Introduction WORDSMITHS & WARRIORS This page intentionally left blank Wordsmiths & Warriors The English-Language Tourist’s Guide to Britain David Crystal Hilary Crystal Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp, United Kingdom Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries. © David and Hilary Crystal 2013 The moral rights of the authors have been asserted First Edition published in 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. 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Contents Contents Introduction 1   1 1 Pegwell Bay: arrival 5   22 Caistor St Edmund: the earliest known English word 13   33 Undley Common: the fi rst recorded English sentence 21   44 Jarrow: Bede and the origins of English 27   55 Lindisfarne: glossaries and translations 37   66 Ruthwell: the fi nest runic inscription 43   77 Stourton and Edington: King Alfr ed and the birth of English 49   88 Maldon: the ultimate warrior wordsmith 57   99 Winchester: the fi rst standard English 65 1010 Cerne Abbas: Ælfr ic and the fi rst English conversation 71 11 11 Ely: Wulfstan and Old English style 77 1212 Peterborough: the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 83 1313 Batt le and Normans Bay: the French connection 89 1414 Bourne: Orrm and English spelling 95 1515 Areley Kings: Layamon’s English Chronicle 101 161 6 Chester and Berkeley: Higden, Trevisa, and the rise of English 109 171 7 Rhuddlan: the English language in Wales 117 181 8 Manorbier: litt le England beyond Wales 123 191 9 Dunfermline: the birth of Scots English 131 2200 Talbot Yard, London SE1: Chaucer and Middle English 139 221 1 Canterbury: fr om ancient to modern 147 2222 Cursitor Street, London EC4: Chancery and standard English 153 2233 Tothill Street, London SW1: Caxton and printing English 157 2244 St Albans: Juliana Berners and collective nouns 163 Contents v 2255 Paston: a family of lett ers 169 2266 Lutt erworth: John Wycliff e and Bible translation 179 2277 North Nibley: William Tyndale and the English Bible 185 2288 Chichester: William Bullokar and the fi rst English grammar 191 2299 Suff olk Lane and St Paul’s, London EC4: Richard Mulcaster and the status of English 197 3300 Stratford-upon-Avon: Shakespeare and English idiom 203 331 1 Park Street, London SE1: Shakespeare and linguistic innovation 211 3322 Oakham: Robert Cawdrey and the fi rst dictionary 217 3333 Willoughby: John Smith and new Englishes 225 3344 East India Dock, London E14: the East India Company and global English 231 3355 Hampton Court Palace: King James and his Bible 237 3366 Black Notley: John Ray and English proverbs 245 3377 Aldwincle: John Dryden and an English Academy 251 3388 Old Broad Street, London EC2: the Royal Society and scientifi c English 257 3399 Rochdale: Tim Bobbin and local dialect 263 4400 Lichfi eld and London: Johnson and the dictionary 271 441 1 Old St Pancras Church, London NW1: John Walker and pronunciation 279 4422 York: Lindley Murray and English grammar 287 4433 Alloway: Robert Burns and Scots 293 4444 Peebles and Edinburgh: the Chambers brothers and encyclopedic English 301 4455 Grasmere: William Wordsworth and poetic language 311 4466 West Malvern: Roget and the thesaurus 319 4477 Bath: Isaac Pitman and English shorthand 325 4488 Oxford: James Murray and the Oxford English Dictionary 333 4499 Winterborne Came: William Barnes and speech-craft 341 5500 Higher Bockhampton: Th omas Hardy and Wessex dialect 347 551 1 Saltaire: Joseph Wright and English dialects 355 5522 Hinton St George: Henry Fowler and English usage 361 5533 Ayot St Lawrence: George Bernard Shaw and spelling reform 367 vi Wordsmiths and Warriors 5544 Laugharne: Dylan Th omas and Welsh English 375 5555 Tilbury: the Empire Windrush and new dialects 383 5566 University College London, WC1: Daniel Jones and English phonetics 391 5577 University College London, WC1: the Survey of English Usage 397 Regional Grouping 403 Sources and Acknowledgements 407 Index of Places 409 General Index 417 Contents vii This page intentionally left blank Introduction Introduction ‘What happened here?’ It’s a natural question to ask when we visit somewhere for the fi rst time. It might be the physical character of the place which prompts the question—a ruin, a wall, a statue—or a curious place name or spelling. Oft en we already know that something happened—a batt le, a treaty, a wedding, a fi lm—and we take pains to seek out the location. People spend a signifi cant part of their lives visiting places they fi nd of particular interest. If your interest is history, you might go to batt lefi elds. If architecture, cathedrals. If fl owers, nature reserves. So, what could you visit if you have a fascination with the history of the English language in Britain? As a fairly well-travelled language enthusiast, I have oft en found myself in a place where the name rings a linguistic bell. Sometimes the bell rings loud and clear: so-and-so was born here, or died here, or lived here, or worked here. Sometimes it is muffl ed: I have a vague sense of something happening, but can’t remember exactly what. And now I realize—as a result of writing this book—I’ve passed through places where I had no idea a linguistic bell was ringing at all. Wordsmiths and Warriors, then, is about the English linguistic heritage of Britain as encountered through the places which shaped it. Th e two terms in the title overlap. In the early days of English, warriors are conspicuous, with invading regimes causing political or cultural change that had far- reaching linguistic consequences. In later days, wordsmiths predominate, with poets, commentators, translators, scholars, reformers, and enthusiasts engaging with the language, and through their work giving the language its historical character. But some warriors, such as King Alfred, were wordsmiths; and some wordsmiths, such as George Bernard Shaw, were defi nitely warriors, in the way they fought for a linguistic cause. Th e book relates a real journey. Hilary and I went to each place ourselves, and my text refl ects what we encountered on the day of our visit, conveying personal impressions as well as providing an explanation of why I chose it. Each chapter covers one topic, ordered to refl ect the broad chronology of Introduction 1