19th Century Novels

DJ StavrosStephanie Hurley

Linguistic change continued, even with the work of the prescriptivists

at the end of the 18th century.

19th CenturyLinguistic Change

• Vocabulary• Grammar• Punctuation/ Capitalization/ Spelling

Vocabulary• English lexicon was expanding due to the

numerous technological and scientific advances of the Industrial Revolution

• Word-formation processes:BorrowingAffixation

CompoundingAbbreviation

Borrowing• Words of obvious French origin

were being borrowed with less frequency

• Colonial expansion in Africa, Asia, and Australia led to an increase of “exotic” borrowings without mediation

• Greek and Latin continued to increase, with a preference for the Greek

Affixation• Both prefixes and suffixes

were added to existing words to form new words

• Specific prefixes and suffixes of scientific importance were used more often

– Prefixes: micro-, giga-, auto-, bi-– Suffixes: -ene, -ology, -ography,

-ics, -ism

Compounding• Can arise from

combining together a variety of different roots or words– Chlorofluorocarbon

(chloro+fluoro+carbon)– Geniophobia (genio+phobia)

– Wavelength(wave+length)

Abbreviation• Initialisms / alphabetisms

– DJ, USA • Acronyms

– Laser, DARE• Clippings

– Exam, fridge, varsity• Blends

– Smog, brunch

Grammar• Minor differences between 19th century and

modern grammar• Can be a matter of frequency (rare phrases

becoming common) or stylistic change (formal versus polite)

• Noticeable variations include:– Verb phrases– Noun phrases– Adverbs– Adjectives

Verb Phrases

• “I look not forward with any pleasure…”

• “Shall you let him go to Italy?”

• “You will be to visit me in prison.”

• “Jenny and James are walked to Charmouth…”

• “I don’t look forward…”

• “Will you let him go to Italy?”

• “You will visit me in prison.”

• “Jenny and James walked/ have walked..”

Noun Phrases

• “When none such troubles oppresses me..”

• “Any the most intricate accounts…”

• “When no such troubles oppress me…”

• “Any of the most intricate accounts…”

Adverbs and Adjectives

• Adverbs often times form awkward constructions that we would not use today– “a monstrous fine young man” (1840), where today

it would be “monstrously”

• Certain adjectives have also changed in their formation– “handsomest” (1816), where today we would likely

say “most handsome”

Capitalization& Spelling

• There are only slight variations between 19th century spelling & capitalization and that of today

• Some differences are a product of differences between American and British English

PART TWO

Now let’s see these characteristics of 19th century English in action…

CHARLES DICKENS’S‘Hard Times’

In 1856 Dickens’ compatriot, Hyppolyte Taine, said, “One of his latest novels, Hard Times, is an abstract of the rest. He there exalts instinct above reason, intuition of the heart above positive knowledge; he attacks education built on statistics, figures, and facts… He satirizes oppressive society; mourns over oppressive nature.”

• First published in 1854• Published in twenty parts in the journal Household Words• Set during the Industrial Revolution

So, Mr. M'Choakumchild began in his best manner. He and some one hundred and forty other schoolmasters, had been lately turned at the same time, in the same factory, on the same principles, like so many pianoforte legs. He had been put through an immense variety of paces, and had answered volumes of head-breaking questions. Orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody, biography, astronomy, geography, and general cosmography, the sciences of compound proportion, algebra, land-surveying and levelling, vocal music, and drawing from models, were all at the ends of his ten chilled fingers. He had worked his stony way into Her Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council's Schedule B, and had taken the bloom off the higher branches of mathematics and physical science, French, German, Latin, and Greek. He knew all about all the Water Sheds of all the world (whatever they are), and all the histories of all the peoples, and all the names of all the rivers and mountains, and all the productions, manners, and customs of all the countries, and all their boundaries and bearings on the two and thirty points of the compass. Ah, rather overdone, M'Choakumchild. If he had only learnt a little less, how infinitely better he might have taught much more! (From Ch.2)

Vocabulary

• However, the specific words in this chosen passage were not coined during the 19th century.

• Well then, why are they important?– Hard Times as a social commentary / critique about

Industrialization, its effects on people and on education– Enormous amount of scientific, technical, learned terminology – Dickens is making a statement about the people around him.

