Research Proposal

Change in English Orthography in 16th century: A Historical Linguistic Study

Submitted to:
Dr. Muhammad Islam

Submitted by :
Abrar Hussain (2021-4030)

Bilal Husnain (2021-4022)

Department:
ELTL(IER)

Institute of Education and Research, University of the Punjab, Lahore.

Change in English Orthography in 16th century: A Historical
Linguistic Study

Introduction
Orthography means “the forming of words from letters according to accepted
usage” (Merriam-Webster).
Spelling is a complex written language skill. We should have proper
knowledge of morphology, phonology and visual memory skill to write correct
spelling. A reader can understand the written text in a better way when there
are no spelling mistakes. Spellings affect spoken and written language.
Spelling are important to acquire vocabulary of a language. So spellings play a
key role in a language(Rao, 2018).
English orthography has a broad degree of standardization. However, there
are several ways to spell almost every sound and most letters have several
variants of pronunciation depending on their position in the word and context.
Therefore, some spelling mistakes are common even among native speakers.
This is mainly due to large number of words that were borrowed from other
languages with no successful attempts of complete spelling reforms.
When we will study about changes in English spelling and their reasons we
will know about cultural aspects that affected English Orthography in 16th
century. We should aware of reforms in English spelling and their reasons.
English spelling was first developed in the 7th century, but this early version
was much altered later. The English language itself has also changed a great
deal since then. The language we now call English is actually a blend of many
languages. Even the original Anglo-Saxon, also called Old English, was already
a blend of the dialects of west Germanic tribes living in the coastal area(Jurić,
2013).
In order to master a language, one has to learn spelling rules and regulations
of that language. By comparing old and modern English spellings we can
know the journey of English language in different eras.

Problem Statement:
When we read literature from Old English we see clear differences among Old
English words and today’s Modern English words. After reviewing some
articles, reports, and literature of Old English, we have seen that English has
the most worst spelling system because there is no one to one relationship
between letters and their sounds. Moreover so many words are borrowed
from other languages like Latin and Greek. So users of English often face
difficulties in writing and pronouncing some words. Even they don’t know the
reasons of these changes which occurred in English Orthography in history.

Rationale for the study:

A word is the basic meaningful unit of a language. Words are formed with
letters and this forming of words with correct letters in the correct order is
called spelling. The ability to do this is also called spelling. A person who
wants to be proficient in English language and understand the old literature of
English, should be aware of the rules of English spelling and the changes that
occurred in English Spelling over time. Most of the people are unaware about
differences between Old English orthography and today’s modern English
orthography and their reasons.
Understanding of knowing the history of English spelling is essential. We will
describe spelling rules which were introduced in 16th century.
Many people have contributed in this area. But after examining their work, we
have realized that there is need of research particularly in 16th century. So this
study will discuss historical changes and spelling rules. It will be beneficial for
readers and English speakers.

Significance of the study:

After studying this research project, readers will be aware of historical

changes in English orthography in different periods and particularly in 16th
century. This study will highlight the factors that affected English orthography.
The role of other languages on English will be discussed in this study. It will
tell us about the people who contributed in English reforms.

Research Objectives:
The aim of this study is to explore:
a. The changes in English orthography that had occurred in 16th century.
b. The reasons of these changes in English spelling in 16th century.
c. The people who contributed a lot in speling reforms in Early Modern
English period.
d. The differences between English Orthography of 16th century and Modern
English orthography.
e. Spelling rules that were implicated in 16th century.

Research questions:
The study will address following questions:
a. What kind of changes in English spelling took place in 16th century ?
b. Why these changes had occurred in English spelling in Early Modern
English period ?
c. Which people contributed in spelling reforms in 16th century ?
d. What are the differences between Old English spelling and Modern
English spelling ?
e. Which spelling rules were found in Early Modern English ?

