Publication: Variación lingüística en el inglés bajomedieval: la lengua de William Caxton (ca. 1422 - ca. 1492) como primer impresor inglés
Authors
Peñalver Ayora, Alberto
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Escuelas::Escuela Internacional de Doctorado
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Conde Silvestre, Juan Camilo
Publisher
Universidad de Murcia
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DOI
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info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis
Description
Abstract
Esta tesis doctoral muestra una investigación enmarcada en la disciplina de la Sociolingüística histórica con el objetivo de examinar el desarrollo y evolución de combinaciones ortográficas y la selección de variables morfológicas en los textos que emanan de la pluma de William Caxton (c. 1422 – c. 1492), concretamente en los prólogos y epílogos que anexó a las obras que imprimió en su imprenta. En el plano lingüístico, la imprenta contribuyó decisivamente a la expansión temprana de la lengua estándar en formación. Así pues, la decisión de centrar este estudio en la producción lingüística de William Caxton (prólogos y epílogos) se debe a la relevancia fundamental del papel de la imprenta en la diseminación de formas lingüísticas durante el inglés tardomedieval y en la posible relación del autor con el proceso. El análisis de los prólogos y epílogos de Caxton nos permite identificar las características idiolectales del impresor en un periodo caracterizado por la ausencia de una norma estandarizada. En esta línea, la investigación se sitúa en un periodo clave de transición lingüística y se propone analizar los factores que contribuyeron a la formación de una variedad lingüística emergente, centrando su atención en los años 1476 a 1490, correspondientes a la etapa editorial de Caxton. En este contexto, la hipótesis principal de este trabajo es que, como primer impresor en lengua inglesa, Caxton no solo permitió una mayor disponibilidad de textos escritos, sino que también podría haber influido en la elección y propagación de variantes lingüísticas en un entorno marcado por la diversidad dialectal.
En base a esta justificación, este trabajo aporta una comprensión del proceso de evolución y desarrollo ortográfico y morfológico en los prólogos y epílogos de Caxton desde un enfoque sociolingüístico-histórico. El estudio está estructurado en dos bloques, uno teórico y otro analítico, dividido en siete capítulos. El primer bloque tiene como objetivo ofrecer el marco teórico y se distribuye en cuatro capítulos: (i) el primero centrado en la contextualización histórico-social de la lengua inglesa durante el periodo bajomedieval; (ii) el segundo capítulo centrado en las disciplinas que constituyen el marco teórico de este estudio —la Sociolingüística y la Sociolingüística histórica—, presentando una revisión de sus orígenes y evolución además de las principales dificultades que enfrenta la Sociolingüística histórica, derivadas del carácter incompleto y fragmentario de los datos históricos que maneja, así como las estrategias propuestas para superar dichas limitaciones; (iii) el tercero ofrece una revisión de las principales teorías relacionadas con el cambio lingüístico y la variación, destacando los universales sociolingüísticos más relevantes; (iv) el cuarto muestra las fases en el proceso de estandarización de la lengua inglesa desde una perspectiva (socio)lingüística, además de explorar la convergencia dialectal y la influencia del multilingüismo de la Inglaterra medieval en la configuración del incipiente estándar, junto con los principales debates académicos alrededor de los orígenes del inglés estándar. Por otra parte, el segundo bloque constituye el núcleo analítico del estudio, organizado en tres capítulos: (i) el capítulo quinto muestra conjuntamente los objetivos planteados y el desarrollo de la metodología utilizada, la cual combina herramientas cualitativas y cuantitativas y se apoya en la Lingüística del corpus para el examen de los prólogos y epílogos de Caxton y otros documentos contemporáneos en cuatro fases; (ii) el sexto capítulo presenta el análisis y la interpretación de los datos de las diferentes fases de estudio y permitirá extraer las principales conclusiones, (iii) expuestas en el séptimo capítulo. Como resultado, esta tesis doctoral aborda el desarrollo del inglés estándar desde una perspectiva sociolingüística-histórica, centrada en la focalización ortográfica y morfológica como aspectos clave en el proceso de estandarización.
