The Mother Tongue (41 page)

Edwards, David, 217

Edwards, Ralph, 233

“Elegy Wrote in a Country Churchyard” (Gray), 62

Elementary Spelling Book
(Webster), 170

Eliot, T. S., 217

Elizabeth I, queen of England, 99, 188

Elizabethan Age, 62, 99–100, 136,

187

ellipsis, 146

Ellis, A. J., 188

Elyot, Thomas, 79

emphasis, 90–91, 95, 101–2, 228

Eneydos,
58

England

as center of culture and learning, 47

Christianity brought to, 47

Norman conquest of, 51, 54, 223, 228, 242

Roman invasion and occupation of, 43–46, 121, 133, 221, 229, 242

seven early kingdoms of, 43

successive linguistic waves in, 42–57, 229

tribal invasion and settlement of, 12–13, 43–46, 49–50

Viking invasion and occupation of, 49–50, 229

English

advantages of, 6–7, 10–11, 67–69, 84–86, 94–95, 151–52, 159, 242–43

airlines' use of, 2–3, 206, 249

Anglo-Norman impact on, 51–56, 74, 76, 133–34

Celtic words in, 46

as common tongue, 3, 207–8

common usage mistakes in, 147–48, 152–57, 159

complexities of, 2, 11, 47–48, 84–86, 87–89, 147–49

conciseness of, 10–11, 67–69, 84, 211

distinct sounds in, 90–91, 100, 101–2, 129

distinctions lacking in, 4–5, 21, 63, 68

early lower-class status of, 52, 54–55, 66

English (
cont.
)

estimated numbers of speakers, 1, 200–202

evolution of, 42–66, 165–66, 174

evolutionary losses in, 63, 67–68, 98–99

exceptional growth periods of, 78–79, 177

first writing in, 44

flexibility and versatility of, 6–7, 54, 84–86, 151–52, 242–43

French impact on, 75–76, 83, 101–2, 179

genderlessness of, 10, 54

Germanic basis for, 25, 42–43, 47, 53, 77, 96, 275

global use and importance of, 1–4, 66, 198–217

good vs. bad usage of, 145–59, 190–94, 273

impact of journalism and media on, 155–56, 158, 190, 191–92, 194–95, 202, 207–8, 247–50, 269–70, 276

international business and technical use of, 2–3, 78, 160–61, 198–200, 201–2, 209

international study of, 3–4, 202–3, 216–17

Latin influence on, 7, 27–28, 46, 74–77, 81, 83, 149, 155, 241, 242

other languages compared with, 4–11, 32–33, 86, 87–90

perceived decline of, 153, 269–76

redundancy in, 69

reform efforts and, 150–51, 171, 213–15

resistance to spread of, 3, 206–7, 208

richness and expressiveness of, 56–57, 67–70, 84, 87–88

scientific use of, 2, 3, 78, 160–61, 201–2

as second language, 201–2, 207–9

simplified versions of, 213–15

as symbol of colonialism, 208

teaching of, 202–3, 207

unconscious use of, 11, 91

vocabulary size and richness in, 4, 56–57, 67–70, 160–65, 168, 175–76, 177–78

words and phrases adopted by, 5, 34, 51, 53, 74–77, 101–2, 116, 131, 139–40, 177–81

