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The Emergence of Dictionaries
The very first attempt to produce a comprehensive list of all the words in the English language was Nathaniel Bailey’s Universal Etymological English Dictionary, published in 1721. The earliest English dictionaries were those that merely explained difficult words. The first of these was A Table Alphabetical of Hard Words, written by Robert Crawdrey and published in 1604. It explained some 3,000 terms. This was followed in 1616 by John Bulkar’s English Expositor, while Henry Cockeram published the English Dictionaries in 1623. Again in 1658, Edward Philips published New World of Words. All these dictionaries and later compilations only treated difficult words. A new wave of dictionaries was to be experienced in the first half of the 19th century in order to keep pace with increases in knowledge and terminologies that were the result of the industrial revolution and progress in science and medicine. However, Dr. Samuel Johnson’s dictionary of 1755 was the first to account for the extensive additions that had been made to the language and helped to enhance their adoption into general use. Dr. Johnson’s dictionary is discussed in Unit 2 of Module 2.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1
Discuss the general contributions of early dictionaries of the 17th century, to the growth of English.
3.2 Shakespeare and the World of Words
Though Shakespeare’s influence on the English language extended to pronunciation, syntax, and usage, his impact was more prominent in the area of vocabulary. His plays and poems also illustrated the way English was developing during the latter part of the 16th century and early 17th century - the time he lived (1564-1616).
Shakespeare had the largest vocabulary of any English writer, and this is due to his resourceful use of words and his acceptance of new words. He freely used some of the words that some people rejected as inkhorn terms. The following words which were first used by Shakespeare were all new to English in the latter half of the 16th century: agile, allurement, antipathy, catastrophe, critical, demonstrate, dire, discountenance, emphasis, emulate, extract, hereditary, horrid, meditate, modest, pathetic, prodigious, vast, armada, barricade, cavalier, mutiny, palisade, renegade etc., (Baugh and cable 2001). In some number of cases, Shakespeare’s use of certain words became their earliest occurrence in English language e.g. accommodation, apostrophe, assassination, barefaced, countess, courtship, dwindle, eventful, lack-lustre, dexterously, dislocate, frugal, misanthrope, laughable, obscene, pedant, premeditate, reliance, submerge etc.
The sense in which Shakespeare used some of these words was in fact closer to their original Latin meaning than the sense in which we use them today. For example, Shakespeare’s communicate means to share rather than to exchange information as we know it today. So you can see that his liberal attitude towards foreign borrowing enhanced his stock of words. And as he creatively used them in his works, he showed how foreign words can enrich the English vocabulary and function effectively in practical terms.
There were however some of his words (i.e. first recorded in Shakespeare) which have not survived as the ones listed above. About a third of his coinages from Latin fall into this category. Some examples are: abruption, appertainments, cadens, exsufficate, persistive, protractive, questrist, soilure, tortive, ungenitured, unplausive, vastidity, (Crystal 2002). These words could be explained in the context of which Shakespeare used them.
One aspect of Shakespeare’s lexicon, which we must mention here are his use of hyphenated compound words. Many of these coinages were peculiarly his, some which again did not survive in modern English. Examples of Shakespeare’s hyphenated compounds are Arch-heretique, baby-eyes, bare-pickt, breake-vow, canker-sorrow, faire-play, giant-world, halfe-blown, heauen-mouing; ill-turned, kindre-action, pale-visag’d, pell-well, vile-concluded, widow-comfort. William Shakespeare’s works demonstrate his contributions and his indispensable place in the history of the English language.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1
1. Make a list of some of Shakespeare’s hyphenated compound words that have survived in Modern English.
2. What do you think was responsible for the success of Shakespeare’s contribution to the development of English Vocabulary?
3.3 The King James Bible
The King James Bible or Authorised Version as it was also called was published in 1611. Though it was not authorized by any process of parliament, the Bible’s title page stated that it was appointed to be read in churches throughout the United Kingdom and this was to determine its influence on the population and far more on the language.
The Bible was translated by 54 university scholars. The project was approved by King James himself following a recommendation by some 750 reformers from within the Church of England. The preliminary version which took four years was submitted to the bishops for revision. The translators were divided into companies each working on a section of the bible. The final version took nine months.
The panel followed a number of guidelines. They were to use the bishops Bible where possible and were permitted to consult the Tyndale Version and other earlier versions where necessary. They were also to maintain recognized chapter divisions and proper names. Translations by one member of a group were to be submitted by other members for approval and each group was to send its materials to the others for final agreement. Disagreements were to be discussed formally and outside opinions sought if necessary. The project was successful due to the personal enthusiasm and intellectual quality of the translators. In their language choices, they did not introduce new items of vocabulary or change the grammatical structure of the language. Frequently, they introduced old use of words from the Tyndale version, and also used quite a number of idioms. In fact, there were many phrases in the King James Bible which have entered the general idiom of the language, sometimes with minor grammatical changes. Here are some examples: my brother’s keeper (Genesis 4); eye for eye (Genesis 15); the apple of his eye (Deuteronomy 32); a man after his own heart (1 Samuel 13), how are the mighty fallen (2 Samuel 1); a root of the matter (Job 19); salt of the earth (Math 5); new wine in old bottles (Matthew 7); physician heal thyself (Luke 4) etc.
Below are two sample texts showing the 1611 printing of the King James Authorised Version of the Bible and the 19th-century printing. Carefully compare the spelling, punctuation, and vocabulary of both editions. A is the preface to the 1611 edition.
Sample A
Another thing we think good to admonish thee of (gentle Reader) that we have not tied ourselves to a uniformity of phrasing, or to an identity of words, as some perhaps would wish we had done, because they observe that some learned men somewhere, have been as exact as they could that way… That we should express the same notion in the same particular word; as, for example, if we translate the Hebrew or Greek word once by purpose, never to call it intent; if one were journeying, never Travelling; if one were Thinker, never suppose; if one were Pain, never Ache; if one were Joy, never Gladness, etc.
Sample B (Genesis 28:11-13)
And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And behold the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will give it, and to thy seed…;
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2
What type of influence do you think the King James Bible had on the English language?
4.0 CONCLUSION
Dictionaries of difficult words; William Shakespeare and the King James Authorised Version of the Bible were three important influences on the 16th and 17th-century English, especially on the development, enrichment, and stability of the standard vocabulary of the English language. Shakespeare and The King James Bible especially demonstrated how English was used during the period and helped to maintain standard in the English vocabulary, grammar, and usage.
5.0 SUMMARY
Dictionaries of hard words attempted to provide meaning to difficult English words during the early part of the 17th century. This was necessary because of extensive additions to the English vocabulary, some of which generated a lot of controversy. The dictionaries also helped to facilitate the use of the words that had been generally adopted.
William Shakespeare’s contribution to the enrichment of the English vocabulary was a major feature of 17th-century English. His wide and creative use of words gave the language a wide stock of words, some of which have become part of modern everyday English. Similarly, the King James Authorised Version of the bible illustrated the Standard English, and helped to sustain stability since it was everybody’s Bible. Many of the Bible idioms, for example, have been modernized and added to everyday usage. These three influences on the English language of the 17th century were significant ones.
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