Chapter 2 – Extra activity 3
Chapter 2 – Extra activity 3 The following activity can be used as an introductory or closing task, and is designed to complement the content of Chapter 2 in Galloway and Rose’s (2015) book Introducing Global Englishes (Oxon., UK: Routledge).
Swift’s proposal for language standardization In 1712, Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels, wrote a document entitled A Proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue in the form of a letter to the Earl of Oxford, advocating reform of the English language because it was plainly less refined than the languages of Italy, Spain, and France. Swift argued that the reason for English’s impurity was a history of heavy and uncontrolled influence from foreign forces. He referred to Elizabethan times as the pinnacle of English language purity, after which it was corrupted by speakers, writers, and poets who adapted the language to suit their needs, and allowed foreign and fabricated words to contaminate the language. Discussion questions 1. What do you think of Swift’s proposal? 2. This chapter of the book (p. 45) stated that Milroy’s (2007) view that there is ‘usually a tradition of popular complaint about language, bewailing the low quality of general usage and claiming that the language is degenerating’ still rings true today. In what way are complaints like Swift’s still in popular discourse today? 3. How is linguistic diversity viewed in a context you are familiar with? Have there been any attempts at standardization? Note: Swift’s letter is readily available in the public domain, including here: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/swift/jonathan/s97p/index.html
Swift’s proposal for language standardization In 1712, Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels, wrote a document entitled A Proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue in the form of a letter to the Earl of Oxford, advocating reform of the English language because it was plainly less refined than the languages of Italy, Spain, and France. Swift argued that the reason for English’s impurity was a history of heavy and uncontrolled influence from foreign forces. He referred to Elizabethan times as the pinnacle of English language purity, after which it was corrupted by speakers, writers, and poets who adapted the language to suit their needs, and allowed foreign and fabricated words to contaminate the language. Discussion questions 1. What do you think of Swift’s proposal? 2. This chapter of the book (p. 45) stated that Milroy’s (2007) view that there is ‘usually a tradition of popular complaint about language, bewailing the low quality of general usage and claiming that the language is degenerating’ still rings true today. In what way are complaints like Swift’s still in popular discourse today? 3. How is linguistic diversity viewed in a context you are familiar with? Have there been any attempts at standardization? Note: Swift’s letter is readily available in the public domain, including here: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/swift/jonathan/s97p/index.html
