The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-10-07

ing the twelfth. thirteenth, and FIRST half
Of the fourteenth century, common
language for literature could possibly arise.
English had TO make good It's right 20 existence
ss against both Norman and central French or
Angevin in turn. John Treviea of Cornwall =
Southerner and contemporary Of Chaucer. notes
that " all the language Of the Northumbrian IL
80 sharp, Sitting, grating, and unshspen that
we Southern men can with di6iculty understand
their tongue. Therefore II Is that the Mercians
that are men Of Middle England. being. a. IL
were, partners OF both extremes. understand the
side languages. Northern and Southern, better
than North and South understand each other"
From this, IL Is evident that there was &C.
mand for some common tongue. and that. from
the nature OF the case the dialect most likely 20
supply the want was the Midland. Toward
the end OF the fourteenth century, the neces-
sary conditions were encountered. and just as
the dialect Of the Isle lie France the source
| OF modern French and that OF CASTLE the source
| Of standard Spanish. so London, the centre OF
political. commercial. and intellectual life in
| England. became the home OF the standard
| English which was 10 be. Not that the dialect
| OF London had always beon Midland. On the
contrary, IL was originally Southern and Saxon
| In character, as the oldest London document,
the famous English proclamation Of Henry III.
| u25S) makes certain. Even 30 late as the mid
die of the fourteenth century, the London dia-
iVNb' thouBh Wy lnls tlIhe ulstluCtly
shows larger proportion of southern charac-
| teristcs than the language Of the Psrlia-
| mentary and State documents. IL is not
| difficult TO how II came to pass that
| the dialect OF London changed In character
| from Southern and Saxon to Midland and An
glian. London was the meeting place for all
sorts and conditions OF men, the centre of Eng
lish commerce. the seat of Government and OF
the Court. Midland was the only English dia-
not md. ,NII ,,,a Ipha
Of London, therefore, II only from purely COM
mercial considerations, were bound TO give up
In the main their Southern peculiarties OF
speech. and by geographical position they were
naturally led to the adoption OF the East in pref
erence to tie West Midland. There still re-
main two questions to be answered. How
did this East Midland dialect become the
language OF lterature2 and how did this
literary language become the usual speech
Of all educated people, rs 1t was on
the way to becoming in Puttenham's time?
Attempts have been made to show. as. for exam
pie, by Freeman that London not the home
of standard literary English, but rather the Rut-
land neighborhood. On the other hand, Mors-
bach has tried TO prove that modern literary
English Is the direct descendant OF the English
used by London citizens of the second half OF
the fourteenth century. He does not deny that
wycliffe and Chaucer had some influence. but
deems It no essential one. Mr.. Heath thinks
that the truth lies between these two ex-
tremes He considers that Morsbach has
completely failed to show how the dia-
lect OF the London merchants could
ever become the language OF literature !
without the authoritative stamp OF some
great literary genius, such rs Chaucer. more |
especially as all the literature produced for 100
years after his death the work OF a |
school of poets who were hi. slavish imitators. |
CHANGER was a Londoner. but he was also a |
member of the Court, and his dialect therefore. |
though essentially that of London, was more |
catholic and incorporated elements. both Mid
land and Southern not found in the speech ofthe
average Londoner. Chaucer represented the ira
dition OF the East Midlands, which had come most
under Danish and Norman French influence.
The effect Of his art and OF his language can
be traced In poetry through the whole fifteenth
and large part Of the sixteenth century, and
prose As seen in Caxton. owes its origin 90 him.
CaIton did much to make the future Of the
Chaucerfan literary language certain: firstly.
by always making use Of IL in his translations;
and secondly. by the fxity and wide circulation
insured for 1t by his printing press He says in
one of the prologues TO his translatons that
scholars " desired me TO write the most curious
terms that could find. But" he continued, " in
my Judgment the common terms that be daily
used are lighter to understand than
the old and ancient English" It is
evident that he means by this the dia-
lect OF London. for In another part OF tho
same prologue he remarks that "the common
English that is spoken in one shire varyeth from
another" and goes on to tell II story of good
wife Of Kent who could not understand some
travellers when they asked for eggs" for she
only knew the pure English word "eyren."
Caxton then, by using the London dialect and
putting II into print fixed 1t as tho language of
literature for the future; but he could never
have done this had not Chaucer originated tho
movement in the previous century,
The part of this subject about which least 4.
known is the course OF DEVELOPMENT after Cav
toms time, and the exact way I'm which the
literary language became the spoken tongue of
the educated classes throughout the country.
So far as the first Of these points goes the dIn1
a. |