words and phrases expropriated from, 2, 21, 32, 53, 198–200, 203–7

English Civil War, 221

The English Language
(Burchfield), 9, 52
n
, 78, 83, 130, 148, 149, 184

The English Language
(Crystal), 55, 132, 135

Ericson, Leif, 32

Eskimo-Aleut, 5, 16

Esperanto, 37, 212–13, 215

Espy, Willard R., 257

An Essay Upon Projects
(Defoe), 150

Ethelbert, king of Kent, 47

etymology, 73, 77, 148, 173, 174, 191, 267

euphemism, 244, 247–49, 265–66

European Community, 209

European Free Trade Association, 3

Euskadi to Azkatasuna (ETA), 37

Euskara, 15, 37

Evans, Bergen, 158

Every Man in His Humour
(Jonson), 245

Family Shakespeare
(Bowdler), 246

Feiffer, Jules, 69

Ferris, Richard, 237

Field, Richard, 65

Fielding, Henry, 262

films, 192, 194–95, 215, 276

Finnish, 16, 29, 88

Flemish, 3, 25, 35

Flesch, Rudolph, 157

Flexner, Stuart Berg, 162, 242

Flower, Kathy, 202

Follett, Wilson, 157

Follow Me,
202

fossil expressions, 82

Fowler, F. G., 153, 193

Fowler, H. W., 147, 152–53, 157, 193, 274

Fraffly, 118–19

France, 46, 51, 54, 101–2

Francien, 52–53

Francis, W. Nelson, 109

Franco, Francisco, 37

Franklin, Benjamin, 139, 169, 184, 191

French, 3, 4, 6, 30, 201

derivation of, 26–28, 46, 276

dialects of, 51, 123–24, 179

distinct sounds in, 101–2

English expressions in, 204–7

English influenced by, 75–76, 83, 101–2, 179

English speakers of, 51–52, 55–56, 134

grammar of, 34

protection and reform of, 150–51, 206–7

word games in, 259–60

fricatives, 94

Frisian, 43

Front de Libération de Québec (FLQ), 36

Funk & Wagnalls dictionary, 163

Gaelic, 5, 74, 76, 112

Breton, 37, 39

Irish, 7–8, 25–26, 30, 39–41, 66

Scottish, 25, 26, 34, 39–41, 66, 121

Welsh, 7–9, 17, 26, 38–39, 66, 87, 185

Gaeltacht, 40, 41

The Game of Words
(Espy), 257

Gammer Gurton's Needle,
245

Gatting, Mike, 250

Geechee, 123

gender, 10, 19, 29, 47, 54, 59

Genesis, Book of, 213

Gentleman's Quarterly,
215

George I, king of England, 52

German, 3–6, 9, 10–11, 77, 86, 169, 184–86, 216–17, 275

dialects of, 33, 96

High vs. Low, 33, 96

Germanic languages, 86

divisions of, 25–26

English relationship to, 25–26, 42–43, 47, 53, 77, 96, 275

Germany, 42–43, 208

gestures, 31

Gettysburg Address, 214

Gibbon, Edward, 66, 246

Gil, Alexander, 149

Gladstone, William Ewart, 256

glossaries, 195

Goodrich, Chauncey A., 173

Gothic, 23, 26

Gove, Philip, 158

Government Printing Office, U.S., 141

Gowers, Ernest, 152, 157, 193–94

graffiti, 28, 198

grammar, 29, 145–50

arbitrary elements of, 146, 151–52

bending rules of, 146

children's mastery of, 18–20, 21–22

common mistakes in, 147–48, 153–54, 156–58

complexity of, 149–50

Latin basis for, 7, 27–28, 149

Middle English, 56

Old English, 48

rules of, 153–54, 156–57

Scandinavian influence on, 50–51

Grammatica Linguae Anglicanae
(Wallis), 149

A Grammatical Institute of the English Language
(Webster), 170

Gray, Thomas, 62

Great Vowel Shift, 97–98

Greek, 23, 25, 31, 155, 254–55

Grimm, Jacob, 23

The Growth and Structure of the English Language
(Jespersen), 64, 152, 157, 211, 262

