Chapter 8

MODERN ENGLISH.

1. +Grammar Fixed.+-- From the date of 1485-- that is, from the beginning of the reign of Henry VII.-- the changes in the grammar or constitution of our language are so extremely small, that they are hardly noticeable. Any Englishman of ordinary education can read a book belonging to the latter part of the fifteenth or to the sixteenth century without difficulty. Since that time the grammar of our language has hardly changed at all, though we have altered and enlarged our vocabulary, and have adopted thousands of new words. The introduction of Printing, the Revival of Learning, the Translation of the Bible, the growth and spread of the power to read and write-- these and other influences tended to fix the language and to keep it as it is to-day. It is true that we have dropped a few old-fashioned endings, like the +n+ or +en+ in _silvern_ and _golden_; but, so far as form or grammar is concerned, the English of the sixteenth and the English of the nineteenth centuries are substantially the same.

2. +New Words.+-- But, while the grammar of English has remained the same, the vocabulary of English has been growing, and growing rapidly, not merely with each century, but with each generation. The discovery of the New World in 1492 gave an impetus to maritime enterprise in England, which it never lost, brought us into connection with the Spaniards, and hence contributed to our language several Spanish words. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Italian literature was largely read; Wyatt and Surrey show its influence in their poems; and Italian words began to come in in considerable numbers. Commerce, too, has done much for us in this way; and along with the article imported, we have in general introduced also the name it bore in its own native country. In later times, Science has been making rapid strides-- has been bringing to light new discoveries and new inventions almost every week; and along with these new discoveries, the language has been enriched with new names and new terms. Let us look a little more closely at the character of these foreign contributions to the vocabulary of our tongue.

3. +Spanish Words.+-- The words we have received from the Spanish language are not numerous, but they are important. In addition to the ill-fated word +armada+, we have the Spanish for _Mr_, which is +Don+ (from Lat. _dominus_, a lord), with its feminine +Duenna+. They gave us also +alligator+, which is our English way of writing _el lagarto_, the lizard. They also presented us with a large number of words that end in +o+-- such as +buffalo+, +cargo+, +desperado+, +guano+, +indigo+, +mosquito+, +mulatto+, +negro+, +potato+, +tornado+, and others. The following is a tolerably full list:--

Alligator. Armada. Barricade. Battledore. Bravado. Buffalo. Cargo. Cigar. Cochineal. Cork. Creole. Desperado. Don. Duenna. Eldorado. Embargo. Filibuster. Flotilla. Galleon (a ship). Grandee. Grenade. Guerilla. Indigo. Jennet. Matador. Merino. Mosquito. Mulatto. Negro. Octoroon. Quadroon. Renegade. Savannah. Sherry (= Xeres). Tornado. Vanilla.

4. +Italian Words.+-- Italian literature has been read and cultivated in England since the time of Chaucer-- since the fourteenth century; and the arts and artists of Italy have for many centuries exerted a great deal of influence on those of England. Hence it is that we owe to the Italian language a large number of words. These relate to poetry, such as +canto+, +sonnet+, +stanza+; to music, as +pianoforte+, +opera+, +oratorio+, +soprano+, +alto+, +contralto+; to architecture and sculpture, as +portico+, +piazza+, +cupola+, +torso+; and to painting, as +studio+, +fresco+ (an open-air painting), and others. The following is a complete list:--

Alarm. Alert. Alto. Arcade. Balcony. Balustrade. Bandit. Bankrupt. Bravo. Brigade. Brigand. Broccoli. Burlesque. Bust. Cameo. Canteen. Canto. Caprice. Caricature. Carnival. Cartoon. Cascade. Cavalcade. Charlatan. Citadel. Colonnade. Concert. Contralto. Conversazione. Cornice. Corridor. Cupola. Curvet. Dilettante. Ditto. Doge. Domino. Extravaganza. Fiasco. Folio. Fresco. Gazette. Gondola. Granite. Grotto. Guitar. Incognito. Influenza. Lagoon. Lava. Lazaretto. Macaroni. Madonna. Madrigal. Malaria. Manifesto. Motto. Moustache. Niche. Opera. Oratorio. Palette. Pantaloon. Parapet. Pedant. Pianoforte. Piazza. Pistol. Portico. Proviso. Quarto. Regatta. Ruffian. Serenade. Sonnet. Soprano. Stanza. Stiletto. Stucco. Studio. Tenor. Terra-cotta. Tirade. Torso. Trombone. Umbrella. Vermilion. Vertu. Virtuoso. Vista. Volcano. Zany.

