)inordertoelicitthemostconservativeformsofspeech.Theinformantswereinterviewedbyresearcherswhorecordedresponsesforsome1,300linguisticitems,relatingtotopicssuchasfarming,housekeeping,animals,andnature.Thisprojectculminatedinthepublicationofthecollectedmaterialsinfourvolumes(1962–71),followedbyTheLinguisticAtlasofEngland(1978),whichsuppliedmapsindicatingthegeographicalrangeofdialectwordsandpronunciations(seeFigure9).Advancesintechnologyinthe1950smeantthatrecordingscouldbemadeofinterviews

withinformants,andaselectionoftheoriginalrecordingsarenowavailableontheBritishLibrary’swebsite.

9.Dialectmap:wordsusedtorefertoacow-shedinEnglandandWales.

Fortheproject’sinstigator,StanleyEllis,theundertakingwastimelyandurgent,

sincethetraditionaldialectswerebeinglostasquicklyastheycouldrecordthem:‘Veryofteninvisitingavillageto-day,afieldworkerwillbetoldthathehasarrivedjusttoolate,foroldso-and-so,whowastherightmantoanswerquestionsaboutoldtimes,hasrecentlydied,andtherearenomorenativeslikehimleft.’

AsimilarprojecttocollectregionalAmericanvocabularyforaDictionaryofAmericanRegionalEnglish(DARE)wasofficiallylaunchedin1962withtheappointmentofitseditor,FredericG.Cassidy,althoughmaterialshadbeenassembledandpublishedbyitssponsoringbody,theAmericanDialectSociety,sinceitsfoundationin1889.TheestablishmentofthissocietywasinspiredbythemodelofWright’sEnglishDialectDictionary,beguninthesameyear.

MaterialsforDAREwerebaseduponresponsestoalistofsome1,600questionscoveringarangeoftopics,includinghouseholditems,farming,flowers,children’sgames,religion,andmoney,collectedbyateamofeightyfieldworkersduringinterviewsconductedatmorethanathousandlocationsacrossAmericabetween1965and1970(seeBox9).Informantswerealsoencouragedtotalkinformallyandtoreadasetpassage,‘ArthurtheRat’,designedtoincludealltheimportantpronunciationvariantsinUSEnglish.Thecompletedworkwaspublishedinfivevolumesbetween1985and2012,andanelectronicversionhasbeenavailableonlinesince2013.Accompanyingthedictionaryentriesaremapsindicatingwherewordswererecorded,aswellassupplementaryinformationabouttheage,race,sex,education,andbackgroundoftheinformants.

Box9SampleentriesfromtheDictionaryofAmericanRegionalEnglish

feest:disgustedwith,satedby,madenauseousby,nauseated.

honeyfuggle:toswindleordupe,tointendtocheatortrick.

larruping:delicious,excellent.

mulligrubs:aconditionofdespondencyorilltemper,avagueorimaginaryunwellness.

rantumscoot:anoutingwithnodefinitedestination.

toad-strangler:averyheavyrain.

yee-yaw:toswervebackandforth,wobble.

Moderndialectologyhasmadeimportantdeparturesfromthismethodology,withitsfocusonNORMsandrelianceuponfixedquestionnaires,infavourofanalysingabroadercross-sectionofthepopulationandalargerselectionoflinguisticvariablesinarangeofstyles.Insteadoffocusingontheoldestmembersofestablishedruralcommunities,modernstudieshaveexaminedthespeechofthegeographicallyandsociallymobile,focusingparticularlyontheyoungergeneration,whotendtobeleadersoflinguisticinnovations.Ratherthanpromptinginformantstogiveone-wordanswersbyaskingquestionsofthetype‘Whatdoyoucallthat?’inordertoelicitwordsforabstrusefarmingtermssuchasthestretcher—thewoodenrodthatpreventsthetracesfromchafingtheleadinghorseinateam—moderndialectologistselicitdatainarangeofformats:readingawordlist,readingapieceoftext,andengagingincasualconversation.

Theresultsofsuchstudieshaveshownthat,whiletheseearlydialectologists

wereundoubtedlyrightinnotingthedisappearanceofsomeregionalvarieties,theywerewrongtoviewthisasthedemiseofregionalspeech.Whatwasreallyhappeningwasthereplacementofolderruralvarietieswithnewerones,oftenbasedinemergingurbancentres.

SimilardevelopmentshavebeendocumentedinnewtownslikeMiltonKeynes,establishedinthe1960s,wherethefirstgenerationofchildrentohavegrownuptherewerefoundtohaverejectedthedialectsusedbytheirparentsandthoseofthelocalBuckinghamshirearea,infavourofarangeoffeaturestypicalofsouth-easterndialects,includingCockneyandEstuaryEnglish.ParallelstudiesinReadingandHullhaveshownasimilarprocessofdialectlevellingreducingthedifferencesbetweengeographicallydistantvarieties.Intheirplace,newregionalvarietiesareemergingandbeingspreadoverawidergeographicalarea,asmorepeoplemovefrominnercitiestosmallersuburbantowns.

Workingagainstthisgenerallevellingoflocallanguageistheassociationofdialectspeechwithidentityandbelonging.TherolesuchvaluescanplayinreinforcingandpreservinglocallanguagewasidentifiedbyAmericansociolinguistWilliamLabovinaninvestigationintothespeechpatternsofresidentsofMartha’sVineyard,anislandoffthecoastofMassachusetts.Labov’sresearchshowedthatagroupofyoungerislandershadsubconsciouslyadoptedapronunciationofwordslikehowandlifecharacteristicofasmallcommunityoflocalfisherman,settingthemapartfromtheotherresidents.SinceMartha’sVineyardisregularlyoverwhelmedbysummervisitorsfromNewEngland,whosepresenceisaboneofcontentionamonglocalresidents,Labovconcludedthattheadoptionofthesepronunciationsbytheyoungpeoplewasadeliberateattempttoidentifywiththelocalcommunityratherthanwiththeunwelcometourists.

RegistersAswellasvaryingaccordingtotheuser,languagealsovariesaccordingtouse—whatisknownasregistervariation.AsusersofEnglishweinstinctivelyrecognizethisfactwhenweadjustourlanguageaccordingtocontext;thinkofthewayyouwouldvaryyourlanguagebetweentalkingtoachild,givingaspeech,writingajobapplication,andsendingatextmessagetoaclosefriend.Althoughwemaynotbeabletoexplainthevariouslinguisticmodificationsandaccommodationsinvolved,weconsciouslyadaptourlanguagetothesituation.Whilemanysuchswitchesareinstinctive—speakingtoababygenerallypromptstheemploymentofababylanguageknownas‘motherese’(or,followingarecognitionthatfathersspeaktobabiestoo,‘child-directedspeech’)—othersaremoreartificialandmustbeexplicitlytaught,suchastheconventionsassociatedwithformalletter-writing(whether,forexample,tosignoff‘yourssincerely’or‘yoursfaithfully’).

Thereis,ofcourse,considerableoverlapbetweenthelinguisticfeaturesassociatedwithvariousregisters;itwouldbeimpossibletosetoutallthevariousregistersavailabletoasinglespeaker.Togiveaflavourofthelanguage’sflexibilityandpotentialforcreativeengagement,thenextsectionwillinvestigatetheemergenceofnewvarietiesassociatedwithelectroniccommunication.

ElectronicdiscourseTherehasbeenmuchconcerninthepressaboutthelinguisticpovertyofthismedium,anditscorrespondingcorruptionofthelanguageasawhole.AccordingtoJohnSutherlandofUniversityCollegeLondon,writinginTheGuardianin2002,textspeakis‘bleak,bald,sadshorthand.Drabshrinktalk…Linguisticallyit’sallpig’sear…itmasksdyslexia,poorspellingandmentallaziness.Textingispenmanshipforilliterates.’InanarticlepublishedintheDailyMailin2007,thebroadcasterJohnHumphrysaccusedthetextinggenerationofwreckingtheEnglishlanguage,describingthemas‘vandalswhoaredoingtoourlanguagewhatGenghisKhandidtohisneighbourseighthundredyearsago.’Butaresuchclaimswarranted?Letusstartbyconsideringtheviewthatelectroniccommunicationislinguisticallyimpoverished.

NeologismsOneofthedistinctivefeaturesofelectronicdiscourseisthecoiningofnewwords,characterizedbyclippedforms,suchasblog(weblog)andapp(application);blends,blogosphere,twitterverse;acronyms,LOL(laughingoutloud),TL;DR(toolong;didn’tread);andfancifulrespellingssuchasphishandphreak.Inthecaseofwordsliketehandpwn,whoseoriginslieinthefrequentmistypingofthecorrectformstheandown,itseemslegitimatetowonderwhethersuchdemonstrablyerroneousformsqualifyasacceptableEnglishwords.

But,whilethenewformulationsofelectronictechnologyareoftencriticizedforbeinguglyandilliterate,similarobjectionswereraisedwhenthewordtelevision,ablendoftheGreektelos‘far’andtheLatinvisio‘see’,wascoinedtorefertothatnew-fangledinvention.ForC.P.Scott,theword’smixedetymologyheraldeditsdoomedfuture:‘ThewordishalfGreek,halfLatin.Nogoodcancomeofit.’

SuchhybridformationsweredenouncedbyH.W.FowlerinModernEnglishUsage(1926),althoughheconcededthattheonlywayofidentifyingsuch‘barbarisms’—byconsultingacompetentphilologist—wouldnotalwaysbepractical.TheobjectionableexamplescitedbyFowlerincludebureaucrat,cablegram,andelectrocute—noneofwhichwouldbeobjectedtotoday.Aswithmanysimilarobjections,onewonderswhetherFowler’sdistastewasreallydirectedatwhatthewordsrepresented,ratherthanthewordsthemselves.Similarly,anantipathyformoderntechnologyandtherapidsocialandculturalchangeitisprecipitatingdrivesmanyofthecomplaintsdirectedatitslinguisticcontent.

Therapidexpansionanddevelopmentofnewtechnologyandsocialmedia,combinedwithitsinherentlyin-group,anti-authoritarianethos,presentparticularchallengesforthosetaskedwithregulatingusage.ArecentattemptbytheAcadémieFrançaisetoobligetheFrenchTwitteratitousethetermmot-dièseratherthantheEnglishhashtagtorefertothe‘#’symbolhighlightstheineffectualnatureofsuchpronouncements.OpponentsofthisrulingtooktoTwittertoridiculethislatestattempttoregulateonlineusage,employingthe

hashtag#fightingalosingbattle.PreviousattemptsbytheAcadémietooutlawthewordsemailandblogprovedsimilarlyineffective.

Despitetheplayfultendencythatliesbehindcoinagesassociatedwithnewtechnology,manysuchformationsarecreatedusingmoretraditionalmethods.AsaGermaniclanguage,Englishhastraditionallydrawnuponaffixes—grammaticalunits,knownas‘morphemes’,addedtothebeginnings(prefixes)andends(suffixes)ofwords.AffixationwasanespeciallyproductivemeansofexpandingthelexiconinOldEnglish,beforetheimpactofFrenchfollowingtheNormanConquest,asitstillisinotherGermaniclanguagestoday(seeChapter2).

InOldEnglishthe‘un’prefixwasusedasanegativemarker,sothattheoppositeoffriþ‘peace’wasunfriþ‘war’;itwasalsoaddedtoverbstoindicatethereverseofanaction,asinunbindan‘unbind’.Exactlythesameprocessliesbehindrecentformationssuchasunfollowandunfriend—termscoinedbythemicro-bloggingandsocialmediaplatformsTwitterandFacebook.AlthoughthemajorityofsuchusescitedintheOEDarefromtheelectronicrealm,thereisasinglequotationfroma17th-centuryletterinwhichthewriterexpressesthehopethatheandhisrecipientarenot‘mutuallyUn-friendedbythisDifferencewhichhathhappenedbetwixtus.’Exampleslikethisremindusthatsuchformationsarenotnew,noraretheyrestrictedtoelectronicdiscourse.

