A History of English Language

The renaissance, 1500-1650 233
185. General Characteristics of the Period.
As we survey the period of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries—the period of
early Modern English—we recognize certain general characteristics, some of which are
exemplified in the foregoing discussion, while others concern the larger spirit of the age
in linguistic matters. These may be stated in the form of a brief summary as a conclusion
to the present chapter.
First, a conscious interest in the English language and an attention to its problems are
now widely manifested. The fifteenth century had witnessed sporadic attempts by
individual writers to embellish their style with “aureate terms.” These attempts show in a
way a desire to improve the language, at least along certain limited lines. But in the
sixteenth century we meet with a considerable body of literature—books and pamphlets,
prefaces and incidental observations—defending the language against those who were
disposed to compare it unfavorably to Latin or other modern tongues, patriotically
recognizing its position as the national speech, and urging its fitness for learned and
literary use. At the same time it is considered worthy of cultivation, and to be looked after
in the education of the young. Whereas a century or two before, the upper classes seemed
more interested in having their children acquire a correct French accent and sometimes
sent them abroad for the purpose, we now find Elyot urging that noblemen’s sons should
be brought up by those who “speke none englisshe but that which is cleane, polite,
perfectly and articulately pronounced, omittinge no lettre or sillable,” and observing that
he knew some children of noble birth who had “attained corrupte and foule
pronunciation” 56 through the lack of such precautions. Numerous books attempt to
describe the proper pronunciation of English, sometimes for foreigners but often
presumably for those whose native dialect did not conform to the standard of London and
the court. Along with this regard for English as an object of pride and cultivation went
the desire to improve it in various ways—particularly to enlarge its vocabulary and to
regulate its spelling. All of these efforts point clearly to a new attitude toward English, an
attitude that makes it an object of conscious and in many ways fruitful consideration.
In the second place, we attain in this period to something in the nature of a standard,
something moreover that is recognizably “modern.” The effect of the Great Vowel Shift
was to bring the pronunciation within measurable distance of that which prevails today.
The influence of the printing press and the efforts of spelling reformers had resulted in a
form of written English that
56
The Governour, chap. 5.