5. +Dutch Words.+-- We have had for many centuries commercial dealings with the Dutch; and as they, like ourselves, are a great seafaring people, they have given us a number of words relating to the management of ships. In the fourteenth century, the southern part of the German Ocean was the most frequented sea in the world; and the chances of plunder were so great that ships of war had to keep cruising up and down to protect the trading vessels that sailed between England and the Low Countries. The following are the words which we owe to the Netherlands:--

Ballast. Boom. Boor. Burgomaster. Hoy. Luff. Reef. Schiedam (gin). Skates. Skipper. Sloop. Smack. Smuggle. Stiver. Taffrail. Trigger. Wear (said of a ship). Yacht. Yawl.

6. +French Words.+-- Besides the large additions to our language made by the Norman-French, we have from time to time imported direct from France a number of French words, without change in the spelling, and with little change in the pronunciation. The French have been for centuries the most polished nation in Europe; from France the changing fashions in dress spread over all the countries of the Continent; French literature has been much read in England since the time of Charles II.; and for a long time all diplomatic correspondence between foreign countries and England was carried on in French. Words relating to manners and customs are common, such as +soirée+, +etiquette+, +séance+, +élite+; and we have also the names of things which were invented in France, such as +mitrailleuse+, +carte-de-visite+, +coup d’état+, and others. Some of these words are, in spelling, exactly like English; and advantage of this has been taken in a well-known epigram:--

The French have taste in all they do, Which we are quite without; For Nature, which to them gave goût,[15] To us gave only gout.

The following is a list of French words which have been imported in comparatively recent times:--

Aide-de-camp. Belle. Bivouac. Blonde. Bouquet. Brochure. Brunette. Brusque. Carte-de-visite. Coup-d’état. Débris. Début. Déjeûner. Depot. Éclat. Ennui. Etiquette. Façade. Goût. Naïve. Naïveté. Nonchalance. Outré. Penchant. Personnel. Précis. Programme. Protégé. Recherché. Séance. Soirée. Trousseau.

The Scotch have always had a closer connection with the French nation than England; and hence we find in the Scottish dialect of English a number of French words that are not used in South Britain at all. A leg of mutton is called in Scotland a +gigot+; the dish on which it is laid is an +ashet+ (from _assiette_); a cup for tea or for wine is a +tassie+ (from _tasse_); the gate of a town is called the +port+; and a stubborn person is +dour+ (Fr. _dur_, from Lat. _durus_); while a gentle and amiable person is +douce+ (Fr. _douce_, Lat. _dulcis_).

[Footnote 15: _Goût_ (goo) from Latin _gustus_, taste.]

7. +German Words.+-- It must not be forgotten that English is a Low-German dialect, while the German of books is New High-German. We have never borrowed directly from High-German, because we have never needed to borrow. Those modern German words that have come into our language in recent times are chiefly the names of minerals, with a few striking exceptions, such as +loafer+, which came to us from the German immigrants to the United States, and +plunder+, which seems to have been brought from Germany by English soldiers who had served under Gustavus Adolphus. The following are the German words which we have received in recent times:--

Cobalt. Felspar. Hornblende. Landgrave. Loafer. Margrave. Meerschaum. Nickel. Plunder. Poodle. Quartz. Zinc.

8. +Hebrew Words.+-- These, with very few exceptions, have come to us from the translation of the Bible, which is now in use in our homes and churches. +Abbot+ and +abbey+ come from the Hebrew word +abba+, father; and such words as +cabal+ and +Talmud+, though not found in the Old Testament, have been contributed by Jewish literature. The following is a tolerably complete list:--

Abbey. Abbot. Amen. Behemoth. Cabal. Cherub. Cinnamon. Hallelujah. Hosannah. Jehovah. Jubilee. Gehenna. Leviathan. Manna. Paschal. Pharisee. Pharisaical. Rabbi. Sabbath. Sadducees. Satan. Seraph. Shibboleth. Talmud.

9. +Other Foreign Words.+-- The English have always been the greatest travellers in the world; and our sailors always the most daring, intelligent, and enterprising. There is hardly a port or a country in the world into which an English ship has not penetrated; and our commerce has now been maintained for centuries with every people on the face of the globe. We exchange goods with almost every nation and tribe under the sun. When we import articles or produce from abroad, we in general import the native name along with the thing. Hence it is that we have +guano+, +maize+, and +tomato+ from the two Americas; +coffee+, +cotton+, and +tamarind+ from Arabia; +tea+, +congou+, and +nankeen+ from China; +calico+, +chintz+, and +rupee+ from Hindostan; +bamboo+, +gamboge+, and +sago+ from the Malay Peninsula; +lemon+, +musk+, and +orange+ from Persia; +boomerang+ and +kangaroo+ from Australia; +chibouk+, +ottoman+, and +tulip+ from Turkey. The following are lists of these foreign words; and they are worth examining with the greatest minuteness:--

AFRICAN DIALECTS.

