Evaluate the idea that the English Language should be controlled and directed.
Historically, there has been many attempts made to control and direct language, from Robert
Lowth to the Oxford English Dictionary. One example of an attempt to control language is
exemplified in the concept of ascertainment., which was popular in the time period known as
Appeal to Authority. Ascertainment is the process of neatening language and giving rules to the
English language, highlighting attempts in the past to direct and give rules, orthographical,
phonological, etc to the language. This can be synthesised with Robert Lowth’s book ‘A Short
Introduction to English Grammar’ in which prescriptivist ideas, like grammatical and syntactic
rules, started to become more popularised due to the desire to ascertain language. An example
of a syntactic attempt at ascertainment is the rule that sentences cannot end with a preposition.
For example, ‘that was the film I went to’ is in the incorrect word order because ‘to’ is a
preposition. ‘That was the film to which I went’ is syntactically correct, ending with the past
participle dynamic verb ‘went’ rather than a preposition. However, this variation of syntax, while
technically the standard, is not widely used in any variety, even in RP or Southern standards.
Indeed, this idea of ascertainment can be linked to standardisation, which is the process of
specific language features becoming standard and ‘the norm’. This shows an attempt to make
language neater, and give it a right and wrong, highlighting how prescriptivist it is to try and
control language. An example of standardisation can be seen in the grammatical and syntactic
elements of RP and the Southern Standard, the standardised accents in the UK. Certain
phonological elements of these variations have been standardised and taught at institutional
levels of education, representing the attempt to control language. A phonological element of RP
is the enunciation of consonants like /t/ in words, for example, the concrete noun, ‘water’. The
assimilation of this sound is often signposted as non-standard and inferior, showing the
attempts to standardise language and control it have had negative impacts on people. However,
these attempts have been futile to a certain extent, with different variations like MUBE
assimilating /t/ and th-stopping with the substitution of /θ/ with /t/ in the dynamic verb ‘think’,
proving that the attempt to control land standardise language has been unsuccessful. Indeed,
this idea can be synthesised with codification, which the is concept of giving rules to language
and controlling it. This can be seen in the OED where orthographical elements of language, like
spelling, are being directed. However, this again has not been completely successful as there is
a lot of variation, for example, the abstract noun ‘colour’ is spelt with the vowel ‘u’ in the UK, but
this ‘u’ is omitted in the American version of the spelling ‘color’. This proves that, while there
have been many attempts to standardise language, it has been unsuccessful in history.
However, there are some successful attempts like the changing of the plural concrete noun
‘stadia’ to ‘stadium’ to fit prominent patterns in language and control it. This is known as
regularisation, where language is ‘neatened’ and made to fit prominent patterns that already
exist in English, exemplifying a successful attempt at controlling language, despite most
attempts in the past being unsuccessful.
Historically, there has been many attempts made to control and direct language, from Robert
Lowth to the Oxford English Dictionary. One example of an attempt to control language is
exemplified in the concept of ascertainment., which was popular in the time period known as
Appeal to Authority. Ascertainment is the process of neatening language and giving rules to the
English language, highlighting attempts in the past to direct and give rules, orthographical,
phonological, etc to the language. This can be synthesised with Robert Lowth’s book ‘A Short
Introduction to English Grammar’ in which prescriptivist ideas, like grammatical and syntactic
rules, started to become more popularised due to the desire to ascertain language. An example
of a syntactic attempt at ascertainment is the rule that sentences cannot end with a preposition.
For example, ‘that was the film I went to’ is in the incorrect word order because ‘to’ is a
preposition. ‘That was the film to which I went’ is syntactically correct, ending with the past
participle dynamic verb ‘went’ rather than a preposition. However, this variation of syntax, while
technically the standard, is not widely used in any variety, even in RP or Southern standards.
Indeed, this idea of ascertainment can be linked to standardisation, which is the process of
specific language features becoming standard and ‘the norm’. This shows an attempt to make
language neater, and give it a right and wrong, highlighting how prescriptivist it is to try and
control language. An example of standardisation can be seen in the grammatical and syntactic
elements of RP and the Southern Standard, the standardised accents in the UK. Certain
phonological elements of these variations have been standardised and taught at institutional
levels of education, representing the attempt to control language. A phonological element of RP
is the enunciation of consonants like /t/ in words, for example, the concrete noun, ‘water’. The
assimilation of this sound is often signposted as non-standard and inferior, showing the
attempts to standardise language and control it have had negative impacts on people. However,
these attempts have been futile to a certain extent, with different variations like MUBE
assimilating /t/ and th-stopping with the substitution of /θ/ with /t/ in the dynamic verb ‘think’,
proving that the attempt to control land standardise language has been unsuccessful. Indeed,
this idea can be synthesised with codification, which the is concept of giving rules to language
and controlling it. This can be seen in the OED where orthographical elements of language, like
spelling, are being directed. However, this again has not been completely successful as there is
a lot of variation, for example, the abstract noun ‘colour’ is spelt with the vowel ‘u’ in the UK, but
this ‘u’ is omitted in the American version of the spelling ‘color’. This proves that, while there
have been many attempts to standardise language, it has been unsuccessful in history.
However, there are some successful attempts like the changing of the plural concrete noun
‘stadia’ to ‘stadium’ to fit prominent patterns in language and control it. This is known as
regularisation, where language is ‘neatened’ and made to fit prominent patterns that already
exist in English, exemplifying a successful attempt at controlling language, despite most
attempts in the past being unsuccessful.
