1 ENGLISH MANUSCRIPTS U210A/B1/Ch 2

2 ENGLISH MANUSCRIPTS Introduction:  Focus: the historical dimensions of the linguistic forms of English.  The Seven Ages of English Pre-English Period (- c. AD 450) Early Old English (450 – c. 850) Later Old English (c. 850 – 1100) Middle English (c – 1450) Early modern English (c ) Modern English (c – 1950)

3 THE ORIGIN OF WRITTEN ENGLISH The original language of Britain?  uncertain The linguistic background:  Runic script or Futhorc : The oldest known piece of writing in English (c. AD 400). A Germanic script featuring straight lines cut with a blade. its characters were related to Greek and Latin script.

4 THE ORIGIN OF WRITTEN ENGLISH Anglo-Saxon futhorc:  the early English adaptations from the runic script.  the English language first appeared in the 5th century AD among confusion of peoples, origins, and languages.  by the 5th century, it came to be known as Old English. a language variety which has evolved with internal dialects between the north and south of England.

5 THE ORIGIN OF WRITTEN ENGLISH Early Inscription in English  Runic inscriptions  Latin most widespread writing system before the Anglo- Saxon invasion. inscribed in Roman script while Old English in runes. the official language and the lingua franca. Two different forms of lettering were used for Latin:  capital letters (majuscule) and a hand-written style (minuscule).

6 Medieval Manuscripts and Books Majority of books and manuscripts were in Latin or French.  Old English and Middle English spoken, rather than written, languages. Importance of the Medieval English Texts  the only incomplete evidence of earlier stages of English.  provide evidence of the institutional and political influences that have shaped the English language.  their handwritten texts have influenced the appearance of English texts up to now (e.g., conventions of layout, of spelling, of punctuations).

7 Techniques of manuscript production originals were recited in spoken form during the copying process.  the spelling in manuscripts is varied and often reflects the accent of the copyist. the handwriting form:  insular (isolated) majuscule (upper case). the first distinctively British script.  insular minuscule (lower case) was adopted and adapted for old English.  Carolingian (Caroline) script to reassert the cultural values and forms of Roman writing among (p.57).

8 Growth OF Old English Written OE grew up in intimate contact with Latin.  two visual identity to reflect different statuses and functions. King Alfred  translation of literary works and religious texts into OE.  many manuscripts and books were written in Old English.

9 The middle English period The 11th century:  a transition between old English and middle English. Norman conquest:  a triggering major change in the English language. French:  fashionable language of court Latin:  language of record Fewer texts were in English. Gothic script: black letter for ceremonial manuscripts.

10 Commercial manuscript production Emergence of a merchant class  A need for secular books to write official documents.  Middle classes A need for books on philosophy, science, logic, mathematics, …so more need for the vernacular-old English. 14th century,  English replaced Norman French and Latin.  Latin continued in legal documentation.  After the invention of printing, punctuation was added.  Italic writing was used for documents in Latin and for headings, titles and emphasis.

11 Handwriting The 15th century: economic growth  faster more cursive business hands (court hands) Teaching of handwriting:  proliferated as a result of its importance in business and education  different shapes and styles to meet different needs In the 19th century: which form of script should be taught to children?  moral, social, and political and economic issues had been raised: teaching working-class children business hand might encourage them to aspire to jobs that were not open to them.  Habits of handwriting reflected social class and gender.

12 Orthographies of English Orthography  correct writing: letters, shapes, styles of handwriting or typeface. Spelling:  OE Spelling based largely on Latin with modifications to accommodate the different sound systems of English.  OE also adopted runic characters whose spellings reflected local dialects.  OE spellings provide a more accurate representation of pronunciation than present day orthography.  Norman invasion: collapse of standardization and increase in regionalism of spelling:  difference in pronunciation led to differences in spelling.

13 Orthographies of English 19th century:  Standardization and fixing of spelling Result: English spelling better reflects the pronunciation of several centuries ago than that of the present day. The reforms:  Well-known writers, linguists and publishers tried to reform spelling to reflect pronunciation (phonetic)