ENGL 4663: History of the English Language
John M. Mercer, Professor of English
Northeastern State University, Broken Arrow,
Oklahoma
Study Questions: Chapter 9
“The Appeal to
Authority, 1650-1800”
The
literary and historical period following the Renaissance is known by the
following names:
·
Restoration
(1660-1700) and Eighteenth Century (1701-1800)
·
Neoclassical
Period
·
Age
of Reason
·
Enlightenment
1.
Impact
of the 17th Century on the development of the English language (186; not all of these questions are answered
in the textbook)
a.
What
two sides fought in the English Civil
War (also known as the Puritan
Revolution)?
b.
When
did the English Civil War (also known as the Puritan Revolution) occur?
c.
What
was the role of King Charles I in
the English Civil War?
d.
What
was the role of Oliver Cromwell in
the English Civil War?
e.
Define:
interregnum.
f.
What
was the Cromwellian Interregnum, and when did it occur?
g.
“Enthusiast” was a negative
label applied to those who were believed to give precedence to emotion over
reason. In the English Civil War, who
were considered to be “enthusiasts”?
h.
What
is meant by the Restoration of King Charles
II? When did he become king?
i.
The
Restoration as a historical period
comprises the four decades following the Restoration of Charles II. What are the dates of this historical period?
j.
What
was the Royal Society?
k.
What
is the plain style? Who advocated use of the plain style? Why?
2.
Temper
of the 18th Century (187)
a.
How
does each of the following strongly held values of the 18th Century
relate to the English language?
i.
stability
ii.
order
iii.
correctness
iv.
rules
v.
reason
b.
How was classical
precedent used in the 18th Century to answer questions about
English usage? What classical language
was used to answer these questions?
c.
Why
is the analogy of Latin grammar ineffective
in solving problems in English grammar? (188)
3.
Perceived
problems with the English language
(188-91)
a.
Need
for ascertainment
i.
Why
was there hesitation and uncertainty about English grammar and usage at the beginning
of the 18th Century? (188)
ii.
In
what sense was English grammar uncodified at the beginning of the 18th Century? (188)
iii.
Why
was there a perceived need for standards
and rules of English grammar at the beginning of the 18th
Century? (189)
iv.
In
the context of the English language in the 18th Century, what is the
definition of each of the following?
(189)
1.
the
verb to
ascertain
2.
the
noun ascertainment
b.
Need
for “refinement”
i.
How
was the problem of “refining” the English language related to the misplaced but still-prevalent nostalgia for
the past? (190)
ii.
What
was the position of Jonathan Swift,
the greatest English writer of the first half of the 18th Century,
on the issue of “refining” the English language? (190)
iii.
What
is meant by the abbreviation of
polysyllables? (190)
iv.
How
was the polysyllabic word reputation often
abbreviated?
v.
How
was the polysyllabic word mobile (meaning “fickle crowd”)
often abbreviated?
vi.
What
is meant by the contraction of verbs? (190)
vii.
How
was the verb disturbed often contracted?
How many syllables were in the original word? How many syllables were in the contraction? (190)
viii.
What
are vogue words? (190)
ix.
What
are some of the 18th-century vogue words to which purists objected? (190)
x.
What
are some examples of vogue words in use today?
xi.
In
Swift’s letter published in the Tatler in 1710, what features of language does he satirize
because he believes they need refinement?
(section 190; page 261t)
xii.
Do
these satirized features of English in Swift’s letter from the 18th
Century have any similarities to today’s conversational English?
c.
Need
to “fix” the language (191)
i.
What
definition of the verb to fix applies here?
ii.
From
what fear did the desire to “fix”
the language come?
iii.
In
his Essay on Criticism, what is
Pope’s fear when he writes, “And such as Chaucer is, shall Dryden be”? (section 191; page 262m)
4.
The
call for an English Academy
a.
What
is a national language academy?
b.
In
the 18th century, which countries in Europe already had a national
language academy? (192)
c.
What
role did each of the following leading English writers play in the call for an
English Academy?
i.
John Dryden
ii.
Daniel Defoe
iii.
Jonathan Swift
d.
What
is meant by “yᵉ” in “yᵉ Members of this Assembly” (section 193;
page 265b)? Here “y” is used in place
of what Old English letter?
e.
In
1712, who published A Proposal for
Correcting, Improving, and Ascertaining the English Tongue? (194)
i.
This
writer is better known for writing what well-known satiric “Proposal”?
ii.
Whose
death in 1714 is largely responsible for the fact that this 1712 proposal was
never implemented? Why?
f.
What
objections were raised to the establishment of an English Academy? (195)
g.
What
was the position of Samuel Johnson,
the leading English writer of the last half of the 18th Century, on
the establishment of an English Academy?
