Convergence and Divergence in Two Historical Varieties of English

IF 0.3 4区 文学 0 LITERATURE
C. Elsweiler
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Abstract

In the description of his divergence/convergence model of language change from IndoEuropean to Present-Day English, James Milroy states that the history of English is traditionally depicted as a continuous path leading from divergence in the earlier stages of English to convergence towards the emerging English standard variety in the 16th century (Milroy 1992, 50-51). This pathway is largely borne out by research on spelling, showing a gradual reduction of divergent orthographic variants in different earlier Middle English dialects in favour of "colourless" supraregional spellings in the late Middle English period (Smith 2000, 136; cf. also Schaefer 2012, 520-521; 524526). Even if one casts the net wider to include the relationship between the standardising Middle Scots1 variety, "the only dialect that compares in development and uses to the standard dialect which was developing in England at the same time" (Agutter 1990, 1), and the Southern English Standard,2 the directions of change remain the same. In the 16th century, Middle Scots and the developing Southern English Standard were perceived as two distinct varieties of English by contemporary observers (e.g. Horsbroch 1999, 5; McClure 1994, 37). Scots was not always clearly distinguished from English dialects, though. It has its origins in northern dialects of Old English3 and at the time of the first written attestations of Early Scots at the end of the 14th century, it is part of a "common speech area" with Northern Middle English varieties (Williamson 2002, 253), evincing many shared linguistic features with these (Agutter 1988, 1; Meurman-Solin 1997, 7). In the mid-15th century Middle Scots begins to diverge from Northern English, at a time when texts written in Northern Middle English dialects manifest the use of more and more supraregional features of the emerging Southern English Standard (Meurman-Solin 1997, 7; Williamson 2002, 253). Subsequently, in the middle of the 16th century, when Scots is maximally distinct from English, a gradual process of convergence of written Scots with the Southern English Standard begins, which is nearing completion by 1700 (Devitt 1989; Meurman-Solin 1993, 154-160; 1997, 16-19). The case for the divergence of Scots from Northern English and the following convergence with the Southern English Standard, which
两个历史英语变体的趋同与分化
在描述从印欧语到现代英语的语言变化的分化/融合模型时,詹姆斯·米尔罗伊(James Milroy)指出,英语的历史传统上被描述为一条连续的道路,从英语早期阶段的分化到16世纪新兴英语标准变体的融合(Milroy 1992,50 -51)。对拼写的研究在很大程度上证实了这一途径,表明在中古英语晚期,不同早期中古英语方言中不同的正字法变体逐渐减少,有利于“无色”的超区域拼写(Smith 2000, 136;参见Schaefer 2012, 520-521;524526)。即使人们把网撒得更广,把标准化的中古苏格兰方言(“唯一一种在发展和使用上与同期英格兰发展的标准方言相比较的方言”(Agutter 1990, 1)和南部标准英语(2)之间的关系也包括在内,变化的方向仍然是一样的。在16世纪,中古苏格兰语和发展中的南方标准英语被同时代的观察者视为两种不同的英语变体(例如,Horsbroch 1999,5;McClure 1994,37)。然而,苏格兰语并不总是与英语方言有明显的区别。它起源于古英语的北部方言3,在14世纪末早期苏格兰人的第一份书面证明中,它是北部中古英语变种的“共同语言区域”的一部分(Williamson 2002, 253),表明与这些变体有许多共同的语言特征(Agutter 1988, 1;Meurman-Solin 1997,7)。在15世纪中期,中古苏格兰语开始与北部英语分道扬镳,当时用中古北部英语方言书写的文本显示出越来越多的新兴南方英语标准的超地区特征(Meurman-Solin 1997,7;Williamson 2002, 253)。随后,在16世纪中叶,当苏格兰语与英语最大程度地不同时,苏格兰语与南方英语标准逐渐趋同的过程开始了,这一过程在1700年接近完成(Devitt 1989;Meurman-Solin 1993, 154-160;1997年,16 - 19)。苏格兰语与北部英格兰语的分离以及随后与南部英语标准的融合
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CiteScore
0.30
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