Literature review
English is a West Germanic language and it is mixture of many languages.
That is the reason that English has many complexities as there is no perfect
correspondence between letters and sounds. Languages like Spanish have
one to one relationship between sounds and letters. Some English letters
have more than one sound(Rao, 2018).
We will discuss all periods (including 16th century) in which reforms had
occurred in English orthography.

Historical changes in English Orthography in different periods

i. Old English (450-1150)

Native inhabitants of British Isles spoke the language that was brought by the
people who had come there three thousands years ago. The Romans came in
43 BC and started their abduction. By 410 they came back to save Rome. The
English language was basically started in 449 when Germans came to
England(Cheng, n.d.).
Very small words were borrowed from Celtic (Crystal, 1995 as cited in Jurić,
2013). He also describes that Old English literature includes notable works
such as Beowulf, Lindisfarne Gospels, Rushworth Glosses, The Junius
Manuscripts, The Exeter Book, and Gregory's Pastoral Care. Parchment or
vellum were use for writing in the past. Beowulf was written in Roman
alphabet but at that time capital letters were not used rest alphabet were
almost same as we use now. Only minor differences presented(Crystal, 1995,
as cited in Schloneger, 2016).

ii. Middle English (1150-1500)

In 1150 the Middle English was started( ending of Old English was
started).Final -e was removed from many words for simplification. Many texts
were written after 1300(Cheng, n.d.).
The transition from Old to Middle English (Gelderen, 2006, as cited in
Schloneger, 2016) involves external and internal changes. Languages like
French, Latin and Scandinavian influenced vocabulary and grammar of English
at that time. Middle English (Crystal, 1995, as cited in Schloneger, 2016) had
more diversity than Old English due to social, linguistic and historical factors.
There was a clear difference.

iii. Early Modern English (1500-1700)

This duration is called Renaissance. During this period, efforts made to revive
Latin and Greek culture(Cheng, n.d.). Our research also lies in this period.
Many factors are involved in making Standard English that was used after
Middle English. It continued to change till 18th century(Crystal, 1995, as cited
in Schloneger, 2016).
Some say that the Early Modern English was started in 1400 (after Chaucer)
but some say in 1500(due to printing press). William Caxton set up his
printing press in Westminster 1476. He printed his own translation named
“The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye”. Printers gave more opportunities to
write. The result is that more texts of the period have survived, and within the
following 150 years nearly 20000 books appeared(Crystal, 1995, as cited in
Schloneger, 2016).
The spelling in Early Modern English was more variable than in Modern
English. Even a generation after William Caxton, there was considerable
inconsistency in spelling and punctuation, both within and between printed
and handwritten texts, printers, and authors (Crystal, 1995, as cited in Jurić,
2013). Crystal also noted that vowel spellings changed, with an increased use
of double-vowels (soon) or silent "e" (name) to indicate length, and doubling a
consonant within a word became a way to show a preceding short vowel
(sitting).
For example
Shakespeare – Richard II(Cheng, n.d.).

This royall Throne of Kings, this sceptred Isle,

This earth of Maiesty, this seate of Mars,
This other Eden, demy paradise,
This Fortresse built by Nature for her selfe,
Against infection, and the hand of warre
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone, set in the siluer sea,
Which serues it in the office of a wall,
(Adapted from Gelderen 2006, p. 161, as cited in Cheng, n.d.).
Spelling changes
1. Double ‘ll’ in ‘royall’ in past(now single ‘l’ is used)
2. We have ‘v’ in modern English but in old English there was ‘u’ as in ‘siluer’.
3. There was final ‘e’ in many words as in ‘seate’ but modern English has not
final ‘e’ in most of the words.

Spelling reform
The language clearly needed improvement, and the first concern was spelling.
So a large number of the early works on the English language dealt with
"correct writing". During the 16th and 17th century numerous proposals are
made: Hart, The Opening of the Unreasonable Writing of Our Inglish Toung
(1551); An Orthographie (1569); A Methode or Comfortable Beginning for All
Unlearned (1570); Mulcaster, The First Part of the Elementarie (1582)7. John
Hart and Richard Mulcaster can be considered as the best representatives of
the English Renaissance spelling debate(Jurić, 2013).

