By guest speaker, Charlie Haylock
The History of Spoken English – Part 2 – is a very informative and highly entertaining look at spoken English from the Middle English period to the present day.
The previous talk, Part 1, concentrated on the early English settlers and how the seeds of spoken English were first set, the effect of the Norman Conquest in 1066 AD and a brief résumé of what happened thereafter through the ages.
Part 2 will concentrate on how spoken English changed through the Middle English period; how the English language was greatly enriched during the reign of the Tudors and Stuarts, how Shakespearean English was really spoken, the effect of the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s and 1800s and how the movement for a standard English and a standard in spelling evolved and developed.
Charlie will explain how the roots of Standard English were created and developed in the late eighteenth century, and how it went from being called, “Public School Pronunciation” to “Received Pronunciation” and eventually BBC English. The talk will also include how and why Standard English became known as “The Queen’s English” and “The King’s English”.