Theproductionofnewwordsbyblendingtwowordstogether,creatingwhatareknownas‘portmanteauwords’,isnotrecenteither.ThetermwasinventedbyLewisCarroll,orratherhiscreationHumptyDumpty,whocoineditwhenaskedbyAlicetoexplainthewordsslithyandmimsyinthepoemJabberwocky.Heexplainsthatthesewordsareablendoflithe+slimyandflimsy+miserable,andthereforefunctionlikeaportmanteausuitcase,inwhichtwodistinctcompartmentsarefoldedintoone.

Whilethesewordshavenotstuck,Carroll’sparallelcoinagechortle(chuckle+snort)isstillinuse.Alongsidesuchfancifulformationsareeverydayinstanceslikesmog(smoke+fog),ginormous(gigantic+enormous)andOxbridge(Oxford+Cambridge).Whileblendsareacharacteristicfeatureofelectronicdiscourse—thinkofphablet,podcast,webinar,emoticon—theyarecommoninotherareas,suchascookery—brunchandcronut(croissant+doughnut)—andentertainment—docudramaandinfomercial.

Acronymsandinitialisms(wherethelettersarepronouncedseparately)havesimilarlylengthyhistories;eventhecontemporary-soundingOMG(OhmyGod)hasbeentracedbackbytheOEDasfaras1917.TheinitialismLOL(LaughingoutLoud)beganlifeasafeatureofelectronicdiscourse;butitsincreasinguseinspeechasanacronym(pronouncedasasingleword‘lol’)followsasimilarpathasVAT,andevenscuba(Self-ContainedUnderwaterBreathingApparatus)andradar(RadioDetectionandRanging).

Whileelectroniccommunicationtendstofavourabbreviations,theintroductionofsmartphones,withafullkeyboard,andofunlimitedtexts,hastendedtomakelogogramslikeCU‘seeyou’,L8R‘later’,andH&‘hand’lesscommonintexting.WhileinitialismslikeBTW(bytheway),IMHO(inmyhumbleopinion),andFWIW(forwhatit’sworth)canstillbefound,onesuspectsthatsomeofthoselistedintextingmanuals,suchasGD&R(grinning,ducking,andrunning),FOTCL(fallingoffthechairlaughing),andPMIJI(pleasemayIjumpin),aremoreunusual.

Anothercommonmethodofnewwordformationassociatedwithelectronicdiscourseisconversion,popularlyknownas‘verbing’,bywhichawordshiftsitsclasswithoutanychangeinform.ExamplesofthisincludeGoogleit,‘lookitupusingthesearchengineGoogle’,Facebookme‘sendmeamessageonFacebook’,andtrend‘bethesubjectofnumerouspostsonasocialnetworksite’.TheCalvinandHobbescartoonfrom1993(Figure10)showsthattheideathatverbing‘weirds’languageisnotnew;conversionsofthiskind,suchasaction,dialogue,impact,interface,arefrequentlycitedinsupportoftheviewthatmanagerialjargoniscorruptingEnglish.Whileverbingispopularlyseenasamodernfad,itismucholder;manyunremarkableverbsincommonusetoday,suchasrain,bottle,andnear,aretheresultofconversion.

10.CalvinandHobbeson‘verbing’.

Aswellascoiningnewformations,technologicaldevelopmentshaveledtochangesintheusesofestablishedwords.Amousecannolongersimplybedefinedas‘alittleanimalhauntinghousesandcornfields,destroyedbycats’,asitwasbyDrJohnsonin1755.Trollsarenotjustfoundlurkingunderbridgespreyingonunsuspectingbillygoats,tweetingisnotlimitedtobirds,andsurfingnolongerrequiresasurfboard.

PunctuationThedifferentpragmaticrequirementsofelectronicdiscoursehavepromptedthedevelopmentofaseriesofnewconventionsfortheuseofpunctuationmarks.Theexcessiveuseofexclamationmarks,knownasbangorrhea,omissionoffull-stops,andtheapparentlyrandomuseofcapitallettershasledmanylanguagepuriststocondemntheilliteracyofelectronicdiscourse,andtofearforthefutureoftraditionalpunctuation.But,farfromindicatinganignorantmisuseoftraditionalpunctuation,electronicdiscoursehasrepurposedthesemarkstoconveyspecificsemanticandpragmaticeffects.

Inaface-to-facespokeninteraction,thespeakerreceivescontinualfeedbackfromtheaudienceandsocangaugetheimpactofanutteranceandmakeadjustmentsaccordingly.Duringaspokenconversationitispossibletoemployextralinguisticcueslikefacialexpression,toneofvoice,intonation,volume,andhandgesturestohelpconveythecorrecttoneofamessage.

Writtenlanguagereliesuponpunctuationtocarrysuchinformation;but,becausetherepertoireofmarksisrestrictedandpredefined,thedegreeofattitudinalinformationthatcanbeconveyedthiswayislimited.Sincetherecipientofthemessageisnotphysicallypresent,itisnotpossibleforthewritertorespondtoanindividual’sreactionwhilewriting.Whereaspokeninteractionisgenerallybetweenasmallgroupofpeople,awrittencommunicationcouldpotentiallybereadbyamuchlargernumberofunknownpeople,overalongerperiodoftime.Predictingandpre-emptingtherangeofpossiblereactionsofawrittentext,therefore,isimpossible.

Wheredoemail,texting,instant-messaging,andtweetingfitintothisspeechandwritingdichotomy?Sincetheyareconveyedusingwrittensymbolswithoutaphysicallypresentinterlocutor,electronicmessagesclearlybelongwiththewrittenmedium.Buttheydifferfromtraditionalepistolaryformsinbeinggenerallybriefandwrittenatspeed,omittingthepolitenessstrategiesofaconventionalletter,andwithlittleornorevision.Whereanexchangeusingthepostalservice,or‘snailmail’,takesplaceoveraperiodofdays,anemailinteractioncanhappeninrealtime.ItisthisblendingoffeaturesofspeechandwritingthathaspromptedDavidCrystaltocharacterizetextingas‘speaking

withyourfingers’.

Whatappearstobearandomandignorantmisapplicationofthestandardrepertoireofpunctuationmarksinelectronicdiscourseis,oncloserexamination,moreoftenasophisticatedattempttoconveytheattitudinalandemotionalinformationtypicallyassociatedwithspeechinawrittenmedium.Thestandardrangeofpunctuationmarksallowsquestionsandexclamationstobedistinguishedfromstatements,butitisnotpossibletoindicatequestionsthatarealsoexclamations.Theinterrobang,devisedin1962byMartinK.Speckter,theheadofanAmericanadvertisingagency,wasanattempttofillthisgap;inelectroniccommunicationitiscommontofindsentencesendingwithbothaquestionmarkandanexclamationmark:‘Whatwereyouthinking?!’

Theexclamationmarkhasexperiencedsomethingofaresurgenceintheelectronicage.F.ScottFitzgeraldconsideredtheirusetheequivalentoflaughingatone’sownjokes,whileH.W.Fowlerviewedexcessiveuseoftheexclamationmarkthesignofanamateurwriter,oroneattemptingtoadd‘aspuriousdashofsensationtosomethingunsensational’.Butthewidespreaduseofexclamationmarksinelectronicdiscourseisnotsimplyevidenceofamoderndelightinone’sownhumour,oratendencytooversensationalize.Researchhasshownthattheycarryarangeofexclamatoryfunctions,includingapologizing,challenging,thanking,agreeing,andshowingsolidarity.Attemptstodefuseanargument,ortomakeadirectapology,areoftenstrengthenedbytheuseofexclamationmarks:Calmdown!Myapologies!

Anothermethodofconveyingtoneistoaddanemoticon,orsmiley.Earlyinstancescompriseingeniousattemptstousecombinationsofkeyboardstrokestoproduceafacialexpressionasameansofconveyingthespeaker’smood,fromthebasic:-)tomorecomplexandambiguousexamples,suchas>:\(supposedlyintendedtorepresentscepticism),and;((whichimpliessadnesswithahintofsarcasm).Ingeneral,therangeofexpressionsisrathercrude,andremainsopentomisinterpretation;doesasmilingfaceindicatethatyouarelaughingwithsomeoneoratthem?Doesthedoublesmileymouthmeanyouareveryamused,orimplyingyourrecipienthasadoublechin?:-))

TherestrictionsimposedbytheuseofASCIIcharactersinemoticonshavebeenovercomebytheneweremoji,asmalldigitalpictogramusedtoconveyemotionorsimpleconceptsinelectroniccommunication.FromtheJapanesee-‘picture’

+moji‘character’,emojiswerefirstdeployedbyJapaneseteenagersontheirpagersinthe1990s,andtherearenownearly800charactersinuse.Useofemojishasexpandedsuchthatitiscommonforentiremessagestobeconveyedusingthesesymbols—enablingthemtobeunderstoodbyspeakersofanylanguage.Acrowd-sourcedprojecthassuccessfullytranslatedtheentiretyofHermanMelville’sclassicnovelMobyDickusingemojis.Thelimitationsofthelinguisticformatareimmediatelyapparent,however:inEmojiDickthenovel’sfamousopening‘CallmeIshmael’isrepresented,somewhatcryptically,byaseriesoficonsshowingatelephone,amanwithamoustache,aboat,awhale,andanOKsign.

Whileexclamationmarks,smileys,andemojisoffermethodsofdefusingsituationsandapologizing,whathappenswhenyouwanttodeliberatelyprovokeorinsultsomeone?Heretraditionalpunctuationofferslittlehelp,sincetherearenomarksthatexplicitlyindicateangeroraggression.Inelectronicdiscourse,however,theuseofcapitalshasbecomeanestablishedmeansofshouting,orexpressinghostilitytowardsyouraddressee.Towriteanemailentirelyinuppercaseisseenasanactofdeliberateaggression;aNewZealandwomanwasdismissedfromherjobforsendingemailsexclusivelyincapitals,whichweredeemedtobethecauseofdisharmonyintheoffice.TheUSNavywasforcedtochangeitspolicyofrequiringallcommunicationstobeinuppercase,sincesailorsaccustomedtoreadingtextmessagesandemailsconsideredthedefaultuseofcapitalsastheequivalentofbeingconstantlyshoutedat.

Farfrombeinganimpoverishedmedium,electroniccommunicationischaracterizedbycreativityandplayfulness,spawningnewwords,andrepurposingtraditionalconventionsofspellingandpunctuation.Sinceemails,tweets,andtextmessagesareintendedtobeshortmissiveswritteninhaste,withoutrequiringtheproofreadingandrevisionthatarecommonlyappliedtomoreformalwriting,itisnotsurprisingthattheycommonlyincludespelling,punctuation,andtypographicalerrors.SincemessagespostedonTwitterarelimitedto140characters,itistobeexpectedthattweetershaveresortedtoabbreviatedspellingsandlightpunctuation.

ToviewsuchfeaturesasevidenceofilliteracyistomakethesamemistakeasjudgingdialectspeechaccordingtotheconventionsofstandardwrittenEnglish.Whileitremainsinappropriatetoadoptasimilarlyrelaxedattitudetowardsspelling,punctuation,andgrammarinformalwrittenEnglish,thisisanaccepted

aspectofelectronicdiscourse.Attemptstopoliceelectronicusageandtoinsistitsusersfollowconventionalrulesseemdoomedtofailure.

