Early Modern English

Early Modern English ( frNE ) denotes an early form of modern English as it was spoken about during the 16th and 17th century, the early modern period. The beginning of the frühneuenglischen period - about 1500 - is to install the one from the establishment of the first printing press by William Caxton ( 1476 ), and thereby incurred the penalty, a unified orthography and grammar, characterized, on the other hand by the onset of the Great Vowel Shift. The uniform pronunciation, the Standard English that forms slowly, based on the speech of the public schools and the universities. The drama reaches a climax with the works of William Shakespeare.

• 4.1 The Lord's Prayer in Early Modern English
• 4.2 Extract from Le Morte d' Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory ( 1470 )
• 4.3 Excerpt from The Arte of Rhetorique by Thomas Wilson ( 1553)

Desirable changes

Already in the Middle English ( ME) indicated by the elimination of French as the official language and the concomitant increasing importance of English, a change in the English language. With the implementation of the printing press, it became clear that the English language extensive needed updating, because it neither a uniform spelling was still a unified grammar. However, this was necessary to make one hand the books to be printed as saying that they could be read in all parts of England and on the other to make the English language to a " eloquent " language. While many changes that brought the frühneuenglische period with him, unconsciously done, but were also significant parts, especially as regards the restriction of grammar and expansion of vocabulary, certainly initiated.

Change

Phonetics

• Vowels: The most significant change in pronunciation, the Great Vowel Shift, the Frühneuenglische Vowel Shift, dar. The term was coined by the Danish linguist Otto Jespersen. This advanced all long vowels higher, with the high, closed vowels / i :/ ​​and / u :/ to diphthongs / ai :/ and / au :/ were. The reasons for this change are not fully understood; the most plausible theory is the deliberate demarcation of the upper class to the lower layers. However, the Great Vowel Shift is not a universal change; especially in northern dialects only the diphthongization of the closed vowels took place.
• Consonants: Even with the pronunciation of consonants can be identified changes. In the frühneuenglischen phase often simplified initial consonant clusters: so fell instance in the cluster / kn /, the / k / off. Furthermore, the phoneme / x / was (with its allophone / ç /, German: ) away or collapsed by various developments with several other phonemes. The changes of phonetics can be well on the example of the word " knight" (German knight, " servant " ) illustrate: from Middle English / knɪçt / was Early Modern English / nait /.

Grammar

The changes in the grammar are extremely diverse.

• One important change is the elimination of the personal pronoun of the second person, thou. In Middle English, thou called the singular form, the plural form of you (later also the plural Majestatis ). In the 15th and 16th centuries, the use of changes in such a way that you could be used both in the singular and in the plural; but only as a very polite form: with you talking you're in the upper class, with thou in the lower layers. In the 17th century, thou fell completely off.
• The loss of thou followed the elimination of - est as verb ending the second person singular present ( thou sayest ). In addition, it was possible in the 3rd singular present tense, between the endings - to choose (e) s (he says ) and eth (he sayeth ). - eth was during the Frühneuenglischen rare, but experienced a short time with the publication of the King James Bible held very conservative re -emergence before it completely by - ( e) s has been replaced.
• The begun in Middle English loss of inflections continued in Frühneuenglischen. For example, following the completed in Middle English case loss of distinctiveness in Frühneuenglischen the loss of flexion of adjectives.
• Comparative and superlative: Frühneuenglischen in three different forms are possible: bigger, more big or more bigger and the biggest, the most big and the most biggest.
• Relative pronouns: In relative Frühneuenglischen three are common: who ( or splat ), which and that. Is interesting to note that quite well who could stand with a non-personal antecedent, which is rather uncommon in today's English.

Syntax

The syntax Frühneuenglischen substantially equal to the current.

• Verb phrase: The most important is probably the introduction of do as an auxiliary verb; initially as a positive emphasis in sentence structures, in the 17th century and in negative sentences and in the 18th century finally in questions.
• In general, the Frühneuenglische has six modal verbs, each of which both had a form in the present tense and in the past tense; as was, for example, must the past tense of mote, while today it is used only in the present and mote has completely disappeared.
• Noun phrase: essentially corresponds to the current noun phrase; at the beginning of Frühneuenglischen it was possible to introduce a noun two items, ie a demonstrative and a possessive pronoun, eg this my father. However, this was soon abandoned in favor of of- constructions.
• Sentence Structure: Unlike modern English, the sentence structure was at the beginning of phase frühneuenglischen not as restrictive; so it was possible, for example, instead of the usual consequence subject-predicate - object precede the object to the subject, for example, he called him instead of he called him.
• Negation: In Middle English had double negations ( I will not give him no meat ) completely normal; but this was considered in the Renaissance as " illogical " and abandoned. Compounds such as not ... never / nobody changed to not ... ever / anybody.

