ENG 121: English in the Scientific Age, Part I

								      Oct 13, 1997
 
ENG 199: English in the Scientific Age, Part I (1600-1750 approximately)

 
Preliminary Points
 
1. Return Quiz #4 and discuss.
2. Keep studying.
 
 
 
I. By 1700 English looks quite a bit like contemporary English.

	A. Great Vowel shift over
	B. Spelling conventions regularized
	C. Verb forms move to modern use
	D. Single past-tense forms: break-broke, steal-stolen, hit-hit, sing, sang, think-thought, 
		throw-threw.		
	E. Modern uses of auxiliary verbs (almost)
	F. Most prepositions used they way we now use them, though even today there is variation.
 
 


II. The Standardization of Spelling
 
	A. Introduction of printing.
	B. Standardized spelling set before Vowel shift ended, many archaic 
		pronunciation forms frozen in the spelling.
		Knight, Castle, meat/meet, author, subtle.
	C. Word spellings are changed by Renaissance etymologizing: author, subtle
	D. Rise of spelling pronunciations.  Now that spelling was standardized, 
		people who spoke dialects began to pronounce unfamiliar words the 
		way they were spelled, even when the spelling was not an accurate 
		reflection of pronunciation: 
			schedule, habit, herb, often, towards
 
 

III. Standardization and Codification (1650 on, moving into MoE)
 
	A. Standardization efforts prominent by 1750 (for both dictionaries and 
		rammars).  Began by 1600.
	B. Arguments for an English Academy from 1650 to 1750.  Never happened.
	C. Rise of prescriptive attitudes and development of "correct" English 
		based on "expert" judgments.  Grammars and dictionaries taken as 
		authorities.  First dictionary 1604; first major one in 1676. 
	D. Samuel Johnson's dictionary in 1755 was a major event for a number of 
		reasons.
	E. 1600s saw rise of English grammars.  These prescriptive rules for usage 
		were often based on Latin or some related assumption of universal 
		language logic.  In fact, many "experts" just made up the rules 
		that we now see as important for correct writing.  split 
		infinitives, stranded prepositions, no multiple negation, adverbs 
		should not look like adjectives.  "Correct language" was the mark of
		the polite upper classes (and it still is, but with greater 
		consequences).  We are still slaves to this arbitrary set of rules 
		created from about 1620 on.
 
		"To boldly go where no man has gone before."
		"That's the man who I spoke to."
		"He did it quick/fast."
 

 
IV. The Verb System	
 
	A. The auxiliary options were all available except the progressive passive, 
		which has since become a standard options for verb forms (after 
		1800).  All modern uses set after 1800.
		EXPLAIN: simple, perfect, passive, progressive, tense, voice.
		EXAMPLES: He sees Tom, has seen, is seeing, is seen.
	B. NOTE that the names for the tense options do not accurately reflect what 
		the tenses really indicate; e.g., the simple present tense can refer
		to the future time or the general time that includes that past, 
		present, and future.  DISCUSS 208-209.
	C. Great expansion of phrasal verbs. DISCUSS, LIST.
		give up, turn down, look into, turn over the ball, turn on, turn up,
		run into, cheer up, fix up, give away, give up, hold down, 
 
 
 

V. Changes in Pronunciation (You don't need to read this section; pages 210 to 214).
 
	A. Few changes in English pronunciation since 1700.
	B. A number of English dialects became "non-r," including the prestige form 
		of English form 1700 on.
	C. Loss of "r" created some changed pronunciations in British English 
		varieties over past two centuries.
 
 
 

VI. Influence of Scientific Writing (Basically MoE)
 
	A. The scientific prose writing that became more influential from 1650 on, 
		led gradually to less embellished writing styles from 1750 on 
		(emphasis on literal meaning).
	B. Science writing genres emerged (research article, expository prose).
 
 


VII. Scientific Vocabulary
 
	A. It is possible to claim that the enormous growth of scientific 
		vocabulary led to more than a million scientific and technical 
		words in English.  And more being added today!
	B. Scientific vocabulary was created by:
		1. Giving a non-technical word a new technical meaning.
		2. Borrowing words from other languages.
		3. Creating new words (using common Greek and Latin stems; 217).
	C. The trend to new science vocabulary has continued ever since these 
		developments began about 1650.
	D. Rise of biology, chemistry, physics, medicine.
 
 
 
Wednesday, we will finish this chapter by covering pages 219-233.