Language changes, all the time. This is true because English spoken a millennium ago significantly differs from English spoken today. But how did it change and who were the in-novators who promoted language change in the course of time?
It is the aim of the following research paper to show how and why the pronominal system changed from thou to you as the standard second person singular pronoun in the course of the Early Modern English period (1500-1700). More precisely, private correspondence from the 17th century will be examined to see why thou or you respectively were chosen and if it was one gender rather than the other who mainly contributed to the standard that we have today. The first chapter is going to shed light on Renaissance England and its demographical facts with particular emphasis on the role of women. General information will be included as well as some facts about family life, and most importantly, about education and literacy, which is imperative for language change found in written texts. The second chapter is going to investigate when, how and why a change in the pronominal system from thou to you occurred. In order to do so the concepts of power and solidarity as well as aspects of politeness theory will be considered. Chapter two is going to finish with a summary of assumptions about gender differences in pronoun usage. In chapter three a small-scale qualitative analysis of letters by female and male writers to family members will be carried out. The material is taken from the Corpus of Early English Correspondence (CEEC) as well as from the Helsinki Corpus (HC). It will be examined if the concepts brought forward in chapter two, e.g. affection or anger and matters of social stratification, e.g. super-/subordination played a role in language choice and, ultimately, language change. It is going to be the aim of the fourth and last chapter to summarize the findings and an attempt will be made to form a conclusion to the question asked initially.
Table of Contents
0. Introduction
1. Early Modern England
1.1. Demographical facts and social structure
1.2. Family Life
1.2. Education and literacy
2. Changes in the pronominal system in Early Modern English- when, how and who?
2.1. The history of thou and you
2.2. Implied meanings of pronoun usage and the importance of power, solidarity and politeness theory
2.3. Assumptions about gender differences in pronoun usage
3. Second person singular pronouns in Early Modern English private correspondence
3.1. Second person singular pronouns in women’s letters
3.2. Second person singular pronouns in men’s letters
4. Comparison of the findings and conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This research paper aims to investigate the historical transition of the English pronominal system, specifically the shift from thou to you as the standard second-person singular pronoun during the Early Modern English period (1500–1700), while examining whether gender played a decisive role in this linguistic change.
- Analysis of sociodemographic factors and social stratification in Renaissance England.
- Examination of power, solidarity, and politeness theories in relation to pronoun usage.
- Qualitative small-scale analysis of private family correspondence from the 17th century.
- Comparison of male and female writing styles to identify potential gendered innovations in pronoun selection.
Excerpt from the Book
1.1. Demographical facts and social structure
Estimating the population size of Renaissance England is difficult because there did not exist censuses until 1801 (Okulska 2006: 23). As a result scholars estimate population sizes with reference to the families or households mentioned in parish registers and tax returns as well by means of back-projection. This technique developed by Wrigley and Schofield (1981) enables scholars to estimate the population by analysing its later development. As a result, researchers found out that the population of England between 1500 and 1800 rose drastically, resulting in the doubling of its size by 1650 (Okulska 2006: 23).
Women constituted 62% and men 38% of the English population, which is due to the fact that women tended to live longer than men. Life expectancy ranged from thirty-two to forty with women being four times as likely to die between the age of twenty-six and thirty-six in which they bore children. Yet, if they survived it was not unusual for them to live well into their sixties (Laurence 1994: 28).
Like many countries of that time, Renaissance England was a socially highly stratified country which was divided into three layers, i.e. gentry, professionals and non-gentry. The gentry was sub-divided into nobility and gentry proper, the former embracing royalty, dukes, viscounts, higher clergy etc. and the latter baronets, knights, gentlemen etc. The professionals were composed of well-educated people performing non-manual work, including army officers, lawyers, doctors, clergymen, teachers and others. The lowest social rank was called the non-gentry and embraced people performing all kinds of manual work e.g. yeomen, husbandmen, craftsmen or other labourers. (Okulska 2006: 22f)
Summary of Chapters
0. Introduction: The introduction outlines the aim of the paper to research the shift from thou to you and explains the methodological approach, including the usage of private correspondence for the analysis.
1. Early Modern England: This chapter provides a historical overview of Renaissance England, focusing on demographic data, social stratification, family structures, and literacy levels.
2. Changes in the pronominal system in Early Modern English- when, how and who?: This section discusses the historical transition of second-person singular pronouns, utilizing power, solidarity, and politeness theories to explain usage patterns and gender-based assumptions.
3. Second person singular pronouns in Early Modern English private correspondence: This chapter conducts a qualitative analysis of letters written by women and men to family members, evaluating how social status and personal affection influence pronoun choice.
4. Comparison of the findings and conclusion: The final chapter provides a quantitative comparison of the gathered data and concludes that while a slight trend suggests women might have promoted the change, no definitive verdict on gender-based influence can be reached without further large-scale research.
Keywords
Early Modern English, Pronominal system, Thou, You, Language change, Gender differences, Private correspondence, Politeness theory, Power and solidarity, Social stratification, Renaissance England, Sociolinguistics, Literacy, Women's language, Historical linguistics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this research paper?
The paper investigates the linguistic transition from thou to you as the standard second-person singular pronoun during the Early Modern English period (1500–1700).
What are the primary themes discussed?
Central themes include the social and demographic structure of Renaissance England, the history of pronominal development, the application of politeness and power theories, and gender-based linguistic trends.
What is the main research objective?
The objective is to determine how and why the pronominal shift occurred and whether one gender was more responsible for driving this change towards the modern standard.
Which scientific methods are applied?
The paper utilizes a qualitative small-scale analysis of private letters sourced from the Corpus of Early English Correspondence (CEEC) and the Helsinki Corpus, supplemented by a quantitative data comparison.
What is covered in the main section of the paper?
The main part details the historical context, presents theoretical frameworks such as Brown and Gilman's power and solidarity model, and analyzes specific letters from historical figures like Winefrid Thimelby and the Harley family.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include Early Modern English, pronominal system, politeness theory, language change, and gender differences.
How does the author analyze the letters of Winefrid Thimelby?
The author observes that Thimelby uses thou primarily in emotional contexts, such as offering advice to younger family members, rather than to reflect social superiority.
What role does the Harley family correspondence play?
The Harley family letters serve as a case study for evaluating pronoun usage across different family relationships (husband-wife, mother-son, brother-brother) and demonstrate how individual or status-driven preferences influence language.
Does the paper confirm that women drove the linguistic change?
The paper concludes that while there is a slight trend suggesting women may have favored the new form you more frequently, the evidence remains inconclusive, necessitating further large-scale research.
- Citar trabajo
- Lea-Marie Pasemann (Autor), 2009, Gender and Pronoun Usage in the 17th Century, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/194408
