Early Modern English is a name for the modern English language the way it was used between around 1485 and 1650. Thus, the first edition of the King James Bible and works of William Shakespeare both belong to the late phase of Early Modern English (although the King James Bible intentionally keeps some archaisms that were not common even when it was published). Current readers of English are generally able to understand early modern English, though occasionally with difficulties arising from grammar changes, changes in the meanings of some words, and spelling differences. The standardization of English spelling falls within the Early Modern English period, and is influenced by conventions predating the great vowel shift, explaining the archaic non-phonematic spelling of contemporary Modern English. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... // Events August 5-7 - First outbreak of sweating sickness in England begins August 22 - Battle of Bosworth Field is fought between the armies of King Richard III of England and rival claimant to the throne of England Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. ... // Events June 23 - Claimant King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland arrives in Scotland, the only of the three Kingdoms that has accepted him as ruler. ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... In language, an archaism is the deliberate use of an older form that has fallen out of current use. ... English spelling (or orthography), although largely phonemic, has more complicated rules than many other spelling systems used by languages written in alphabetic scripts and contains many inconsistencies between spelling and pronunciation, necessitating rote learning for anyone learning to read or write English. ... The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the pronunciation of the English language, generally accomplished in the 15th century, although evidence suggests it began as early as the 14th century. ... For the 80s pop band, see Modern English (band). ...

Pronouns

Early Modern English, as with most European languages, had T-V distinction. That is, there were two versions of the second person pronoun: "ye" (plural and formal singular, superseded by the accusative "you") and "Thou" (accusative or casus generalis "thee", from Indo-European "*te"), (informal singular). The "thou" form remained customary in solemn occasions, especially for addressing God, as well as in situations contemptuously addressing an inferior. "Thine" is the Early Modern English form of "your" with "thy" being used before words starting with consonants. In sociolinguistics, a T-V distinction describes the situation wherein a language, unlike current English, has pronouns that distinguish varying levels of politeness, social distance, courtesy, familiarity, or insult toward the addressee. ... Most modern English speakers think of thou as a relic of Shakespeares day Thou is a second person singular pronoun of the English language. ... In linguistics (or generally in the linguistic sciences), an oblique case (Lat. ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies Indo-European is originally a linguistic term, referring to the Indo-European language family. ...

Verb

Verb conjugations in the "thou" form end in -(e)st. In Early Modern English, third person conjugations end in -(e)th instead of -s. Both the second person informal singular and third person singular lost their endings in the subjunctive, which utilizes the bare stem of the verb. The word conjugation has several meanings: Grammatical conjugation is the modification of a verb from its basic form. ... The subjunctive mood (sometimes referred to as the conjunctive mood) is a grammatical mood of the verb that expresses wishes, commands (in subordinate clauses), and statements that are contrary to fact. ...

Timeline: Early Modern English

• 1476 - William Caxton starts printing in Westminster, but the language he uses reflects the variety of styles and dialects used by the authors whose work he prints.
• 1485 - Tudor dynasty established - start of period of (relative) political and social stability.
• 1491 or 1492 - Richard Pynson starts printing in London - his style tends to prefer Chancery Standard, the form of English used by government.
• c1509 - Pynson becomes the king's official printer.
• From 1525 - Publication of William Tyndale's Bible translation (which was initially banned).
• 1539 - Publication of the Great Bible, the first officially authorised Bible in English, edited by Myles Coverdale, largely from the work of Tyndale. This Bible is read to congregations regularly in churches, familiarising much of the population of England with a standard form of the language.
• 1549 - Publication of the first Book of Common Prayer in English, under the supervision of Thomas Cranmer. This book standardises much of the wording of church services.
• c1590 to c1612 - Shakespeare's plays written - they are still widely read and familiar in the 21st century.
• 1611 - The King James Bible is published, largely based on Tyndale's translation. It remains the standard Bible in the Church of England for many years.
• 1662 - New edition of the Book of Common Prayer, largely based on the 1549 and subsequent editions. This also long remains a standard work in English.

William Caxton (c. ... William Tyndale (sometimes spelled Tindale) (ca. ... The Great Bible was the first authorised edition of the Holy Bible in English, authorised by King Henry VIII of England to be read aloud in the church services of the Church of England. ... Myles Coverdale (also Miles Coverdale) (c1488 - January 20, 1568) was a 16th-century Bible translator who produced the first complete printed translation of the Bible into English. ... The Book of Common Prayer[1] is the prayer book of the Church of England and also the name for similar books used in other churches in the Anglican Communion. ... Thomas Cranmer (July 2, 1489 – March 21, 1556) was the Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of the English kings Henry VIII and Edward VI. Born in 1489 at Nottingham, Cranmer was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge and became a priest following the death of his first wife. ... William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ...

See also

• Modern English
• Early Modern Britain
• History of the English language
• Middle English