Early Modern English is the stage of the English language used from about the end of the Middle English period (the latter half of the 15th century) to 1650. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Middle English is the name given by Historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of Thus, the first edition of the King James Bible and the works of William Shakespeare both belong to the late phase of Early Modern English, although the King James Bible intentionally keeps some archaisms that were not common even when it was published. William Shakespeare ( baptised In Language, an archaism is the use of a form of speech or writing that is no longer current Prior to and following the accession of James I/VI to the English throne the emerging English standard began to influence the spoken and written Middle Scots of Scotland. Middle Scots describes the language of Anglic Lowland Scotland in the period 1450 to 1700 Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Current readers of English are generally able to understand Early Modern English, though occasionally with difficulties arising from grammar changes, changes in the meanings of some words, and spelling differences. English orthography is the alphabetic spelling system used by the English language. The standardisation of English spelling falls within the Early Modern English period, and is influenced by conventions predating the Great Vowel Shift, explaining much of the non-phonetic spelling of contemporary Modern English. The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the Pronunciation of the English language that took place in the south of England between 1200 and Modern English is the form of the English language spoken since the Great Vowel Shift, completed in roughly 1550

Pronouns

In Early Modern English, there were two second-person personal pronouns: thou, the informal singular pronoun, and ye, which was both the plural pronoun and the formal singular pronoun (like modern French tu and vous or the German du and Sie). The word thou ( in most dialects is a second person singular Pronoun in English. (Thou was already falling out of use in the Early Modern English period, but remained customary for addressing God and certain other solemn occasions, and sometimes for addressing inferiors. ) Like other personal pronouns, thou and ye had different forms depending on their grammatical case; specifically, objective form of thou was thee, its possessive forms were thy and thine, and its reflexive or emphatic form was thyself, while ye's objective form was you, its possessive forms were your and yours, and its reflexive or emphatic forms were yourself and yourselves. In Grammar, the case of a Noun or Pronoun indicates its Grammatical function in a greater Phrase or Clause; such as the

In other respects, the pronouns were much the same as today. One difference is that, much as a becomes an before a vowel, my and thy became mine and thine before vowels as well; hence, mine eyes, thine uncle, and so on.

The King James Version of the Holy Bible intentionally preserved in Early Modern English archaic pronouns and verb endings that had already begun to fall out of spoken use

Shakespeare's writings are universally associated with Early Modern English

Orthographic conventions

The orthography in Early Modern English was fairly similar to that of today, but spelling was phonetic and unstable; for example, the word acuity could be spelled either <acuity> or <acuitie>. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin William Shakespeare ( baptised The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of using a specific Writing system to write the language Further, there were a number of features of spelling that have not been retained:

• The letter <S> had two distinct lowercase forms: <s> as today, and <ſ> (long s). The long, medial or descending s ( ſ) is a form of the minuscule letter ' S ' formerly used where 's' occurred in the middle The former was used at the end of a word, and the latter everywhere else, except that double-lowercase-S was variously written <ſſ> or <ſs>. ^[1]
• <u> and <v> were not yet considered two distinct letters, but different forms of the same letter. Typographically, <v> was used at the start of a word and <u> in its interior; hence vnmoued (for modern unmoved) and loue (for love).
• A silent <e> was often appended to words. The last consonant sometimes was doubled when adding this <e>; hence ſpeake, cowarde, manne (for man), runne (for run). In Articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a Speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the upper Vocal tract, the upper vocal
• The sound /ʌ/ was often written <o> (as in son); hence ſommer, plombe (for modern summer, plumb). ^[2]

Verbs

Verb conjugations in the "thou" form (second person informal singular) end in -(e)st (e. In Linguistics, conjugation is the creation of derived forms of a Verb, Noun or Adjective from its Principal parts by Inflection g. "thou takest"). In Early Modern English, third person singular conjugations end in -(e)th instead of -s (e. g. "he taketh"). Both the second person informal singular and third person singular lost their endings in the subjunctive, which utilizes the bare stem of the verb. In Grammar, the subjunctive mood (sometimes referred to as the conjunctive mood) is a Verb mood that exists in many languages

Development from Middle English

See also: Middle English

The change from Middle English to Early Modern English was not just a matter of vocabulary or pronunciation changing: it was the beginning of a new era in the history of English. Middle English is the name given by Historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of Middle English is the name given by Historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of

