ENG4820 | History of the English Language

Week 12: Early Modern English and the New World

From Last Week ..

II.B.3 The Protestant Reformation

• Long‐festering reaction concentrated in Northern Europe to conspicuous corruption and abuse of 
• power by the Church 
• At first violently suppressed in England by Henry VIII, then embraced when it gave him a way to 
defy the Pope and divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, in order to marry his lover Anne Boleyn, 
whom he later had beheaded. 
• Protestant theology values private, individual religious devotion and Bible study, which fueled an 
entire industry of translation, authoring, and publishing for English‐reading audiences. 

II.B.4 What the Protestant Reformation Did: Bible Translation

Prior to the Reformation, most Bibles in Europe were in Latin and were guarded rather jealously by the 
clergy. Soon after the commercialization of the printing press, consumer demand and gathering 
anticlerical sentiment led to a blossoming of Bible translations and printed editions in German, French, 
English, and other local languages. 
 
The Latin Bibles of the Middle Ages were translations of translations and copies of copies: 

• Hebrew scriptures: Hebrew ~ Aramaic Æ Koiné Greek, from ca. 300 BCE Æ Latin, from ca. 400 CE 
• Christian scriptures: Aramaic ~ Koiné Greek Æ Latin, from ca. 400 CE 
 
The Protestant translators went back to the original Hebrew and Greek texts, though to a large extent 
they also cribbed from the available Latin texts and from each other. 
 
The ‘King James Bible’ was the result of a petition to King James in 1603 by 750 progressive clergymen in 
the Church of England for a new translation; James agreed, and the translation was authored by more 
than fifty clergymen and scholars working in a deliberative committee structure. 
 
The King James version (better known as the Authorized Version in its time) was a careful balancing act 
between earthy, folksy style and deliberately archaic, decorous language. 

• Distinguishes between the subject pronoun ye and the corresponding object pronoun you: Ye
cannot serve God and Mammon. Therefore I say unto you …
• Possessive his instead of its: If the salt has lots his flavor
• Consistent third‐person singular –eth, a southern form which was being displaced by a northern 
import, ‐s. 
• Older noun and verb forms which were already on their way out: holpen instead of helped, spake
instead of spoke, kine instead of cows, brethren instead of brothers
 
Nonetheless, the King James/Authorized version is more recognizeably modern in its use of spelling and 
punctuation, having fallen mostly in line with the evolving norms of its time. 

