EARLY MODERN ENGLISH

(1500-1800 AD)
History of the English Language Project
By Cody Patterson

1400-1700 THE GREAT VOWEL SHIFT
This was a change in pronunciation that began around 1400 and created a heavy effect
on language to a high extent during Early Modern English .
Vowel sounds began to be made further to the front of the mouth and the letter "e" at the
end of words became silent. Chaucer's Lyf (pronounced "leef") became the modern life.

http://www.anglik.net/englishlanguagehistory.htm
1476 THE PRINTING PRESS
Invented by William Caxton
The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print.
Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Printing also brought
standardization to English. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of
London, where most publishing houses were, became the standard.


http://www.englishclub.com/english-language-history.htm
LANGUAGE INFLUENCE
From around 1600, the English colonization of North America resulted in the creation of
a distinct American variety of English.
Spanish also had an influence on American English, with words like canyon, ranch,
stampede and vigilante being examples of Spanish words that entered English through
the settlement of the American West. French words (through Louisiana) and West
African words (through the slave trade) also influenced American English.
Clichs and slogan by writers such as Shakespeare also shaped todays language.

http://www.englishclub.com/english-language-history.htm
1500
START OF ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

The Renaissance was a time of Classical learning, which meant that many new words
and phrases entered the language.




http://www.englishclub.com/english-language-history.htm
1526
WILLIAM TYNDALE PRINTS HIS ENGLISH
TRANSLATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT OF
THE BIBLE

With both The Bible translated to English and the power of the printing press, brought a
wide religious and cultural change.
Sixteenth-century English print culture and Protestantism reinforced each other
changing religious language as we know it.

King, J. (2001)The Light of Printing: William Tyndale, John Foxe, John Day, and Early
Modern Print Culture, 54 (1) . Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1262220
1539
THE GREAT BIBLE PUBLISHED

Known as a landmark of the English language.
Contained parallel columns the six principal translations of the Psalms.



Wright, A. (1912) The Hexaplar Psalter, Being the Book of Psalms in Six English Versions,
7(2). Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3713039
1549
FIRST VERSION OF THE BOOK OF COMMON
PRAYER PUBLISHED

Welcomed by theologians, historians, and people with interest of the Church of England.
After The Bible, no text occupies a more important role in the English language.
Influenced language generation by generation.

Booty, J. (2007) The Book of Common Prayer 1559: The Elizabethan Prayer Book: The
Sixteenth Century Journal, 38(3) . Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20478607

1590
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE WRITES HIS FIRST
PLAYS

believed by most academics to have written his very first play, Henry VI, Part One in this
year.
Shakespeare begins to be noticed as a force within London theatre; Robert Greenes
Groatworth of Wit famously calls Shakespeare an "upstart crow". He attacks Shakespeare
as lacking originality since he borrows ideas from other for his own plays. Academics see
this criticism as proof that Shakespeare was in London at this time.
Such events lead words to be meant much more.


http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/timeline/timeline.htm
1602 THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT
Document used to settle a dispute between Pilgrims and Separatists alike.
This document shifted language to the point of it being direct and approachable.



The Mayflower Compact. (2002,) . Retrieved from http://www.crf-usa.org/foundations-of-
our-constitution/mayflower-compact.html
1604
ROBERT CAWDREY PUBLISHES THE FIRST
ENGLISH DICTIONARY, A TABLE
ALPHABETICALL

Has been previously discussed as an outgrowth of the Renaissance controversy on the
influx of foreign words into the English vocabulary.
This dictionary also is said to have stemmed in part from Latin languages and works
exemplifying the language transitions that were made.

Noyes, G. (1943) The First English Dictionary: Cawdrey's Table Alphabetical Modern
Language Notes, 58(8) . Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2910785
1607
JAMESTOWN, THE FIRST PERMANENT
ENGLISH SETTLEMENT IN THE NEW WORLD,
ESTABLISHED

Jamestown was a place that English speakers were settled.
The battles that were won there lead to many other settlements, both on land and paper.


http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/jamestown.html
1611
THE AUTHORIZED, OR KING JAMES VERSION,
OF THE BIBLE IS PUBLISHED

This gave the general population a literal scripture so that they may practice their faith
within their own homes.



Timeline: Early Modern English. (n.d.). 1066 - Timeline: Early Modern English. Retrieved
from http://www.1066andallthat.com/english_modern/timeline_early_ME.asp

1616
DEATH OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE


About 150 years after his death, questions arose about the authorship of William
Shakespeare's plays.
Skeptics questioned how Shakespeare wrote such perpetual pieces of literature
decades after he passed.
We will never know for sure, but that only makes his writing that much more interesting.

http://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323#controversy-and-literary-
legacy&
1622
PUBLICATION OF THE FIRST ENGLISH-
LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER, THE COURANTE OR
WEEKLY NEWS

Started by Nicholas Bourne and Thomas Archer.
Enlisted the grounds for publishing periodically.


Shaaber, M. (1932) . The History of the First English Newspaper: Studies in Philology,
29(4). Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4172183
1623
FIRST FOLIO OF SHAKESPEARES WORKS IS
PUBLISHED

Said to have been the first book handled with respect
Also said to have had very elaborate detail.
Leader for books to become a certain trivial importance.

Hinman, C. (1964) . The Printing and Proof-Reading of the First Folio of Shakespeare: The
Modern Language Review, 59(4) . Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3721050
1693 UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
no matter who, no matter where has the right to equal access to secure, efficient,
and affordable mail service.
introduces you to people, events, and developments affecting postal and national
history.


(2007) The history of the United States Postal Service: An American History . Retrieved
from https://about.usps.com/publications/pub100/pub100_001.htm



1702
PUBLICATION OF THE FIRST DAILY ENGLISH-
LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER, THE DAILY
COURANT, IN LONDON

Created by a great firm that changed periodical publication forever.
Examination of these sheets should give us more knowledge towards the circumstances
of writing and publication.


Bond, D. (1950) . The First Printing of the "Spectator, Modern Philology, 47(3) . Retrieved
from http://www.jstor.org/stable/434821
1755
SAMUEL JOHNSON PUBLISHES HIS
DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

A literacy giant
Led Johnson into speculation about the differences between an oral and written
language, leading others to do so as well.


Harrison, P. (1983) . Samuel Johnson's Folkloristics: Folklore, 94(1) . Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1260168
1777
LAST NATIVE SPEAKER OF THE CELTIC
CORNISH LANGUAGE DIES

By this time, people already saw the Celtic languages' as extinct.
Anybody that showed anything more than an academic interest was looked down upon.
Leads by example when thinking about other extinct languages.

Morrissey, P. (1959) Will to Survival: The Celtic Fringe, The Modern Language Journal,
43(2 ) . Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/321420
1788
NOAH WEBSTER PUBLISHES THE AMERICAN
SPELLING BOOK

Omitted many features that most dictionaries included.
Included words that were important starting points of exploration.



Shumsky, N. (2008) . Noah Webster and the Invention of Immigration: The New England
Quarterly, 81(1). Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20474606