Forming English
- Mar 27, 2018
- 1 min read
The art of printing was invented in Europe in the 15th century. Although the Chinese had been printing many books prior, this was unknown to the Western world. But there was a change. In Mainz, a Dutchman, who was named Johann Gutenberg, brought printing to Europe. Elegantly produced in attractive type, a Latin Bible was released by Gutenberg. This initiated a printing frenzy. Following Gutenberg’s lead, German printers began to appear. In England, William Caxton, who was born in Kent, later learned of printing. Caxton was extremely enthralled with the art and soon entered the printing business. Starting with a French romance in 1474, he went on to print plenty of books. He built a press in Westminster, where the Buckingham Palace now stands, and become famous for his printing. Back then, English was a disordered language. Because of printing, the language became orderly. This greatly assisted in forming the style of English we use today.
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