The English Language

The English Language: A Linguistic History surveys the development of the English language from its Indo-European past to the present day. It covers the entire history of the English language beginning with its prehistoric origins in Proto-Indo-European and includes thorough coverage of its four major periods: Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Modern English. The third edition features enhanced discussion of the socio-historical and cultural contexts of the English language in the new "Language in Context" features in each chapter. Brief timelines of historical events also now appear at the beginning of relevant chapters, supplementing the comprehensive timeline (linguistic, literary, historical, and social) found in the appendices. Discussion of new approaches to the history of English, such as historical pragmatics and historical sociolinguistics, have been added or expanded along with new debates, such as the current work on the Proto-Indo-Europeans or the status of English as a global language or second language. A new appendix includes an anthology of specimen texts from the four major periods of English, chosen for their use of colloquial and non-literary language.

Auteur

Laurel J. Brinton, Professor, Department of English, University of British Columbia, Leslie K. Arnovick, Professor, Department of English, University of British Columbia

Texte du rabat

The English Language: A Linguistic History surveys the development of the English language from its Indo-European past to the present day.

Contenu

• List of Tables, Figures, and Sample Texts

• Preface

• Abbreviations

• 1: Studying the History of English

• Overview

• Objectives

• Why Study the History of English?

• A Definition of Language

• The Components of Language

• Linguistic Change in English

• The Nature of Linguistic Change

• The Origin of Language

• Attitudes toward Linguistic Change

• Resources for Studying the History of English

• Recommended Resources

• 2: Sounds and Sound Change in English

• Overview

• Objectives

• The Sounds of English

• Sound Change

• The Writing of English

• Recommended Resources

• 3: Causes and Mechanisms of Language Change

• Overview

• Objectives

• Causes of Change

• Morphological and Syntactic Change

• Semantic Change

• Pragmatic Change

• Recommended Resources

• 4: The Indo-European Language Family and Proto-Indo-European

• Overview

• Objectives

• Classification of Languages

• Language Families

• The Indo-European Language Family

• Proto-Language

• Reconstruction

• Proto-Indo-European

• Recommended Resources

• 5: Germanic and the Development of Old English

• Overview

• Objectives

• Proto-Germanic

• Grammatical and Lexical Changes from PIE to Germanic

• Phonological Changes from PIE to Germanic

• A Brief History of Anglo-Saxon England

• The Records of the Anglo-Saxons

• Recommended Resources

• 6: The Words and Sounds of Old English

• Overview

• Objectives

• The Word Stock of the Anglo-Saxons

• The Orthographic System of Old English

• The Phonological System of Old English

• Stress

• A Closer Look at the Language of an Old English Text

• Recommended Resources

• 7: The Grammar of Old English

• Overview

• Objectives

• The Nominal System

• The Verbal System

• Syntax

• A Closer Look at the Language of an Old English Text

• Recommended Resources

• 8: The Rise of Middle English: Words and Sounds

• Overview

• Objectives

• French and English in Medieval England

• The Word Stock of Middle English

• The Written Records of Middle English

• Orthographic Changes

• Consonant Changes

• Vowel Changes

• A Closer Look at the Language of a Middle English Text

• Recommended Resources

• 9: The Grammar of Middle English and Rise of a Written Standard

• Overview

• Objectives

• The Effects of Vowel Reduction

• Comparison of a Middle English and an Old English Text

• Change from Synthetic to Analytic

• Middle English as a Creole?

• The Rise of a Standard Dialect

• A Closer Look at the Language of a Middle English Text

• Recommended Resources

• 10: The Words, Sounds, and Inflections of Early Modern English

• Overview

• Objectives

• Early Modern English Vocabulary

• The Great Vowel Shift

• Changes in the Short Vowels and Diphthongs

• A Closer Look at the Language of an Early Modern English Text

• Changes in Consonants

• Renaissance Respellings

• Changes in Nominal Inflected Forms

• Case Usage

• Changes in Verbal Inflected Forms

• A Closer Look at the Language of an Early Modern English Text

• Recommended Resources

• 11: Early Modern English Verbal Constructions and Eighteenth-Century Prescriptivism

• Overview

• Objectives

• Early Modern English Syntax

• Late Modern English and the Rise of Prescriptivism

• Aims of the Eighteenth-Century Grammarians

• Methods of the Eighteenth-Century Grammarians

• The Question of Usage

• Dictionaries

• Recommended Resources

• 12: Modern English

• Overview

• Objectives

• Grammatical and Lexical Changes in Late Modern English

• Changes in Progress

• The Effect of New Media on English

• Recommended Resources

• 13: Varieties of English

• Overview

• Objectives

• The Development of National Varieties

• Important Regional Varieties of the British Isles

• English as a Global Language

• Recommended Resources

• Appendix A: Quick Reference Guide

• Appendix B: Timeline of Significant Historical, Social, Literary, and Linguistic Events in the History of English

• Appendix C: Anthology of Readings

• Exercise Key

• Glossary of Linguistic Terms

• Works Cited

• Index