An era of linguistic change in a language with large variations in dialect was replaced by a new era of a more standardized language with a richer lexicon and an established (and lasting) literature. Shakespeare's plays are familiar and comprehensible today, 400 years after they were written, but the works of Geoffrey Chaucer and William Langland, written only 200 years earlier, are considerably more difficult for the average reader. William Shakespeare ( baptised Geoffrey Chaucer (c 1343 – 25 October 1400? was an English author poet Philosopher, bureaucrat, courtier and Diplomat. William Langland (ca 1332 - ca 1386 is the conjectured Author of the 14th-century English Dream-vision Piers Plowman.

Timeline

• 1476 — William Caxton starts printing in Westminster, but the language he uses reflects the variety of styles and dialects used by the authors whose work he prints.
• 1485 — Tudor dynasty established — start of period of (relative) political and social stability. The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was an English royal Dynasty that lasted 118 years from 1485 to 1603 a period known as the Tudor period
• 1491 or 1492 — Richard Pynson starts printing in London — his style tends to prefer Chancery Standard, the form of English used by government. Richard Pynson (born 1448 in Normandy, died 1529 was one of the first printers of English books Middle English is the name given by Historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of
• c1509 — Pynson becomes the king's official printer.
• From 1525 — Publication of William Tyndale's Bible translation (which was initially banned). Tyndale redirects here For the English family see Tyndall. For other uses see Tyndale (disambiguation.
• 1539 — Publication of the Great Bible, the first officially authorised Bible in English, edited by Myles Coverdale, largely from the work of Tyndale. The Great Bible was the first authorized edition of the Bible in English authorized by King Henry VIII of England to be read aloud in the church services of the Myles Coverdale (also Miles Coverdale) (c 1488 &ndash 20 January 1569) was a 16th-century Bible translator who produced the This Bible is read to congregations regularly in churches, familiarising much of the population of England with a standard form of the language.
• 1549 — Publication of the first Book of Common Prayer in English, under the supervision of Thomas Cranmer. The Book of Common Prayer is the common title of a number of prayer books of the Church of England and used throughout the Anglican Communion. This book standardises much of the wording of church services.
• 1557 — Publication of Tottel's Miscellany. Songes and Sonettes written by the ryght honorable Lorde Henry Haward late Earle of Surrey and other, usually called Tottel's Miscellany, was the first printed
• c1590 to c1612 — Shakespeare's plays written — they are still widely read and familiar in the 21st century. William Shakespeare ( baptised
• 1611 — The King James Bible is published, largely based on Tyndale's translation. It remains the standard Bible in the Church of England for many years. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican
• c1640–1660 — Period of social upheaval in England (the English Civil War and the era of Oliver Cromwell). The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known
• 1651 — Publication of Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
• 1662 — New edition of the Book of Common Prayer, largely based on the 1549 and subsequent editions. Leviathan or The Matter Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil, commonly called Leviathan, is a book written by Thomas Thomas Hobbes (born 5 April 1588died 4 December 1679 was an English philosopher, whose famous 1651 book Leviathan established the foundation This also long remains a standard work in English.
• 1667 — Publication of Paradise Lost by John Milton. Paradise Lost is an Epic poem in Blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. John Milton ( 9 December, 1608 – 8 November, 1674) was an English Poet, Prose Polemicist and

Development to Modern English

See also: English language

The 17th century was a time of political and social upheaval in England, particularly the period from about 1640 to 1660. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The increase in trade around the world meant that the English port towns (and their forms of speech) would have gained in influence over the old county towns. England experienced a new period of internal peace and relative stability, encouraging the arts including literature, from around the 1690s onwards. Another important episode in the development of the English language started around 1750: the British settlement of America. The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America

There are still elements of Early Modern English in some dialects. For example, thee and thou can still be heard in the Black Country and some parts of Yorkshire. The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton The Yorkshire dialect refers to the varieties of English used in the Northern England historic county of Yorkshire. The pronunciation of book, cook, look, etc. with a long [uː] can be heard in the more remote areas of the North and the West Country. The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region However, these are becoming less frequent with each new generation.

References

See also

• Early Modern Britain
• Early Modern English literature
• History of the English language
• Elizabethan era
• English Renaissance
• Shakespeare's influence
• Middle English
• Modern English