European Chancelleries and the Rise of Standard Written Languages
Fisher, John H.
Essays in Medieval Studies, vol. 3 (1986)
Abstract
The decline of dialects and the emergence of standard languages in Europe at the close of the Middle Ages is a familiar chapter in the histories of the individual languages, but I do not know of a discussion that points out how similar the process was in the various countries and the implications of this similarity for our understanding the nature of standard languages in general. A comparative study reveals that standard languages all emerged as written forms, not oral; that these written standards were created by government secretariats, not by literary figures; and that when spoken standards began to emerge in the 17th and 18th centuries, their grammar and pronunciation were based on the written standard and not vice versa.
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European Chancelleries and the Rise of Standard Written Languages
Fisher, John H.
Essays in Medieval Studies, vol. 3 (1986)
Abstract
The decline of dialects and the emergence of standard languages in Europe at the close of the Middle Ages is a familiar chapter in the histories of the individual languages, but I do not know of a discussion that points out how similar the process was in the various countries and the implications of this similarity for our understanding the nature of standard languages in general. A comparative study reveals that standard languages all emerged as written forms, not oral; that these written standards were created by government secretariats, not by literary figures; and that when spoken standards began to emerge in the 17th and 18th centuries, their grammar and pronunciation were based on the written standard and not vice versa.
Click here to read/download this article (HTML file)
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