§ 309.The formation of the national literary English language covers the Early NE period (c. 1475—1660). Henceforth we can speak of the evolution of a single literary language instead of the similar or different development of the dialects[28].
There were at least twomajor external factors which favoured the rise of the national language and the literary standards: the unification of the country and the progress of culture. Other historical events, such as increased foreign contacts, affected the language in a less general way: they influenced the growth of the vocabulary.