Shakespeare's contribution to English Language
Answer
In the growth as well as expansion of the English Language, the name of Shakespeare is to be mentioned particularly. As a literary master in the English he remains definately grand and unparalleled without any equal. Even as an individual contributor to the English language, he stands superior to any other individual author. The influence that he has on the English language is equivalent to that of the translations of the 'Bible.' His significance in the growth of the English language is immense and manifested in various ways.
In English the undoubted the colloquial usage endless literary echoes and poetic assimilations which was their origin to Shakespeare's writing. Many of Shakespeare's words and phrases became 'Household Words' in English and the expression 'House Hold Words' takes its origins from him. Shakespeare was not merely interested in the English Language but was also very language conscious. While criticizing and satirizing linguist and stylistist fashion among his contemporaries, Shakespeare was himself making experiments with all kinds of linguistic innovation dialectical adoption archaisms.
In making dramatic use of some of the words from his own Warwickshire dialect, Shakespeare has made certain permanent contribution to the English Language. In the tragedy, Hamlet we come upon the dialect word 'Mobled' to express 'Mobled Queen' which is commended on by Polonius. In Macbeth we come upon the dialect words 'Blood Boltered' where 'Botered seems to be a dialect word of west Midland Origin. In all the dialect words employed by Shakespeare, one which has attained the widest currency is the west-midland word 'dwindle' occuring in Macbeth.
Some of Shakespeare's vivid expression might have been taken from the spoken language of the day and some may have been seen borrowed from Latin which was known to most people. These are words like 'Control' (as Noun), 'Ord' (in the sense of Globe) which are used by Shakespeare and have not been found in earlier writers.
The plays are full of expressions which have now become past of the machinery of literature. These included "State flat in anger", "Reach not Gaudy", "this mortal coil." The other often repeated expression from Shakespeare's play included, "To wear one's heart on one's sleeve", "Once pound of flesh", "Full of sound and fury", "Tale told by an idiot", "Life's fitful fever", "too full of the milk of human kindness."
This is the making of the new enduring compound and in the freedom with which he takes in using one parts of speech for another. Shakespeare has made most origin contribution with the help of the French prefix like 'em' and 'cn.' He coined a whole host of new words like 'inact', 'endered', 'enkindle' 'enbattle', etc.,. He has made poetic compounds out of two adjectives like 'darling-hardly', 'happy-valiant' etc.,. With the help of prefix 'Un' Shakespeare has coined 'Unavoided' (inevitable), 'Unvalued' (Precoins), 'Unexpressive' (Unexpressible) etc.,.
The freedom of the individual suggested by the Renaissance had found expression in the Elizabethan and Jacobean which is characterized by a remarkable in case of flexibility its grammatical usage.
Since Shakespeare was the first great writer of the widest and influences after the disappearance of the Old English inflections. His practice of varying the grammatic function of verse with greater flexibility has its effect in encouraging the enfranchisement of the language during the modern period. Thus according to Ernest Weekly, Shakespeare's contribution to English phraseology is greater than that of any writer of any language in history of the world.