19th Century
Novels
DJ Stavros
Stephanie Hurley
Linguistic change
continued, even with the
work of the prescriptivists
at the end of the 18th century.
19th Century
Linguistic Change
• Vocabulary
• Grammar
• Punctuation/
Capitalization/
Spelling
Vocabulary
• English lexicon was expanding due to the
numerous technological and scientific
advances of the Industrial Revolution
• Word-formation processes:
Borrowing
Affixation
Compounding
Abbreviation
Borrowing
• Words of obvious French origin
were being borrowed with less
frequency
• Greek and Latin continued
to increase, with a
preference for the Greek
• Colonial expansion in Africa,
Asia, and Australia led to an
increase of “exotic” borrowings
without mediation
Affixation
• Both prefixes and suffixes
were added to existing
words to form new words
• Specific prefixes and suffixes
of scientific importance
were used more often
– Prefixes: micro-, giga-, auto-, bi– Suffixes: -ene, -ology, -ography,
-ics, -ism
Compounding
• Can arise from
combining together a
variety of different roots
or words
– Chlorofluorocarbon
(chloro+fluoro+carbon)
– Geniophobia
(genio+phobia)
– Wavelength
(wave+length)
Abbreviation
• Initialisms / alphabetisms
– DJ, USA
• Acronyms
– Laser, DARE
• Clippings
– Exam, fridge, varsity
• Blends
– Smog, brunch
Grammar
• Minor differences between 19th century and
modern grammar
• Can be a matter of frequency (rare phrases
becoming common) or stylistic change
(formal versus polite)
• Noticeable variations include:
–
–
–
–
Verb phrases
Noun phrases
Adverbs
Adjectives
Verb Phrases
• “I look not forward with any
pleasure…”
• “Shall you let him go to Italy?”
• “You will be to visit me in prison.”
• “Jenny and James are walked to
Charmouth…”
• “I don’t look forward…”
• “Will you let him go to Italy?”
• “You will visit me in prison.”
• “Jenny and James walked/
have walked..”
Noun Phrases
• “When none such
troubles oppresses
me..”
• “When no such
troubles oppress
me…”
• “Any the most intricate
accounts…”
• “Any of the most
intricate accounts…”
Adverbs and Adjectives
• Adverbs often times form awkward
constructions that we would not use today
– “a monstrous fine young man” (1840), where
today it would be “monstrously”
• Certain adjectives have also changed in
their formation
– “handsomest” (1816), where today we would likely
say “most handsome”
Capitalization
& Spelling
• There are only slight
variations between 19th
century spelling &
capitalization and that of
today
• Some differences are a
product of differences
between American and
British English
PART TWO
Now let’s see these characteristics
of 19th century English in action…
CHARLES DICKENS’S
‘Hard Times’
• First published in 1854
• Published in twenty parts in the journal Household Words
• Set during the Industrial Revolution
In 1856 Dickens’ compatriot, Hyppolyte Taine, said, “One of his latest
novels, Hard Times, is an abstract of the rest. He there exalts
instinct above reason, intuition of the heart above positive
knowledge; he attacks education built on statistics, figures, and
facts… He satirizes oppressive society; mourns over oppressive
nature.”
So, Mr. M'Choakumchild began in his best manner. He and some
one hundred and forty other schoolmasters, had been lately turned
at the same time, in the same factory, on the same principles, like
so many pianoforte legs. He had been put through an immense
variety of paces, and had answered volumes of head-breaking
questions. Orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody,
biography, astronomy, geography, and general cosmography,
the sciences of compound proportion, algebra, land-surveying
and levelling, vocal music, and drawing from models, were all at
the ends of his ten chilled fingers. He had worked his stony way
into Her Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council's Schedule B,
and had taken the bloom off the higher branches of mathematics
and physical science, French, German, Latin, and Greek. He knew
all about all the Water Sheds of all the world (whatever they are),
and all the histories of all the peoples, and all the names of all the
rivers and mountains, and all the productions, manners, and
customs of all the countries, and all their boundaries and bearings
on the two and thirty points of the compass. Ah, rather overdone,
M'Choakumchild. If he had only learnt a little less, how infinitely
better he might have taught much more! (From Ch.2)
Vocabulary
• Science-related and technical
terms are numerous
(geography, cosmography,
land-surveying, biography)
• However, the specific words in this chosen passage were not
coined during the 19th century.
• Well then, why are they important?
– Hard Times as a social commentary / critique about
Industrialization, its effects on people and on education
– Enormous amount of scientific, technical, learned terminology
– Dickens is making a statement about the people around him.
New words, technical lingo, whole new way of life
Vocabulary (page 2)
1.