Guarani, 35

Guardian,
217, 250

A Guide to Chaucer's Language
(Burnley), 59

Guinness Book of World Records,

256

Gullah, 123–25, 187

Guoyo, 201

Gutenberg Bible, 137

Gutenberg, Johann, 137

gutturals, 94

Harcourt, William, 248

Hardy, Thomas, 81

The Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage,
147

Harrington, John, 65

Harris, Joel Chandler, 124

Harrison, William Henry, 183

Harvey, William, 66

Hastings, Battle of, 134

Hawaiian, 90

Hayakawa, S. I., 270

Hayter, William, 263

Hemming, John, 65

Hendrickson, Robert, 111, 124

Henry IV, king of England, 51, 55

Henry IV
(Shakespeare), 64, 255

Henry V, king of England, 56

Henry V
(Shakespeare), 188

Highway Beautification Act, 262

Hindi, 25

hiragana, 128–29

Hirohito, Emperor of Japan, 210

historical linguistics, 22–28

History of the American Revolution
(Ramsay), 183

A History of the English Language
(Baugh and Cable), 53, 211

Hitler, Adolf, 37

Hittite, 16

Hofmannsthal, Hugo von, 9

Hogan, Paul, 116
n

Holden, E. S., 164

Hollywood Production Code, 240, 249

holorimes, 260–61

Homo sapiens, 12–15

homonyms, 110

House of Lords, 193

Howard, Philip, 148, 161

Huckleberry Finn
(Twain), 106

Hume, David, 191

humor, 256, 262–65

Hungarian, 37

Hyperlect, 119

Icelandic, 32

ideographs, 126–28

idiolect, 105

idioms, 81–82, 213, 215

Ilocano, 63

Independent,
42, 250

India, 3

languages and dialects of, 32, 201, 208

Indo-European languages, 15, 22–23

languages derived from, 24–28, 47, 86

infinitives, split, 156–57

infixes, 84

inflections, 19, 25, 30, 47, 48, 54, 145

Inoue, Kazuhisa, 210

International Phonetic Alphabet, 90, 176

Ireland, 26–29, 39–41, 112, 185

languages and dialects of, 7–9, 26, 30, 39–41, 66, 99, 115, 117

isoglosses, 107

Italian, 3–6, 33, 90, 203, 276

dialects of, 33, 74

Jackson, Andrew, 182

James I, king of England, 135

James II, king of England, 80

Japanese, 2, 8, 9, 16, 30, 76, 126–30

English expressions in, 198–99, 204–5

limitations of, 30, 209–10

writing in, 128–29

jargon, 9, 210–11

Jarrow, 46, 49

Jefferson, Thomas, 169, 180, 184, 191, 274

Jespersen, Otto, 47, 57, 64, 71, 78, 102, 116, 151, 157, 164, 211, 262

Jesus Christ, 217, 255

John F. Kennedy Institute, 19

John, king of England, 55

Johnson, Burges, 248

Johnson, Samuel, 52
n
, 151, 160, 165–69, 172, 190, 191–92, 246, 256

Joint National Committee on Languages, 217

Jones, William, 22–23

Jonson, Ben, 79, 245, 256

Joyce, James, 41, 256

Julius Caesar
(Shakespeare), 245

Jutes, 44, 229

kanji, 128

katakana, 128

Katharevousa, 35

Keats, John, 62

Kelly, Obadiah, 182

King James Bible, 61, 161

The King's English
(Fowler and Fowler), 193

Kingston, Miles, 260–61

Knowler, John, 118

Korean, 9, 16, 270

Koster, Laurens Janszoon, 137

Krio, 21, 200

Kurath, Hans, 107, 110

Labov, William, 109, 113

Lady Chatterley's Lover
(Lawrence), 250

Laird, Charlton, 4, 43, 44, 97, 111, 136, 161, 169

Lallans, 122

Language Change: Progress or Decay
(Aitchison), 101

“language police,” 36

language(s)

absorption and amalgamation of, 32–34, 74–77

ancient, 22–28

artificial creation of, 37, 211–12, 214–15, 264–66

banning and suppression of, 35–40, 206–7

bias and, 8, 187, 271

children's mastery of, 17–22

classical, 22–23, 26–28, 149

dead, 22–24, 25–26, 28

decline and extinction of, 26, 35–41, 54

estimated number of, 31–32

evolution and change of, 12–17, 22–28, 32–33, 80–83, 96

familiarity vs. formality in, 9–10, 63–64

geographical placement of, 32–34

governmental protection of, 36–40, 206–7, 269–72

impact of social conditions on, 20–22, 34–35, 51–56

innate and instinctive properties of, 18–19, 22

local and specific needs of, 5–6, 24, 203–5, 264–66, 275–76

minority vs. majority, 35–41, 201, 269–72

national coexistence of, 3, 31–32, 35–41, 49–58, 198–99, 207–8, 269–72

newly created, 32

obfuscation in, 10–11, 210–11

official sanctioning of, 35–41, 201, 208, 269–72

political implications of, 35–41, 208–9, 269–72

private, 264–66

regional and national differences in, 6, 24–27, 32–40

relationships among, 15–16, 22–28, 34, 38–41

spontaneous and separate development of, 15–16, 77–78

theories on development of, 17–20, 71–72

written, 22–24

larynx, 13–14, 94

Lasus, 255

Latin, 23, 25–26, 254, 255

ecclesiastical use of, 34, 55

English relationship to, 7, 27–28, 46–57, 74–77, 81, 83, 149, 155, 241

grammar of, 7, 27–28, 145, 149, 155

languages descended from, 4–5, 26–28, 47, 96, 276

literary and scholarly use of, 26–28, 45–46, 49, 66, 149

series of changes in, 96

Vulgate form of, 27–28, 242

Lauder, Afferbeck, 115, 118

Let Stalk Strine
(Lauder), 115

letters, 126–27, 255

capitalization of, 158, 260

double, 98, 99

Old English, 134

phasing in and out of, 134, 194, 212

silent, 95–97, 99, 113, 138–39, 230

Lévesque, René, 36

Lewis, Sinclair, 195

libraries, 168, 174

Lieberman, Philip, 14

Lindisfarne, 49

Linear B script, 23

lingua franca, 2

lingua latina, 27

lingua romana rustica, 27