Drift and the Evolution of English Style: A History of Three Genres

Abstract

The present study uses a multidimensional approach to trace the historical evolution of written genres of English. We briefly present a model of stylistic variation developed in our previous work, focusing on three empirically defined dimensions of linguistic variation that are associated with differences among ‘literate’ and ‘oral’ varieties: ‘Informational versus Involved Production’; ‘Elaborated versus Situation-Dependent Reference’; and ‘Abstract versus Nonabstract Style’. We then show how fiction, essays, and letters have evolved over the last four centuries with respect to these dimensions. Although they have evolved at different rates and to different extents, we show that all three genres have undergone a general pattern of ‘drift’ towards more oral styles—more involved, less elaborated, and less abstract. We discuss several possible functional and attitudinal influences on the observed patterns of drift; these include the rise of popular literacy and mass schooling, the demands of scientific and expository purposes, and conscious aesthetic preferences. In so doing, we extend Sapir's notion of drift to include the evolution of genres and the influence of nonstructural underlying motivations.