Linguistic Standardization Throughout Print History

 

Linguistic standardization is a term referring to the development of rules for writing and speaking that consist of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and pronunciation. Before the invention of the printing press, all texts were handwritten and accessible to very few. Since manuscripts were produced for specific audiences, the language in them was not standard. With the invention of the printing press, there was a need to establish a linguistic standard for mass-produced texts that would be accessible to the public. In this research, I will provide insight into the formation of linguistic standardization in print and external factors that influenced it.

Milic, N. (2007). Language Standardization and the Print Culture in 16th Century Italy. CamLing2007, 185-191.

In their chapter “Language Standardization and the Print Culture in the 16^th Century,” Nikola Milic reveals that during the Italian Renaissance, copyeditors were tasked with the role of linguistic administration to reach all of Italy. The invention of the printing press demanded that the Trecento Tuscan linguistic norm become the standard language; however, printing presses in Italy were run by people from different regions, which mixed the standard norm with local dialects. Printing presses followed one of two language standards: koineization or variety shift. Editors choose which of the two standards to follow, guided by their own beliefs on what constitutes good language and style, often changing the original intent of a text.

“Their influence, together with that of the growing interest in poetics, ensures that the only application of the Trecento Tuscan norms is for the purpose of the perfection of literary style: the choice and order of words in the best style – that of Petrarch and Boccaccio – is made over and above the rules of, say, syntactic construction, according to the stylistic, melodic criterion of gracefulness (vaghezza), in which the main arbiter is the ‘giudizio degli orecchi’, or the artistic effect on the hearer.” (Milic, 2007)

Ijaz, M., Tahir, A., & Ahmed, S. (2021). A Corpus-based Multidimensional Analysis of Linguistic Variation in Pakistani Newspapers Columns of Opinion during Covid-19. Corporum: Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 4(2), 59-75

Muhammad Ijaz presents an analysis of linguistic variation in the opinion columns of Pakistani English newspapers during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study reveals that opinion columns during the pandemic were brief, uninformative, context-dependent, and intensified the use of persuasion compared to the columns written before the pandemic. The findings suggest that the sudden shift to situational language was necessary to ensure that communication during a time of crisis remained relevant and comprehensible to the public in the current context. Although the printing media was no longer following its formal structure, they did so to meet the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic and to address the needs of their audience.

“So far as the columns of opinion are concerned, the language users write on the basis of

their personal experiences and observations. These contexts decide the linguistic choices or co-occurring sets of linguistic features known as dimensions of language use.” (Ijaz and Tahir, 2021)

Adhikari, A. (2022). Print-Grammars: Technologizing the Indian Vernacular. Book History 25(2), 383-404. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/bh.2022.0013.

Adhikari’s article studies how the arrival of the printing press in India transformed the language of Bengali and Telugu by creating standards for grammar and spelling in the language. Adhikari also emphasizes that the adaptation of these spoken languages to print was influenced primarily by British colonialism to communicate English law; however, only a few dialects were maintained in the linguistic standardization of print, while the others were excluded. The article then explains that the limitation of dialects was a decision made by the printing press, as they chose the standardization that educated upper-class Brahmin people wrote and spoke in, similar to Sanskrit. Although this method of selecting linguistic standardization prevents access to literacy, it has helped form modern cultural identities and literary traditions in India.

“As such, printing in Bengali was a squarely colonial effort, one that allowed the English to possess a language that would allow them to better administer local populations in Bengal.” (Adhikari, 2022)

HARRIS-NORTHALL, R. (1996). Printed Books and Linguistic Standardization in Spain: The 1503 “Gran Conquista de Ultramar.” Romance Philology, 50(2), 123–146. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44944251

Ray Harris-Northall explains how the invention of print and the reprinting of “Gran Conquista de Ultramar” influenced the standardization of the Spanish language in the 16^th century. The transition from manuscripts to print involved several editorial decisions regarding syntax, grammar, and spelling. The significance of the 1503 reprint of “Gran Conquista de Ultramar” is that it was printed for Sancho IV, the king of Castile. Harris-Northall emphasizes the relationship between the text and the king, and as the king’s official copy, established the book’s language as the standard for all printed works.

“Though it remains unclear exactly who was behind the re-edition, there can be no doubt that the impetus came from court circles, which makes the linguistic adaptation even more intriguing. The idea that linguistic standardization was to some extent undertaken under the Catholic Monarchs is not new…” (Harris-Northall, 1996)