Contractions in the Victorian Era: Understanding Their Use and Evolution

The Victorian Era, a period marked by immense cultural and linguistic changes, was not an exception to the use of contractions. Indeed, the Victorians utilized various shortened forms of words, such as cant and won’t. While these forms might seem peculiar to modern readers, they were quite common and accepted during their time.

The Use of Contraction in Victorian Literature

For instance, in Charles Dickens' famous opening line of A Christmas Carol from Sir pellets (Stave 1), he employs the contraction 'n for and. The sentence reads: 'nI don’t make merry myself at Christmas and I can’t afford to make idle people merry.' This shows that contractions like 'n were not only acceptable but commonly used by famous authors of the time.

Contractions in Early Modern English

Contractions were not limited to the Victorian Era; they have a long history in the English language. In Early Modern English, contractions such as 'tis and shan't were prevalent, especially for the first person singular and plural forms:

I shan’t/shall not We shan’t/shall not You won’t/will not He/she/it won’t/will not They won’t/will not

It's important to note that these contractions were used without any historical grounding, but rather developed organically within the language. However, some grammarians of the time prescribed that 'shall' should be used with the first person singular and plural, while 'will' should be used for other persons. This prescriptive approach led to the occasional use of 'shan't' in these contexts, which suggests that these contractions were deeply ingrained in the language.

Evolution of Contractions in Modern English

Most modern UK dialects still retain the use of 'shan't', making it far from archaic in certain regions. Another interesting aspect is the evolution of the genitive marking 's, which early Modern English speakers thought was a contraction of his. This misconception persisted for a couple of centuries, leading to confusion in written texts.

For example, early writers might write: 'the dog his collar' instead of the correct 'the dog's collar'. This shows how long contractions and their misunderstandings have been part of the language's history.

By the Victorian Era, such contractions had largely been resolved, but the history of these misunderstood markings offers a compelling look into the language's evolution.

Victorian Writers and Contractions

Victorian writers had different views on contractions. For instance, Robert Browning was known for his frequent use of contractions, as seen in a parody: "a bit o' a chit o' a girl i' the mid o' the day" ('a bit of a little girl in the middle of the day'). On the other hand, Lewis Carroll favored orthographic contractions like 'ca’n't' and 'wo’n't', indicating a preference for precise and unambiguous representations of contractions.

This variety in Victorian writers' attitudes towards contractions highlights the fluid nature of language and the different approaches to linguistic conventions in the 19th century.