Chapter 11: Sociolinguistics
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Helena Raumolin-Brunberg
Abstract
This chapter shows that there was considerable sociolinguistic variation in Early Modern England. Despite the problems of accessing the lowest social ranks and women due to widespread illiteracy, studies of letter and dialogue data testify to the significance of gender, social rank, region, and register in the diffusion of linguistic change. The chapter focuses on morphosyntactic changes, such as the replacement of the subject pronoun ye by you, the adoption of the third-person singular suffix ‑s instead of -th and the loss of multiple negation. As today, women seemed to lead changes from below but, unlike today, changes from above were led by men. Social stratification also proved significant, and the capital region, London and the Court, formed the centre from which changes spread elsewhere in the country. The chapter also shows that some individuals changed their language across their lifespans, and weak-tie networks apparently promoted the diffusion of change.
Abstract
This chapter shows that there was considerable sociolinguistic variation in Early Modern England. Despite the problems of accessing the lowest social ranks and women due to widespread illiteracy, studies of letter and dialogue data testify to the significance of gender, social rank, region, and register in the diffusion of linguistic change. The chapter focuses on morphosyntactic changes, such as the replacement of the subject pronoun ye by you, the adoption of the third-person singular suffix ‑s instead of -th and the loss of multiple negation. As today, women seemed to lead changes from below but, unlike today, changes from above were led by men. Social stratification also proved significant, and the capital region, London and the Court, formed the centre from which changes spread elsewhere in the country. The chapter also shows that some individuals changed their language across their lifespans, and weak-tie networks apparently promoted the diffusion of change.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- Abbreviations VII
- Chapter 1: Introduction 1
- Chapter 2: Early Modern English: Overview 8
- Chapter 3: Phonology 27
- Chapter 4: Morphology 47
- Chapter 5: Syntax 68
- Chapter 6: Lexicon and semantics 89
- Chapter 7: Pragmatics and discourse 108
- Chapter 8: Dialects 128
- Chapter 9: Language contact 150
- Chapter 10: Standardization 167
- Chapter 11: Sociolinguistics 188
- Chapter 12: Pronouns 209
- Chapter 13: Periphrastic DO 224
- Chapter 14: The Great Vowel Shift 241
- Chapter 15: Relativization 267
- Chapter 16: Literary language 287
- Chapter 17: The language of Shakespeare 309
- Index 333
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- Abbreviations VII
- Chapter 1: Introduction 1
- Chapter 2: Early Modern English: Overview 8
- Chapter 3: Phonology 27
- Chapter 4: Morphology 47
- Chapter 5: Syntax 68
- Chapter 6: Lexicon and semantics 89
- Chapter 7: Pragmatics and discourse 108
- Chapter 8: Dialects 128
- Chapter 9: Language contact 150
- Chapter 10: Standardization 167
- Chapter 11: Sociolinguistics 188
- Chapter 12: Pronouns 209
- Chapter 13: Periphrastic DO 224
- Chapter 14: The Great Vowel Shift 241
- Chapter 15: Relativization 267
- Chapter 16: Literary language 287
- Chapter 17: The language of Shakespeare 309
- Index 333
