scholarly journals Sociolinguistics and Language History: The Helsinki Corpus of Early English Correspondence

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (13) ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
Terttu Nevalainen ◽  
Helena Raumolin-Brunberg
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Linguistic Change ◽  
Language History ◽  
Early Modern English ◽  
Different Ages ◽  
Early English

The paper introduces our new project on diachronic sociolinguistics, focusing on the problems of compiling a representative corpus for this purpose. We study long-term linguistic change in the Late Middle and Early Modern English periods (1420-1680) in a computer-readable corpus of personal letters, which is designed specifically for the purposes of sociohistorical research. When completed, the Helsinki Corpus of Early English Correspondence will comprise some 1.5 million running words representing all the literate social ranks of the time, both sexes, and different ages and occupations. In our case, the issues that a corpus compiler must deal with include the coverage of all the sociolinguistically relevant categories of data, authenticity of extant materials, and the quality of editing.

The long-term diachrony of referential null subjects in early English

2019 ◽  
pp. 181-216
Author(s):  
Kristian A. Rusten
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Old English ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Null Subjects ◽  
Argument Ellipsis ◽  
Early Modern English ◽  
Early English

Chapter 6 investigates the long-term diachrony of null subjects in early English. On the basis of a large-scale empirical analysis of overt and null referential subjects in Old, Middle, and Early Modern English, it is argued that no real diachronic decline in the possibility of null subjects can be detected across a period spanning c.850 years of early English texts. It is argued that this is consonant with a story where Old English does not feature a productive pro-drop property. The chapter also shows that verb-initial clausal syntax and conjunct clause environments constitute the strongest favouring effects for null subjects in Middle and Early Modern English, as is also the case in Old English. An argument is made that this is consonant with a story where subject omission in early English is viewed as a form of argument ellipsis.

scholarly journals THE STYLISTIC FUNCTIONING OF SCRIPTURAL ALLUSIONS IN AN EARLY MODERN ENGLISH PLAY “JOHAN BAPTYSTES PREACHYNGE” BY J. BALE

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 1001-1007
Author(s):  
A.A. Khavronich
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Early Modern English ◽  
Semantic Expansion ◽  
Early English ◽  
The Given ◽  
Selection Of

The given article analyzes the peculiarities of the stylistic functioning of allusions to the Holy Scripture within one religious play belonging to the modern early English period, namely “Johan Baptystes Preachynge” produced by a dramatist J. Bale. The analysis is performed from the standpoint of linguopoetics. We consider stylistic features via the correlation of form and meaning, dissection of the conceptual component, juxtaposition with medieval plays representing adaptations of the same scriptural plot. Within the framework of this analysis we identify and assess elements performing the function of impact incorporated into the scriptural allusions and estimate their role in the selection of other lexical units, construction of extended metaphors, syntactic shaping of particular fragments of the play. We draw a conclusion that via the extension of scriptural metaphorical complexes the author brings about a meaningful focus shift to ensure a protestant reinterpretation of the included biblical theses. A substantial share of stylistically marked elements undergoes semantic expansion and develops adherent connotations since they relate to the pivotal elements of the allusions.

Stancetaking in seventeenth-century prefaces on obstetrics

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Alonso Almeida ◽  
Margarita Mele-Marrero
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Power Relationship ◽  
Epistemic Stance ◽  
Authorial Identity ◽  
Early Modern English ◽  
The Relationship

This paper deals with authorial stance in prefatory material of Early Modern English manuals on women’s diseases. Publications on this field from between 1612 and 1699 constitute our corpus of study. Original digitalised texts have been analysed manually to identify and detect structures concerning authorial identity and stance, according to the model developed by Marín-Arrese (2009). This model for the identification of effective and epistemic stance strategies enables us to describe both the relationship between the authors and their texts and, more specifically, the power relationship between the writers and their audience. One of the most important conclusions of this study concerns the strategic use of stance markers to enhance the quality of these books and make them appropriate for a wide variety of readers.

