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the period of the formation of the uniform literary language and
the establishing of the literary norm. Towards the end of Middle

English, a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation (the
Great Vowel Shift) started, with vowels being pronounced

shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had
contact with many peoples from around the world. This, and the

Renaissance of Classical learning, meant that many new words

and phrases entered the language.
As the process of the standardization (unification) of the

English language was taking place, there were numerous

discussions among scholars, writers about the ways of the
further English language development. There were three main

groups of opinions:
1. The language can borrow as many words from other

languages as possible because it will enrich the language.
2. English should remain a monosyllabic language and not

borrow words from other languages.

3. The language should develop by itself.
The process of the English language standardization was

achieved not by itself but due to the activity of many people. As
to the spelling, they were trying to work out certain general

fixed rules of spelling, but at the beginning of the Modern
English period the spelling still varied from writer to writer.

The invention of printing also meant that there was now a

common (uniform) language in print. The first printer was
William Caxton. He founded the first printing house. Caxton

printed his first book in 1476 in the London dialect which

strengthened it. Books became cheaper and more people learned
to read. Printing also brought standardization to English.

Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London,
where most publishing houses were, became the standard. In

1604 the first English dictionary “Table Alphabeticall” was
published.

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