Chapter6GlobalEnglishes

InhisElementarieof1582,RichardMulcaster,headmasteroftheMerchantTailors’school,commentedontheEnglishlanguage’slimitedcoverage:‘ourEnglishtung…isofsmallreatch,itstretchethnofurtherthanthisIlandofours,naienotthereouerall’.Thissituationwasshortlytochangeinadramaticway.AtthetimeMulcasterwaswriting,thenumberofnativeEnglishspeakersisestimatedtohavebeenbetweenfiveandsevenmillion;bytheearly21stfirstcenturythatnumberhadincreasedtoaround450million.AmajorreasonforthishugeexpansioninspeakerswasthecolonizationofAmerica,whichbeganshortlyafterMulcaster’sworkwaspublished.

EnglishinAmericaThefirststepinthespreadofEnglishacrosstheglobewasthesuccessfulsettlementatChesapeakeBay,namedJamestownandVirginiabythecolonistswhosettledthere.AsecondsettlementfollowedwiththearrivalofagroupofPuritansontheMayflower,establishingacolonyinPlymouth,Massachusetts.Astheprocessofmigrationcontinuedthroughoutthe17thcentury,thediscretedialectboundariesthathadexistedinEnglandwerejumbledup,assettlersfromdisparateEnglishcountiesfoundthemselvescloseneighbours.

Asaconsequence,newdialectsemerged,drawingfeaturesfromeachofthecontributingdialectsandtherebygivingrisetomanyofthedifferencesthatsetAmericanEnglishapartfromitsBritishancestortoday.TheQuakersfromthemidlandandnorthernEnglishcountiesbroughttheflatterandmorefronted‘a’soundinlast;thiscontrastswiththelonger,backvowelfoundtodayinsouthernEnglishaccentsinwordslikepathandbath—theresultofan18th-centurydevelopment.Puritansfromthesouth-westbroughtthe‘r’soundaftervowels,asinhard.

AlthoughtodayAmericanEnglishisfrequentlycaricaturedasacorruptinginfluenceuponthepurertonguespokeninEngland,manyofitscharacteristicfeaturesreflectthepreservationof17th-centuryusages.WhereRPdroppedthe‘r’incar(seeChapter5),thissoundhasbeenpreservedinmostAmericanaccents;themainexceptionisthespeechofBoston,whichcontinuedtobeinfluencedbythefashionableLondonaccentinthe19thcentury,andwherethenon-rhotic(‘r’-less)pronunciationisseenashighlydistinctive—ascapturedinthestereotypephrase‘IparkedthecarinHarvardYard’.

OtherolderusagesthathavebeenpreservedinAmericanspeechincludetheunroundedvowelsoundinnot(comparethesimilarsoundimpliedbytheMiddleEnglishspellingnat),an‘h’-lesspronunciationofherb(MiddleEnglisherbe),doveasthepasttenseformofdive,andgotten,analternativepastparticipleofgotusedinMiddleEnglish(preservedinthearchaicphraseill-gottengains).WordsconsidereddistinctivelyAmericantodayhavetheirrootsinearliervarietiesofEnglish,suchasfallforautumn,andthephraseIguess,frequentlyattestedinMiddleEnglish.

Thistendencyforcolonialvarietiestopreservearchaicfeaturesoftheparentlanguageiswellattested;itisknowntolinguistsas‘coloniallag’—aproblematictermwhichshouldnotbetakentoimplythatthelanguageistryingtoplaycatch-up.Justasitisimportanttoavoidseeingacolonialvarietyasalazychild,weshouldalsobewaryofexaggeratingtheviewofAmericanEnglishasapurerformofEnglish,preservingdirectlinkstotheEarlyModernperiod.ThisviewismostclearlyarticulatedinthemythicalnotionthattherearepeoplelivingintheAppalachianhillsofNorthCarolinawhocontinuetotalklikeShakespeare.

AswellaspreservingearlierfeaturesofEnglish,AmericanEnglishimportedwordsfromthelanguagesofotherEuropeansettlers—speakersofFrench,Spanish,Portuguese,German,andDutch.Aswithallothercolonialvarieties,italsoadoptedwordsfromthenativelanguageswithwhichitcameintocontact,especiallythosereferringtolocalflora,fauna,andcustoms.FromthenativeAmericanlanguagesarederivedraccoon,opossum(literally‘whitedog’),moccasins,wigwam(‘theirhouse’),andpowwow(fromarootmeaning‘hewhodreams’).

Patternsofborrowingvariedgeographically;whilemanyYiddishloanwords,suchasklutz,chutzpah,maven,andmensch,havenowpercolatedintoGeneralAmerican,thesewerefirstadoptedinlargeurbanareaslikeNewYorkCity.TerritoriessupportedbytheslavetradeshowtheearliestintroductionofwordsofAfricanorigin;fromtheBantulanguagecomewordsforfoods—goober‘peanut’,gumbo‘okra’,andbeliefs—suchaszombie,referringtoacorpserevivedbywitchcraft.TheimportationofthesenativeAmericanandAfricanloanwordsconcealsadarkerhistoryofconquest,subjugation,slavery,andnearextinction;thespreadofEnglishinNorthAmericacameattheexpenseofthenativelanguagesandtheirspeakers.

Inspelling,AmericanEnglishlargelyfollowstheBritishmodel,thoughtherearesomedistinctivedifferences.ThesewereestablishedbyAmericanlexicographerandspelling-reformerNoahWebster(1758–1843)andencodedinhisAnAmericanDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage(1828)—partofadeliberateattempttosetAmericanEnglishapartfromitscolonialancestor.ThesespellingreformswerealsodesignedtomakeAmericanspellingreflectpronunciationmoreclosely,hencetheremovalofthesilent‘u’incolor,honor,favor,andtheuseof‘er’insteadof‘re’inmeterandtheater.NotallofWebster’sproposed

changescaughton;reformedspellingssuchasdetermin‘determine’,altho‘although’,crum‘crumb’,ile‘isle’,soop‘soup’,andfashon‘fashion’wereasteptoofar.

But,whileWebsterwasdeterminedtoassertthevalidityofadistinctivelyAmericanlanguage,drawinghisevidenceofusagefromdistinguishedwriterssuchasFranklin,Washington,andAdams,theviewthatAmericansspokeacorruptedformofEnglish(a‘pye-bald’dialectinthewordsofonewriter)wasalreadyprevalentamongcitizenswhosoughttopreserveanattachmenttoBritain.

EnglishinCanadaThespreadofEnglishtoCanadawastheconsequenceofcoloniesestablishedbyNewEnglandersinthe18thcentury,principallyconstitutedofthosewhoremainedloyaltoBritainfollowingtheAmericanDeclarationofIndependencein1776.Atthesametime,settlersarrivedfromEngland,Scotland,andIreland,addingfurtherdialectstothemixture.Asaresult,therearemanysimilaritiesbetweentheEnglishheardinCanadaandAmerica,althoughCanadianEnglishsharesseveralfeatureswiththeEnglishspokenintheUK.Intermsofpronunciation,CanadianstendtosoundlikeAmericanstomostpeoplefromoutsideNorthAmerica;distinctivefeaturesincludetherhoticpronunciationofcar,the‘d’-likepronunciationofbottle,andtheuseofAmericanalternativeslike‘tomayto’forBritishEnglish‘tomahto’,and‘skedule’forBritishEnglish‘shedule’.

CanadianEnglishdoesnotfollowAmericanEnglishinallsuchcases;BritishEnglishpreferencesarefoundinwordslikenews,whichispronounced‘nyoos’ratherthan‘noos’,andinthepronunciationofanti-,whereAmericanEnglishhas‘antai’.WhileCanadianEnglishfollowsAmericanEnglishinmuchofitsvocabulary,comparegas(BritishEnglishpetrol),sidewalk(BrEngpavement),trunk(BrEngboot),itpreservesEnglishwordssuchastap(AmericanEnglishfaucet),cutlery(Americansilverware),andserviette(Americannapkin).CanadianEnglishspellingtendstofollowBritishconventions,asinhonour,colour,centre,andtheatre,althoughsomeindividualwords,likecurbandtire,followtheAmericanpractice.

EnglishinAustraliaandNewZealandThesameprocessofdialectmixingthattriggeredadistinctiveAmericanvarietyliesbehindtheEnglishesspokeninAustraliaandNewZealand.BritishconvictswhoweredeportedtoAustraliainthelate18thand19thcenturieswerefrequentlyofCockneyandIrishextraction,sothatthesedialectshaveaparticularimportancefortheformationofthedistinctiveAustralianaccent.ColoniallagisevidentinthepreservationofsomearchaicEnglishwords,suchastheAustraliantucker‘food’,fromthewordtuck,stillpreservedinold-fashionedEnglishtuckshopsandtuckboxes,anddunny‘toilet’,whichwascurrentinEnglishslangofthelate18thcentury.

OtherfeatureswhichareuniquelyAustralianarewordsformedbyaddingan‘ie’ending,asinbarbie‘barbeque’,coldie‘coldbeer’,rellies‘relatives’,andevenAussie,aswellascontractionslikearvo‘afternoon’,journo‘journalist’,andbeaut‘beauty’.BritishsettlersinAustraliaadoptedlocalwordsfromAboriginallanguagestodescribeculturalobjectsandpracticesspecifictoAustralia,suchastheboomerang,fromtheDharuklanguage,andindigenousanimalssuchaskoala,wallaby,andkangaroo.

Sadly,thestorythatthenameofthekangarooderivesfromthelocals’bemusedresponse,‘Idonotknow’,whenaskedthenameoftheanimal,appearstobeentirelyfictional;rathermoreprosaically,thewordkangaroocomesfromanativewordganurru.ThewordandtheanimalwereintroducedtotheEnglishinanaccountofCaptainCook’sexpeditionof1770.Shortlyafterthis,duringhistouroftheHebrides,DrJohnsonisreputedtohaveperformedanimitationoftheanimal,gatheringupthetailsofhiscoattoresembleapouchandboundingacrosstheroom.LatervoyagestoBotanyBaybroughtEnglishsettlersintocontactwithAboriginalswhoknewthekangaroobythealternativenamepatagaran,butwhosubsequentlyadoptedthewordkangaroo.Kangaroo,therefore,isaninterestingexampleofawordborrowedintooneAboriginallanguagefromanother,viaEuropeansettlers.

ThefirstsettlersinNewZealandarrivedinthe1790s,althoughofficialcolonieswerenotestablisheduntil1840.Becausethisisamorerecentvariety,moreisknownaboutthedialectsoftheearliestsettlerswhofirstmigratedfromBritain

toNewZealand.Recordingsmadeinthe1940sofspeakersbornandraisedinNewZealandrevealaliberalandapparentlyrandomconglomerationoffeaturesdrawnfromagreatvarietyofEnglishdialects.GreateraffinitytoBritainhasledtotheacceptanceofmoreinfluencefromtheEnglishspokeninBritain,whileadesiretosettheNewZealandusageapartfromthatofAustraliahaspromptedfurtherdistinctivedifferencesinaccent.WheretheAustralianaccenttendstopronouncetheplacenameSydneyas‘Seedney’,NewZealandersprefera‘Sudney’-stylepronunciation.

TheinfluxofEnglishspeakerstriggeredadramaticdeclineintheindigenousMaorilanguage,whichhadbeenspokenbythePolynesianpeopleswhohadsettledtheislandsduringthefirstmillennium;thenumberofmonoglotMaorisdroppedby75percentduringthe19thcentury.WhilevillageschoolsinstructedtheirpupilsinMaori,thiswasabridgetoenabletheacquisitionofEnglishliteracyandculture,andbytheearly20thcenturytheuseofMaorihadbeenofficiallyoutlawedinschoolplaygrounds.