New words, technical lingo, whole new way of life

• Science-related and technical terms are numerous

(geography, cosmography, land-surveying, biography)

1. “He knew all about the Water Sheds of all the world (whatever they are), and all the histories of all the peoples…”

– OED definition- “The line separating the waters flowing into different rivers or river basins,” first used in the 19th century

– Not an everyday, conversational word- introduced through science

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2. “You learnt a great deal, Louisa, and so did your brother. Ologies of all kinds from morning to night. If there is any Ology left, of any description, that has not been worn to rags in this house, all I can say is, I hope I shall never hear its name.” (Ch. 9)

– OED definition- “An academic discipline or field of knowledge; esp. one of the physical, biological, or social sciences”

– Introduced by Edward Nares in 1811– Existed before 19th century as a suffix, but never as a noun by itself

Vocabulary (page 2)

So, Mr. M'Choakumchild began in his best manner. He and some one hundred and forty other schoolmasters, had been lately turned at the same time, in the same factory, on the same principles, like so many pianoforte legs. He had been put through an immense variety of paces, and had answered volumes of head-breaking questions. Orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody, biography, astronomy, geography, and general cosmography, the sciences of compound proportion, algebra, land-surveying and levelling, vocal music, and drawing from models, were all at the ends of his ten chilled fingers. He had worked his stony way into Her Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council's Schedule B, and had taken the bloom off the higher branches of mathematics and physical science, French, German, Latin, and Greek. He knew all about all the Water Sheds of all the world (whatever they are), and all the histories of all the peoples, and all the names of all the rivers and mountains, and all the productions, manners, and customs of all the countries, and all their boundaries and bearings on the two and thirty points of the compass. Ah, rather overdone, M'Choakumchild. If he had only learnt a little less, how infinitely better he might have taught much more! (From Ch 2)

Grammar• “Ah, rather overdone”

– ‘Rather’ is rather out-dated– Generally, modern British English uses all adverbs of degree

pretty/rather/quite, whereas modern American English most often uses pretty, and uses quite mainly in the negative.

• “Learnt a little less”– Some verbs can have either –ed or –t ending in the past tense– Modern British English uses either ending, whereas in modern

American English, the irregular form (-t) is less usual.

• “If he had only learnt a little less, how infinitely better he might have taught much more!”

– Confusing word order and use of verbs– Verbs- Conditional + passive modal

Grammar (Page 2)• “Orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody, biography, astronomy,

geography, and general cosmography, the sciences of compound proportion, algebra, land-surveying and levelling, vocal music, and drawing from models, were all at the ends of his ten chilled fingers.”

• “He knew all about all the Water Sheds of all the world (whatever they are), and all the histories of all the peoples, and all the names of all the rivers and mountains, and all the productions, manners, and customs of all the countries, and all their boundaries and bearings on the two and thirty points of the compass.”

• “One of the striking features of 19th-century syntax is the use of long involved sentences… The well-constructed period, illustrating the writer’s logical arguments and ordered scholarly discourse, was one of the achievements of 18th century prose.” (Manfred Gorlach, English in Nineteenth Century England, Pg 88)

So, Mr. M'Choakumchild began in his best manner. He and some one hundred and forty other schoolmasters, had been lately turned at the same time, in the same factory, on the same principles, like so many pianoforte legs. He had been put through an immense variety of paces, and had answered volumes of head-breaking questions. Orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody, biography, astronomy, geography, and general cosmography, the sciences of compound proportion, algebra, land-surveying and levelling, vocal music, and drawing from models, were all at the ends of his ten chilled fingers. He had worked his stony way into Her Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council's Schedule B, and had taken the bloom off the higher branches of mathematics and physical science, French, German, Latin, and Greek. He knew all about all the Water Sheds of all the world (whatever they are), and all the histories of all the peoples, and all the names of all the rivers and mountains, and all the productions, manners, and customs of all the countries, and all their boundaries and bearings on the two and thirty points of the compass. Ah, rather overdone, M'Choakumchild. If he had only learnt a little less, how infinitely better he might have taught much more! (From Ch. 2)

Capitalization & Spelling

“He had worked his stony way into Her Majesty's most Honourable PrivyCouncil's Schedule B”

• “land-surveying”• “levelling”• “Honourable”• “Water Sheds”

Jane Austen’s‘Emma’

• Emma was first published in 1816

• In the novel, Austen examines societal rules that govern social relationships, while at the same time presenting a heavy emphasis on reason

Vocabulary• Austen uses numerous ‘odd’ words that can sometimes

be seen in some of today’s writing, for example:– Behindhand, dissentient, imaginist, obtrude

• Words from Austen’s works both that are and are not seen today include– Sportive, nuncheon, dissentient, valetudinarian, behindhand,

missish, postilion, superannuated, sedulous, puppyism, self-consequence, importunate, tremulous, verdure, collation, repine, raillery, moiety, outre, obtrude

http://wordcraft.infopop.cc/archiveindex.htm

Behindhand• Mr. Knightley was hard at work upon the lower buttons of his thick leather

gaiters, and either the exertion of getting them together, or some other cause, brought the colour into his face, as he answered, "Oh! are you there?--But you are miserably behindhand. Mr. Cole gave me a hint of it six weeks ago.”

