A Brief History of the English Language and Literature Part 7

CHAPTER V.

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 const.i.tution 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-fas.h.i.+oned 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 s.h.i.+p).

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.

Bal.u.s.trade.

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.