Caxton and the Printing Press

 Printing was introduced into England in 1476 by William Caxton (1422-1491) who was a writer and a good translator. The introduction of the printing press had far reaching effects on the development of the language. Caxton, who was in effect his own publisher, editor, as well as printer, naturally exercised some influence on the printing conventions of spelling. He used the East Midland dialect for his early printed works and consequently it attained literary prestige and respectability. It was this dialect which later on evolved into Standard English. In all, Caxton published about one hundred titles including Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Malory's Morte d' Arthur.


The introduction of printing was one of the important factors which contributed to the emergence of Standard English. The books and other printed material which issued from the press assured more than anything else the rapid acceptance of the East Midland dialect as the 'received standard', an important step in tis evolution into Standard English. Three important effects of Caxton's printing on the English language are the following.

  1. It helped to bring some kind of uniformity in the language to establish a "standard" variety. The dialectal variations were reduced. As printed works in East Midland circulated far and wide, the prestige of this dialect rose and dialects bore the brand of inferiority. Though they continued to be used as spoken dialects, there was a decline in their literary importance.
  2. Printing served to popularize and give currency to new coinages. When something is printed, it tends to become widely accepted with greater ease. Moreover, printing widened the circulation of reading. While the manuscript could be possessed only by a few printed matter could be easily circulated among a vast number of people.
  3. It tended to fix spelling. The stabilizing effect of printing was not only on spelling, but also on grammar, syntax and vocabulary. The derisive factor in spelling fixation was, of course, the publication of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary (1756), but Caxton's printing did impose some kind of stabilization. Changes in pronunciation, however, went on constantly, without any corresponding changes in spelling, resulting in the great disparity between spelling and pronunciation. Attempts at spelling reform, so as to make it more phonetic and representative of pronunciation, have not been successful so far and the disparity still remains.
Prepared by: 
Dr. Susan Mathew
CMS College Kottayam

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