“He knew all about the Water Sheds of all the world (whatever
they are), and all the histories of all the peoples…”
–
–
OED definition- “The line separating the waters flowing into different
rivers or river basins,” first used in the 19th century
Not an everyday, conversational word- introduced through science
--------------------------------------------------------2.
“You learnt a great deal, Louisa, and so did your brother. Ologies
of all kinds from morning to night. If there is any Ology left, of any
description, that has not been worn to rags in this house, all I can
say is, I hope I shall never hear its name.” (Ch. 9)
–
–
–
OED definition- “An academic discipline or field of knowledge; esp.
one of the physical, biological, or social sciences”
Introduced by Edward Nares in 1811
Existed before 19th century as a suffix, but never as a noun by itself
So, Mr. M'Choakumchild began in his best manner. He and some one
hundred and forty other schoolmasters, had been lately turned at the
same time, in the same factory, on the same principles, like so many
pianoforte legs. He had been put through an immense variety of paces,
and had answered volumes of head-breaking questions. Orthography,
etymology, syntax, and prosody, biography, astronomy, geography, and
general cosmography, the sciences of compound proportion, algebra,
land-surveying and levelling, vocal music, and drawing from models,
were all at the ends of his ten chilled fingers. He had worked his stony
way into Her Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council's Schedule B, and
had taken the bloom off the higher branches of mathematics and
physical science, French, German, Latin, and Greek. He knew all about
all the Water Sheds of all the world (whatever they are), and all the
histories of all the peoples, and all the names of all the rivers and
mountains, and all the productions, manners, and customs of all the
countries, and all their boundaries and bearings on the two and thirty
points of the compass. Ah, rather overdone, M'Choakumchild. If he had
only learnt a little less, how infinitely better he might have taught much
more! (From Ch 2)
Grammar
• “Ah, rather overdone”
– ‘Rather’ is rather out-dated
– Generally, modern British English uses all adverbs of degree
pretty/rather/quite, whereas modern American English most
often uses pretty, and uses quite mainly in the negative.
• “Learnt a little less”
– Some verbs can have either –ed or –t ending in the past tense
– Modern British English uses either ending, whereas in modern
American English, the irregular form (-t) is less usual.
• “If he had only learnt a little less, how infinitely better he might
have taught much more!”
– Confusing word order and use of verbs
– Verbs- Conditional + passive modal
Grammar (Page 2)
•
“Orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody, biography, astronomy,
geography, and general cosmography, the sciences of compound
proportion, algebra, land-surveying and levelling, vocal music, and
drawing from models, were all at the ends of his ten chilled fingers.”
•
“He knew all about all the Water Sheds of all the world (whatever they
are), and all the histories of all the peoples, and all the names of all the
rivers and mountains, and all the productions, manners, and customs
of all the countries, and all their boundaries and bearings on the two
and thirty points of the compass.”
•
“One of the striking features of 19th-century syntax is
the use of long involved sentences… The wellconstructed period, illustrating the writer’s logical
arguments and ordered scholarly discourse, was one
of the achievements of 18th century prose.” (Manfred
Gorlach, English in Nineteenth Century England, Pg 88)
So, Mr. M'Choakumchild began in his best manner. He and some one
hundred and forty other schoolmasters, had been lately turned at the
same time, in the same factory, on the same principles, like so many
pianoforte legs. He had been put through an immense variety of paces,
and had answered volumes of head-breaking questions. Orthography,
etymology, syntax, and prosody, biography, astronomy, geography, and
general cosmography, the sciences of compound proportion, algebra,
land-surveying and levelling, vocal music, and drawing from models,
were all at the ends of his ten chilled fingers. He had worked his stony
way into Her Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council's Schedule
B, and had taken the bloom off the higher branches of mathematics and
physical science, French, German, Latin, and Greek. He knew all about
all the Water Sheds of all the world (whatever they are), and all the
histories of all the peoples, and all the names of all the rivers and
mountains, and all the productions, manners, and customs of all the
countries, and all their boundaries and bearings on the two and thirty
points of the compass. Ah, rather overdone, M'Choakumchild. If he had
only learnt a little less, how infinitely better he might have taught much
more! (From Ch. 2)
Capitalization & Spelling
•
•
•
•
“land-surveying”
“levelling”
“Honourable”
“Water Sheds”
“He had worked his stony
way into Her Majesty's
most Honourable Privy
Council's Schedule B”
JANE AuStEN’S
‘emma’
• Emma was first
published in 1816
• In the novel, Austen
examines societal rules
that govern social
relationships, while at
the same time
presenting a heavy
emphasis on reason
Vocabulary
• Austen uses numerous ‘odd’ words that can
sometimes be seen in some of today’s writing, for
example:
– Behindhand, dissentient, imaginist, obtrude
• Words from Austen’s works both that are and are
not seen today include
– Sportive, nuncheon, dissentient, valetudinarian,
behindhand, missish, postilion, superannuated, sedulous,
puppyism, self-consequence, importunate, tremulous,
verdure, collation, repine, raillery, moiety, outre, obtrude
http://wordcraft.infopop.cc/archiveindex.htm
Behindhand
• Mr. Knightley was hard at work upon the lower buttons of his thick
leather gaiters, and either the exertion of getting them together, or
some other cause, brought the colour into his face, as he
answered, "Oh! are you there?--But you are miserably
behindhand. Mr. Cole gave me a hint of it six weeks ago.”
