 |
| © British Library |
In the course of my visit, what struck me was that no sooner did individuals or institutions try to fix English within a set of rules, so the language evolved as accepted usage changed.
The first part of the exhibition gives an overview of early, middle and then old English, using documents from the permanent collection to chart the development of the language. Whilst the court and state used French, and Latin was the language of the Church, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales was the first widespread text seen in old English, the language of the people.
The rest of the exhibition is non-chronological, but divided into themed pairs;
- Written and spoken English
- Native and foreign English
- English at work and play
The development of English as world language is bound up in the development of England as a nation, with social class and with the literary, scientific, manufacturing and trading links forged with countries round the world.
The growth of the British Empire helped spread English around the globe, and also enabled it to absorb a vast number of new words from other countries into the language.
Structurally, everyday English continues to develop. Useful words are added whilst unnecessary words quietly fall into disuse. Today, young people mix yardie, east asian and estuary English to create a new street language that is owned by its speakers.
Concerns about the decline in the quality of English usage, never far from the headlines, have been regularly expressed since 1712 when Jonathan Swift proposed an ‘Approved English’ committee along lines of the Academie Francaise. This suggestion has never been taken up officially in Britain, so as a language English has been free to adapt, add, appropriate or coin new words as required – and in doing so has evolved into a dynamic and flexible world language.
It's a tool that too many designers ignore.