• Before Iran's revolution, Turkey was behindhand on practically every count-foreign direct investment, income per head, GDP growth. (The Economist, Dec. 9, 2004)

• behindhand ﾐ 1. late; behind schedule; particularly, in arrears on a debt. 2. backward, in respect to what is seasonable or appropriate. (in other words, out of style). 3. being in an inferior position

Dissentient• There was not a dissentient voice on the subject, either when

Mrs. Perry drank tea with Mrs. and Miss Bates, or when Mrs. and Miss Bates returned the visit. (Ch. 2)

• There were dissentient voices. Two commentators who had played the game at the highest level ... thought that Paul was not the man for England and that Robinson would do better to stick to the known virtues of Will Greenwood. (Alan Watkins (apparently speaking of rugby football), The Independent, Nov. 30, 2004)

• dissentient ﾐ dissenting, especially the majority's view

Imaginist• How much more must an imaginist, like herself, be on

fire with speculation and foresight!--especially with such a groundwork of anticipation as her mind had already made. (Ch. 21)

• Decades ago, the millionaire imaginist mixed his love of Florida with a bit of magic and came up with the kingdom of Xanth… (Adrienne P. Samuels, Hillsborough County Times, Feb. 9, 2005)

• imaginist ﾐ one who lives in a world created by his or her active imagination

Obtrude• "How you can bear such recollections, is astonishing to

me!- They will sometimes obtrude- but how you can court them!" (Ch. 54)

• They are never allowed to obtrude. (Allan Ramsay, British diplomacy in the Queen's reign: 1952-2002, Contemporary Review, August, 2002)

• obtrude ﾐ (of a thought or a person:) to thrust itself (or himself), unwelcome, upon a person's company or attention.

"That Mr. Elton should really be in love with me, -me, of all people, who did not know him, to speak to him, at Michaelmas! And he, the very handsomest man that ever was, and a man that every body looks up to, quite like Mr. Knightley! His company so sought after, that every body says he need not eat a single meal by himself if he does not chuse it; that he has more invitations than there are days in the week. And so excellent in the Church! Miss Nash has put down all the texts he has ever preached from since he came to Highbury. Dear me! When I look back to the first time I saw him! How little did I think!-The two Abbots and I ran into the front room and peeped through the blind when we heard he was going by, and Miss Nash came and scolded us away, and staid to look through herself; however, she called me back presently, and let me look too, which was very good-natured. And how beautiful we thought he looked! He was arm-in-arm with Mr. Cole."

Grammar• “handsomest” --->

“most handsome”

• “he need not eat” ---> “he doesn’t need to eat”

• “dear me” ---> “oh my goodness”

• “how little did I think” ---> “how little I thought”

Note: Grammar• The progressive passive

– Peyton Manning is being sacked

– Although this verb phrase formation was in use in

the 19th century, it is not a verb tense used by

Austen in her works– In fact, it was condemned as

a “monstrous absurdity”

"That Mr. Elton should really be in love with me, -me, of all people, who did not know him, to speak to him, at Michaelmas! And he, the very handsomest man that ever was, and a man that every body looks up to, quite like Mr. Knightley! His company so sought after, that every body says he need not eat a single meal by himself if he does not chuse it; that he has more invitations than there are days in the week. And so excellent in the Church! Miss Nash has put down all the texts he has ever preached from since he came to Highbury. Dear me! When I look back to the first time I saw him! How little did I think!-The two Abbots and I ran into the front room and peeped through the blind when we heard he was going by, and Miss Nash came and scolded us away, and staid to look through herself; however, she called me back presently, and let me look too, which was very good-natured. And how beautiful we thought he looked! He was arm-in-arm with Mr. Cole."

Capitalization & Spelling

• ‘Every body’---> Everybody

• ‘Chuse’---> Choose

• ‘Staid’---> Stayed

• ‘Connexions’---> Connections

Finis