11. The Early Modern English Verbal Constructions and 18th Century Prescriptivism: Porovnání verzí

(Založena nová stránka s textem „'''2.''' '''Discuss the reasons, aims and methods of the 18c prescriptivism. focus on usage and grammar, rather than spelling and vocabulary as in R…“)
 
Řádek 60: Řádek 60:
 
* do not split an infinitive
 
* do not split an infinitive
 
* do not end a sentence with a preposition
 
* do not end a sentence with a preposition
 +
 +
Zdroj: Laurel J. Brinton, Leslie K. Arnovick. The English Language: A Linguistic History

Verze z 24. 4. 2016, 11:09

2. Discuss the reasons, aims and methods of the 18c prescriptivism.

focus on usage and grammar, rather than spelling and vocabulary as in Renaissance

social, linguistic, and philosophical reasons

social:

industrial revolution brought the rise of the middle class and an increase in social mobility

  • in cities the upper classes felt their position is crumbling
  • the early grammars were written to help the social elite to maintain the distance
  • later written for lower and middle class who wished to rise socially
  • both assumed that language mattered and people should be given guidance

linguistic: period of linguistic conservatism o

  • concern about refining and fixing the language
  • belief that the language has decayed from an earlier, better stage and change is bad

philosophical: philosophy of reason, Age of Reason

  • language ought to be logical, orderly and symmetrical


important grammarians:

	Johnson, Defoe, Swift, Sheridan and Addison, Noah Webster, Lowth, Priestley 


aims:
ascertainment: seen English as uncodified, unsystematised and uncertain in places

  • change endangers the integrity of the language
  • language has been corrupted from the earlier golden age → wish to reverse the harmful changes by refining, purifying and perfecting
  • prevent further changes
  • process of ascertainment → ridding of doubts and uncertainties
  • standardize the language, codify the rules and establish a standard of correct usage
  • refine the language, remove supposed defects and common errors
  • fix the language permanently in the desired form and prevent further changes

academy: thought the best way to achieve ascertainment

  • academy to regulate the language as in Italy and France
  • never came to fruition
  • came to realize it is in vain, language will change

methods:
no academy, so they have to rely on their own devices – their own authority, authority of the best writers, the model of classical languages, etymology, and reason

authority: prescription often embodied individual´s preconceptions, prejudices and preferences

  • take authority of the best writers and men of letters, but also pointing out faults

model of Latin: they valued synthetic languages

  • analogical use of grammar to Latin
  • Latin serves as a model for most 18th C prescriptions concerning case usage

etymology: etymological meaning of a word possesses a certain authority over the current one

reason: the application of logic resulted in prescriptions and proscriptions:

  • do not use a double negative
  • do not use a double comparative or superlative form
  • do not compare incomparables
  • use the comparative for two things, superlative for more than two
  • place only before the word it modifies
  • do not split an infinitive
  • do not end a sentence with a preposition

Zdroj: Laurel J. Brinton, Leslie K. Arnovick. The English Language: A Linguistic History