Victorian Language Essay examples -- Victorian Era

Victorian styleThe fact of the matter Nobody speaks at all like the characters in any novel, play or film. Life would be intolerable if they did and novels, plays or films would be intolerable if the characters spoke as people do in bearing (Abercrombie 1965).So what was the real elan of livery?Fiction was principally thought to be an accurate portrayal of reality true life (Chapman 1). It was unfavorable if it stressed credulity too far. Therefore, fiction is our main citation of information it is our main source to the reality of lecture for the Victorians. Greater mobility and enlargement of communication of the Victorian era brought together regional groups, thus change magnitude the complexity of the variations in the English language. Consequently, pronunciation evolved as an indicator of mixer prestige (Chapman 6-8). Two categories of speech developed commonplace and Non-Standard speech.Formation of Standard Speech vs. Non-Standard SpeechThe Education Act of 1870 es tablished the school as a melting pot for upper and middle class children and the speech boundary had to be resolved. Thus a uniform accent (Standard speech) was created and pupils who refused to play this forward-looking accent or who could not adapt to this new way of speech were severely punished. Peer pressure was also an issue because the new boy would have to adapt to the new form of speech in order for his peers to accept him or to merely avoid bullies (Chapman 12).Non-Standard SpeechThis reference of speech was also synonymous with lower class slang, cockney or the way in which the uneducated communicated, specific to the East End (Chapman 19). The infamous cockney was native to the East End, as remains today. Cockney parlance allowed spelling and ... ... word affidavit, yet Rogue Riderhood mispronounces it as an Alfred David (Dickens 12). Therefore, language in the Victorian era was important in ranking members of classes and occupations. Language had the electromotiv e force to assess and reflect upon ones regional, educational, occupational and family background.The distinctions in speech amongst three different social ranks are evident in the next excerpt from an adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskells North and South.Episode 1, Clip 3. http//www.bbc.co.uk/ play/northandsouth/episode1.shtmlWorks CitedChapman, Raymond. Forms of Speech in Victorian Fiction. New York Longman, 1994.Dickens, Charles. Our Mutual Friend. 1865. conception and notes Adrian Poole. New York Penguin, 1997.Phillipps, K.C. Language and Class in Victorian England. Ed. David Crystal. New York sweet basil Blackwell Inc, 1984.