The English language : a linguistic history

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Bibliographic Information

The English language : a linguistic history

Laurel J. Brinton & Leslie K. Arnovick

Oxford University Press, 2011

2nd ed

Available at  / 10 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

The English Language 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 second edition features a convenient quick reference guide for reference and review as well as a comprehensive timeline of the major events in the development of English. In addition to fully updated print and web references directing students to the latest research, the new edition also offers enhanced discussion of a number of topics: the effects of media (radio, television, computers) on the language; the socio-cultural causes of change; the expansion of the vocabulary of Modern English during the Renaissance; and the sources and dialects of Canadian English, including consideration of the effects of immigration on the language (illustrated with maps).

Table of Contents

  • LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, AND SAMPLE TEXTS
  • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  • ABBREVIATIONS
  • PREFACE
  • 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 TOWARDS LINGUISTIC CHANGE
  • RESOURCES FOR STUDYING THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH
  • RECOMMENDED WEB LINKS
  • FURTHER READING
  • FURTHER VIEWING
  • 2. The Sounds and Writing of English
  • OVERVIEW
  • OBJECTIVES
  • THE SOUND OF ENGLISH
  • THE WRITING OF ENGLISH
  • RECOMMENDED WEB LINKS
  • FURTHER READING
  • FURTHER VIEWING
  • 3. Causes and Mechanisms of Language Change
  • OVERVIEW
  • OBJECTIVES
  • CAUSES OF CHANGE
  • MECHANISMS OF PHONOLOGICAL CHANGE
  • MECHANISMS OF MORPHOLOGICAL AND SYNTACTIC CHANGE
  • MECHANISMS OF SEMANTIC CHANGE
  • RECOMMENDED WEB LINKS
  • FURTHER READING
  • FURTHER VIEWING
  • 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
  • NOSTRATIC THEORY
  • RECOMMENDED WEB LINKS
  • FURTHER READING
  • FURTHER VIEWING
  • 5. Germanic and teh 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 ANGLO-SAXONS
  • RECOMMENDED WEB LINKS
  • FURTHER READING
  • 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 ENGLISH TEXT
  • RECOMMENDED WEB LINKS
  • FURTHER READING
  • 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 WEB LINKS
  • FURTHER READING
  • FURTHER VIEWING
  • 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
  • ORTHOGRPAHIC CHANGES
  • CONSONANT CHANGES
  • VOWEL CHANGES
  • A CLOSER LOOK AT THE LANGUAGE OF A MIDDLE ENGLISH TEXT
  • RECOMMENDED WEB LINKS
  • FURTHER READING
  • 9. The Grammar of Middle English and Rise of a Written Standard
  • OVERVIEW
  • OBJECTIVES
  • THE EFFECTS OF VOWEL REDUCTION
  • GRAMMATICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH
  • A CLOSER LOOK AT THE LANGUAGE OF A MIDDLE 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 WEB LINKS
  • FURTHER READING
  • 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 OF DIPTHONGS
  • 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 WEB LINKS
  • FURTHER READING
  • 11. Early Modern English Verbal Constructions and Eighteenth-Century Prescriptivism
  • OVERVIEW
  • OBJECTIVES
  • EARLY MODERN ENGLISH SYNTAX
  • THE RISE OF PRESCRIPTIVISM
  • AIMS OF THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY GRAMMARIANS
  • METHODS OF THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY GRAMMARIANS
  • THE QUESTION OF USAGE
  • DICTIONARIES
  • RECOMMENDED WEB LINKS
  • FURTHER READING
  • FURTHER VIEWING
  • 12. Modern English
  • OVERVIEW
  • OBJECTIVES
  • GRAMMATICAL AND LEXICAL CHANGES SINCE EARLY MODERN ENGLISH
  • CHANGES IN PROGRESS
  • THE EFFECT OF THE NEW MEDIA ON ENGLISH
  • RECOMMENDED WEB LINKS
  • FURTHER READING
  • 13. Varieties of English
  • OVERVIEW
  • OBJECTIVES
  • THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL VARIETIES
  • IMPORTANT REGIONAL VARIETIES
  • RECOMMENDED WEB LINKS
  • FURTHER READING
  • FURTHER VIEWING
  • APPENDIX A: QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE
  • APPENDIX B: TIMELINE OF HISTORICAL, LITERARY, AND LINGUISTIC EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH
  • EXERCISE KEY
  • GLOSSARY OF LINGUISTIC TERMS
  • REFERENCES
  • INDEX

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