Vocabulary

A criterion for the eloquence of a language is an extensive vocabulary. The finding about the English vocabulary at the beginning of the 16th century was: Fit for the street, but not for the book! ( "Suitable for the road, but not for the book !") Added to this was the associated with the Renaissance rediscovery of classical philosophers and the mass of new inventions and discoveries that were used for which designations. Access to the introduction of new words was by no means uniform. In the 16th century, over a dispute erupted between philosophers, writers and other scholars, who became known as Inkhorn Controversy. This was especially the controversial opinions of Neologizers that strongly made ​​themselves for words from other, mainly classical languages ​​(mainly but Latin), and introduce the Purists or Archaizers who argued for " revive " old words or new words to form from existing words. The Archaizers also spoke in favor of the use of Dialektismen.

• Loanwords: Actually arrived before 1660 various Latin words in the English language that are still to be found to a large extent even today (eg, words ending in- ity ).
• However, several new words were formed, for example by joining two nouns ( stonewall ). This word formation process is generally referred to as composition. This was particularly William Shakespeare immense influence.
• Conversion: the most productive were conversions of noun to verb (eg invoice > to invoice) and adjectives to verbs (dirty → to dirty )
• Affixation: particularly clearly falls from the introduction of Latin suffixes and prefixes. However, the most successful affixes were domestic: most new words were formed by the prefix un - and the suffixes -ness and - he.
• Semantic change: Generalization: for example, the use of the word humor was limited to the substance doctrine of Aristotle; in Frühneuenglischen it has expanded to today's concept of humor.
• Specialization: for example, described the word meat in Middle English every form of food; Frühneuenglischen in its use has been limited to the description of meat.

Orthography

At the beginning of frühneuenglischen period there was hardly spelling rules. Words are usually written as they were spoken, which led to that for some words various ways of spelling was (eg Modern English: enough: Early Modern English: ynough (s), Enoff, yenough, eno ', enouch, enufe, ...). Especially was also deplores the number of superfluous letters in most words. Until the 16th century, there was no consensus about whether spelling should be phonemic or logographic, that is, whether one should write as they spoke, or whether one should write the sake of better understanding homonyms different. Is all the more surprising that the mid-17th century, the spelling was largely consolidated. The spelling in force today is based largely on the way of speaking Middle English, as reflected for example in the above-mentioned spelling of knight.

• The letters v and u could be used arbitrarily in Middle English; in the 16th century resulted in the positional difference of the two letters: v was used at the beginning of a word u in the middle. Approx. 1630 was the distinction of v as a consonant and a vowel u.
• Many words ending in -e, to identify, for example, a long vowel or a specific pronunciation of the final Konsonants (see text samples).
• Alphabet: In the base the alphabet corresponded to the Latin alphabet. There were various discussions to introduce additional letters, for example, to identify a fricative, these attempts were unsuccessful, however, in the longer term. Only the letter j, which is not included in the Latin alphabet was introduced.

Completion of the period frühneuenglischen

The conclusion is seen at about 1700, since at that time codified the grammar principle and the Great Vowel Shift was completed at least in the south.

Text sample

The Lord's Prayer in Early Modern English

Our father, Which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, in Earth, as it is in Heaven.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.

Amen

Excerpt from Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory ( 1470 )

Thenne after the seruyse what done / the kyng wold Wete how many had vndertake the queste of the holy graylle / accompte and to them he Prayed them all / Thenne They fond by the tale and honderd and fyfty / and all were knygthes of the round table.

(Then after the service was done, the King wished to know how many had under taken the quest of the holy integrals, and to count them, he Prayed them all, then found them by the count a hundred and fifty and all were knights of the roundtable. )

Excerpt from The Arte of Rhetorique by Thomas Wilson ( 1553)

The misticall wise menne, and Poeticall Clerke, will speake nothyng but quaint proverbes, and blynd allegories, delityng muche In Their awne darknesse, Especially, When none can tell what thei saie dooe. The unlearned or foolishe phantasticall, but did smelles of learnyng (search felowes as have seen learned men in Their daies ) wants so latine Their tongues, did the simple can not but wonder at Their talke, and thynke surely thei speake by some Revelacion.

( The mystical wise men, and Poetical Clerks wants to speak nothing but proverbs, allegories and blind, delighting much in Their Own darkness, Especially, When none can tell whatthey do say. The unlearned or foolish phantastical, did smells but of learning ( search fellows as have seen learned men in Their days ) wants so latinize Their tongues, did one simply can not but wonder at Their talk and think surely They speak by some revelation. )