A History of English Language

The nineteenth century and after 315
in the process of learning a language. Typically the standard features near the basilectal
end of the implicational scale are learned first, and those near the acrolectal end are
learned later if at all. The study of language acquisition leads finally to a convergence in
the concerns of creolists and generative grammarians (see § 255). In what Noam
Chomsky has called “Plato’s problem,” generative grammarians have aimed to explain
how language can be acquired at all, given the poverty of the stimulus. 45 “How can we
know so much on the basis of so little experience?” they ask. Their answer is that a
knowledge of linguistic universals is part of the innate structure of the human brain.
Similarly, on the basis of evidence such as we have seen, Derek Bickerton has developed
a theory of a “bioprogram” for the acquisition of language. 46 Although these theories
often differ on the details of their specific analysis, as indeed all theories do, they both
see the study of language as ultimately rooted in the biology of the speaking animal.
231. Spelling Reform.
In the latter part of the nineteenth century renewed interest was manifested in the problem
of English spelling, and the question of reform was vigorously agitated. For nearly 400
years the English have struggled with their spelling. It was one of the chief problems that
seemed to confront the language in the time of Shakespeare (see pages 208–14), and it
continued to be an issue throughout the seventeenth and to some extent in the eighteenth
century. The publication in 1837 of a system of shorthand by Isaac Pitman led to his
proposal of several plans of phonetic spelling for general use. In these schemes Pitman
was assisted by Alexander J.Ellis, a much greater scholar. They were promoted during
the 1840s by the publication of a periodical called the Phonotypic Journal, later changed
to the Phonetic Journal. The Bible and numerous classic works were printed in the new
spelling, and the movement aroused considerable public interest. By 1870 the English
Philological Society had taken up the question, and the Transactions contain numerous
discussions of it. Prominent members who took part in the debate included Ellis, Morris,
Payne, Sweet, Furnivall, Skeat, and Murray. The discussion spread into the columns of
the Academy and the Athenaeum. America became interested in the question, and in 1883
the American Philological Association recommended the adoption of a long list of new
spellings approved jointly by it and the English society. Spelling Reform Associations
were formed in both countries. In America men like March, Lounsbury, Grandgent,
William Dean Howells, and Brander Matthews lent their support to the movement. In
1898 the National Education
45
Among many writings by Chomsky on this subject, see Knowledge of Language: Its Nature,
Origin, and Use (New York, 1986).
46
Language and Species (Chicago, 1990).