Famous Spelling reformers in 16th century

1. John Hart
John Hart was a phonetician, diplomat, and spelling reformer who proposed a
phonological spelling system for English in the 16th century. He criticized the
chaotic and illogical contemporary spelling practices and aimed to introduce a
spelling system with a one-to-one relationship between sounds and symbols.
Hart's goal was to make writing imitate speech, and he believed that
languages were not obliged to keep special marks for loanwords. He
advocated for the abolition of mute-e to indicate length and homophones
would no longer be distinguished with a Reformed Orthography. Hart also
devised a new method for teaching orthography using pictures for
letters.(Jurić, 2013).
Hart recommended (Crystal, 1995, as cited in Jurić, 2013) capitalizing the
beginning of every sentence, proper name, and important common noun. This
practice extended to titles, forms of address, and personified nouns. However,
later grammarians reduced the types of noun permitted to take a capital letter.
Hart's arguments remain valid today and show his concern for literacy and
social criticism. His reform was a gradual process but lacked acceptance and
official support, leading to its failure.

2. Richard Mulcaster
Richard Mulcaster wrote "The Elementarie" in 1582 to improve English
language and culture. He introduced music, physical education, and drama in
the classroom, advocated for girls' education, and supported stabilization of
spelling. His spelling recommendations were based on tradition and
supported by Elizabeth(Crystal, 2005).
3. Sir John Cheke
Cheke's contribution to English spelling reform is acknowledged by many
scholars. For example, according to Crystal and Cheke "developed the first
practical proposals for the reform of English spelling," and his ideas "marked
the beginning of the debate about English spelling reform that has continued
to the present day. Similarly, Millward and Hayes (2012) note that Cheke
"advocated for a phonetic spelling system that reflected the pronunciation of
his own dialect," and that his work "influenced later spelling reformers,
including John Hart and Richard Mulcaster(Crystal, 2011).

4. William Bullokar
Sir John Cheke (1514-1557) was an influential figure in English spelling
reforms during the 16th century. He believed that English should be spelled
phonetically and developed a system of phonetic spelling in his book "The
Hurt of Absurdity." Although his system was not widely adopted at the time, it
influenced later spelling reformers such as John Hart and Richard
Mulcaster(Bowers, 2011).

iv. Modern English (1700-present)

In general, the spelling is relatively stable in this period; nevertheless, there are
still variant spellings in formal writing, such as honor and honour, iournal and
journal, magic and magick, behaviour and behavior, and vnitie and unity.
Webster‟s spelling books and dictionary published in the 1800s list forms
which are sometimes different from the British ones. By the 1850s, spelling is
standardized on both sides of the Atlantic. After 1700, English experienced
fewer major language internal changes compared to previous periods,
resulting in a more stable spelling, punctuation, and grammar similar to
Modern English. Late Modern English has more vocabulary due to the
Industrial Revolution and international development. British English and
American English, spoken by 400 million people, differ in pronunciation, with
RP considered the traditional standard and General American English more
influential due to the media. The total number of English speakers worldwide
may exceed one billion(Cheng, n.d.).

Spelling Reforms
(Gelderen, 2006, as cited in Jurić, 2013)English spelling became more
standardized by the mid-seventeenth century, but handwritten documents
continued to vary in spelling until the eighteenth century. Attempts to reform
the language and spelling have mostly failed, with the exception of Noah
Webster's reforms that influenced American spelling. Modern English has 13-
14 different vowels and at least 25 consonants, with the "th" sound being
unique. Correct spelling has been a concern since the Early Modern English
period, and spelling guides and societies for the improvement of English have
been created over time.

