Establishment of the Written Standard

Towards the end of Early NE (by the middle of the 17^th c.), one of the forms of the national literary language- its Written Standard- had been established. Its growth and recognition as the correct form of the language of writing had been brought by: the economic and political unification of the country, the progress of culture and education, the flourishing of literature. It is known that the literary form of English used by Chaucer, and his successors arose from the dialect of the 14c. London (mixture of Southern and East Midland types of dialects). In the 15^th and 16^th c. the speech of London became more mixed due to increased intermixture of the population. Elements of various provincial dialects were incorporated in the spoken and written forms of London speech. The Written Standard of the early 17^th c., was far less stabilized and normalized than the literary standards of the later ages. It displayed wide range of variation at all linguistic levels. The existence of a prestige form of English in Early NE, which is regarded as a sort of Standard, is confirmed by some contemporary scholars.