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Sir Thomas Elyot’s Deliberate Expansion of English: The Birth of a National Lexicon
Episode 150
Published 1 week, 3 days ago
Description
In the early sixteenth century, Sir Thomas Elyot set out to craft English into a scholarly lingua franca by deliberately expanding its vocabulary and translating Latin classics into plain prose. His work laid foundations for modern lexicography, influencing later standardization efforts and echoing in today’s digital language tools. The episode traces Elyot’s linguistic strategy, its cultural impact, and how intentional design continues to shape global English.
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