Blame the Printing Press

2021 ◽  
pp. 116-146
Author(s):  
Arika Okrent ◽  
Sean O’Neill
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Printing Press ◽  
Norman Conquest ◽  
14Th Century ◽  
Major Shift ◽  
Vowel Shift ◽  
Court Of Chancery

This chapter focuses on the role of the printing press in the standardization of the English language. A few centuries after the Norman conquest, by the end of the 1300s, English was again a written language. However, there was no agreement on the correct way to write or spell to use as a guide. Some standards started to emerge after the Court of Chancery switched to English in about 1430. This loose, emerging standard came to be known as Chancery English. Then, in 1476, a merchant named William Caxton brought an amazing new invention back to England from the continent: the printing press. This happened to take place during the middle of a major shift in English pronunciation. From the 14th century to the 17th century, the vowel system of English underwent a massive reorganization called the Great Vowel Shift. By the time the Great Vowel Shift had spread through most of the country in spoken language, the writing system, aided by the printing press, had solidified into a standard that was taught, propagated, and reinforced constantly.

scholarly journals The Significance of Interslavonic Language Contacts in the Formation of a New Type of Literary Russian

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (28) ◽  
pp. 189-197
Author(s):  
Liudmila Garbul
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Great Role ◽  
Russian Soil ◽  
Polish Language ◽  
New Type ◽  
Polish Culture

This article presents facts verifying the presence of nearly 1,000 lexical and over 300 semantic Polonisms found in the Russian chancery language (diplomatic correspondence) of the Muscovite state of the end of 16th and the first half of the 17th cen­turies, and draws conclusions about the role of the Polish influence on the Russian written language at that time and thereafter. According to our data, the Polish influence on the Russian written language in the first half of the 17th century extended both in terms of quantity and quality as well, which led to the close interaction of the lexical and semantic systems of the contiguous languages on a deeper level. This, in our opinion, allows us to discuss the fact that the production of the Posolsky Prikaz (ambassadorial office) in the second half of the 16th–17th centuries acted not only as one of the main channels of the Polonisation of Russian lexis, but—due to the rather large amount of semantic borrowings, as well as the increasing number of intraslavonic derivates among lexical borrowings in the 17th century— encouraged the extension of the influence of Polish culture in a broader aspect as well. This was reflected in the strategy of the formation of Muscovite Russian language policy, when the southwestern Russian language, which in its turn represented the borrowing of the Polish language situation, was being transformed onto the Great Russian soil. It should be pointed out that the prostaja mova, which—due to the absence of its equivalent in Great Russian conditions—played a great role and acted as an active mediator in Polish–Russian language contacts, influenced the chancery language of the Muscovite state, espe­cially diplomatic correspondence.

Tertiary English-majored Students’ Perceptions toward the Role of Pronunciation in English Language Learning and their Practicing Strategies

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 264-279
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
The University

Accurate pronunciation has a vital role in English language learning as it can help learners to avoid misunderstanding in communication. However, EFL learners in many contexts, especially at the University of Phan Thiet, still encounter many difficulties in pronouncing English correctly. Therefore, this study endeavors to explore English-majored students’ perceptions towards the role of pronunciation in English language learning and examine their pronunciation practicing strategies (PPS). It involved 155 English-majored students at the University of Phan Thiet who answered closed-ended questionnaires and 18 English-majored students who participated in semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that students strongly believed in the important role of pronunciation in English language learning; however, they sometimes employed PPS for their pronunciation improvement. Furthermore, the results showed that participants tended to use naturalistic practicing strategies and formal practicing strategies with sounds, but they overlooked strategies such as asking for help and cooperating with peers. Such findings could contribute further to the understanding of how students perceive the role of pronunciation and their PPS use in the research’s context and other similar ones. Received 10th June 2019; Revised 12th March 2020; Accepted 12th April 2020

Tauchnitz for Translators. The Circulation of English-language Literature in Finland