Morerecently,awillingnesstoembraceMaoriculturehasledtothedeliberateadoptionofwordsfromtheindigenouslanguages,especiallyintoponyms.InsomecasesindigenousnamesareusedalongsideEnglishones:MountTaranaki/MountEgmontandAoraki/MountCook.MorecommonMaoriloanwordshavealsobeenadoptedintowideruse,suchaspuku(stomach),kai(food),kapai(good),maunga(mountain),waka(boat),wai(water),wahine(woman),andkiaora(hello);beyondahandfulofwordslikekiwiandhaka,fewareknownoutsideNewZealand.But,whilethe1987MaoriLanguageActgaveEnglishandMaoriequalstatusasco-officiallanguages,therelativelysmallnumberofMaorispeakers(around14percentofthetotalpopulationofmorethanfourmillion),combinedwiththeirrelativelylowsocialposition,meansthatthelanguagecontinuestobeunderthreat.

ModelsThedisseminationofEnglishlinkedtotheexpansionanddominationoftheBritishEmpireisonlypartofthestoryofthelanguage’sprogressionacrosstheglobe.TodayEnglishistheprimarylanguageinsomesixtycountriesandcontinuestospread,especiallyasasecondlanguage.AusefulmodeltodocumenttheexpansionofEnglishtoday,developedbyanIndian-Americanlinguist,BrajB.Kachru,employsthreeconcentriccirclestoreflectthedifferentwaysinwhichEnglishcontinuestogainnewspeakers(seeFigure11).

11.Kachru’smodelofglobalEnglishes.

TheInnerCirclerepresentstheEnglishlanguage’straditionalheartland,theUSA,Canada,theUK,Australia,andNewZealand,whereitisspokenasanativetonguebysome350millionpeople.TheOuterCirclecomprisesnon-nativecountrieswhereEnglishhasanimportantstatusasanofficialsecondlanguage,includingpostcolonialcountriessuchasSingapore,Kenya,andIndia.

ThethirdconcentriccircleistermedtheExpandingCircle:thisencompassesallothercountrieswhereEnglishisrecognizedasaninternationallanguage,usedinbusinessandtrade,butwhereithasnospecialstatus,norahistoricallinkwithEnglandthroughcolonization,suchasChinaandJapan.

WecouldviewthesecolonialEnglishesasoffspringoftheparentlanguage,usingafamily-treemodelsimilartothatdevelopedbyphilologistsreconstructingtherelationshipsbetweenolderformsoflanguagefamilies.Alimitationofsuchamodelisthatitassumesstraightdescent,makingnoallowanceforinfluencebetweenthesevarieties,suchasthemajorroleplayedbyScotsandIrishspeakersinthedevelopmentofUS,NewZealand,andAustralianvarieties.AnotherlimitationofsuchamodelisthatitplacestheUKattherootofthetree.Thismaybehistoricallyaccurate,butthecentralityofBritishEnglishismuchlesscleartoday.TherearenowfarmorespeakersofEnglishintheUSAthaninBritain,whilethesuccessofAmericanpopularcultureandmedia,combinedwithitsdominanceasthelanguageoftheInternet,meansthattheEnglishspokenintheUSAhasbecomeincreasinglyinfluential.

DespitealonghistoryofBritishprejudiceagainstAmericanEnglish,whichcanbetracedbacktoDrJohnson,whovieweditsinfluenceasthesortof‘corruptiontowhicheverylanguagewidelydiffusedmustalwaysbeexposed’,Americanismslikemovie,cookie,andelevator,itsdistinctivespellingssuchasthruanddonut,phraseslike‘CanIgetacoffee’,‘I’mgood’,andpronunciationslike‘skedule’ratherthan‘shedule’,arespreadingacrosstheglobe.

ThemixingofEnglishesandtheformationofdistinctivenewvarietiesisacceleratedbyitsuseamongnon-nativespeakersasalinguafranca.Suchinteractionstendtoresultinconsiderable‘code-switching’—alinguistictermthatreferstothewayspeakersshiftbetweentheirnativelanguagesandEnglishinaconversation.ThisisperhapsmostevidentinSouthAsia,wheretherearehugenumbersofspeakersforwhomEnglishistheirsecondlanguage,thoughitsstatusvariesacrossthedifferentconstituentcountries.

EnglishinSouthAsiaTheoriginsofSouthAsianEnglishlieinBritain;theEnglishlanguagewasestablishedinIndia,Singapore,Malaysia,andHongKongastheywereincorporatedwithintheBritishEmpire.DuringtheperiodofBritishsovereigntyinIndia,Englishwasadoptedastheprincipallanguageofadministration,law,andeducation.Today,EnglishretainsofficialrecognitionasanassociatelanguageofIndia,alongsidethemainofficiallanguageofHindi,althoughinsomeareasitistheofficiallanguage,whileinothersitispreferredtoHindiasalinguafranca.SincethepopulationofIndiaisinexcessofabillionpeople,thiscreatesthepotentialforavastcollectionofEnglishspeakers,althoughthevaryinglevelsofeducationmeanthatthetotalnumberiscloserto250million,withperhapsonly350,000usingEnglishasafirstlanguage.

Afurther22millionpeoplespeakEnglishasasecondlanguageinPakistan,Nepal,Bangladesh,Bhutan,andSriLanka.EnglishisusedinHongKong,Singapore,andMalaysiaasthemediumfortheeducation,legal,andadministrativesystems,thoughitisnotaccordedanyformofofficialstatus.EnglishenjoysamorecentralroleinSingaporethaninMalaysia,whereMalayisdominant,orinHongKong,whereChinesehasprimarystatus.

Mixedvarieties:SinglishTheinteractionbetweenEnglishandtheseAsianvarietieshasledtoconsiderablelanguagemixing;inSingapore,anewvariety,knownasSinglish,hasemerged.WhiletheSingaporeaneducationsystem,itsbroadcastingcorporation,andnewspaperssuchastheStraitTimescontinuetorecognizeStandardBritishEnglishanditsRPaccent,manySingaporeansemployacolloquialvarietywhichmixesEnglishwithMalayandChinese.

AcharacteristicinstanceofsuchmixingisthefrequentuseoftheChinesediscourseparticleslahandah,taggedontotheendsofsentencestoconveyemphasis:‘Ok-lah’,ortoindicateaquestion:‘ShouldIgo-ah?’Singlishincorporatesloanwords,suchastheMalaymakan‘food’,andChineseangpow‘cashgift’,whilewordsofEnglishoriginhavedifferentmeanings,suchassend‘take’andstay‘live’.FurtherdistinctivefeaturesofSinglishincludeitstendencytodroparticles,‘Youhavebook?’,pluralinflexions,‘Ihavetwocar’,verbendings,‘YesterdayIwalkhome’,‘Thistastegood’,andeventheverbtobe:‘Thismanclever’(seeFigure12).

12.AdvertisementinSinglish.PulaiUbin,Singapore.

Despiteitswidespreaduse,especiallyamongtheyoungergeneration,theofficialstatusofSinglishcontinuestoprovokecontroversy.TheSingaporegovernmentremainsfirmlycommittedtothepromotionofStandardEnglishasthelanguageofeducation,trade,commerce,andtechnology.InordertochallengethewidespreaduseofSinglish,in2000thegovernmentlaunchedthe‘SpeakGoodEnglish’campaign,whichaimedtopromoteStandardEnglishattheexpenseofSinglish,consideredtobeincomprehensibletooutsiders.

DespitetheappearanceofChinglish,Japlish,Denglish,Anglikaans,andothermixedvarieties,or‘interlanguages’,theirstatuscontinuestobehotlydebated.Aretheyexamplesof‘code-switching’,pidgins,ordialectsthathaveborrowedsignificantlyfromanotherlanguage?

ThemixedvarietycalledChicanoEnglish,popularlyknownasSpanglish,isawell-establisheddialectwidelyusedamongthemorethan44millionmembers

ofAmerica’sHispanicpopulation,alongsideseveralotherSpanish-influenceddialects.SinceitisspokenasafirstlanguagebypeoplewhoarenotbilingualsofSpanishandEnglish,andhasitsownradiostations,TVtalkshows,advertisements,andmagazines,ChicanoEnglishhasastrongcaseforbeingconsideredalanguageinitsownright.Yetwhilemanyofitsnativespeakerspraiseitsflexibilityandexpressiveness,traditionalistscontinuetocastitinsociallydivisivetermsasan‘invasion’ofonelanguagebyanother.

Informercolonies,theappropriationandremodellingrepresentedbymixedformsofEnglishhavepoliticalandideologicalramifications.WheretheStandardEnglishofBritainislinkedwithanation’scolonialpast,mixedformsofEnglishcometostandforgreaterpoliticalandnationalindependence.AsthenovelistSalmanRushdiehaswritten:‘Thosepeopleswhowereoncecolonizedbythelanguagearenowrapidlyremakingit,domesticatingit,becomingmoreandmorerelaxedaboutthewaytheyuseit.AssistedbytheEnglishlanguage’sflexibilityandsize,theyarecarvingoutlargeterritoriesforthemselveswithinitsfront.’ThereappropriationandremodellingofEnglishthatisapparentinsuchmixedvarieties,drivenbycommunicativeandideologicalfactors,islikelytoplayamajorroleinthelanguage’sfuturedevelopment.

PidginsandcreolesThekindoflanguagemixingrepresentedbySinglishisoftenlabelled‘pidginEnglish’—atermusedpopularlytodescribeunsuccessfulattemptstospeakEnglish.Inlinguistics,pidginEnglishisaneutraltermthatreferstoasimplifiedversionofEnglishspokenbypeopleforwhomEnglishisnottheirnativelanguage.AnEnglishpidginactsasakindoflinguafranca,usedforspecificandrestrictedpurposes,suchascarryingoutinternationaltradeandbusiness.Becauseofthis,pidginstendtoemergealongtraderoutes,ashappenedalongthewesterncoastofAfrica,orintheCaribbeanandPacificIslands.English-basedpidginsarestillfoundtodayinAustralia,WestAfrica,theSolomonIslands,andPapuaNewGuinea.

ThetermpidginisthoughttoderivefromanattemptbyChinesespeakerstoreproducetheEnglishwordbusiness,sothatetymologicallypidginEnglishmeans‘businessEnglish’.Theprocessofpidginizationoccurswhenasimplifiedversionofalanguagecomestobeusedforalimitedsetoffunctions—suchasintheworldofbusiness.Asaresult,thedominant,or‘superstrate’,languagegenerallyundergoessimplification,andisofteninfluencedbythenative,or‘substrate’,language(s)ofitsspeakers,sothattheresultinglanguagepresentsaconsiderableadmixtureoffeatures.

AlthoughsuchlanguagesarefrequentlydismissedasbeingunsuccessfulattemptstospeakEnglish,orcorruptionsofEnglish,theyareneither.Criticismsofthe‘corrupt’Englishspokenbycolonialsocietiescanbetracedbacktothe19thcentury;the‘barbarousidiom’employedbyJamaicannativeswaspresentedasevidencebothoftheirinferiorracialstatusandthethreattheyposedtoBritishsocietyandculturalvalues.TheconceptofpidginEnglishwasactivelycultivatedin19th-centuryBritainandtheUSAinordertoconstructaraciallyprejudicedimageoftheChineseamongwesterners.

However,likeanyotherlanguage,apidgincandevelopaconsistentstructureofitsown.Althoughitisbaseduponfeaturestakenfromseveraldistinctlanguages,thisisnodifferentfromStandardEnglish,whichhasborrowedliberallyfromotherlanguagesthroughoutitshistory.Whereapidginlanguagebeginstobelearnedbychildrenastheirfirstlanguage,itacquiresfulllanguagestatusandis

termedacreole,fromaFrenchwordmeaning‘indigenous’.Thetechnicaldistinctionbetweenapidginandacreole,therefore,isthatthelatterhasnativespeakers.

