A History of English Language

A history of the english language 206
“and make the thing familiar if it seme to be strange. For all strange things seme great
novelties, and hard of entertainment at their first arrivall, till theie be acquainted: but after
acquaintance theie be verie familiar, and easie to entreat…. Familiaritie and acquaintance
will cause facilitie, both in matter and in words.” The charge of obscurity was also met.
Elyot maintained that throughout The Governour “there was no terme new made by me
of a latine or frenche worde, but it is there declared so playnly by one mene or other to a
diligent reder that no sentence is therby made derke or harde to be understande.” Not all
men could say as much, but in theory this was their aim. The position of the defender was
in general summed up by George Pettie, the translator of Guazzo’s Civile Conversation:
For the barbarousnesse 26 of our tongue, I must lykewyse say that it is
much the worse for them [the objectors], and some such curious fellowes
as they are: who if one chaunce to derive any woord from the Latine,
which is insolent to their eares (as perchaunce they wyll take that phrase
to be) they foorthwith make a jest at it, and terme it an Inkehorne terme.
And though for my part I use those woords as litle as any, yet I know no
reason why I should not use them, and I finde it a fault in my selfe that I
do not use them: for it is in deed the ready way to inrich our tongue, and
make it copious, and it is the way which all tongues have taken to inrich
them selves…. Wherefore I marveile how our English tongue hath crackt
it credite, 27 that it may not borrow of the Latine as well as other tongues:
and if it have broken, it is but of late, for it is not unknowen to all men
how many woordes we have fetcht from thence within these fewe yeeres,
which if they should be all counted inkepot termes, I know not how we
should speake any thing without blacking our mouthes with inke: for what
woord can be more plaine then this word plaine, and yet what can come
more neere to the Latine? What more manifest then manifest? and yet in a
maner Latine: What more commune then rare, or lesse rare then
commune, and yet both of them comming of the Latine? But you wyll say,
long use hath made these woords curraunt: and why may not use doo as
much for these woords which we shall now derive? Why should not we
doo as much for the posteritie as we have received of the antiquitie? 28
A little later some sanction for the borrowings was derived from authority. Bullokar says
(1616) “it is familiar among best writers to usurpe strange words.”
26
Corruption by foreign elements.
27
An allusion to Cheke’s statement quoted on page 217.
28
Edited by Sir Edward Sullivan (2 vols., London, 1925), Pettie’s Preface.