Complexity in national legislation of the Early Modern English period

2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anu Lehto
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Genre Studies ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Systematic Method ◽  
National Legislation ◽  
Text Type ◽  
Early Modern English ◽  
Late Fifteenth ◽  
Early English

This paper concentrates on Early Modern English statutes printed in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The study considers the development of complexity and the rise of modern writing conventions by following the diachronic pragmatic view. The analysis also draws on genre studies and underlines the sociohistorical impact on linguistic changes. Complexity is assessed by a systematic method that observes the textual structure and syntax. The material consists of legislative documents in Early English Books Online; six of the documents were transcribed and compiled into a small-scale corpus. The results indicate that complexity was a common feature in the Early Modern English period: coordination and subordination are frequently used, and the sixteenth-century documents have an increasing tendency to favour subordination. During the sixteenth century, legislative sentences and text type structure become more regular and correspond to present-day practices.

scholarly journals Suffixes in Competition

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-183
Author(s):  
Marta Pacheco-Franco ◽  
Javier Calle-Martín
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
American English ◽  
Quantitative Distribution ◽  
Early Modern English ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Early English

This paper presents a corpus-driven analysis of the linguistic competition between the suffixes -our/-or in Early Modern English. It is conceived as a state of the art to provide an explanation of the development and distribution of these competing suffixes in Early Modern English. The study is based on the distribution of the most common set of words with alternative spellings in the period to investigate the development and the standardisation of the -our and -or groups. The study offers the quantitative distribution of the suffixes in the period corroborating the participation of phenomena such as linguistic extinction, specialisation, blocking and lexicalisation in the configuration of the contemporary morphological paradigm. The source of evidence comes from the corpus of Early English Books Online (Davies, 2017) for the period 1470–1690. In addition to this, the study also relies on sources such as the Evans Corpus (2011), the Corpus of Historical American English (Davies, 2010) and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (Davies, 2008).

The Jessey Circle and the Invention of Baptist Identity

2019 ◽  
pp. 12-37
Author(s):  
Matthew C. Bingham
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Early Modern English ◽  
Baptist Identity ◽  
Scholarly Discussion ◽  
Early Eighteenth Century ◽  
Early English ◽  
Interpretive Framework

Chapter 1 introduces the individuals described in standard histories as “Particular Baptists.” Drawing upon the manuscript collection of the early eighteenth-century Baptist historian Benjamin Stinton, the chapter surveys their origins, formation, and early attempts at ecclesiastical organization. But, more importantly, the chapter examines the development of Baptist historiography and the ways in which the deliberate distortions of early Baptist historians continue to influence present scholarship. As the chapter contends, the basic interpretive framework within which early English Baptists have been understood is seriously flawed. Rather than growing organically out of the evidence, many of the fundamental conventions which govern scholarly discussion of early modern English Baptists have been bequeathed to modern historians by eighteenth-century Baptist churchmen. These early denominational historians wrote the story of their collective past with an eye firmly fixed upon the needs of their own collective present, and their decisions continue to negatively affect modern scholarship.

Measuring productivity diachronically: nominal suffixes in English letters, 1400–1600

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRIS C. PALMER
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Multifaceted Approach ◽  
Historical Changes ◽  
Early Modern English ◽  
Morphological Productivity ◽  
Multifactor Analysis ◽  
Diachronic Analysis ◽  
Early English ◽  
Compare And Contrast ◽  
Hapax Legomena

Much scholarship on morphological productivity has focused on measures such ashapax legomena, single occurrences of derivatives in large corpora, to compare and contrast the varying productivities of English affixes. But the small size of historical corpora has often limited the usefulness of such measures in diachronic analysis. Examining letters from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in the Corpus of Early English Correspondence, this article advances a multifaceted approach to assessing historical changes in nominal suffixation in English. It adapts methodologies from work on morphological productivity in contemporary language – in particular, measures of base and derivative ratios from Hay & Baayen (2002) – to provide quantitative and qualitative descriptions of changes in the productivity of native -nessand borrowed -ity, -cion, -ageand -mentin Early Modern English. Ultimately, the study argues that diachronic productivity is best evaluated with a multifactor analysis, including measures of suffixal decomposability, aggregation of new derivatives and evidence of hybridization. It also suggests that increased use of neologisms with borrowed suffixes in Early Modern English might be explained by the increasing transparency of these suffixes in derivatives during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

