19th Century Novels

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19th Century Novels

• DJ Stavros
• Stephanie Hurley

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• Linguistic change
• continued, even with the
• work of the prescriptivists
• at the end of the 18th century.

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19th CenturyLinguistic Change

• Vocabulary
• Grammar
• Punctuation/
• Capitalization/
• Spelling

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Vocabulary

• English lexicon was expanding due to the numerous
  technological and scientific advances of the
  Industrial Revolution
• Word-formation processes
• Borrowing
• Affixation
• Compounding
• Abbreviation

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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

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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

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Compounding

• Can arise from combining together a variety of
  different roots or words
• Chlorofluorocarbon (chlorofluorocarbon)
• Geniophobia (geniophobia)
• Wavelength
• (wavelength)

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Abbreviation

• Initialisms / alphabetisms
• DJ, USA
• Acronyms
• Laser, DARE
• Clippings
• Exam, fridge, varsity
• Blends
• Smog, brunch

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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

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Verb Phrases

• Old

• New

• I dont look forward
• Will you let him go to Italy?
• You will visit me in prison.
• Jenny and James walked/ have walked..

• 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

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Noun Phrases

• Old

• New

• When no such troubles oppress me
• Any of the most intricate accounts

• When none such troubles oppresses me..
• Any the most intricate accounts

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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

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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

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PART TWO
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• Now lets see these characteristics
• of 19th century English in action

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CHARLES DICKENSSHard Times

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

• 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.

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• 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)

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Vocabulary

• Science-related and technical terms are numerous
  (geography, cosmography, land-surveying,
  biography)

• 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

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Vocabulary (page 2)

• 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
• --------------------------------------------------
  -------
• 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

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• 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)

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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

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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.

• RUN-ON SENTENCES!

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

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• 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)

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Capitalization Spelling

• land-surveying
• levelling
• Honourable
• Water Sheds

• He had worked his stony
• way into Her Majesty's
• most Honourable Privy
• Council's Schedule B

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Jane AustensEmma

• 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

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Vocabulary

• Austen uses numerous odd words that can
  sometimes be seen in some of todays writing, for
  example
• Behindhand, dissentient, imaginist, obtrude
• Words from Austens 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

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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 ? 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

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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 ? dissenting, especially the
  majority's view

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Imaginist

• How much more must an imaginist, like herself, be
  on fire with speculation and foresight!--especiall
  y 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 ? one who lives in a world created by
  his or her active imagination

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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 ? (of a thought or a person) to thrust
  itself (or himself), unwelcome, upon a person's
  company or attention.

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• "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."

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Grammar

• handsomest ---gt
• most handsome
• he need not eat ---gt
• he doesnt need to eat
• dear me ---gt
• oh my goodness
• how little did I think ---gt
• how little I thought

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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

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• "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."

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Capitalization Spelling

• Every body---gt Everybody
• Chuse---gt Choose
• Staid---gt Stayed
• Connexions---gt Connections

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Finis