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Exodus Chapter 10
John Wycliffe 1384
1: And the Lord seide to Moises,
Entre thou to Farao, for Y haue
maad hard the herte of hym, and of
hise seruauntis, that Y do these
signes of me in hym;
2: and that thou telle in the
eeris of thi sone and of `thi
sones sones, how ofte Y al to-brak
Egipcians, and dide signes in hem;
and that ye wyte that Y am the
Lord.
3: Therfore Moises and Aaron
entriden to Farao, and seiden to
hym, The Lord God of Ebrews seith
these thingis, How long `nylt thou
be maad suget to me? Delyuere thou
my puple, that it make sacrifice
to me; ellis sotheli if thou
ayenstondist,
4: and nylt delyuere it, lo! Y
schal brynge in to morewe a
locuste in to thi coostis,
5: which schal hile the hiyere
part of erthe, nether ony thing
therof schal appere, but that,
that was `residue to the hail
schal be etun; for it schal gnawe
alle the trees that buriounnen in
feeldis;
William Tyndale 1534
1:The Lorde sayde vnto Moses: goo
vnto Pharao, neuerthelesse I haue
hardened his harte and the hertes
of his servauntes, that I mighte
shewe these my sygnes amongest the
2: and that thou tell in the
audience of thy sonne and of thy
sonnes sonne, the pagiantes which I
haue played in Egipte ad the
miracles which I haue done amonge
them: that ye may knowe how that I
am the Lorde.
3: Than Moses and Aaron went in
vnto Pharao and sayde vnto him:
thus sayth the Lorde God of the
Hebrues: how longe shall it be, or
thou wilt submyt thy selfe vnto me?
Let my people goo that they maye
serue me.
4: Yf thou wilt not let my people
goo: beholde, tomorow will I brynge
greshoppers in to thy lande,
5: and they shall couer the face of
the erth that it can not be sene,
ad they shall eate the residue
which remayneth vnto you and
escaped the hayle and they shall
eate all youre grene trees vpon the
felde,
Authorized Version 1611
1: And the LORD said unto Moses,
Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have
hardened his heart, and the
heart of his servants, that I
might shew these my signs before
him:
2: And that thou mayest tell in
the ears of thy son, and of thy
son's son, what things I have
wrought in Egypt, and my signs
which I have done among them;
that ye may know how that I am
the LORD.
3: And Moses and Aaron came in
unto Pharaoh, and said unto him,
Thus saith the LORD God of the
Hebrews, How long wilt thou
refuse to humble thyself before
me? let my people go, that they
may serve me.
4: Else, if thou refuse to let
my people go, behold, to morrow
will I bring the locusts into
thy coast:
5: And they shall cover the face
of the earth, that one cannot be
able to see the earth: and they
shall eat the residue of that
which is escaped, which
remaineth unto you from the
hail, and shall eat every tree
which groweth for you out of the
field:
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Matthew Chapter 5
John Wycliffe 1384
11 Ye schulen be blessid, whanne
men schulen curse you, and schulen
pursue you, and shulen seie al yuel
ayens you liynge, for me.
12 Ioie ye, and be ye glad, for
youre meede is plenteuouse in
heuenes; for so thei han pursued
also profetis that weren bifor you.
13 Ye ben salt of the erthe; that
if the salt vanysche awey,
whereynne schal it be saltid? To no
thing it is worth ouere, no but
that it be cast out, and be
defoulid of men.
14 Ye ben liyt of the world; a
citee set on an hil may not be hid;
15 ne me teendith not a lanterne,
and puttith it vndur a busschel,
but on a candilstike, that it yyue
liyt to alle that ben in the hous.
16 So schyne youre liyt befor men,
that thei se youre goode werkis,
and glorifie youre fadir that is in
heuenes.
17 Nil ye deme, that Y cam to vndo
the lawe, or the profetis; Y cam
not to vndo the lawe, but to
fulfille.
Sources: 
Wycliffe: http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/wycliffe/Exo.txt
Tyndale: http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/tyndale/exo.txt
Authorized Version: http://etext.virginia.edu/kjv.browse.html
William Tyndale 1534
11 Blessed are ye when men reuyle
you and persecute you and shall
falsly say all manner of yvell
saynges against you for my sake.
12 Reioyce and be glad for greate
is youre rewarde in heven. + For so
persecuted they ye Prophetes which
were before youre dayes.
13 ye are ye salt of the erthe: but
and yf ye salt have lost hir
saltnes what can be salted ther
with? It is thence forthe good for
nothynge but to be cast oute and to
be troade vnder fote of men.
14 Ye are ye light of the worlde. A
cite yt is set on an hill cannot be
hid
15 nether do men lyght a cadell and
put it vnder a busshell but on a
candelstick and it lighteth all
that are in the house.
16 Let youre light so shyne before
men yt they maye se youre good
workes and glorify youre father
which is in heven.
17 Thinke not yt I am come to
destroye the lawe or the Prophets:
no I am nott come to destroye them
but to fulfyll them. you falsely,
for my sake.
Authorized Version 1611
11: Blessed are ye, when men shall
revile you, and persecute you, and
shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely, for my sake.
12: Rejoice, and be exceeding glad:
for great is your reward in heaven:
for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you.
13: Ye are the salt of the earth:
but if the salt have lost his
savour, wherewith shall it be
salted? it is thenceforth good for
nothing, but to be cast out, and to
be trodden under foot of men.
14: Ye are the light of the world.
A city that is set on an hill
cannot be hid.
15: Neither do men light a candle,
and put it under a bushel, but on a
candlestick; and it giveth light
unto all that are in the house.
16: Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father
which is in heaven.
17: Think not that I am come to
destroy the law, or the prophets: I
am not come to destroy, but to
fulfill.
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III The Nitty Gritty

One of the first attempts at a phonemic alphabet… 
 
John Hart, 1569 
(Source: Lerer p. 155) 
 

ei for ‘I,’ reflecting an earlier stage of the 
Great Vowel Shift (GVS) than today’s /aj/ 

bi and spich reflect a more advanced stage 
of the GVS 
reflects the original pronunciation of the 
Latin/French affix ‐tion  

 
 
 
 

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One of the first attempts at an authoritative dictionary of new loan words (Cawdrey): 
(Source: Crystal p. 72) 

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The Development of American English Dialects 

 
Scotland had become mostly English‐
  speaking by the Middle English period, 
though with many distinctive features of 
  phonology, morphology, and sentence 
structure. 
 
