Ink Blot
History of the English Language - Part 7 (The Final!)

by Achae

In the 18th century there was a bigger push for uniformity within the English language. This was known as "ascertainment." This focused on three steps:

  1. Establish a standard
  2. Refine the language
  3. Fix it permanently
But language is always changing. The Academy in France and Italy were formed to try and control the language. England pushed for the same, but the English language is so vast. There is also the problem of people not liking being told what to do, and those who will rebel just to rebel.

It was not until Dr. Johnson's dictionary was commissioned by booksellers that the English language had a standard. Johnson undertook the task and it took him 9 years to complete the book of 40,000 words supplemented with quotations. It was the first project of such scope, and remained the standard until the Oxford English Dictionary.

This raises the question - should a dictionary for a language by prescriptive? That is, should it be like the Academy and set an authoritative figure for what is the ideal usage? Or should it be descriptive? That is, should it highlight the present day usage of words with no right or wrong judgment?

What do you think?

Modern English was and still is undergoing changes. To begin with, there was a push for the standardization in three steps:

  1. Codify rules
  2. Settle disputes
  3. Correct errors by using reason, etymology, and examples from Latin and Greek
The English colonies in America affected the language so that there were two dialects of sorts, American English, and British English. There are still some dialects in sections of the world which have been seemingly unaffected. What began as a pidgins emerged into a creole as new generations spoke the language as their native tongue. The Gullah dialect off the coast of South Carolina is one such example of a creole.

Whereas most changes in the English language were from invasions, now the changes come from immigration. The Irish, Germans, and African Americans enriched the English language. What words can you think of with roots to immigration?