English Examined: The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Chapter 10) (original) (raw)

The article starts with a short account of the factors affecting the English language in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It then moves on to a discussion of the new scientific terms that appeared in the language in such fields as medicine; electricity; physics; atomic energy and nuclear weapons; chemistry; psychology; space science; the automobile and related activities; film, radio, and television; digital computers; as well as popular terms. Following this the article deals with the effect of the World Wars I and II on English. The sources of the new words form the subject matter of the following section. These sources are: borrowing words form languages such as French, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, Czech, Indian, Persian, Chinese, and Japanese; self-explaining compounds; making compounds from Greek and Latin elements; attaching prefixes and suffixes to existing words, e.g. trans-, post-, pre-, counter-, super-, sub-, de-, -dom, -ster, and –eer; coining words; forming acronyms; blending words; forming common words from proper names; and using old words with new meanings. The influence of journalism on English in terms of colloquialisms, slang, and verbal novelties constitutes the point covered in the following section. Discussed also are the changes of meaning in terms of extension of meaning, narrowing of meaning, degeneration of meaning, and regeneration of meaning. Dialects of British English are then tackled in terms of the dialects of northern and southern England, the speech of the great midland, the dialect of Scotland, and finally Irish English. Considered also are the varieties of English used in the former British Empire, namely Australian and New Zealand English, South African English, West and East African English, South Asian English, English in Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, English in the Caribbean, as well as English in Canada. Renewed interest in spelling reform is discussed in terms of British, American, and Swedish efforts. Then renewed objection to certain words and expressions is tackled and exemplified, with a short note on the Society for Pure English. Because of the great importance of the Oxford English Dictionary, it is dealt with in a separate section. The article concludes with an examination of the grammatical and lexical tendencies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These include verb-adverb combinations, in addition to several miscellaneous tendencies that are enumerated and exemplified. I. Factors Affecting English in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries The events of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries affecting the English-speaking countries were of great political and social importance, but not of great linguistic importance. The establishment of the first cheap newspaper in 1816 and of cheap postage in 1840, as well as the improved means of travel and communication, e.g. the railroad, the steamboat, and the telegraph, united the different parts of Britain and spread the influence of the standard speech. The World Wars in the first half of the twentieth century left their mark on the language. The growing importance of some of England's colonies, their later independence, and the rapid development of the United States made the forms of English spoken in these countries more significant, and raised claims as to considering these varieties standard. Some of the events and changes that took place in these two centuries had their effect on the English vocabulary in the fields of sports and amusements, and in improvements in the mode of living. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries offer an excellent example of the relation of a civilization to the language that expresses it.