I. The English writer Stephen Fry once said: “You have already achieved the English Language poet’s most important goal: you can read, write and speak English well enough to understand this sentence”. I may agree with this, but we have to admit English language had passed through many stages of complexities to occur such a simple and stable status. If we go back several centuries-early old English (450-c.850) to the late modern English (c.1950---) - we would list many changes that affected the English language. In this report, I will argue one important incident that had influenced the English language a lot; what had happened in the late seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth century lead a major shifting from the complete authority of the grammarians on the English language to the lexicographers’ control and decision making of the language??!!
II. To start with, I have to mention the most important factor of our subject which is Samuel Johnson’s “Dictionary of the English Language”, that had been published on April 15, 1755. Samuel Johnson who was born in September 18, 1709 gave his dictionary its prestige and made it a part of history as it was first published after eight years of hard work. This distinctive job required six assistants to list 40,000 words and mark this work as “The English Language Dictionary” of the century. Later on, it gained much attention with its new approach and uniqueness as each word was well-defined in details and a wide
The English language has changed drastically over the years, but are we the reason that is has changed so much? With the world constantly changing and evolving, the way we speak changes too; Many things such as technology, music, media, and new products have influenced the way that English is spoken today.
These three sample answers are for 9695 AS/AL Literature in English Paper 5. They are intended to give an idea of the range of response and the requirements at the top, middle and middle/bottom of the mark range. They are not necessarily ideal or model answers, but are chosen as being representative answers on model texts.
It even gives us an accurate and reliable type of grammar, comprehension and vocabulary of the words. The codification of English was as primary component in the process of standardization, it is known that the history of English illustrates the inevitability of linguistic change. “In the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the lexicographers in England had published some developed dictionaries, but the lexicons in both England and America were set to standards by Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language.” (Seargeant and Swann, 2012) “Samuel Johnson was born in 1709 in Lichfield, Staffordshire. The son of a bookseller, he rose to become one of the greatest literary figures of the eighteenth century, most famously compiling A Dictionary of the English Language.” (Dr. Johnson’s House, Samuel Johnson, 2012).
However, this era did have its downsides as well as its advantages. Thier only relevant disadvantage which is worth mentioning in this paper is that Latin and French were the dominant languages of school curriculums and the government. Therefore, English was not only faced with derogatory attitudes but it was also regarded as the vernacular of that age until the end of the sixteenth century where a more favorable view of it began to emerge. Notably, the tables were turned and English became the universally authorized language of the regime and the prevailing academic disciplines such as philosophy, medicine, law, and theology due to the fact that the role of the dominant languages extremely declined. As a consequence, the most remarkable breakthrough occurred in the middle of the 18th century which was the publication of Samuel Johnson’s dictionary. Indeed, “A Dictionary of the English Language” is the first lexicographical work to be viewed as an ideal model for all lexicographers (this term is used to refer to dictionary writers who occupy themselves with tracing the origins of the language and detailing both the
Reading literature, writing poetry, prose and essays and participating in theatre and forensics have been the major contributors to a better perception of the many facets of "English" for me, and that perception, I believe, was the catalyst for my ongoing romance with the components of the English language. I simply adore the use of words and the medley of ways in which words can be ordered to create new and distinct works of art. Just as an architect must thrill at the preparation of blueprints for the design of a building, I tingle at locating the right words to construct the perfect sentence. Reading diverse literature by a variety of authors has enabled me to take apart sentences and phrases and ponder why the author chose specific words as the blueprint for the design of a theme, message or character.
Before today’s modern English, our language has gone through several changes and developments. Language is constantly “evolving”, but it is neither a bad or good thing. Language change is a natural occurrence and cannot be stopped completely.
Written in 1946, “Politics and the English Language” describes the decline of our language. George Orwell criticizes the English language as “ugly and inaccurate” in his essay (par 2). Throughout Orwell’s essay, he infers that this collapse is reversible when the society modifies the way we think and speak which would revise this long term habit.