Some works on English spelling reforms in the history

a) “The History of English Spelling” by Christopher Upward and George Davidson
These two persons worked on Greek contributions in English language. They
also discussed impacts of Franco-Latin elements on Old English. Sound and
spelling developments are the major part of their study. In the start they
briefly discussed impacts of Roman and Vikings on English. They also
discussed roots of Old English old spellings and its changing.

b) “English Spelling and Spelling Reform” By Thomas R. Lounsbury

In this book “English spelling and spelling reform”, author explores the topic of
reforms in English spelling. Author shares his personal experiences as a
spelling reformer. He also discussed the attitude of educated individual
towards spelling. Next, he analyzes the orthographic changes, problems in
spellings, movement of vowel sounds, diagrams and also consonants in
English. In the last tells about methods and objectives of spelling
reforms(Lounsbury, 1909).

Conclusion

The main complaint with English spelling today is that it does not correspond
to
pronunciation. Lastly, phonetic writing is not efficient. IPA (the International
Phonetic Alphabet) has symbols for each sound, but it looks strange and
foreign and takes effort to read.
By all practical standards, English spelling and writing is a success story.
Everyday
individuals are able to communicate and transmit information flawlessly
through reading and writing. English spelling is not as illogical once the
system is learned. A new way of spelling would deprive English users around
the world of the rich cultural heritage that is the current spelling system. “The
English writing system is, in effect, a daily reminder of the heritage of the
English-speaking people, and we have every right to be extremely proud of it”
(Essinger, 2006). Let’s keep English the way it is and start being proud of the
history that our orthography tells.

3.0 Methodology
3.2 Research design:

Our purpose of this study is to explore changes in English orthography,

th
occurred in 16 century and differences between old English spelling and
modern English spelling. So we will examine literature of 16th century,relevant
researches and spelling rules. We will also use today’s modern dictionaries
for comparison. It means we will be needed paper based material for this
purpose. This will be qualitative approach for data collection. Then we will
select the words from old English to examine and compare with the words
from modern English. We will highlight differences among these words and
write the results.

3.1 Approach:

As we intend to explore changes in English spelling occurred in 16th century,

so we will compare old English spelling with today’s modern English spelling.
For this purpose we need data in the form of words. So we will adopt
qualitative approach.

3.3 Population:

The population for this study would be words from literature of 16th
century(poetry, drama or novel) and today’s modern English Dictionary. We
will select words from literature of 16th century and modern English and then
compare them.

3.4 Sampling:

20 words from old English of 16th century(from poetry, drama, or novel) and
20 words from today’s modern English will be used for sampling.

3.5 Data analysis:

Factors that caused changes in English orthography will be explained, that

occurred in 16th century. This will be qualitative data analysis. Then we will
analyze these changes among words and write results in the table form.
 References
Bowers, R. (2011). The Cambridge history of the English language: Volume 3,
1476-1776. Cambridge University Press.

CHENG, L. T. (n.d.). THE EVOLUTION OF ENGLISH WRITING SYSTEM: A

REVIEW OF SPELLING REFOEM.

Crystal, D. (2013). Spell it out. The singular story of English spelling.

Crystal, D., & Crystal, B. (2011). Spell it out: The singular story of English
spelling. St. Martin's Press.

Crystal, D. (2005). The Stories of English. The Overlook Press.

Jurić, D. (2013). The historical development of the English spelling

system (Doctoral dissertation, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek.
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Department of English Language
and Literature).

Lounsbury, T. R. (1909). English spelling and spelling reform. Harper &

Brothers.

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Spelling. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary.

Retrieved May 9, 2023, from https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/spelling
Millward, C. M., & Hayes, M. (2012). A biography of the English language.
Cengage Learning.

Rao, V. C. (2018). English spelling and pronunciation: A brief study. J. Res. Sch.
Profess. Eng. Lang. Teach, 2, 1-10.

Schloneger, R. M. (2016). Should English Spelling be Reformed?: A History of

English Spelling.

Essinger, J. (2006). Spellbound: The Improbable Story of English Spelling.

Robson.