In this paper, I will analyze the dialectical variations of early modern English across England. Even though the country is not as vast as the United States, the linguistic complexities are apparent in the ways different communities use the same language in different ways. As Parkin mentions, “It has been widely recognised that the regional distribution of certain bynames and surnames, from the medieval period up to the present day, can represent regional distinctions in Middle English (ME) dialect lexis and phonology” (Parkin 24). Parkin is, of course, referring to names, but this same variation and complexity is present in the way language is used by different communities in England, especially in the Early Modern English period. In this paper, I will analyze how English is used with noticeable differences in pronunciation as well as other syntactic elements throughout England during this time. I will also briefly touch on old English as it will situate my analysis in relation to the historic development of the language.
Jobi writes: “An important contribution to the field of historical sociolinguistics in recent years has been one made by Peter Trudgill in relation to the influence of Dutch- and French-speaking immigrants to Norwich and their descendants, collectively known as ‘Strangers’, on dialects of East Anglian English” (Jobi 1). The influence of other languages and cultures is another element of the dialectical variety present in Early Modern English that I will further be addressing. As England is closely located to a number of other European countries, I’m greatly interested in the way these different cultures, languages, and sounds have shaped the dialects identified in Early Modern English.
As Cain writes, “By the mid-nineteenth century there was already an appreciation that there was a distinction between northern and southern dialects of Old English” (Cain 729). One area that my paper focuses on is the visible differences of Northern and Southern dialects in the Early Modern Period. Even though Cain refers to the noticeable differences in the mid nineteenth century, the differences were present from old English times. In the Early Modern Period, the differences were more than apparent, and it is intriguing to notice the socio-linguistic diversity present in the ways in which English is used by different communities. In this case, I will be referring extensively to the differences between Northern and Southern dialectical varieties.
Cain goes on to say that “[t]here is an interesting, much earlier parallel to the mid-nineteenth-century ideological influences that Hogg describes in the evolution of Old English dialectology, although it has not equally been the subject of scholarly inquiry” (Cain 731). This “earlier parallel” is what my paper is all about. I will examine the lexical, syntactic, and phonological differences, and how those differences first originated. It would not be a stretch of the imagination to establish that the paper will have a large socio-linguistic component that attempts to attribute the differences to different cultures, languages, and communities.
Cane mentions: “But the image of the Old English dialects that Hickes creates in his Thesaurus, as we have seen, expresses a narrative of corruption and decline and reflects, in part, an ideology of language variation that was older than the borrowing of ‘dialect’ into English and that quite naturally was grafted onto the subsequent use of the term” (Cain 739). The dialectical variations of English in the Early Modern English that I will be analyzing, however, is not related directly to a narrative of corruption. On the other hand, I will be analyzing the Northern and Southern dialectical variations in terms of how they have organically evolved into what they were due to societal influences of neighboring communities, cultures, and sounds that shape and reshape the language. In my analysis, I will pay much attention to the external influences such as other languages and cultures. These influences come from a variety of sources including, but not limited to, French, German, and Scandinavian origins. It is vital in my analysis that I pay especial attention to language sounds that have distinct flavors depending on the original influence. Along with language sounds, various cultural elements of the original sources also enter into the language. The influences of French royalty, Icelandic folklore, and German foreign policy are some of these influences. To carry this language analysis further, I will also be addressing lexical additions to the language form these different cultures that have ultimately entered the English Language irrevocably. The Northern and Southern dialects, therefore, have distinctly different influences.
Cain states: “A difference of some words, or pronunciation in any language: as in England the Dialect or manner of speech in the North, is different from that in the South, and the Western Dialect differing from them both” (Cain 739). In a nutshell, then, my paper will examine the linguistic variations that distinguish Northern use of Early Modern English from Southern usage. As I have previously stated, I’m interested in tracing the roots of these differences to socio-linguistic practices of communities, cultures, and diverse peoples reflected by the dialectical differences.
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