A diachronic analysis of the adjective intensifier well from Early Modern English to Present Day English

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-245
Author(s):  
James M. Stratton
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Stress Pattern ◽  
Standard Variety ◽  
Linguistic Change ◽  
Video Clips ◽  
Sample Representativeness ◽  
Early Modern English ◽  
Old Bailey ◽  
Diachronic Analysis ◽  
Audio Video

AbstractWhile the use of well as an intensifier of most adjectives had supposedly died out by Early Modern English (Fettig 1934: 186, Mustanoja 1960: 327, Stenström 2000: 188, Ito and Taglimonte 2003: 278), no studies have empirically examined its frequency diachronically. The present study traces its use from Early Modern English (1560) to Present Day English, (2014) using five speech-related corpora in addition to various dialectal sources and audio/video clips. Results indicate that this use was retained in some dialects of English despite not being attested in the Corpus of English Dialogues nor the Old Bailey Corpus, which document predominantly the incipient standard variety. A qualitative analysis of its use reveals a potential diachronic shift in its stress pattern and the scale structure of its intensified heads. Moreover, the present study discusses some of the methodological challenges which arise when using historical corpora to investigate linguistic change, drawing particular attention to sample representativeness and data analysis.

scholarly journals Linguistic Complexity across Two Early Modern English Scientific Text Types

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-71
Author(s):  
Jesús Romero-Barranco
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Medical Texts ◽  
Linguistic Complexity ◽  
Scientific Text ◽  
Language Typology ◽  
Early Modern English ◽  
Text Types ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Early English

In linguistics the concept of complexity has been analysed from various perspectives, among them language typology and the speech/writing distinction. Within intralinguistic studies, certain key linguistic features associated with reduced or increased complexity have been identified. These features occur in different patterns across various registers and their frequency is an indicator of the level of complexity of different kinds of texts. The concept of complexity has not, to date, been evaluated in early English medical writing, especiallyin terms of different text types. Thus, the present article analyses linguistic complexity in two Early Modern English medical texts, a surgical treatise (ff. 34r-73v) and a collection of medical recipes (ff. 74r-121v) housed as MS Hunter 135 in Glasgow University Library. Since they represent two different types of medical text, they can be productively compared in terms of linguistic complexity. The results obtained confirm that the surgical treatise is more complex than the collection of medical recipes owing to the higher presence of linguistic features denoting increased complexity in the former and of those indicating reduced linguistic complexity in the latter.

scholarly journals Charting orthographical reliability in a corpus of English historical letters

ICAME Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anni Sairio ◽  
Samuli Kaislaniemi ◽  
Anna Merikallio ◽  
Terttu Nevalainen
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
History Of ◽  
Early English ◽  
English Spelling ◽  
Late Modern ◽  
Bad Data ◽  
Range Of Variation ◽  
The Ideal

Abstract Research into orthography in the history of English is not a simple venture. The history of English spelling is primarily based on printed texts, which fail to capture the range of variation inherent in the language; many manuscript phenomena are simply not found in printed texts. Manuscript-based corpora would be the ideal research data, but as this is resource-intensive, linguists use editions that have been produced by non-linguists. Many editions claim to retain original spellings, but in practice text is always normalized at the graph level and possibly more so. This does not preclude using such a corpus for orthographical research, but there has been no systematic way to determine the philological reliability of an edited text. In this paper we present a typological methodology we are developing for the evaluation of orthographical quality of edition-based corpora, with the aim of making the best use of bad data in the context of editions and manuscript practices. As a case study, we apply this methodology to the Early Modern and Late Modern English sections of the Corpus of Early English Correspondence.

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