25.12.2013 Views

0 INTRODUCTION

0 INTRODUCTION

0 INTRODUCTION

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

7. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH<br />

extensively, the greatest problem faced by the vernacular was a lack of eloquence and of<br />

technical terms, which rendered it unfit for the scientific register. As a way of expanding<br />

vocabulary, two main trends emerged: creating a new word or giving a specialized<br />

meaning to an existing one, and borrowing words from other languages, especially from<br />

the prestigious classical ones. However, the extensive borrowing that took place during<br />

this period was strongly criticized by some authors at the time, who considered these new<br />

words difficult to understand. Looking particularly at the field of science, there was also<br />

strong opposition to the vernacular. Classical scientists were opposed to the use of English<br />

in scientific writings because they considered that it worked against the prestige of<br />

universities and of learned men. In short, they did not want to make things easier for<br />

others. This was especially so in the field of medical science, where many scientists argued<br />

that as any person able to read in English could practise medicine, people’s lives would be<br />

endangered; in reality such arguments were more a matter of self-preservation. Section 4.4<br />

explored the question of literacy in the EModE period, paying special attention to its<br />

spread as well as to clarifying the related terms audience, readership and discourse<br />

community. As seen in Section 4.4.1, the spread of literacy in English was a consequence<br />

of the Puritan ethic, which considered literacy to be the key to achieving personal and<br />

material success. This rise in the level of literacy led to a new and increasing demand for<br />

books, including those related to science. Section 4.4.2 focused on the discussion of the<br />

differences between audience, readership and discourse community. Audience is the<br />

author’s idea regarding those who will read his/her writings, whereas readership refers to<br />

the actual readers of a book, and discourse community denotes the group of people who<br />

share a given discourse and communicate with each other. Hence, if nominalizations were<br />

234

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!