Early Modern English | |
---|---|
Shakespeare's English, King James English | |
English | |
![]() William Shakespeare's Sonnet 132 in the 1609 Quarto | |
Region | England, Wales, Scottish Lowlands, Ireland and English overseas possessions |
Era | developed into Modern English in the late 17th century |
Indo-European
| |
Early forms | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | – |
ISO 639-6 | emen |
Glottolog | None |
IETF | en-emodeng |
Early Modern English (EModE[1] or EMnE) or Early New English (ENE) is the stage of the English language in the 16th century from the Tudor period to the Restoration when both the written and the spoken English language begins to be familiar to English speakers today, or speakers of Modern English.[2]
This is when the King James Bible was written and William Shakespeare wrote his plays. What sets Early Modern English apart from Middle English is the Great Vowel Shift, when all long vowel sounds changed to their current sounds.
Before and after the accession of James I to the English throne in 1603, the English standard began to influence the spoken and written Middle Scots of Scotland.