| Normalising tendencies.
The age of the literary Renaissance was followed by the period of “normalization” or period of “fixing the language”. This age set correctness and simplicity of expression. The language of Shakespeare and his contemporaries struck the authors of the late 17th c. as rude and unpolished. The 18th c. is remarkable for deliberate attempts to fix the language and interfere with its evolution. Among the representatives of this movement was the writer Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
The Spoken Standard
Next to the stage of establishing of the Written Standard was the development of the Spoken Standard. But its dating is more problematic.
In the 18th c. the speech of educated people differed from that of common people – in pronunciation, in the choice of words and grammatical constructions. Some authors advised people to model their speech on Latin patterns, others forbade the use of vulgar pronunciation. Some historians suggest the late 17 th c. as the date for appearance of the Spoken Standard, others the end of the 18th c. The Spoken standard is a more or less uniform type of speech used by educated people and taught as “correct English”. Thus, it is possible to say that by the end of the 18th c. the formation of the national literary English language may be regarded as completed.
Principal Middle English Written Records
The Kentish Dialect:
13thc. Kentish Sermons “Poema Morale”
14thc. Dan Michael “Ay Enbite of Inwit” («Угрызения совести»)-poems
South, Western of West Midland:
12 th c. “Ancrene Riwle” («Устав монахинь»)- epistle ([i’pisl] послание) with moral, religion and everyday directions, addressed to the three nuns, who evidently are of aristocratic origin.
Layamon “Brut” (Лайамон)- it’s a poem which tells the legend about Brut – Julius Caesar’s friend, who afterwards killed Julius Caesar, who supposedly was the first to come to England and settled there with his confidants.
14th c. Robert of Gloucester “Chronicle” – a versified chronicle of Robert of Gloucester, which tells first Celtic legends as a real story, and then it tells about historic events.
“Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight” («Сэр Гавейн и зелёный рыцарь») by the unknown author – a chivalrous novel.
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