Which is a feature of Early Modern English in terms of standardization and reference works?

• A. Decrease in standardization
• B. Increase in standardization and broad adoption of printing and dictionaries
• C. No lexical borrowing occurred
• D. Loss of inflectional endings

Answer: (B)

Early Modern English shows a clear move toward standardization, driven by the growth of print culture and the rise of reference works. The spread of printing in England, beginning with Caxton, meant that texts—recipes, sermons, Bibles, and plays—could be produced with relatively uniform spellings and forms and reach a wider audience. Readers encountered the same conventions across different books, which encouraged adoption of consistent spellings, vocabulary, and grammatical patterns. At the same time, widely circulated English-language reference works began to codify language use, providing authorities that readers could consult and imitate. The King James Bible (1611) and other major texts helped establish a common standard, while later dictionaries and grammars began to formalize accepted usage. This synergy—print spreading consistent language and reference works codifying it—defines the period’s move toward standardization. The other options don’t fit because there wasn’t a general decrease in standardization, English did borrow from other languages, and inflectional endings did not suddenly vanish as a universal feature of the period.