The Adventure Of English -

Episode 6 Speaking Proper

Made by
Julia Karnaukh
Group 321
• The Age of Reason began, and English scholars of
mathematics and science like Isaac Newton started
publishing their books in English instead of Latin.
• Jonathan Swift would attempt to save the English
language from perpetual change, followed by
Samuel Johnson who would write
the A Dictionary of the English Language, made
up of 43,000 words and definitions, written in
seven years and published in 1755.
• Though the upper and lower classes found no
reason to change or improve their grammar,
the middle class used it to their advantage in
joining polite society. William Cobbett, a son
of the lower middle class and writer of “Rural
Rides”, advising those who wish to rise above
their station that writing and speaking
properly was essential.
William Cobbett
• As English began to replace Gaelic in Scotland it took
on its own character, using "bonnie" from the
French "bon" and "kolf" from the Dutch for "club",
the probable origin for "golf". Several other words
came from Gaelic, including "ceilidh", "glen", "loch",
and "whisky".
• Pronunciation became an issue all over the United
Kingdom, as some sounds could be spelt in several
different ways, while one spelling could have several
articulations.
• Irish actor Thomas Sheridan wrote British
Education, a book that attempted to educate all
English speakers in the proper pronunciation of
words.
• However, some Scots were offended that their
speech might be considered second-class and the
Scottish poet Robert Burns, son of a poor farmer,
became the hero of the Scottish language.
• William Wordsworth also became a champion of
the ordinary peoples' English, suggesting that poetry
need not be written using haughty vocabulary.
Robert Burns William Wordsworth
• The turn of the 19th century marked a period
when women were more educated and their
speech and literacy improved.
• Novels were thought to be a frivolous
occupation for females until Jane Austen
wrote about the capabilities of such works in
her own novels; her works were highly proper,
often using words like "agreeable",
"appropriate", "discretion", and "propriety".
• Then came the Industrial Revolution and the
language that came along with it. The steam
engine changed the meaning of words like
"train", "locomotive", and "tracks" to be
associated with the new technology.
• Along with this age came a change of social
situation; the term "slum" came into use.
• Cockney rhyming slang became a new form
of speech for those in the lower class.
 Thank you
for
your attention