Corpus-Based Lifespan Change in Late Middle English

Abstract

Advancements in computing technology over the preceding decades have radically transformed linguistic research. The use of electronic corpora as linguistic sources now allows historical sociolinguistics to explore remote language periods and their users’ sociolinguistic behaviour. The present study demonstrates the relevance of historical written correspondence in tracing sociolinguistic patterns of language development, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, through the observation of writers from different social and regional backgrounds as they actually behaved in social interaction. To this purpose, the diffusion of a new spelling practice (th) is investigated in The Paston Letters (1425–1503) as a change in progress leading to the configuration of what became the incipient Standard English norm in late medieval England. The apparent-time and real-time approaches employed in the analysis of the Pastons’ linguistic behaviour, in correlation with socio-demographic factors, provide insights into the patterns of individual lifespan change, the writers’ reflections on the local community, and the potential impact of the critical period of language acquisition. This treatment of language variation and change privileges individuals as a microcosm within the community as a macrocosm.