• Before Iran's revolution, Turkey was behindhand on practically
every count-foreign direct investment, income per head, GDP
growth. (The Economist, Dec. 9, 2004)
• behindhand ﾐ 1. late; behind schedule; particularly, in arrears on
a debt. 2. backward, in respect to what is seasonable or
appropriate. (in other words, out of style). 3. being in an inferior
position
Dissentient
• There was not a dissentient voice on the subject, either
when Mrs. Perry drank tea with Mrs. and Miss Bates, or when
Mrs. and Miss Bates returned the visit. (Ch. 2)
• There were dissentient voices. Two commentators who had
played the game at the highest level ... thought that Paul was
not the man for England and that Robinson would do better to
stick to the known virtues of Will Greenwood. (Alan Watkins
(apparently speaking of rugby football), The Independent,
Nov. 30, 2004)
• dissentient ﾐ dissenting, especially the majority's view
Imaginist
• How much more must an imaginist, like herself, be on
fire with speculation and foresight!--especially with such
a groundwork of anticipation as her mind had already
made. (Ch. 21)
• Decades ago, the millionaire imaginist mixed his love
of Florida with a bit of magic and came up with the
kingdom of Xanth… (Adrienne P. Samuels, Hillsborough
County Times, Feb. 9, 2005)
• imaginist ﾐ one who lives in a world created by his or
her active imagination
Obtrude
• "How you can bear such recollections, is astonishing to
me!- They will sometimes obtrude- but how you can
court them!" (Ch. 54)
• They are never allowed to obtrude. (Allan Ramsay,
British diplomacy in the Queen's reign: 1952-2002,
Contemporary Review, August, 2002)
• obtrude ﾐ (of a thought or a person:) to thrust itself (or
himself), unwelcome, upon a person's company or
attention.
"That Mr. Elton should really be in love with me, -me, of all
people, who did not know him, to speak to him, at Michaelmas!
And he, the very handsomest man that ever was, and a man
that every body looks up to, quite like Mr. Knightley! His
company so sought after, that every body says he need not eat
a single meal by himself if he does not chuse it; that he has more
invitations than there are days in the week. And so excellent in
the Church! Miss Nash has put down all the texts he has ever
preached from since he came to Highbury. Dear me! When I
look back to the first time I saw him! How little did I think!-The
two Abbots and I ran into the front room and peeped through the
blind when we heard he was going by, and Miss Nash came and
scolded us away, and staid to look through herself; however, she
called me back presently, and let me look too, which was very
good-natured. And how beautiful we thought he looked! He was
arm-in-arm with Mr. Cole."
Grammar
• “handsomest” --->
“most handsome”
• “he need not eat” --->
“he doesn’t need to eat”
• “dear me” --->
“oh my goodness”
• “how little did I think” --->
“how little I thought”
Note: Grammar
• The progressive passive
– Peyton Manning is being
sacked
– Although this verb phrase
formation was in use in the
19th century, it is not a
verb tense used by Austen
in her works
– In fact, it was condemned as
a “monstrous absurdity”
"That Mr. Elton should really be in love with me, -me, of all
people, who did not know him, to speak to him, at Michaelmas!
And he, the very handsomest man that ever was, and a man that
every body looks up to, quite like Mr. Knightley! His company so
sought after, that every body says he need not eat a single meal
by himself if he does not chuse it; that he has more invitations
than there are days in the week. And so excellent in the Church!
Miss Nash has put down all the texts he has ever preached from
since he came to Highbury. Dear me! When I look back to the
first time I saw him! How little did I think!-The two Abbots and I
ran into the front room and peeped through the blind when we
heard he was going by, and Miss Nash came and scolded us
away, and staid to look through herself; however, she called me
back presently, and let me look too, which was very goodnatured. And how beautiful we thought he looked! He was armin-arm with Mr. Cole."
Capitalization & Spelling
• ‘Every body’---> Everybody
• ‘Chuse’---> Choose
• ‘Staid’---> Stayed
• ‘Connexions’---> Connections
Finis