This thesis examines the competition between the nominal suffixes -ity and -ness in Late Modern English (LModE) from 1710 to 1920. By replicating the methodology of Rodríguez-Puente et al. (2022),...Show moreThis thesis examines the competition between the nominal suffixes -ity and -ness in Late Modern English (LModE) from 1710 to 1920. By replicating the methodology of Rodríguez-Puente et al. (2022), the study measures the diachronic productivity of both suffixes across different registers using corpus linguistic methods. The study utilises the Corpus of Late Modern English Texts (CLMET) and the Old Bailey Corpus (OBC) to calculate the proportion of -ity types out of all -ity and -ness types. The results indicate a stabilisation of -ity type proportions during the LModE period and show significant register effects on the diversity of suffix use. The findings suggest that the situational and linguistic contexts of different registers play a crucial role in shaping the competition and productivity of suffixes. This study further highlights the dynamic interplay of linguistic and sociolinguistic factors.Show less
This is a study of the Old Bailey Session Papers to find evidence for sexist language in nineteenth-century court depositions. Historical research found evidence for a bias against men among the...Show moreThis is a study of the Old Bailey Session Papers to find evidence for sexist language in nineteenth-century court depositions. Historical research found evidence for a bias against men among the Late Modern populace, specifically, the widely-held belief that men were the reason for a supposed crime problem. This thesis employs language analysis software to find out whether this belief translated into sexism in the courtroom. Non-violent theft depositions between 1800 and 1899 available through the Old Bailey Proceedings Online were divided into two corpora, one for male defendants and one for female defendants, and analyzed in SketchEngine. The data showed no linguistic bias against men, instead there was a clear bias against women. The language used was in line with common sexist stereotypes and gender expectations for women. The recommendation is for further research to carry out similar data analysis for different groups of men, to see if the belief of a male crime problem targeted any specific group of marginalized men instead.Show less
Since Brown and Levinson (1987) published their work on politeness, many studies have been carried out on the use of politeness strategies in discourse. The Late Modern English period is known as...Show moreSince Brown and Levinson (1987) published their work on politeness, many studies have been carried out on the use of politeness strategies in discourse. The Late Modern English period is known as the age of politeness and therefore the use of politeness markers should be particularly present in works of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The dialogues in Fanny Burney's journals and letters offer the best possible access to the Late Modern English spoken language, which is of interest to us, because still little is known about the spoken language of this period. This thesis has tried to establish what politeness markers, both positive and negative, can be found in Fanny Burney's language and in that of her addressees. Moreover, this thesis has tried to determine whether the use of politeness strategies resembles someone's social class, social role and their social relationship with the addressee. Furthermore, this thesis has tried to show whether language use can be taken to reflect the different social roles of the members of Fanny Burney's social network.Show less
The Chelmsford pauper letters (1820–1829), a subcorpus of the Essex pauper letters (1731–1837) (Sokoll 2006), were addressed to the overseer in Chelmsford, the county town of Essex, in which the...Show moreThe Chelmsford pauper letters (1820–1829), a subcorpus of the Essex pauper letters (1731–1837) (Sokoll 2006), were addressed to the overseer in Chelmsford, the county town of Essex, in which the pauper writers, who were generally very poor, asked for poor relief or other forms of assistance. In this thesis, the various ways in which the writers of the Chelmsford pauper letters applied politeness strategies (Brown and Levinson 1987) to protect the negative face of the addressee have been examined. A corpus analysis revealed which opening formulas and phrases to express the request were used by the pauper writers. The analysis shows that the Chelmsford pauper letters display a much greater variation in the usage of opening formulas than for instance the letters by the Clift Family (Austin 1991). The pauper writers, who received little to no education, used a different register which allowed for more variation. This register, as well as the general outline of a letter, was probably spread in an oral way, since the pauper writers did not consult letter writing manuals, which were extremely popular in their age (Fens-de Zeeuw 2008). Similar for the opening formulas, the letters display a great amount of variation in the usage of phrases to express the request for relief. Interestingly, a development towards the use of parenthetical please is visible in the letters. There is a significant preference for please to, an intermediate step in the development from the phrase be pleased to to please (Tieken-Boon van Ostade and Faya Cerqueiro 2007). Moreover, three instances of please are found in the letters. These early instances are remarkable, because please was thought not to occur without to in the beginning of the nineteenth century. The use of please therefore indicates that this development is very likely a change from below.Show less
Late Modern English wills contain numerous occurrences of doublets to declare the wishes and commands of the testator. In my thesis I will study the use of doublets in Late Modern English wills by...Show moreLate Modern English wills contain numerous occurrences of doublets to declare the wishes and commands of the testator. In my thesis I will study the use of doublets in Late Modern English wills by looking at 150 wills, written between 1600 and 1900, obtained from the Langham Village History Group. This thesis focuses on the origin of doublets, the frequency of use, the etymology and the reasons of use.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
Discourse markers and tag questions have garnered much attention in present-day discourse analysis, but research into their ways in the past has only been conducted recently. The present study...Show moreDiscourse markers and tag questions have garnered much attention in present-day discourse analysis, but research into their ways in the past has only been conducted recently. The present study looks at discourse markers and tag questions from a socio-historical perspective, with as its focus the Late Modern English period. The study investigates five discourse markers (oh, ah, well, why, and you know) and tag questions by analyzing their distribution across four variables (gender, social class, intimacy, and setting). The corpus was created by the author by way of a selection of Jane Austen’s fictional works during a twenty-five year period (1792–1817) and has been analyzed by manual text-based analysis and by lexical analysis software. The findings indicate that there are significant correlations regarding discourse marker use and the variables gender (i.e. female speakers) and social class (i.e. lower-middle class). Furthermore, the analysis of the tag questions has demonstrated that the function of tag questions differ regarding the gender of the speaker. The study also discovered that the use of both discourse markers and tag questions are particularly a feature of the speech of silly or manipulative characters.Show less