Somescholarshavesuggestedthatpidginsprovideinsightsintotheprocessesoflinguisticevolution;butothersdisputethis,arguingthatfarfrombeingevidenceoftheevolutionaryprocess,apidginrepresentsacorruptionofatruelanguage.Itistruethatpidginsaresimplifiedlanguagesthatmustdevelopintocreolesbeforetheycanbeginthedevelopmentbacktoafulllanguage.Butpidginsshouldnotbeconfusedwiththekindofspontaneouscorruptioncausedbyaspeakertryingtocommunicateinalanguageforwhichheorshehasonlythemostbasiccompetence,eventhoughtheymayhavetheiroriginsinsuchattempts.

AlthoughitmaynotbeapparenttoaspeakerofStandardEnglishunfamiliarwithapidginizedvariety,pidginsemploystructureswhichmustbelearned—albeitmorestraightforwardlythanalanguagelikeGermanorFrench—andwhichcannotsimplybeimprovised.Whereapidgintendstoadoptvocabularyitemsfromthesuperstratelanguage—Englishinthecaseswearediscussinghere—itsgrammaticalstructureusuallyderivesfromthesubstratelanguage.

TokPisin(literally‘talkpidgin’)isthenamegiventotheEnglish-basedcreoleusedinPapuaNewGuinea,formedinthe19thcenturybetweenEnglishtradersandspeakersofindigenouslanguagesintheSouthPacific.ItisrelatedtoPijin,spokenintheSolomonIslands,andBislama,spokeninVanuatu.SincePapuaNewGuineaishometosome750differentindigenouslanguages,TokPisinhasservedaninvaluableroleinenablingcommunicationbetweencommunities.Itwasnotuntilthe1960s,however,thatitbegantobeacquiredbychildrenasanativetongue.

SincethegrammaticalstructureofTokPisinappearsacrudesimplificationofthatofEnglish,withfeaturescommontothelanguagespokenbychildren,itwaslongdismissedasunworthyofseriousstudy.TokPisinusesthepronounmiasthesubjectpronoun—anerrorfrequentlycommittedbychildrenandfrowneduponbypurists(seeChapter5).Butitsgrammaticalstructureismorecomplicatedthanthissuggests.Forinstance,possessiveconstructionsareformedbyaddingthewordbilong‘belong’;theequivalentofmyfatherinTokPisinisthereforepapabilongmi.Pluralsareformedbyaddingthesuffix‘pela’,

derivedfromtheEnglishwordfellow:thusthesecond-personsingularpronounyuhasapluralequivalentyupela.Thereintroductionofanumberdistinctioninthesecond-personpronounshowsthatapidginisnotnecessarilygrammaticallylesssophisticatedthanafulllanguage,sinceyupelaenablesadistinctionwhichhasnotbeenpossibleinStandardEnglishsincethesecond-personsingularpronounthoubecameobsolete(seeChapter5).

Becausescholarsdismissedpidginsandcreolesasunfitforseriousstudy,littlewasrecordedabouthowandwhysuchlanguagescameintobeing.Anolderviewthatattributedtheirsimplifiedstructuretotheinferiorintellectualabilitiesofprimitivesocietieshasnowbeendismissed,sinceithasbeenshownthatthelanguagesofsuchcommunitiesarejustasdevelopedasthoseofmoreadvancedcivilizations,albeitoftenwithamorelimitedlexicon.

Analternativetheoryproposesthatpidginizationbeganwhennativespeakersdeliberatelysimplifiedtheirspeechinordertoaidcommunication,inthesamewayasacontemporaryspeakerdoeswhengivingdirectionstoatouristtoday,orasaparentdoestoachild.Thenon-nativespeakerrespondsinasimilarway,unawarethatthisformofthelanguageisadrasticsimplification.Accordingtoamodifiedversionofthistheory,basedontheassumptionthatinamaster–slaverelationshipthenativespeakerisunlikelytoaccommodateinthisway,thepidginisconsideredtobetheresultofanimperfectlearningofthelanguage,exacerbatedbyalackoffeedbackandcorrection.

ThefutureGiventhisnarrativeofconstantexpansion,languagemixing,andnewdialectformation,wemightwonderwhatthefutureisforEnglishinthe21stcentury.Willitscontinuedspreadleadtofurtherfragmentation,sothatfuturespeakersofEnglisharoundtheglobewillnolongerbeabletounderstandeachother?

DespitetheeffortsoftheSingaporeangovernment,Singlishcontinuestoflourish.AsnewgenerationsgrowuppreferringmixedtongueslikeSinglishinthehome,theplayground,andonthestreets,sothesevarietieswillbegintosupplantStandardEnglishinthemoreformalandprestigiousdomains.WhileStandardEnglishretainsanimportantinternationalfunctioninSingapore,Singlishplaysakeyroleintheestablishmentofanationalidentityandinnegotiatingandmaintaininginterpersonalrelationships.ThedisplacementofStandardEnglishinofficialuseinitsformercolonieswouldinevitablyleadtogreaterdivisionsbetweentheEnglishoftheInnerCircleandthatusedintheExpandingCircle.Wouldsuchvarietiesremainmutuallyintelligibleundersuchconditions?

Onewayofpredictingthefuturemightbetolookbackatthepast.ThedominanceofEnglishtodayhasparallelsintheroleofLatininpre-modernEurope.HavingbeenspreadbythesuccessoftheRomanEmpire,ClassicalLatincontinuedtobeemployedasastandardwrittenvarietythroughoutmuchofEuropelongafterthefalloftheRomanEmpire.Butonceithadlostitspopulationofnativespeakers,ClassicalLatinbecameanartificialandlearnedwrittenvariety,increasinglydivorcedfromtheVulgarLatinusedinspeech.Thespokenlanguagecontinuedtochange,resultingintheemergenceofnewdialects,theancestorsoftheRomancelanguages:French,Spanish,Portuguese,Romanian,andItalian.MightthefuturewitnessasimilarbreakupofEnglishintoaseriesofmutuallyincomprehensibleEnglishes?Ifthisweretohappen,wouldtheselanguagesbeEnglish,orsomethingelseentirely?

ButwhiletheanalogywithLatinisausefulone,therearecleardifferences.WhereClassicalLatinfelloutofuseentirelyin17th-centuryEurope,StandardEnglishcontinuestooccupyaprominentroleontheglobalstage.AslongasEnglishretainsitssignificanceinimportantdomainssuchastheUnitedNations,

theEuropeanCommunity,scienceandtechnology,andtheentertainmentindustry,itwillpreserveitsdominantstatusasaworldlanguage.WhileClassicalLatinstruggledonasalanguagewithoutnativespeakers,StandardEnglishremainsthevarietyusedinwritingbysome450millionpeople.WhateverthesuccessoftheSingaporegovernment’sGoodEnglishcampaign,itdoesatleastservetohighlighttheenduringstatusandprestigeofStandardEnglish.

Analternativeprojectionintothefuturemightpredictthat,ratherthanwitnessthebreak-upofStandardEnglish,thefollowingcenturieswillseeStandardEnglishfunctionasaunifyingforce,justasClassicalLatindidintothe17thcentury—longafteritsspokenvarietieshadbrokenupintodistinctdialects—enablingittofunctionasalinguafranca(inwritingatleast)foralongtimeafteritsdemiseasanativelanguage.DespiteceasingtobeamothertongueinAD400,ClassicalLatincontinuedtobelearned,andpersistedasthelanguageofreligious,scholarly,andhistoricaldiscoursethroughoutEuropeuntiltheendofthe17thcentury,enablingscholarly,diplomatic,andreligiouswritingstotraversenationalboundaries.AsimilarrolecouldbefilledbyStandardEnglishinthefuture,enablingandfacilitatingcommunication,ratherthanstandinginitsway.

LinguistshavedetectedtheemergenceofavarietyknownasWorldStandardEnglishinusethroughouttheglobe,whichmaylendqualifiedsupporttosuchatheory.Althoughnotasingle,fixedvariety,WorldStandardEnglishappearstobeoperatingasaregionallyneutralandincreasinglyuniformstandard,availableforusebyEnglishspeakersofanynation.Initswrittenform,thisstandarddrawsuponAmericanconventionsofspelling;inchemistrywefindsulfurratherthansulphur,incomputingwefindprogramnotprogramme,disknotdisc.InthespokenlanguageitremainsunclearwhethertheBritishprestigeRPaccentortheGeneralAmericanaccentwillcometoberecognizedasasingleagreedstandard.AfurtherpossibilityisthatitwillbeneitherBritishEnglishnorGeneralAmericanthatwillbeselected,butratherakindofcompromisevarietythatdrawsonboth,andpotentiallyother,Englishes.Apossiblemodelforthisisthe‘Euro-English’thatcanbeheardwithintheEuropeanParliamentamongrepresentativesfromthroughouttheEuropeanUnion.

Predictionsaboutthebreak-upoftheEnglishlanguageintodistinctlanguagesarenotnew.Writingin1877,thelinguistHenrySweet(theinspirationbehindBernardShaw’sHenryHiggins)assertedthatinahundredyears:‘England,

America,andAustraliawillbespeakingmutuallyunintelligiblelanguages.’WhileSweet’sconfidentforecastwarnsusagainstattemptingtopredictthefuture,italsoremindsusthatgloomypropheciesabouttheendofEnglishasweknowitarenotnew,anddonotnecessarilycometrue.

Chapter7Whydowecare?

‘“Youseemedtofindoneortwoofthereportsveryinteresting,sir.”“DidI?”Morsesoundedsurprised.“Youspentabouttenminutesonthatonefromthesecretarialcollege,andit’sonlyhalfapage.”“You’reveryobservant,Lewis,butI’msorrytodisappointyou.Itwasthemostill-writtenreportI’veseeninyears,withtwelve—noless—grammaticalmonstrositiesintenlines!What’stheforcecomingto?”’(ColinDexter,LastBustoWoodstock,1975,p.33).

WhywouldabusyChiefInspectorspendhistimescrutinizing,counting,andcorrectingthegrammaticalmistakesinthereportssubmittedtohim,ratherthanfocusingontheircontents?WhyshouldthesloppygrammarofamissivefromthesecretarialcollegeprovokeMorseintodespairforthefutureofthepoliceforce?Whydowecareaboutgrammarandspellingtotheextentthatminorerrorstriggerparoxysmsofdespondencyandgloomconcerningthefutureofoursocietyanditslanguage?

RightsandwrongsSincemostpeoplerecognizetheinevitabilityoflinguisticchange,orareatleastawarethatShakespeare’slanguagediffersfromourown,wemightwonderwhytheyareunwillingtoallowthelanguagetocontinuetochangetoday.Oneanswertothisquestionliesinthefactthat,asusersofEnglish,itisimpossibleforustotakeanexternalstancefromwhichtoobservecurrentusage.AswehaveallhadtoacquiretheEnglishlanguage,negotiatingitsgrammaticalniceties,itsfiendishlytrickyspellings,anditsunusualpronunciations,itisimpossibleforustoadoptaneutralpositionfromwhichtoobservedebatesconcerningcorrectusage.Inhissoapboxrantagainstsloppygrammarandpoorspelling,comedianDavidMitchellconfesses:‘I’mcertainlyhappytoadmitthatIdohaveahugevestedinterestinupholdingtheserulesbecauseIdidtakethetroubletolearnthemand,havingputthateffortin,Iamabundantlyincentivizedtomakesurethateveryoneelsefollowssuit.’