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 161-179
Author(s):  
Outi Paloposki
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Book History ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Book Production ◽  
German Publisher ◽  
Language Literature ◽  
Selection Of

The article looks at book production and circulation from the point of view of translators, who, as purchasers and readers of foreign-language books, are an important mediating force in the selection of literature for translation. Taking the German publisher Tauchnitz's series ‘Collection of British Authors’ and its circulation in Finland in the nineteenth and early twentieth century as a case in point, the article argues that the increased availability of English-language books facilitated the acquiring and honing of translators' language skills and gradually diminished the need for indirect translating. Book history and translation studies meet here in an examination of the role of the Collection in Finnish translators' work.

THE ROLE OF LITERACY METHODS IN MASTERING OF WRITTEN LANGUAGE BY STUDENTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DYSLEXIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-18
Author(s):  
Tsvetanka Tsenova
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Work ◽  
Developmental Dyslexia ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Empirical Verification ◽  
Literacy Methods ◽  
The Relationship

This article focuses on the relationship between literacy methods applied at school and the emergence of serious difficulties in mastering reading and writing skills that shape the developmental dyslexia. The problem was analyzed theoretically and subjected to empirical verification. Experimental work was presented which aims to study the phonological and global reading skills of 4- th grade students with and without dyslexia. Better global reading skills have been demonstrated in all tested children, and this is much more pronounced in those with dyslexia than their peers without disorders. Hence, the need to develop a special, corrective methodology for literacy of students with developmental dyslexia consistent with their psychopathological characteristics.

THE USE OF THE TRANSLATION METHOD IN MASTERING THE TERMS

2019 ◽  
pp. 87-95
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
English Language ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
General Classification ◽  
Optimal Methods ◽  
Foreign Companies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Problems Of Translation

The article is devoted to the role of Tourism terminology in linguistics and the issue of general classification, peculiarities in the expression and translation of terms related to tourism in English into Uzbek and Russian, as well as the choice of the most optimal methods for translating terms in accordance with the requirements of this professional sphere. The terminology of the English language tourism is distinguished by its brightness, versatility. Tourism terms are formed under the influence of a generalized lexical layer of language and perform a specific functional function.Tourism terms are formed through the affixation method (prefixation, suffixation, circumphixation) and get rich through the process.The terminology of English Tourism is distinguished by its content and structural features, forming a part of the language vocabulary from the linguistic point of view. Texts in the field of Tourism take into their composition concepts of Tourism and interpret them in their content. They will be mainly in the form of advertising, as well as enlighten information about a particular region or place, create informational precedents and ensure their manifestation in the social cultural presence. The relevance of the study of the problems of translation of terms in the field of tourism has been investigated, mainly due to the development of international relations, expansion of cooperation between local and foreign companies, as well as the increase in this area of communication.

TO SIGNIFICANCE OF ENGLISH IN THE MODERN WORLD*

2019 ◽  
pp. 310-312
Author(s):  
S.L. Mertsalova
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Modern World

The article considers the role of English language in the modern world. The spheres of human life in which English plays an important role are presented. A number of professions for which English is an integral part have been considered.

Machine Translation for EFL

Relay Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 228-235
Author(s):  
Paul J. Moore ◽  
Phil Murphy ◽  
Luann Pascucci ◽  
Scott Sustenance
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Machine Translation ◽  
English Language ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Technical Developments ◽  
English Language Institute ◽  
Changing Role

This paper reports on an ongoing study into the affordances of free online machine translation for students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) at the tertiary level in Japan. The researchers are currently collecting data from a questionnaire, task performance, and interviews with 10-15 EFL learners in an English Language Institute in a university in Japan. The paper provides some background on the changing role of translation in language learning theory and pedagogy, before focusing literature related to technical developments in machine translation technology, and its application to foreign language learning. An overview of the research methodology is provided, along with some insights into potential findings. Findings will be presented in subsequent publications.

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