Baobab. Canary. Chimpanzee. Gnu. Gorilla. Guinea. Karoo. Kraal. Oasis. Quagga. Zebra.

AMERICAN TONGUES.

Alpaca. Buccaneer. Cacique. Cannibal. Canoe. Caoutchouc. Cayman. Chocolate. Condor. Guano. Hammock. Jaguar. Jalap. Jerked (beef). Llama. Mahogany. Maize. Manioc. Moccasin. Mustang. Opossum. Pampas. Pemmican. Potato. Racoon. Skunk. Squaw. Tapioca. Tobacco. Tomahawk. Tomato. Wigwam.

ARABIC.

(The word _al_ means _the_. Thus _alcohol_ = _the spirit_.)

Admiral (Milton writes _ammiral_). Alcohol. Alcove. Alembic. Algebra. Alkali. Amber. Arrack. Arsenal. Artichoke. Assassin. Assegai. Attar. Azimuth. Azure. Caliph. Carat. Chemistry. Cipher. Civet. Coffee. Cotton. Crimson. Dragoman. Elixir. Emir. Fakir. Felucca. Gazelle. Giraffe. Harem. Hookah. Koran (or Alcoran). Lute. Magazine. Mattress. Minaret. Mohair. Monsoon. Mosque. Mufti. Nabob. Nadir. Naphtha. Saffron. Salaam. Senna. Sherbet. Shrub (the drink). Simoom. Sirocco. Sofa. Sultan. Syrup. Talisman. Tamarind. Tariff. Vizier. Zenith. Zero.

CHINESE.

Bohea. China. Congou. Hyson. Joss. Junk. Nankeen. Pekoe. Silk. Souchong. Tea. Typhoon.

HINDU.

Avatar. Banyan. Brahmin. Bungalow. Calico. Chintz. Coolie. Cowrie. Durbar. Jungle. Lac (of rupees). Loot. Mulligatawny. Musk. Pagoda. Palanquin. Pariah. Punch. Pundit. Rajah. Rupee. Ryot. Sepoy. Shampoo. Sugar. Suttee. Thug. Toddy.

HUNGARIAN.

Hussar. Sabre. Shako. Tokay.

MALAY.

Amuck. Bamboo. Bantam. Caddy. Cassowary. Cockatoo. Dugong. Gamboge. Gong. Gutta-percha. Mandarin. Mango. Orang-outang. Rattan. Sago. Upas.

PERSIAN.

Awning. Bazaar. Bashaw. Caravan. Check. Checkmate. Chess. Curry. Dervish. Divan. Firman. Hazard. Horde. Houri. Jar. Jackal. Jasmine. Lac (a gum). Lemon. Lilac. Lime (the fruit). Musk. Orange. Paradise. Pasha. Rook. Saraband. Sash. Scimitar. Shawl. Taffeta. Turban.

POLYNESIAN DIALECTS.

Boomerang. Kangaroo. Taboo. Tattoo.

PORTUGUESE.

Albatross. Caste. Cobra. Cocoa-nut. Commodore. Fetish. Lasso. Marmalade. Moidore. Molasses. Palaver. Port (= Oporto).

RUSSIAN.

Czar. Drosky. Knout. Morse. Rouble. Steppe. Ukase. Verst.

TARTAR.

Khan.

TURKISH.

Bey. Caftan. Chibouk. Chouse. Dey. Janissary. Kiosk. Odalisque. Ottoman. Tulip. Yashmak. Yataghan.

10. +Scientific Terms.+-- A very large number of discoveries in science have been made in this century; and a large number of inventions have introduced these discoveries to the people, and made them useful in daily life. Thus we have _telegraph_ and _telegram_; _photograph_; _telephone_ and even _photophone_. The word _dynamite_ is also modern; and the unhappy employment of it has made it too widely known. Then passing fashions have given us such words as _athlete_ and _æsthete_. In general, it may be said that, when we wish to give a name to a new thing-- a new discovery, invention, or fashion-- we have recourse not to our own stores of English, but to the vocabularies of the Latin and Greek languages.

LANDMARKS IN THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

[Transcriber’s Note:

In the original book, the following chart was laid out much like a typical table of contents, with the +date+ in a separate column along the right edge. It has been reformatted for this e-text. The date is repeated in brackets where appropriate.]

