Middle English Dialects. Growth of Dialectal Differences

In Early Middle English the differences between the regional dialects grew. Never in history, before or after, was the historical background more favourable for dialectal differentiation. The main dialectal division in England, which survived in later ages with some light modification of boundaries and considerable dialect mixture, goes back to the feudal stage of British history. In the age of poor communication dialect boundaries often coincided with geographical barriers such as rivers, marshes, forests and mountains, as these barriers would hinder the diffusion of linguistic features. In addition to economic, geographical and social conditions, dialectal differences in early ME were accentuated by some historical events, namely the Scandinavian invasions and the Norman Conquest.

In the 14^th century there were three main groups of dialects in English: Northern, Midland and Southern which had developed from respective OE dialects. The boundary line between North and Midland was the river Humber that between Midland and South ran approximately along the Thames. (The precise division is impossible as available sources are scarce and unreliable).

The Southern group included the Kentish and the South-Western dialects. Kentish was a direct descendant of the same OE dialect. As for the South-Western group, it was a continuation of the OE Saxon dialects (both West Saxon and East Saxon). The East Saxon was not prominent in OE, but became more important in Early ME, since it made the basis of the dialect of London in the 12^th and 13^th centuries. (The London dialect also belongs to this group).

The Midland (central) dialects which corresponded to the OE Mercian dialect, were divided into West Midland and East Midland as two main areas, with further subdivisions within: South-East Midland and North-east Midland, South-West Midland and North-West Midland. In ME the Midland area became more diversified linguistically than the OE Mercian kingdom occupying approximately the same territory.

The Northern dialects had developed from OE Northumbrian. In early ME the Northern dialects included several provincial dialects, e.g. Yorkshire and the Lancashire dialects and also what later became known as Scottish. The dialects differed from each other by essential phonetic and morphological features. These differences corresponded to the geographical distribution of the dialects: discrepancies between the extreme dialects were greater than those between each of the extremes and the Midland.

A ME translator called John Trevisa wrote: ‘ Men of the East with men of the West, as it were under the same part of heaven, agree more in pronunciation of speech, than men of the North with men of the South. Therefore the Mercians, who are part of Midland England, as it were partners with the ends, understand the side languages, Northern and Southern, better than Northerners and Southerners understand one another’.

In the course of early ME the area of the English language in the British Isles grew. Following the Norman Conquest the former Celtic kingdoms fell under Norman rule. Wales was subjugated in the late 13^th century; its eastern half became part of England, while the North and West of Wales was a principality governed separately. In the late 12^th century the English made their first attempts to conquer Ireland. The invaders settled among the Irish and were soon assimilated, a large proportion of the invaders being Welshmen. Though part of Ireland was ruled from England, the country remained divided and had little contact with England. The English language was used there alongside Celtic languages – Irish and Welsh – and was influenced by Celtic.

The Early ME dialectal division was preserved in the succeeding centuries, though even in Late ME the linguistic situation changed. In Early ME, while the state language and the main language of literature was French, the local dialects were relatively equal. In Late ME, when English had been reestablished as the main language of administration and writing, one of the regional dialects, the London dialect, prevailed over the others.

In the 14^th and 15^th centuries the dialectal division was the same but the relations among the dialects were changing. The extension of trade beyond the confines of local boundaries, the growth of towns with a mixed population favoured the intermixture and amalgamation of the regional dialects. More intensive inter-influence of the dialects, among other facts, is attested by the penetration of Scandinavian loan-words into the West-Midland and Southern dialects from the North and by the spread of French borrowings in the reverse direction. The most important event in the changing linguistic situation was the rise of the London dialect as the prevalent written form of language.

As is known, the history of London goes back to the Roman period. Even in OE times London was by far the biggest town in Britain, although the capital of Wessex – the main English kingdom – was Winchester. The capital was transferred to London a few years before the Norman Conquest.

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