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Comparing Texts of Different Eras

English has changed significantly over the last hundreds of years in terms of spelling, lexical choices, and influences from new technologies. This document compares two texts from different eras, 1886 and 2001, to analyze changes in the English language. Specifically, outdated words like "whence" have decreased in usage frequency while modern replacements like "from where" have increased. Additionally, words influenced by fields like mathematics and technology, such as "converging" and "monitor", have become more commonly used over time as those fields have advanced. The document concludes that English will continue evolving its syntax, vocabulary, and spelling as technology develops and societal needs change.

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michelle winata
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70 views2 pages

Comparing Texts of Different Eras

English has changed significantly over the last hundreds of years in terms of spelling, lexical choices, and influences from new technologies. This document compares two texts from different eras, 1886 and 2001, to analyze changes in the English language. Specifically, outdated words like "whence" have decreased in usage frequency while modern replacements like "from where" have increased. Additionally, words influenced by fields like mathematics and technology, such as "converging" and "monitor", have become more commonly used over time as those fields have advanced. The document concludes that English will continue evolving its syntax, vocabulary, and spelling as technology develops and societal needs change.

Uploaded by

michelle winata
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Comparing Texts of Different Eras

Planning:
 1st paragraph: Introduction (English has changed)
 2nd paragraph: How English has changed in terms of spelling
 3rd paragraph: How English has changed in terms of lexical choices
 4th paragraph: How English is influenced through new technologies
 5th paragraph: Closing

Over the last hundreds of years, language from all around the world has continued to evolve
into a more modern form, including English. There are many ways and theories that as to how
and why English has changed. We can see these changes in English ourselves by comparing
manuscripts or pieces of writings taken from different era. This essay will compare and discuss
the ways English has changed through the use of two texts taken from different eras. The first
text is “A White Heron” written by Sarah Orne Jewett from 1886, and the second one being “The
Hunter’s Wife” by Anthony Doerr from 2001.
The first, most visible and significant way in which English has changed is through its
spelling. Spelling is the way words in a language are written. An example would be the word
“whence” that is taken from the first writing piece. This word has the meaning of “from where”,
and was very frequently used in the 1800s, hence explains the influence of it being used in the
writing piece. As the years go by, and as English has continued to changed to meet the
convenience of its speakers, the usage frequency of this word has drastically decreased. On the
contrary, the word “from where” has a very low usage frequency in the 1800s, but has slowly
increased up to the 2000s.
The second way in which these two texts differ is through its lexical choices. Over the years,
English lexis has been influenced by a lot of different factors. Some of them could be through the
formation of new words, borrowing of words, or influence from other languages. One word that
stood out was from the second text, which was “converging”. This word has the meaning of two
lines tending to meet at a point. In the 1800s, this word was much rarely used than it is in the
1900s or the early 2000s as seen in its engram graph. This word could possibly be influenced
through the mathematical or scientific field, which made it mostly used by the nobles,
mathematicians or scientists.
In addition to that, English can also be influenced through the developing of more modern
technologies. This can be seen through the use of the word “monitor” in the second writing
piece. This word was much less frequently used in the 1800s due to the lack of its accessibility
for most people. Nowadays, or specifically in the early 2000s, when the text was written, this
word reached the maximum peak of its usage frequency. As the era becomes more modern, and
technologies develop more and become more accessible to people, this spreads the word, thus
also results to the increase in lexis for more people.
In conclusion, English has evolved and will continue to evolve in terms of syntax, lexis, and
spelling as the era becomes more modern, and the needs of the speakers continue to change.
From these two texts alone, we can see how far English has come. With the aid of technology,
we can progressively observe how English will continue to change, at least for the near future.

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