ThispointiswellarticulatedbythelinguistsJamesandLesleyMilroy,whocontendthat‘Allsocialactorsviewthesociolinguisticworldfromtheperspectivecharacteristicoftheirgroup.Thereisnoabsolutelyneutralperspective—noviewfromnowhere.’Differentsocialandeducationalcircumstancescreatealternativeperspectivesfromwhichtojudgewhatiscorrect,or‘ordinary’,usage,asweseeinthisexchangeinD.H.Lawrence’snovelLadyChatterley’sLover(1928)betweenLadyConstanceChatterleyandhergamekeeperMellors,whospeakswithabroadDerbyshiredialect:

‘’Appenyer’dbetter’avethiskey,an’Ahmunfendfort’bodssomeotherroad’…Shelookedathim,gettinghismeaningthroughthefogofthedialect.‘Whydon’tyouspeakordinaryEnglish?’shesaidcoldly.‘Me!Ahthowtitworordinary’.

Conventionsofcorrectusagearedrummedintousearlyinourlives,byparentsandschoolteachers,anditisverydifficulttoshaketheseoffinadulthood.Evenprofessionallinguistsstruggletodoso.DeborahCameron,authorofVerbalHygiene,astudyoflinguisticprescriptivism,observesthatasaprofessionallinguistshehaslearnedtoovercomeknee-jerkvaluejudgementsthatareinappropriateinthisfieldofstudy.But,despitethis,shestillfindsherselfsensitivetoparticularsolecisms:‘IcanchoosetosuppresstheirritationIfeel

whenIsee,forexample,asignthatreads“Potatoe’s”;Icannotchoosenottofeelit.’

MarySchmich,writingintheChicagoTribunefollowingBarackObama’sapparentmisuseofthewordenormityinhispresidentialacceptancespeechof2008(seeChapter3),foundherselfwincingassherecalledhersixth-gradeteacher,MissBirch,shouting‘Enormitydoesnotmeanit’sbig’;Schmichwrites:‘BecauseIwasbrowbeateninmyformativeyearsbysuchlanguagewarriors,Ifeltcalledtocrusadetorestore“enormity”toitspropermeaning:“monstrouswickedness”.’Despitetheunpleasantandintimidatingwayinwhichthis‘proper’meaningwasdrilledintoherasachildbyabullyingteacher,thiswriterhasunquestioninglyadopteditspremise,alongwithacompulsiontoimposeituponothers.

Muchofthesuccessofstyleguidesmaybecreditedtosociety’stacitacceptancethattherearerightsandwrongsinallaspectsofusage,andadesiretobesavedfromembarrassment.Ratherthanquestionthegroundsfortheprescription,weturntousagepunditsasweonceturnedtoourschoolteachers,insearchofguidanceandcertitude.Inafast-changinganduncertainworld,thereissomethingreassuringaboutknowingthatthevaluesofourschooldayscontinuetobeupheld,andthatthecorrectplacementofanapostrophestillmatters.

GoodgrammarinthemarketplaceAnotherreasonforourconcernwithsuchpedantryisboundupwiththesocialcachetthatsurroundstheconceptof‘goodgrammar’.Thecommercialpotentialof‘goodgrammar’canbeobservedinthewaythatcompaniesdeliberatelyinvokenotionsofcorrectnesstoappealtoaneducatedandwealthydemographic.WhyelsewouldthesupermarketchainTescofeelcompelledtobowtopublicdemandandrewordthe‘10itemsorless’signsthataccompanytheirsupermarketcheckouts?Thechangeto‘Upto10items’wasimplementedfollowingpressurefromthePlainEnglishcampaign,whoclaimthattherevisedsignis‘easytounderstandandavoidsanydebate’.Butwasthereeveranyconfusionwiththeformerwording?Howmanypeoplewerereallyobjectingtothesignsonthegroundsthattheywereunabletocalculatehowmanyitemstheywerepermittedtotaketothecheckout?Iftheywere,thenewsignsareunlikelytoclarifymatters,sinceitmightreasonablybeinferredthatupto10itemsmeans9ratherthan10.

Simplyavoidingthestigmatized‘10itemsorless’willnotsatisfytruepedants,forwhomtheonlycorrectversionwouldread‘10itemsorfewer’(seeFigure13).Thisisbecause,accordingtotherulesofcorrectgrammar,fewershouldbeusedofcountnouns,andlessofmass(non-countable)nouns.ThevalueofmaintainingsuchstandardsinanattempttoappealtoaparticularkindofcustomeriswellunderstoodbyWaitrose,whosesignsread‘10ItemsorFewer.’Respondingtothiswording,onebloggerwrites:‘Fromnowon,IshallonlyeverbeshoppinginWaitrose.IloveyouWaitrose.Ireally,reallyloveyou.’Itishardtoimaginethesameemotionalresponsebeingtriggeredby‘Upto10items.’Byusingfewer,Waitroseissendingamessageofsolidaritytoitscustomersthatsays‘wecareaboutthesamethingsasyoudo’,whilesimultaneouslyallowingitscustomersthechancetofeelasenseofsocialandintellectualsmugnessandsuperiority.

13.Fewerorless?

But,whileWaitrosemayappeartobebravelyupholdinganimportantgrammaticaldistinctioninaworldthathasceasedtocareforsuchmatters,thebasisforthisso-calledruleisespeciallyflimsy.Aswithmanyofthegrammaticalprescriptionswehavemetinthisbook,itsoriginslieinthe18thcentury.ItwasfirstformulatedbyRobertBakerinhisReflectionsontheEnglishLanguage:BeingaDetectionofmanyimproperExpressionsusedinConversation,andofmanyotherstobefoundinAuthors(1770),wherehewritesofless:‘ThisWordismostcommonlyusedinspeakingofaNumber;whereIshouldthinkFewerwoulddobetter.NofewerthanaHundredappearsto

menotonlymoreelegantthanNolessthanaHundred,butmorestrictlyproper.’Itisclearfromthewordingofthisstatementthat,farfromsettingdownahardandfastruletobefollowedforhundredsofyearstocome,Bakerissimplyexpressingapersonalpreferencebasedonhissubjectiveideasofstylisticelegance.Mostsignificantly,hewascertainlynotbasinghisstatementonpreviouspractice,sincelesshadbeenusedofcountablenounssinceOldEnglishtimes.

Whilethedistinctionbetweenfewerandlessremainssacrosanctforsomepeopletoday,thereareotherswhoareoblivioustosuchnuancesofusage.Whenitcomestoamountsofmoney,distance,andtimethisruledoesnotapply.Wesaylessthan10miles,lessthan10minutes,lessthan10pounds.Sincesupermarketcheckoutsrefertothetotalamountofitems,itisperfectlyacceptabletosay10itemsorless.

FollowingWaitrose’slead,otherretailershavelookedtocashinonthemarketabilityofgrammaticalcorrectness.TheLondondepartmentstoreSelfridgeswentasfarasinvitingN.M.Gwynnetoofferin-storegrammarclassestoitsshoppers(thoughnotfarenoughfortheApostropheProtectionSociety,whichhascampaignedforthereinsertionoftheapostropheintothenameofthedepartmentstore).

But,whilegoodgrammarmayappealtoaparticularkindofcustomer,companieswishingtoconnectwithayoungerdemographicdeliberatelycontravenesuchconventions.ThustherestaurantchainMcDonald’sdropsthe‘g’initsslogan‘I’mlovin’it’,thoughitreplacesitwithanapostrophesoasnottoalienateitsolderandmoretraditionalcustomerbase.AppleMacintosh’s1997slogan‘ThinkDifferent’,insteadofthegrammaticallycorrect‘ThinkDifferently’,usesnon-standardgrammartosignalitswillingnesstostandapartfromthecrowdandtoappealtoamoremodern,laid-backcustomerbase.Wheregoodgrammarisseentoenshrineandmaintaintraditionalsocialhierarchies,non-standardgrammarconsciouslyunderminesandchallengesthem.

GoodgrammarintheclassroomFormany,goodgrammarisacipherforothersocialvalues,suchaspoliteness,respect,andthepreservationoftraditionalsocialmores.Forthem,thedroppingofformalgrammarteachinginschoolsisdirectlyresponsibleforthebreakdowninsocialhierarchies,youthunemployment,crime,andmanyothersocialills.Inthe1980s,amoveawayfromformalgrammarteachinginEnglishsecondaryschoolswascitedbysomesocialcommentatorsasthetriggerforawidespreaddisregardforhonestyandresponsibilityamongyoungpeople.

InaninterviewonRadio4in1985,ConservativeMPNormanTebbitlinkedstandardsofEnglishwithstandardsofdressandhygiene,andlevelsofhonestyandlaw-abidance:‘IfyouallowstandardstosliptothestagewheregoodEnglishisnobetterthanbadEnglish,wherepeopleturnupfilthyatschool…allthesethingstendtocausepeopletohavenostandardsatall,andonceyoulosestandardsthenthere’snoimperativetostayoutofcrime.’

In2009,PrinceCharles,along-standingadvocateoftheteachingofgrammar,madeanexplicitlinkbetweenthevaluesof‘balanceandharmony’andtherediscoveryof‘thebookofgrammar,chuckedoutofthewindowinthetwentiethcentury’.Suchcommentstendtoreflectamisunderstandingofwhattheformalteachingofgrammaractuallyinvolves,orexactlywhatkindsofknowledgehavebeenlost.Insuchdebates,‘grammar’representsaparticularsetofeducationalvalues—onesthatemploytraditionalmethodslikerotelearningandformalexaminations.

AkeyfactorintherejectionofgrammaticalstudyinEnglishschoolsinthe20thcenturywastheriseofEnglishliteratureasadiscipline.Asasubjectconcernedwithcultivatingcriticalawareness,artistictaste,andliterarysensibilities,thescientificstudyofthelanguage(initiallyknownasphilology)wasfelttobeirrelevanttoEnglishStudies.

Thereintroductionofformalgrammaticalteachinginthe1980swasaccompaniedbyashiftfromaprescriptivisttoadescriptivistmethodology.Wherepreviousapproachestogrammarteachinghaddrilledchildrentoavoid‘errors’suchasIwasstood,thenewcurriculumencouragedanappreciationof

dialectalandnon-standardvarietiesalongsidetheacquisitionofStandardEnglish.Formanytraditionalists,thispermissiveapproachrepresentsawatering-downofthesubjectandaloweringofeducationalstandards,accompaniedbyalossofvaluedteachingmethods,suchasgrammaticalparsing,memorization,androtelearning.Thebenefitsofsuchapproachesoverwhathedisparaginglyreferstoasa‘Modern“child-centred”educationtheory’isstressedbyN.M.Gwynne,whourgeshisreaderstolearnhisgrammaticaldefinitions‘exactlybyheart,includingeventheirwordorder’.

GoodgrammarandLatingrammarThedroppingofgrammarfromtheEnglishcurriculuminthe1960scoincidedwithadeclineintheteachingofClassicsinEnglishschools.OnceEnglishgrammarwasreintroducedwiththeNationalCurriculumin1988,thiswasseenbysomeasanopportunitytorevivetheformalgrammaticaldescriptionthathadpreviouslybeentheprovinceofLatinandGreek.

Throughoutitshistory,thecodificationoftherulesofcorrectgrammarhasbeencloselylinkedwiththeteachingofclassicallanguages.WesawinChapter4how18th-centurygrammariansmodelledtheiraccountsofEnglishgrammaruponthatofLatin.TheprestigeofLatinhascontinuedtoinfectaccountsofEnglishgrammaruptothepresentday.H.W.Fowler,whoseModernEnglishUsage(1926)wasthemostinfluentialusageguideofthe20thcentury,readClassicsatOxfordandspentsometimeasaClassicsteacherbeforeturningtolexicography.HislinguisticprescriptionsaresoakedthroughwithedictsderivedfromLatingrammar.TheLatinuseofthenominativecasefollowingtheverbtobepromptsFowlertocondemnEnglishconstructionssuchasitisme;accordingtoFowler,this‘falsegrammar’shouldproperlybeitisI.Fowler’sprescriptioncontinuestofindloyaladherentstoday;ironically,itisprobablytoblameforthewidespreadovercompensation(or‘hypercorrection’)whichleadstothepreferenceforincorrectIinphrasessuchas‘betweenyouandme’.