The present PhD dissertation offers a study placed within the field of Historical Sociolinguistics, whose aim is to examine the development and evolution of certain orthographic combinations and a selection of morphological variables in the texts written by William Caxton’s own pen (c. 1422 – c. 1492), particularly on the prologues and epilogues appended to the edited and subsequently printed works produced in his printing house at Westminster. The printing press became a pivotal instrument for the transmission of culture, the promotion of literacy, and access to education. From a linguistic angle, it played a decisive role in the spread of the emerging standardised language. Accordingly, the choice of William Caxton’s production —namely, his prologues and epilogues— as the central focus of this study stems from the crucial role printing played in the dissemination of linguistic forms during the Late Middle and Early Modern English periods and the possible connection of the author with this process. In this regard, the study is set in a crucial period of linguistic transition and seeks to explore the factors that might have influenced the emergence of a variety of English with a tendency toward standardisation, specifically between 1476 to 1490, the period corresponding to Caxton’s editorial activity. In this context, as the first English printer, Caxton not only broadened access to written texts but also likely exerted a direct influence on the selection and dissemination of linguistic variants in a context characterised by significant dialectal diversity Grounded in this theoretical framework, the present research contributes to a deeper understanding of the evolution and development of orthographic and morphological systems, observed in Caxton’s prologues and epilogues from a historical sociolinguistic perspective. The PhD thesis is structured in two main parts—one theoretical and the other analytical—comprising a total of seven chapters. The first part establishes the theoretical framework across four chapters: (i) the first chapter contextualises the historical and social landscape of the English language during the Late Middle English period; (ii) the second chapter examines the disciplines that underpin the present study—Sociolinguistics and Historical Sociolinguistics—offering a review of their origins and development, as well as addressing the main challenges faced by Historical Sociolinguistics due to the fragmented, incomplete, and defective nature of historical data, along with the strategies proposed to address these limitations; (iii) the third chapter surveys key theories of linguistic change and variation, with particular attention to prominent sociolinguistic universals; (iv) the fourth chapter traces the stages of the standardisation process of the English language from both linguistic and sociolinguistic perspectives, considering also the dialectal convergence and the influence of medieval England’s multilingual environment in the formation of the early incipient standard, in addition to reviewing the main scholarship debates surrounding the origins of Standard English. The second part of the PhD thesis forms the analytical core of the study and is displayed into three chapters: (i) chapter five outlines the research objectives and details of the procedural methodology employed, both qualitative and quantitative, often drawing on the tools of Corpus Linguistics to examine Caxton’s prologues and epilogues across four distinct stages; (ii) chapter six presents the analysis and interpretation of the data obtained from each stage of the study, which serve as the basis for the final discussion; (iii) the findings and overarching conclusions are then synthesised in chapter seven. As a result, this PhD dissertation offers a contribution to the understanding of the standardisation process in the English language from a historical sociolinguistic point of view, with particular emphasis on spelling and morphological focusing as a key element in the aforementioned process.
The present PhD dissertation offers a study placed within the field of Historical Sociolinguistics, whose aim is to examine the development and evolution of certain orthographic combinations and a selection of morphological variables in the texts written by William Caxton’s own pen (c. 1422 – c. 1492), particularly on the prologues and epilogues appended to the edited and subsequently printed works produced in his printing house at Westminster. The printing press became a pivotal instrument for the transmission of culture, the promotion of literacy, and access to education. From a linguistic angle, it played a decisive role in the spread of the emerging standardised language. Accordingly, the choice of William Caxton’s production —namely, his prologues and epilogues— as the central focus of this study stems from the crucial role printing played in the dissemination of linguistic forms during the Late Middle and Early Modern English periods and the possible connection of the author with this process. In this regard, the study is set in a crucial period of linguistic transition and seeks to explore the factors that might have influenced the emergence of a variety of English with a tendency toward standardisation, specifically between 1476 to 1490, the period corresponding to Caxton’s editorial activity. In this context, as the first English printer, Caxton not only broadened access to written texts but also likely exerted a direct influence on the selection and dissemination of linguistic variants in a context characterised by significant dialectal diversity Grounded in this theoretical framework, the present research contributes to a deeper understanding of the evolution and development of orthographic and morphological systems, observed in Caxton’s prologues and epilogues from a historical sociolinguistic perspective. The PhD thesis is structured in two main parts—one theoretical and the other analytical—comprising a total of seven chapters. The first part establishes the theoretical framework across four chapters: (i) the first chapter contextualises the historical and social landscape of the English language during the Late Middle English period; (ii) the second chapter examines the disciplines that underpin the present study—Sociolinguistics and Historical Sociolinguistics—offering a review of their origins and development, as well as addressing the main challenges faced by Historical Sociolinguistics due to the fragmented, incomplete, and defective nature of historical data, along with the strategies proposed to address these limitations; (iii) the third chapter surveys key theories of linguistic change and variation, with particular attention to prominent sociolinguistic universals; (iv) the fourth chapter traces the stages of the standardisation process of the English language from both linguistic and sociolinguistic perspectives, considering also the dialectal convergence and the influence of medieval England’s multilingual environment in the formation of the early incipient standard, in addition to reviewing the main scholarship debates surrounding the origins of Standard English. The second part of the PhD thesis forms the analytical core of the study and is displayed into three chapters: (i) chapter five outlines the research objectives and details of the procedural methodology employed, both qualitative and quantitative, often drawing on the tools of Corpus Linguistics to examine Caxton’s prologues and epilogues across four distinct stages; (ii) chapter six presents the analysis and interpretation of the data obtained from each stage of the study, which serve as the basis for the final discussion; (iii) the findings and overarching conclusions are then synthesised in chapter seven. As a result, this PhD dissertation offers a contribution to the understanding of the standardisation process in the English language from a historical sociolinguistic point of view, with particular emphasis on spelling and morphological focusing as a key element in the aforementioned process.
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17-oct-2026
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