In:Unlocking the History of English: Pragmatics, prescriptivism and text types
Edited by Luisella Caon, Moragh S. Gordon and Thijs Porck
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 364] 2024
► pp. 180–197
“No criticism or remarks & pray burn it as fast as you read it”
Exploring copying practices in Mary Hamilton’s private correspondence
Published online: 4 April 2024
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.364.08oud
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.364.08oud
Abstract
Building on what has been written about copy letters and copying practices in Late Modern English correspondence, this paper explores the copying behaviour of a highly cultured and well-connected woman in eighteenth-century British polite society, Mary Hamilton (1756–1816), by closely scrutinising a selection of her writings containing material copied from various other letters. Close attention is paid to what linguistic features were changed in the copying process, which is contextualised and subsequently discussed in the appropriate socio-historical context. The case studies reveal that various linguistic elements were changed in the copying process, part of which can be attributed to changes in addressee, Hamilton’s expectations of who else might read her writings, and how her letters would have been delivered.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Eighteenth-century letters and copies
- 2.1Eighteenth-century letters as linguistic data
- 2.2Writing and copying letters in the eighteenth century
- 3.Copying journal letter entries by the same author
- 3.1Changes
- 3.2Discussion
- 4.Copying an in-letter by the recipient
- 4.1Changes
- 4.2Discussion
- 5.Concluding remarks
Acknowledgments Notes References
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