*What are some of the incentives for language standardization, and what are the processes by which this end might be accomplished? *What effect(s) does the "Great Vowel Shift" have on the English language and why is it significant? *The "Early Modern Period" is widely-regarded as the era when English came to be viewed as a language of eloquence. Why was this an issue? What does this mean? What are some of the literary works that are seen to illustrate this eloquence (and in what ways do they do it)? *What are some of the milestones in the history of English dictionary-making, and how would you characterize the relationship among the earliest dictionaries? *What did Swift and others mean when they stated that their aim was to "ascertain" the language and why did they think it was a good thing? *What are some of the consequences of, or responses to, the concerns expressed by Swift and his contemporaries? *What happened to the second person singular pronoun in English, and why? *Who was Robert Lowth and for what do we remember him? Be prepared to discuss the expanded rôle of auxiliary verbs in the Early Modern Period.