Karla Citlalli Sánchez Paz
Late fifteenth century in London English
One major change seen in early Modern English was the removal of a vowel
sounds at the end of the words in certain unstressed positions. Affecting
thousands of words, it gave a different aspect to the whole language. Early
Modern English period is often dated from the Great Vowel Shift, during the
15th century.
English was further changed with the spread of a standardized London-based
dialect in government and administration. The introduction of many classical
Latin and Greek words into the Language was deliberate. With the introduction
of many words from different languages, the spellings in English became
variable.
Caxton English
Several different dialects existed in England, and Caxton's translations were
based on a London dialect. Caxton felt his own Kentish dialect was 'broad and
rude'; the London dialect was thought to be more refined, and included many
words derived from French or Latin.
Because of the diversity of English regional dialects, and the changing nature of
the language, it was difficult for Caxton to choose which words to use in his
translations. He needed to write in a dialect that would be understood by as
many readers as possible. In one book, Caxton writes of a group of 'gentlemen'
who complain that his translations contain words which could not be understand
of common people, and desired me to see old and homely terms in my
translations [could not be understood by the common people, and they wished
me to use old and homely terms].
Caxton called this old form of English 'plain and rude', whilst calling the more
'refined' form of English 'polished', 'ornate', or 'curious'. The language that
Caxton eventually chose to use was based on the dialects of the South East the most socially and economically influential region.
Early modern English in the sixteenth century
the collection of letters written to and by Lord Lisle, his family, friends, and staff,
provide valuable linguistic information. Lord Lisle was Governor of Calais for
Henry VIII from 1533 to 1540. The French town was at that time an English
possession. The first text below is by the 14-year old George Bassett, Lady
Lisle’s son by her first marriage who was being educated in the household of Sir
Francis Bryan. The letter of 1539 is purely formal: the boy has nothing to say
and he says it in the approved Tudor manner.
During the sixteenth century, writers were responding to a growing sense that
the language needed an agreed form of spelling, grammar, and vocabulary, just
as Latin had. People saw that the letters of the alphabet were too few to match
the sounds of English, and that the spelling of many words did not match their
pronunciation. A common description was that it was ‘corrupted’.
One of the earliest books, which advocated a reform of English spelling, was
John Hart’s An Orthography, published in 1569. In the following extract, he is
justifying the need for his new spelling system, ‘the new maner