Post by MiloticSoldier on Jul 31, 2006 17:25:26 GMT -5
“Accessible, accommodation, addiction, admirable, aerial, airless, amazement, assassinate.” Where did this common, modern vocabulary originate? The truth of the matter is, Shakespeare invented them! How can expressions used around 1598 still be used today? They are one of the most difficult to learn parts of English but easy to memorize. But before that, how did he use them in the first place? Shakespeare actually used them in many of his famous plays. Shakespeare’s language and terminology has a massive impact on the vocabulary in the English language. We will figure out where why were they made, where did they originate from, how were they made, insulting phrases, and basically what was changed drastically in the previous English language including the controversy in them.
Firstly, what was the reason for making the extra words in the first place? The reason was that the English language was not sophisticated and unstable. Thought at first, English became a reputable language along with the ranks of Latin and French around the sixteenth century. Preceding this, philosophy, theology, and history was written in Latin, and English laws were carried out in the French language. With those occupied, English had a subsequent class-status; the untaught and uneducated mainly spoke it, in which French was established as the language of the highly educated. Three hundred centuries later the English language was considered of being unfinished and unreliable for school use; it was debated the words were too restricted and the grammatical composition was too casual for a formal user. Awaiting the finish of the fifteenth century the immeasurable preponderance of speaking was primarily done in English, while the Latin language was used for written communication. While England began to ascend as a nation, educationalists and journalists began to connect the English language with English principles and
national self-importance. English was too confusing and too restricted for formal use. An alteration in configuration of the English language was mandatory.
Secondly, as you may know, these words were first used in Shakespeare’s plays. But there was a reason for how all of this began. Early contemporary English as a literary container was unpredictable in arrangement and terms in comparison to Greek and Latin. While William Shakespeare was writing one of his plays, the English language was rapidly engrossing words from other cultures, mainly because of conflict, exploration, international relations, and immigration. By the Elizabeth Age, English became extensively used with the development of religious studies, philosophy, and physical sciences, but with this change, many writers require the vocabulary to express these ideas. Accommodating these extra words, Shakespeare, being a writer, decided to express brand new ideas by “borrowing,” or, “adopting” an expression from a different tongue. Neologism was what this procedure was known as. With these new words, between the fifteenth and sixteenth century, thirty thousand words were added to the English language. This was incredibly helpful and important to the growth and usage of the language we primarily use today. Neologism is an important part of the origin of Shakespeare’s language.
A lot was changed to make the past language considerably sophisticated.
In Shakespeare’s plays, he uses many insults. They may be difficult to understand presently, but in the sixteenth century, they were hilarious. These disses were usual for comical relief in plays. A quite of translation will help you understand them though. “Peace, ye fat guts!” is one of the insults used in Henry IV, part I. We presently say, “Peace, you fat load of guts.” This quote is from Macbeth; “Your face is as a book, where men may read strange matters.” Since these are mature, most children will not understand this foul language. This means your face is strange. These insults play a huge role in Shakespeare’s plays and usage of language.
Finally, new words were implemented to make the definitions and words less restricted. Shakespeare contributed to the words, making the English dictionary significantly grown. He has coined nearly 10,000 words (This might be an exaggeration), all in which have difficult meanings. The Oxford English Dictionary has all of them defined. These words were mostly Latin based, though it is near impossible to find all of the origins to all of his words. There are many interesting facts about Shakespeare’s important contribution to the English language. Counting all of his words are extremely difficult. This quote from Wikipedia describes why is it so complicated, “one must define the meaning of coinage. Should variations of existing words or existing words to which he gave new meaning be counted? Should one consider compound words? Also, one must take into account that a word might be considered of Shakespearean origins only because his works have been more thoroughly scrutinized than others of his time.” Some words might have been said before written. Another fun fact is that Shakespeare derived six hundred words from Latin alone! Latin has an enormous impact in roots of Shakespearian language. Grammar was changing with the new words. One of the ways the suffixes that indicated the word's grammatical functions in the way that many modern languages still have had largely disappeared. With these gone, English has become highly flexible and was the background to the Renaissance explosion of the inventive language. Even with the actual noteworthy increase in words, many historians argue the Shakespeare has not helped much in the expansion of the English language, doubting he had an important effect. These people were usually critics or scholars. This is because his words were neoclassical, and made him seem like a bad Latinist. With so many words though, it is hard to believe that he doesn’t have an important effect.
Basically, the language of Shakespeare was important. With a great way to introduce them using his famous plays. While using neologism and basing his new words from other cultures, the English language is no longer restricted and primarily used nationally. Behind these words have origins, significance, and controversy, may these words never be forgotten.
Bibliography
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_invented_by_Shakespeare
www.pbs.org/shakespeare/educators/language/lessonplan2.html
www.bardweb.net/language.html
www.nosweatshakespeare.com/shakespeare_early_middle_english.htm
www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-dictionary-c.htm