FowlerdefendedhisrelianceuponLatinmodelsagainstcriticismsfromtheDanishlinguistOttoJespersenbyarguingthat‘ourgrammaticalconsciencehasbythistimeaLatinelementinextricablycompoundedinit’.NotehowFowlerappealsherenottolinguisticfactsbuttoa‘grammaticalconscience’,suggestingthattheinfluenceofLatinoccupiesadifferentorderofimportanceforEnglishspeakersthanapurelylinguisticone.

Aswehaveseen,manyofourideasoflinguisticcorrectnesswereestablishedinthe18thcentury.Duringthisperiod,concernsforlinguisticcorruptionandcorrectnessweretriggeredbytheestablishmentofnewsocialhierarchiesandanxieties.TheadmirationfortheLatinlanguage,whichforcenturieshadbeenthelanguageoftheChurchandEuropeanscholarship,ledtotheassumptionthatsyntheticlanguages—thosewhichrelyuponinflexionalendingstocarry

grammaticalinformation—wereofahigherorderthananalyticalones—languagesthatmakecomparativelylittleuseofsuchendings—leadingtoamoreefficientandeffectivemodeofcommunication.SinceearlierstagesofEnglishemployedinflexionsmorethanlaterones,thehistoryofEnglishwasviewedasaprocessofcorruptionanddecay.

SinceLatinhadnotbeenalivinglanguage(onewithnativespeakers)forcenturies,itexistedinafixedform;bycontrast,Englishwasunstableandindecline.ThisviewofLatinasaunifiedandfixedentityperseverestoday,encouragedbythewaymoderntextbookspresentasinglevariety(usuallythatofCicero),suppressingthewidevariationattestedinoriginalLatinwritings.Sincethe18thcentury,effortstooutlawvariationandtointroducegreaterfixityinEnglishhavebeendrivenbyadesiretoemulatethemodelofthisprestigiousclassicalforebear.N.M.GwynneovertlylinksmasteryofEnglishgrammarwithasolidfoundationintheLatinlanguage,advisinghisreaderstoturnnexttoaLatinprimer,whichisnowconvenientlyavailableinGwynne’sLatin(2014).

ThemarketabilityofgoodgrammarThesuccessoftheGwynnefranchiseleadsmenicelytoafurtherreasonwhypeoplecontinuetocareaboutgoodgrammar:itsells.Despiteitsidiosyncrasiesofcoverageandapproach,Fowler’sModernEnglishUsagewasabestseller:intheprefacetohisrevisededitionof1965,ErnestGowersestimatedthatthefirsteditionhadsoldmorethanhalfamillioncopies.Thehugedemandforsuchbookscanbetracedbacktothebeginningsoftheprescriptivetraditioninthe18thcentury.Fromjustahandfulofgrammarsissuingfromthepressesinthe16thand17thcenturies,therewasahugeincreasetoovertwohundredsuchworkspublishedinthe18thcentury.

PerhapsthemostnotableofrecentcommercialsuccesseswastherunawaybestsellerEats,Shoots&Leaves:TheZeroToleranceApproachtoPunctuation(2003)byLynneTruss.Truss’appealtofellowsticklerstofightbackagainstsloppinessandfallingstandardsofpunctuationsoldseveralmillioncopiesintheUK.IstheBritishpublicreallysoconcernedaboutwheretoputacommaorasemi-colon?Moreplausibly,thebook’ssuccesswasduetoitsfunctionasarallyingcrytoagenerationconcernedaboutaperceivedlackofrespectfortraditionalsocialmoresamongyoungpeople.ItisnocoincidencethatitwasfollowedupbythepublicationofTalktotheHand,abookbemoaningtherudenessofmodernsociety.

EnglishandnationalismEats,Shoots&LeavesachievedcommercialsuccessintheUSAtoo,despiteacoolreceptioninthepagesofTheNewYorker,whereLouisMenandtookissuewiththebook’sownpunctuation,concludingthat‘anEnglishwomanlecturingAmericansonsemicolonsisalittlelikeanAmericanlecturingtheFrenchonsauces’.Thiscommentrevealshowconcernforthelanguagecanbemadetostandproxyforaconcernforthecountry.

NationalisticsentimentshavebeeninvokedaspartofeffortstomakeEnglishtheofficiallanguageoftheUSAbytheEnglish-onlymovement,whichclaimsthatsuchamovewouldfurtherintegrationandunity.Criticsofthemovementhaveopposeditsintoleranceofotherlanguages,accusingitssupportersofbeingdrivenmorebyadesiretofurtherthesegregationandmarginalizationofnon-Englishspeakersthanawishtoachieveracialandpoliticalunity.

ComplaintsbyNigelFarage,leaderoftheUKIndependenceParty,aboutthedominanceofforeign-languagespeakersinBritishschoolsareevidenceofhowthestatusoftheEnglishlanguageinBritainhasbeenpoliticizedinthedebateoverimmigration.IsthestatusofEnglishreallyunderthreatinBritainandtheUSA,oristhetrueagendahereaconcernwithlimitingthenumbersandrightsofimmigrants?RespondingtotheclaimsoftheEnglish-onlymovementintheUSA,linguistGeoffreyPullumsuggestedthatmakingEnglishtheofficiallanguageisasnecessaryasmakinghotdogstheofficialfoodatbaseballgames.

IftheglobalstatusofEnglishseemsassured,sodoesthefutureoftheage-oldantagonismbetweendescriptivistsandprescriptivists.Despitethisbinaryoppositionrepresentingaconsiderablesimplificationofbothpositions,itservesausefulpurposeforthemediaandusagepunditswholiketoprovokeprescriptivistsbyportrayingprofessionallinguists,forwhomanyerrorisapparentlysimplyevidenceoflinguisticvariationandchange,asopponentsofliteracystandards.Sincemostprofessionallinguistsarethemselveseducators,requiredtoinstructtheirpupilsintheconventionsofstandardwrittenEnglish,thisisanextremecharacterizationoftheirposition.

Newsstoriesthatseektostirupoutragetowardsthelatesteditionofadictionary

tendtopaintasimilarlyblackandwhitepicture.InreportsoftheOED’srevisedentryforliterally(discussedinChapter3),journalistsignoredthelabelwhichmarksthisusageasnon-standard,insteadcastingthedebateasasimplechoicebetweenrightandwrong.

Thedismissivemannerinwhichprofessionallinguistshavetypicallyignoredprescriptivistapproacheshasalsocontributedtothelackofdialogueandcontinuedmisinformation.SinceprescriptivistapproachesarewidelyheldandhaveademonstrableimpactupontheuseofEnglishanditsfuture,itisclearlyincumbentuponprofessionallinguiststoaccorditsproponentsdueattentionandtoengageinpublicdebate.Hopefully(or,assomewouldprefer,itistobehopedthat)thisbookwillhelptostimulateandinformsuchdialogue.

Furtherreading

JeanAitchison,LanguageChange:ProgressorDecay?,4thedition(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2012).

KingsleyAmis,TheKing’sEnglish(London:Penguin,2001).RichardBailey,SpeakingAmerican:AHistoryofEnglishintheUnitedStates(Oxford:OxfordUniversity

Press,2012).CharlesBarber,JoanC.Beal,andPhilipA.Shaw,TheEnglishLanguage:AHistoricalIntroduction,2nd

edition(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2009).DeborahCameron,VerbalHygiene,2ndedition(Abingdon:Routledge,2012).TomChatfield,Netymology:FromAppstoZombies:ALinguisticCelebrationoftheDigitalWorld

(London:Quercus,2013).DavidCrystal(ed.),SamuelJohnson,ADictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage:AnAnthology(London:

Penguin,2005).DavidCrystal,TheStoriesofEnglish(London:Penguin,2005).DavidCrystal,TheFightforEnglish:HowLanguagePunditsAte,Shot,andLeft(Oxford:Oxford

UniversityPress,2006).DavidCrystal,LanguageandtheInternet,2ndedition(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2006).DavidCrystal,Txtng:TheGr8Db8(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2008).H.W.Fowler,ModernEnglishUsage(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1926);2ndedition,ErnestGowers

(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1965);3rdedition,R.W.Burchfield(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1996);4thedition,JeremyButterfield(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2015).

N.M.Gwynne,Gwynne’sGrammar:TheUltimateIntroductiontoGrammarandtheWritingofGoodEnglish(London:EburyPress,2013).

N.M.Gwynne,Gwynne’sLatin:TheUltimateIntroductiontoLatin(London:EburyPress,2014).SimonHeffer,StrictlyEnglish:TheCorrectWaytoWrite…andWhyitMatters(London:Windmill,2011).HenryHitchings,DrJohnson’sDictionary:TheExtraordinaryStoryoftheBookthatDefinedtheWorld

(London:JohnMurray,2005).HenryHitchings,TheSecretLifeofWords:HowEnglishBecameEnglish(London:JohnMurray,2008).HenryHitchings,TheLanguageWars:AHistoryofProperEnglish(London:JohnMurray,2011).JohnHoney,DoesAccentMatter?ThePygmalionFactor(London:Faber,1989).SimonHorobin,DoesSpellingMatter?(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2013).KeithHouston,ShadyCharacters:Ampersands,InterrobangsandotherTypographicalCuriosities

(London:ParticularBooks,2013).SethLerer,InventingEnglish:APortableHistoryoftheLanguage(NewYork:ColumbiaUniversityPress,

2007).TimWilliamMachan,LanguageAnxiety:ConflictandChangeintheHistoryofEnglish(Oxford:Oxford

UniversityPress,2009).DavidMarsh,ForWhotheBellTolls:OneMan’sQuestforGrammaticalPerfection(London:Guardian

andFaber,2013).TomMcArthur,TheEnglishLanguages(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1998).JamesMilroyandLesleyMilroy,AuthorityinLanguage:InvestigatingStandardEnglish,4thedition

(London:Routledge,2012).LyndaMugglestone,TalkingProper:TheRiseofAccentasSocialSymbol,2ndedition(Oxford:Oxford

UniversityPress,2003).LyndaMugglestone,Dictionaries:AVeryShortIntroduction(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2011).GeorgeOrwell,PoliticsandtheEnglishLanguage(London:Penguin,2013).AmmonShea,BadEnglish:AHistoryofLinguisticAggravation(NewYork:Penguin,2014).IshtlaSingh,PidginsandCreoles:AnIntroduction(London:Routledge,2000).PeterTrudgill,Sociolinguistics:AnIntroductiontoLanguageandSociety,4thedition(London:Penguin,

2000).LynneTruss,Eats,Shoots&Leaves:TheZeroToleranceApproachtoPunctuation(London:Profile,2003).CliveUptonandJohnWiddowson,SurveyofEnglishDialects:TheDictionaryandGrammar(London:

Routledge,1994).CliveUptonandJohnWiddowson,AnAtlasofEnglishDialects(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1996;

revisededition,2006).