As English power and wealth expanded in the 
 
16th and 17th centuries, English rulers set their 
  sights on Ireland, which had been the target 
of low‐level English colonization since the 
  12th century.  
  From the 17th to 19th centuries, hundreds of 
  thousands of settlers moved to Ireland, with 
a heavy concentration of Scots in the 
  northern counties and a more generalized 
English migration into the remainder of the 
 
island. 
 
In the 17th and 18th centuries, all three areas 
  begin to independently feed the stream of 
immigrants to North America. 
 

From the start, British migration to North America is … 

• Politically motivated: Winning the demographic war against the Spanish, French, and Portugese 
• Predominantly from outside the London area 
• Heavily from rural areas 
• Heavily from marginalized groups: landless rural farmers, religious dissidents, debtors  
 
The migrations start just as a number of linguistic changes are unfolding: 
 
• /r/ deletion. Beginning in the 17th century, southern English dialects begin to drop /r/after vowels and syllable‐
finally. 
• Lowering of GVS diphthongs. The earliest outcomes of the Great Vowel Shift, the diphthongs /ej/ and /ow/ 
lower, eventually reaching /aj/ and /aw/ in the least conservative dialects 
• /υ/ begins moving lower and to the center, yielding /Λ/ in some dialects 
• /a/ begins to shift into different vowels in different dialects 

These changes have a large amount of internal complexity, varying across space, time, demographics, and phonological 
environment. Here is roughly how they work out in several of the most prominent dialects, circa 1800. 

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Middle Engl.  Word  London  Manchester  Ireland  Toronto  Boston MA  Richmond VA 
/r/  there  [ðε:]  [ðε:r]  [ðε:r]  [ðε:r]  [ðε:]  [ðε:r] 
/i:/  write  [rajt]  [rajt]  [rΛjt]  [rΛjt]  [rajt]  [rajt] 
ride  [rajd]  [rajd]  [rajd]  [rajd]  [rajd]  [rajd] 
/u:/  out  [awt]  [awt]  [Λwt]  [Λwt]  [awt]  [awt] 
loud  [lawd]  [lawd]  [lawd]  [lawd]  [lawd]  [lawd] 

/a/  hard  [ha:d]  [hard]  [hærd]  [hard]  [ha:d]  [hard] 

/a/  path  [paθ]  [pæθ]  [pæθ]  [pæθ]  [paθ]  [pæθ] 

all  [ :l]  [a:l]  [a:l]  [a:l]  [a:l]  [a:l] 
want  [w nt]  [want]  [want]  [want]  [want]  [want] 
/υ/  cup  [kΛp]  [kυp]  [kυp]  [kΛp]  [kΛp]  [kΛp] 
pull  [pυl]  [pυl]  [pυl]  [pυl]  [pυl]  [pυl] 
bulk  [pΛlk]  [pυlk]  [pΛlk]  [pΛlk]  [pΛlk]  [pΛlk] 
  
The prestige of the London dialect is a force throughout the history of American English, but in raw terms, Irish (and 
especially northern Irish) dialects have more influence overall, mostly within the last 150 years, as evidenced in a 
number of constructions and idiomatic expressions that arose independently in Ireland and made their way to North 
America (Source: Crystal 338): 
• Youse as a plural form of ‘you’ 
• Positive anymore: It rains a lot anymore 
• The use of whenever to refer to a single occasion: Whenever I was born, I was given a special name 
• The use of so as a contradictory emphasis. It’s not raining. It is so! 
 

   

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The Development of African‐American English Dialects 
 
Uncertain Origins:  
• English‐based Atlantic trade Pidgins, followed by creolization? 
• Native language adoption by enslaved populations? 
 
Uncertain Development 
• Only isolated, varyingly suspect records of African‐American speech, almost all by non‐black people 
• Non‐southern African American dialects were wiped out by 19th‐ and 20th‐century migrations from the 
Southeast to the Northern Industrial cities 
• Independent varieties: Samaná, Nova Scotia, Liberia 

Scholarly research is very recent, under‐resourced, and politically fraught. 

Source: http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/SlaveTrade/ 

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