View source for Inkhorn Debate

Debate during the 16th and 17th centuries. It focuses on the tension between non-native and native vocabulary and the important question among scholars was, whether the English language should eliminate Greek and Latin loanwords and concentrate on its Anglo-Saxon roots. It was the first time in English history when people actively discussed English language use and this discussion arose from the fact, that the Renaissance was not only a time of freedom of ideas, but also a time for freedom in language – that means freedom in borrowing and creating words. 

Scholars estimate that between 1500 and 1660 round about 27,000 new words entered the English language and half of these neologisms were probably loans (van Gelderen 176) – most of them from Latin and Greek, e.g. ''delirium, disability, expectation, atmosphere'' and  ''folio'', and from other languages, as well (e.g. Italian, French and Spain).

The term ‘inkhorn term’ appeared in 1560 for the first time. Usually the term ‘inkhorn’ refers to a container for ink, but within the controversy it was used for a ‘learned or bookish’ word. Many of these inkhorn terms were introduced into the English language by writers and scholars through borrowing from classical literature. The main argument against these loanwords was that was they were verbiage and that they should be replaced by native English words, because they would ‘corrupt’ the language. Of course some of these words coexisted with native English words, but some of them also filled a semantic gap in the English language.    
This controversy and debate about borrowed words and ‘a pure native language’ even nowadays remains significant, in England not to the same extent as e.g. in Iceland and France, but it is still hovering around in some people’s minds and attitudes and it is going against the linguistic view of diversification.


'''Sources:'''
 
Gelderen, Elly van. ''A History of the English Language''. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2006.

Internet Sources: 

http://pandayellow.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/cb-inkhorn-debate/ (13.01.13)

http://www.serendipity35.net/index.php?/archives/557-The-Inkhorn-Controversy-and-Composition-in-a-Digital-Age.html (13.01.13)

http://campus.albion.edu/english/2012/11/06/the-inkhorn-controversy/ (13.01.13)