1. Introduction: Defining the periods of English As being a contentious issue, arbitrariness can be expected in terms of the divisions of different English language periods. In this essay, I am taking Nevalainen’s (2006:1) perspective, who is a favourer of the idea that 1700 is the dividing line of early and late Modern English periods. The date created for my two Frederick Hamilton’s letters are in 1790 and 1810 respectively. Therefore, they both belong to the late Modern English period. In the process of transliteration, Five salient syntactic interests, two morphological interests and two orthographic interests of my transliterated passages constitute the major part of the commentary, followed up by a brief conclusion. 2. syntactic interest 2.1 disordered direct object and indirect object In present day English, the position of a direct object and an indirect object is interchangeable by replacing the indirect object with a prepositional phrase following the direct object (Quirk et. 1985:59). The former can also be called the thing-object, the latter is person-object (Pautsma 1928:212). However, deviation from this rule is found in HAM/1/4/2/15. (1) I enclosed to you at Taxal a Post Bill… One more example is quoted from HAM/1/4/2/28. (2) Mr Greoille has notified to me his surprise and concern… (1) and (2) can be amended as: (1a) I enclosed a Post Bill to you at Taxal… (ambiguity of the adverbial adjunct phrase of place can be found in 2.3) (1b) Mr Greoille has notified his surprise and concern to me… As Pautsma (1928:216) stated, the misplaced construction was actually employed in not a few cases in lModE, which can be largely attributable to the author’s desire to enhance the quality of literary or rh... ... middle of paper ... ...on. 3.1.2 the use of apostrophe for modal auxiliaries Another common use of contraction apostrophe in my letters is for modal auxiliaries. For instance, wou’d for would, shou’d for should, cou’d for could. This is further confirmed by Oxford English Dictionary, in which all the examples of contracted modal auxiliaries are documented in the 18th and 19th Century. 4. Letter writing 4.1 Capitalization According to Crytal (2003:67), it was not until early 17th century that titles, forms of address and personified nouns have experienced capitalization, as Frederick Hamilton’s practice of capitalisation of Miss, Mrs and Mz. Furthermore, in the 18th Century, authors can use capital letters for any noun that conveyed important information for him. Crytal (2003:67). Followings are the capitalised words in my letters: Post Bill, Postman, Daughter… 4. Conclusion
Simpson, J. A., and E. S. C. Weiner. The Oxford English dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press; 1989.Print.
In the prefaces of many modern translations the virtues of a simple vocabulary and syntax are touted, yet we must ask ourselves, to what level of communication did God stoop when
Murray, J. A., & Burchfield, R. W. (1933). The Oxford English Dictionary (Vol. 1): Clarendon Press Oxford.
Bunyan, John, and L. Edward. Hazelbaker. The Pilgrim's Progress in Modern English. Alachua, Florida: Bridge-Logos, 1998. Print.
*All primary documents from this text come with this preface in mind (especially that which I have bolded): In this volume, as in its predecessor, I have tried to keep both footnotes and editorial comment to a minimum, the only real problem occurring with documents written in the emerging literary English of the period. With most of these I have used modern versions, but one or two I have left in the original, to instance the spelling and form of the language. With these some notes have been necessary, but by and large they are intelligible with a little effort, and should be interesting to read. Such mistakes, as exist are of course, mine.
Cobb. (2014). Lecture F on capitalization and forgiveness. Personal Collection of R. Cobb, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC.
King, Robert D. “Should English Be the Law?” 1996. The Presence of Others. Comp. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. 90-102. Print.
This paper seeks to address the literacy and stylistic issues presented in two texts. Specifically, an extract from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Wilfred Owens’s Dulce ET Est. Decorum. Initially, the paper will outline the prevailing social and historical contexts associated with the two texts. The principal purpose of this work is to address the themes common to both texts. For this to be achieved, an initial investigation and critique of both authors use of language will also need to be looked at.
Lukes, K. B.A. (Hons.) (Alberta), M.A. (Brit. Col.), English. English 424 Section:3 Term 93/3 Class Lectures Sept. 1993
Phillip Harth. Modern Philology, Vol. 73, No. 4, Part 2: A Supplement to Honor Arthur Friedman (May, 1976), pp. S45
Both The Elements of Style by Strunk and White and Style Toward Clarity and Grace by Williams emphasize the importance of ‘style’ in writing. Though they agree style is important, their approach and views of style differ. Stunk and White’s book was published in 1912 and was written for the old-fashioned ivy leaguers. This can be expressed by their use of the pronoun ‘he’. According to Strunk and White ‘he’ should always be used. Williams’ book was published in 1981 and in more culturally written. Williams states that a writer can use either ‘he’ or ‘she’; whichever is socially acceptable. He also tells the writer to use such words as police officer instead of policeman and mail carrier instead of mailman.
In Johnson’s preface to A Dictionary of the English Language, Johnson argues the importance of preserving language. Other dialects had a produced their own dictionaries, such as the French and Italians. Various writers of the eighteenth century were alarmed at the fact that there was no standard for the English language, since there was no standard it could easily become extinct. Johnson explored many points, such as how and why languages change as well as how many words are formed.
all lower case letters and never mixes them. This creates a style that she is
22 of Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. Rpt. in Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag.
Northern they had replaced the earlier Anglo-Saxon hives, but they were still alive. Such became the preferred Chancery form which had ousted bis, sych, seche and swiche. Which was replacing which. The auxiliary verbs appear more regularly in their modern forms: can, could, shall, should and would. A standardised spelling was developed which was divorced from the phonetic environment so that sound and spelling were becoming two separate systems.