The change in syntax over time has shifted greatly, and language has been altered because of it. For example syntax used to be the Subject, Object, Verb order, as opposed to the Subject, Verb, Object order that we use nowadays. The complexity of sentences has also, changed, with Middle and Early Modern English writers using longer complex sentences with varied clauses and clause lengths, and Modern English writers using short, less complex sentences with less clauses and simpler, easier to read clause lengths and variations. The language has also become more simplified in terms of inflections. These were removed because the system for adding
Across time, many people have advocated for the stabilisation of the English language. Samuel Johnson was a lexicographer who dedicated his life to doing so. He published his dictionary in 1755, in an effort to prescribe the use of the London dialect of English. However, his aims were not met and people continued to speak in their various dialects. What Samuel Johnson did not expect was the unstoppable way in which language evolves. Neither did he realise the timeframe required for
The English language got its present form through lot of changes. If we look into the history of any language then we can see that every language has gone through a lot of changes. English language is divided into four periods: Old English, Early Middle English, Late Middle English and Modern English. As we know that English is a Germanic language and it belongs to the branches of Indo-European languages so it has Germanic influence in vocabulary. Old English grammar is similar to Modern Germanic but Modern English is different from what it was before. Middle English began after the Norman Conquest in England. Normans were French people so Middle English language had a great influence of French vocabulary.
Language is a system consisting of many components. Humanity has used this system for very long time whether it be in a spoken or written form. However, as with anything else in this world, language is susceptible to change. Changes occur in the way we use the English language because words are either added or too behind the times, so they are no longer in use this is common with slang. Other words are simply now archaic. Furthermore, changes happen due to meaning and pronunciation. Literature is evidence of how the English language has changed overtime, take Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (1387) a collection of stories that are written in Middle English. On the other hand, compare it to the modern; This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1920) you’ll notice stylistic differences in each literary works. Because of their knowledge writers tend to have a good grasp on the English language. Overall, the intent of this critique is to look at the two novel I selected This Side of Paradise and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest from a linguistic perspective. In detail I will identify and evaluate their use of the English language.
Over the years, the English language has continuously been transformed; changing and revolving through time and space. We've visually professed that language deviates throughout time and across convivial groups has continuously grown. So, as a student and professional writer, it is imperative to learn the history and unceasing changes that affect the English language and its structure. As linguistic fluctuates transversely and continually, we must resume our need to embrace and pursue the knowledge to master it. Amidst the writing of fictitious conceptions, it is important to recognize the value of how diction, word choices and syntax connect with the evolution of the English language and the practices we inculcate in our writing formation today. In fictional writing, it is valuable to study the English language as well as the native dialect, terminologies and wide-ranging pronunciation and word expressions of people in all communities. To create realistic characters, a writer must understand the cultural beliefs, inner workings, and dialogue of their indigenous subject. Granting that many people believe that they can be successful fictional writers without the general awareness of the progression of the English language, it would narrowly limit their ability to be a master at their craft.
Vocabulary is a tool given to society in order to articulate thoughts, sentiments, wishes, and expression, hence the mandatory study of the English language throughout elementary school and so forth into post secondary education. Shakespeare has always been a figure of praise and reference as he attributed to the creation of many of the terms society uses today. In classrooms students learn of the devices he imposed onto the English language “He invented over 1700 of our common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words by changing nouns into verb…” (Mabillard). Consequently, it is not denied, how Shakespeare physically impacted language as he has added hundreds of terms into scholarly dictionaries, mandating his influence. In the same way
English has a convoluted history, spanning many millennia and cultures throughout history. The English we all know and love today started its journey way back in the late Stone Ages. The people who spoke this early concept of English are known as the Neolithic or Indo-European people. These people lived in Eastern Europe and Central Asia sometime after 5,000BC, although different sources state anywhere between 3,000BC – 7,000BC.
Whether one wants to travel, find a job, or find entertainment, the English language will most likely be somewhat involved. This comes as no surprise since English has been referred to as the unofficial language of globalization (Corrêa De Almeida). Globalization is attractive to many because, “it is the interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations” (Globalization 101, 2016). With this in mind many seek to learn English to gain better job opportunities or to simply have access to worldly entertainment. English as second language (ESL) education techniques now become the center of attention in order to satisfy the demand for effective English learning as a foreign language. ESL