ElectronicresourcesBBCVoicesProject:<http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/>BritishLibrarySounds:Accentsanddialects:<http://sounds.bl.uk/Accents-and-dialects>DictionaryofAmericanRegionalEnglish:<http://www.daredictionary.com>OxfordEnglishDictionary:<http://www.oed.com>

Index

AAcadémieFrançaise39–40,103academies39–42accent5,61,63–6,70–6,85–6,89–1,91,112,115,116,120,128acronyms36,102,104Adams,John41,114adorkable33,58affixation15,31,103AfricanAmericanEnglish66–7,93aggravate56agreement17ain’t37–9,92aitch45–6AmericanHeritageDictionary35–6,39Amis,Kingsley55Anglo-Norman23ApostropheProtectionSociety134AppleMacintosh134Arabic12,27archaism4,22–3,112,115Auden,W.H.78Australia118

BBaker,Robert132bangorrhea106Barnes,William8BBC61,74–5,92

BBCVoicesProject95–6Bede17–19blends66,102,104Boswell,James87–8Bridges,Robert41Bullokar,William81Burchfield,R.W.45Bush,GeorgeW.33Butterfield,Jeremy45–6

CCædmon18Cameron,Deborah130Canada114–15capitalletters30,106–7,109Carroll,Lewis104case16,17,22,31,79,94,136Cassidy,Frederic97Cawdrey,Robert34–5Caxton,William68Celtic17–19Chaucer,Geoffrey24,27,49,50,54–5Cheke,SirJohn8Chesterfield,Lord34,48,59ChicanoEnglish93,121Chinese12,120,123chronic56Cicero137Cockney75,100,115Cockneyrhymes91code-switching119,121CollinsEnglishDictionary33,58coloniallag112,115colonization27,117–18comparatives52–3,55compounds15,20,31ConciseOxfordDictionary42conversion15,105Cooke,Thomas80creoles7,122–5Crystal,David107

D

Danish15,85,88decimate56definitearticle17Defoe,Daniel40,89–90Dexter,Colin129dialect5–6,46,61,63–8,70,80–1,84–90Dickens,Charles72dictionaries34–9,42,56DictionaryofAmericanRegionalEnglish97,98DictionaryoftheOlderScottishTongue88DictionaryoftheScotsLanguage88dilemma56disinterested33Doric87doublenegatives53–4,76,91Dryden,John40,55Dutch5,15,27,85,88,113

EEarlyModernEnglish3–4,25–8,94,113Ebonics66Egelsham,Wells79electronicdiscourse101–10ElementsofStyle,The46Ellis,Alexander72–3Ellis,Stanley97emoji109emoticon104,108EnglishDialectSociety96–7enormity56–7,131EstuaryEnglish75,96,100etymology55–7,102EuroEnglish11,128Evelyn,John40exclamationmarks106–9

FFacebook103–5Farage,Nigel139fewer132–4firstly46–7Fitzgerald,F.Scott108formsofaddress60,101

Forsyth,Mark50,78Fowler,H.W.38–9,42–5,47,55,56,102,108,136–8French12,15,23–6,28–9,87,113Frisian15full-stop106

GGaelic87garage33,74German15,16,31,85,88,113Germanic13–17,31,85,103gerundives80gerunds80Gill,Alexander89glottaling76Gothic15Gowers,Ernest45,138grammar1,7,9,44,53–4,61,63,73,76–83,86–7,91–4,110,129,131–8grammaticalgender17,22,31GreatVowelShift27,29,86Greek9,25,26,28–9,31,34,56,84,102,136greengrocer’sapostrophe30–1Greenwood,James54Grimm’sLaw15Gwynne,Nevile134Gwynne’sGrammar46,47,53,63,79,136Gwynne’sLatin137–8

Hh-dropping71–2hashtag103Heffer,Simon53–7,59Henderson,Michael75Hewes,John78Hindi119–20Honey,John65Humphrys,John102Hussain,Nasser75hypercorrection136–7hypotheticreconstruction13

I

Icelandic15idiom44Indo-European13–16inflexions16,21–2,31,94,120,137initialisms104interlanguages121interrobang108Irish17Italian2,15,27

JJamieson,John87Jespersen,Otto137Johnson,Samuel1,34–5,47–8,56,59,69,87–8,105,116,119Jones,Daniel73Jonson,Ben53jouring89

KKachru,BrajB.117Keats,John90–1kinshipterms13,21,25

LLabov,William100–1Lallans88LateModernEnglish28–32Latin2,12,15,17,19–20,24–6,28–9,31,34,78,126–7,136–8Lawrence,D.H.130levelling96,100literally36–7,44,140logic53–5logograms105Lowth,Robert81

Mmalapropism71Malay120manuscripts18,22,30,68

Maori116Marsh,David82–3McDonald’s134meh33Melville,Herman109Menand,Louis138–9MiddleEnglish23–7,63–4,68,86,89,92–3,112Milton,John47–50Minor,DrW.C.49minuscule33Mitchell,David41,130Mockney75ModernEnglishUsageseeFowler,H.W.motherese101Mulcaster,Richard111Murray,James49Mx60MyFairLady71

NNationalCurriculum136NewZealand109,116–18Newton,SirIsaac26NormanConquest2–3,23,25,103Norwegian15,20,85,87,88number16,23,31

OObama,Barack57,131OldEnglish2–3,8,13,15,17–23,31,48,103OldNorse5,20–2,24Orton,Harold97Orwell,George9,50OxfordEnglishDictionary33,36–7,44,45,48–51,58,88,103,104,139

PPalin,Sarah33parataxis4Partridge,Eric47Persian27philology62,135

Pickles,Wilfred74Pictish17pidgins7,11,121–5Pinker,Steven35–6,39PlainEnglish9,132PocketOxfordDictionary42politicalcorrectness59Pope,Alexander53,55Portuguese113,126prepositions3,5,21,76,82preterite16,76–7PrinceCharles135printing69pronouns3,21,59–60,81,86–7,94Proto-Germanic13Pullum,Geoffrey139punctuation30,106–10,138PureEnglish8–9,41,42Puttenham,George70

QQueen’sEnglishSociety41

RRae,Susan74–5readingprogramme48–9ReceivedPronunciation(RP)65,72–5,90,112,128register24,28,80–1,83,91,101rhoticity90,112,114runes3,22–3Rushdie,Salman122

SSanskrit15Scots4–6,85–8,118ScottishNationalDictionary87Selfridges134Shakespeare,William27,47–53,55,59,93,113,129Shaw,GeorgeBernard11,70,71,128Sheridan,RichardBrinsley71Sheridan,Thomas71

Singlish120–2,126Skeat,W.W.96slang36,73,115socialmedia36,103–5SocietyforPureEnglish41,42Spanish27,93,113,121–2,126spelling1,3–7,9,13,22–30,68–9,74,76,86,90,102,110,113,115,119,128–30Spenser,Edmund8,47–8splitinfinitives42,76,77Strunk,WilliamJr46superlatives52–3,55SurveyofEnglishDialects97–9Sutherland,John101–2Swedish15,85Swift,Jonathan40,42,62

Ttaboo63,92Tebbit,Norman135tense16,52,76–7,81Tesco131–2texting9,102,105,107TokPisin6–7,124–5Tolkien,J.R.R.78Trevisa,John89Trudgill,Peter90Truss,Lynne138Turkish27Twitter58,103–4,110

Uunique55UrbanDictionary58

Vverbing105–6

WWaitrose132,134

Webster,Noah79,113–14Webster’sThirdNewInternationalDictionary37–8Welsh17,65White,E.B.46Wiktionary58Wilson,Thomas60whom82–3WorldStandardEnglish127–8Wright,Joseph96–8Wyld,H.C.62

YYiddish113

SOCIALMEDIAAVeryShortIntroduction

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ONLINECATALOGUEAVeryShortIntroduction

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WRITINGANDSCRIPTAVeryShortIntroduction

AndrewRobinson

Withoutwriting,therewouldbenorecords,nohistory,nobooks,andnoemails.Writingisanintegralandessentialpartofourlives;butwhendiditstart?Whydoweallwritedifferentlyandhowdidwritingdevelopintowhatweusetoday?AllofthesequestionsareansweredinthisVeryShortIntroduction.Startingwiththeoriginsofwritingfivethousandyearsago,withcuneiformandEgyptianhieroglyphs,AndrewRobinsonexplainshowtheseearlyformsofwritingdevelopedintohundredsofscriptsincludingtheRomanalphabetandtheChinesecharacters.

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ENGLISHLITERATUREAVeryShortIntroduction

JonathanBate

Sweepingacrosstwomillenniaandeveryliterarygenre,acclaimedscholarandbiographerJonathanBateprovidesadazzlingintroductiontoEnglishLiterature.Thefocusiswide,shiftingfromthebirthofthenovelandthebrillianceofEnglishcomedytothedeepEnglishnessoflandscapepoetryandtheethnicdiversityofBritain’sNobelliteraturelaureates.Itgoesontoprovideamorein-depthanalysis,withclosereadingsfromanextraordinarysceneinKingLeartoawarpoembyCarolAnnDuffy,andaseriesofstrikingexamplesofhowliterarytextschangeastheyaretransmittedfromwritertoreader.

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FRENCHLITERATUREAVeryShortIntroduction

JohnD.Lyons

TheheritageofliteratureintheFrenchlanguageisrich,varied,andextensiveintimeandspace;appealingbothtoitsimmediatepublic,readersofFrench,andalsotoaglobalaudiencereachedthroughtranslationsandfilmadaptations.FrenchLiterature:AVeryShortIntroductionintroducesthislivelyliteraryworldbyfocusingontexts-epics,novels,plays,poems,andscreenplays-thatconcernprotagonistswhoseadventuresandconflictsrevealshiftsinliteraryandsocialpractices.FromtheheroofthemedievalSongofRolandtotheCaribbeanheroinesofTituba,BlackWitchofSalemortheEuropeanexpatriateinJapaninFearandTrembling,theseproblematicprotagonistsallowustounderstandwhatinterestswritersandreadersacrossthewideworldofFrench.

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BIOGRAPHYAVeryShortIntroduction

HermioneLee

Biographyisoneofthemostpopular,best-selling,andwidely-readofliterarygenres.Butwhydocertainpeopleandhistoricaleventsarousesomuchinterest?Howcanbiographiesbecomparedwithhistoryandworksoffiction?Doesabiographyneedtobetrue?Isitacceptabletoomitorconcealthings?Doesthebiographerneedtopersonallyknowthesubject?Mustabiographerbesubjective?InthisVeryShortIntroductionHermioneLeeconsiderstheculturalandhistoricalbackgroundofdifferenttypesofbiographies,lookingatthefactorsthataffectbiographersandwhethertherearedifferentstrategies,ethics,andprinciplesrequiredforwritingaboutonepersoncomparedtoanother.Shealsoconsiderscontemporarybiographicalpublicationsandconsiderswhatkindof‘lives’arethemostpopularandindemand.

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FREESPEECHAVeryShortIntroduction

NigelWarburton

‘Idisapproveofwhatyousay,butIwilldefendtothedeathyourrighttosayit’Thisslogan,attributedtoVoltaire,isfrequentlyquotedbydefendersoffreespeech.Yetitisraretofindanyonepreparedtodefendallexpressionineverycircumstance,especiallyiftheviewsexpressedinciteviolence.Sowheredothelimitslie?Whatistherealvalueoffreespeech?Here,NigelWarburtonoffersaconciseguidetoimportantquestionsfacingmodernsocietyaboutthevalueandlimitsoffreespeech:Whereshouldacivilizedsocietydrawtheline?Shouldwebefreetooffendotherpeople’sreligion?Aretheregoodgroundsforcensoringpornography?HastheInternetchangedeverything?ThisVeryShortIntroductionisathought-provoking,accessible,andup-to-dateexaminationoftheliberalassumptionthatfreespeechisworthpreservingatanycost.

‘ThegeniusofNigelWarburton’sFreeSpeechliesnotonlyinitsextraordinaryclarityandincisiveness.JustasimportantisthewayWarburtonaddressesfreedomofspeech‐andattemptstostifleit‐asanissueforthe21stcentury.Morethanever,weneedthisbook.’

DenisDutton,UniversityofCanterbury,NewZealand

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