1. The Birth of Modern English Renaissance Language Renaissance Language

2. Modern English Period 1475: William Caxton printed the first book in English to help unify and spread English, making opportunities to read and write readily available to all English speakers.  1485: Henry VII, first Tudor king of England, came to the throne and began spread of our language all over the world.

3. Early Modern English  Called “Early Modern”1485-mid 1700s because the language still resembled Middle Ages English in some ways. Still had the plural ending –s and the possessive ending –’s for nouns; the comparative and superlative endings –er and –est for adjectives; the verb endings –ed, past participle –ed or –en; present participle –ing, and third person singular of present tense –s.

4.  Early Modern English also had endings we no longer use: -eth and –est, as in “he thinketh and “thou thinkest.”

5. Great Vowel Shift  Greatest change from Middle to Early Modern English was pronunciation of “long” or tense vowels: Middle English bitebeet feet fate canekahn or con mousemoose bootboat loadlaud

6. Lagging Spelling  The tendency was and still is to keep English spelling unchanged regardless of pronunciation, so spelling becomes further and further out of line.  Though proposals have been made for change, serious spelling reform has had little success then or now.

7. Borrowed Words  During Elizabeth’s reign, British exploration and establishment of colonies led to the language expanding with foreign words, particularly from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Central America, the Caribbean, and the Netherlands.

8.  Because the literature, art, philosophy, history, and culture of Rome and Greece were taken as ideals during the Renaissance, modern European languages also borrowed more words from Latin and Greek.

9. The Rise of Standard English  The Court of the Chancery law clerks, who recorded court proceedings and maintained legal archives, set a pattern of language usages others followed. Early Modern English is sometimes called Chancery Standard because of this.  The printing press led to more literacy and also spread the new standard written English.

10. Most Popular Reading  Book of Common Prayer  King James Bible  Phrases and rhythms of both books were powerful influences in shaping the ideal of language to which English speakers looked during the Renaissance and for centuries to follow.