+450+ 1. +The Beowulf+, an old English epic, “written on the mainland”

+597+ 2. +Christianity+ introduced by St Augustine (and with it many Latin and a few Greek words)

+670+ 3. +Caedmon+-- ‘Paraphrase of the Scriptures,’-- first English poem

+735+ 4. +Baeda+-- “The Venerable Bede”-- translated into English part of St John’s Gospel

+901+ 5. +King Alfred+ translated several Latin works into English, among others, Bede’s ‘Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation’ (+851+)

+1000+ 6. +Aelfric+, Archbishop of York, turned into English most of the historical books of the Old Testament

+1066+ 7. +The Norman Conquest+, which introduced Norman French words

+1160+ 8. +Anglo-Saxon Chronicle+, said to have been begun by King Alfred, and brought to a close in [1160]

+1200+ 9. +Orm+ or +Orrmin’s Ormulum+, a poem written in the East Midland dialect, about [1200]

+1204+ 10. +Normandy+ lost under King John. Norman-English now have their only home in England, and use our English speech more and more

+1205+ 11. +Layamon+ translates the ‘Brut’ from the French of Robert Wace. This is the first English book (written in _Southern English_) after the stoppage of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

+1220+ 12. +The Ancren Riwle+ (“Rules for Anchorites”) written in the Dorsetshire dialect. “It is the forerunner of a wondrous change in our speech.” “It swarms with French words”

+1258+ 13. +First Royal Proclamation in English+, issued by Henry III.

+1300+ 14. +Robert of Gloucester’s+ Chronicle (swarms with foreign terms)

+1303+ 15. +Robert Manning+, “Robert of Brunn,” compiles the ‘Handlyng Synne.’ “It contains a most copious proportion of French words”

+1340+ 16. +Ayenbite of Inwit+ (= “Remorse of Conscience”)

+1349+ 17. +The Great Plague+. After this it becomes less and less the fashion to speak French

+1356+ 18. +Sir John Mandeville+, first writer of the newer English Prose-- in his ‘Travels,’ which contained a large admixture of French words. “His English is the speech spoken at Court in the latter days of King Edward III.”

+1362+ 19. +English+ becomes the language of the Law Courts

+1380+ 20. +Wickliffe’s+ Bible

+1400+ 21. +Geoffrey Chaucer+, the first great English poet, author of the ‘Canterbury Tales’; born in 1340, died [1400]

+1471+ 22. +William Caxton+, the first English printer, brings out (in the Low Countries) the first English book ever printed, the ‘Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye,’-- “not written with pen and ink, as other books are, to the end that every man may have them at once”

+1474+ 23. +First English Book+ printed in England (by Caxton) the ‘Game and Playe of the Chesse’

+1523+ 24. +Lord Berners’+ translation of Froissart’s Chronicle

+1526-30+ 25. +William Tyndale+, by his translation of the Bible “fixed our tongue once for all.” “His New Testament has become the standard of our tongue: the first ten verses of the Fourth Gospel are a good sample of his manly Teutonic pith”

+1590+ 26. +Edmund Spenser+ publishes his ‘Faerie Queene.’ “Now began the golden age of England’s literature; and this age was to last for about fourscore years”

+1611+ 27. +Our English Bible+, based chiefly on Tyndale’s translation. “Those who revised the English Bible in 1611 were bidden to keep as near as they could to the old versions, such as Tyndale’s”

+1616+ 28. +William Shakespeare+ carried the use of the English language to the greatest height of which it was capable. He employed 15,000 words. “The last act of ‘Othello’ is a rare specimen of Shakespeare’s diction: of every five nouns, verbs, and adverbs, four are Teutonic” (+Born 1564+)

+1667+ 29. +John Milton+, “the most learned of English poets,” publishes his ‘Paradise Lost,’-- “a poem in which Latin words are introduced with great skill”

+1661+ 30. +The Prayer-Book+ revised and issued in its final form. “_Are_ was substituted for _be_ in forty-three places. This was a great victory of the North over the South”

+1688+ 31. +John Bunyan+ writes his ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’-- a book full of pithy English idiom. “The common folk had the wit at once to see the worth of Bunyan’s masterpiece, and the learned long afterwards followed in the wake of the common folk” (+Born 1628+)

+1642+ 32. +Sir Thomas Browne+, the author of ‘Urn-Burial’ and other works written in a highly Latinised diction, such as the ‘Religio Medici,’ written [1642]

+1759+ 33. +Dr Samuel Johnson+ was the chief supporter of the use of “long-tailed words in osity and ation,” such as his novel called ‘Rasselas,’ published [1759]

34. +Tennyson, Poet-Laureate+, a writer of the best English-- “a countryman of Robert Manning’s, and a careful student of old Malory, has done much for the revival of pure English among us” (+Born 1809+)