(195)
5.
Substitutes for an English Academy
a.
How
did reason and consensus help to serve as substitutes for the establishment of an
English Academy? (196)
b.
Johnson’s
Dictionary (197)
i.
Who
wrote A Dictionary of the English Language? When was it published? (197)
ii.
To
what extent, if at all, was each of the following elements included in this
dictionary? What does your textbook tell
you about each element?
1.
etymologies
2.
definitions
3.
vocabulary
(number of words and types of words included)
4.
alternate
spellings
5.
illustrative
quotations
iii.
What
was the first comprehensive dictionary of the English language?
iv.
What
is a lexicographer?
v.
A
descriptive dictionary merely
records usage, where a prescriptive
dictionary attempts to dictate usage.
Was Johnson’s Dictionary more
descriptive or prescriptive?
vi.
In
what sense did Johnson’s Dictionary serve
as a substitute for an English Academy?
c.
18th-century
grammarians and rhetoricians
i.
What
is the difference between a grammarian and
a rhetorician? Which definition of rhetoric applies
here? (198)
ii.
In
general, what qualifications were required for 18th-century
grammarians and rhetoricians? (198)
iii.
In
particular, how well qualified was Robert Baker, who in 1770 published Reflections on the English Language? (198)
iv.
What
is meant by each of the following aims of the 18th-century
grammarians? (199)
1.
to codify
principles and state rules
2.
to judge cases
of divided usage
3.
to identify and
correct errors
v.
In
the 18th Century, for the first time, the English language had prescriptive
grammarians. Prescriptive grammarians
make prescriptions and proscriptions. (200)
In this context, what does it means to
1.
prescribe or make a prescription?
2.
proscribe or make a proscription?
vi.
What
prescriptions and proscriptions did the 18th-century grammarians as
a whole make concerning the following cases of divided usage? (200)
1.
when
to use to lie and to lay, including whether to say to
lie down or to
lay down
2.
when
to use between and among
3.
when
to use shall and will
4.
whether
to say different from or different than
5.
whether
to say the larger of the two or the largest of the two (i.e.,
whether to use comparative or superlative when comparing only two things)
vii.
What
is meant by each of the following methods for settling questions related to
English grammar and usage? (201)
1.
reason:
consistency through
analogy
2.
etymology
3.
example of Latin
and Greek (same
as classical precedent and analogy of Latin grammar in questions
2b and 2c above)
viii.
Doctrine
of usage (or custom)
1.
What
contribution did each of the following 18th-century grammarians
make? (202)
a.
Joseph Priestly
b.
George Campbell
2.
Which
grammarian was “most tolerant and liberal” in his ideas about language? (202)
3.
What
grammarian made each of the following statements, and what does each mean? (202)
a.
“[T]he
custom of speaking is the . . . only
just standard of any language.” (section 202; page 283m)
b.
We
should prefer “those forms of speech, to which our best speakers and writers seem evidently prone.” (202; page 283m)
c.
Authoritative
usage is whatever is present, national, and reputable. (202; page 284m)
ix.
Did
the work of the 18th-century grammarians and rhetoricians settle the disputed points of 18th-century
English grammar? (203)
x.
What
is meant by each of the following weaknesses of the 18th-century
grammarians? (204)
a.
failure to
recognize usage as the sole arbiter
b.
belief in logic
c.
reliance on
authoritarian decree
d.
failure to
accept divided usage
6.
Vocabulary
in the Restoration and 18th Century
a.
In
their attempt to reform vocabulary, what position did 18th-century rhetoricians
take concerning the use of the following words or phrases? (205)
i.
driving a bargain
ii.
subject matter
iii.
oftentimes
b.
On
what did the rhetoricians base their prescriptions and proscriptions? (205)
c.
Some
objected to the adopting of loanwords from what language into English? (206)
d.
From
what language did the words ballet,
champagne, dentist, and publicity come
into English? (206)
e.
The
expansion of the British Empire in the Restoration and 18th Century
laid the foundations for English to become an international language and
brought new words into English. From British
expansion into what parts of the world did each of the following words come
into English? (208)
i.
hickory, moose,
skunk
ii.
chili,
chocolate, tomato
iii.
barbecue,
potato, tobacco
iv.
bungalow,
cashmere, china, jungle
v.
banana,
chimpanzee, gumbo, zebra
7.
Changes
in English grammar in the Restoration and 18th Century
a.
How
do the following phrases illustrate the development of progressive verb forms?
(209)
i.
He burst out on laughing.
ii.
He burst out a-laughing.
iii.
He burst out laughing.
b.
How
do the following phrases illustrate the development of progressive passive verb forms?
(210)
i.
The house is on building.
ii.
The house is a-building.
iii.
The house is building.
iv.
The house is being built.