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Starting with the 16th century, can anyone describe the main features (lexis, semantics, grammar, phonology, graphology/orthography, discourse)of English through to the 20th century?
What was notable about English in the 17th century? ...In the 18th century, and so on?
Is there a book which shows the features of English in these different centuries? Any answers or recommendations?
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Language features through the centuries
Starting with the 16th century, can anyone describe the main features (lexis, semantics, grammar, phonology, graphology/orthography, discourse)of English through to the 20th century? What was notable about English in the 17th century? ...In the 18th century, and so on?
Is there a book which shows the features of English in these different centuries? Any answers or recommendations?
Re: Language features through the centuries
Don't know if it's what you're looking for but I'm presently rereading J.B. Priestley's "Literature & Western Man".
As the title suggests and the author makes clear, the book is not restricted to English, taking in the likes of Macchiavelli, Goethe, Tostoy & Ibsen as well as Shakespeare, Swift, Byron, Whitman& Wilde, amongst others.
However, it does give an illuminating sweep of the cultural, historical, personal and social forces at work on these authors and their chosen language of expression.
Re: Language features through the centuries
Ulysses, by James Joyce.
Re: Ulysses
Pithy, Little Richardjohn, pithy...what page exactly had you in mind?
Let's take the 18th century...how would you describe English in this century using any of the headings in my original post - as pithily as possible?
Re: Ulysses
The reason I mentioned Ulysses is because one of the things Joyce does is to incorporate prose style down the ages into Bloom's day.
It took him 500 pages.
Re: Ulysses & his style
Point taken, but if memory serves me right, he writes a chapter where he imitates styles of writing throught the ages...it doesn't help the ordinary bloke(ess) in the street to understand the special language features of each century.
Perhaps there is no book at present which does this...
Re: Ulysses & his style
I know the sort of thing you're after, a compendium or gazetteer of typical prose, with an accompanying essay on the developments and obsolescences of each era.
Forsooth! Gadzookz! S'wounds!
Still, it does sound like a publishing possibility given all the whooha about Shoots Dribbles and Coughs, or whatever it was called.