The English Language A Linguistic History

by Brinton, Laurel J.; Arnovick, Leslie K.

• ISBN13: 9780195431575
• ISBN10: 019543157X
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-04-25
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The English Languagesurveys 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).

Author Biography

Laurel J. Brinton, professor, University of British Columbia, specializes in English language studies and in the interface between language and literature. In addition to co-authoring The English Language: A Linguistic History, she is currently co-editing the two-volume Handbook of Historical English Linguistics (Mouton) and serves as an associate editor of the revision of the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles.

Leslie K. Arnovick, professor, University of British Columbia, published her first book, The Development of Future Constructions in English, in 1991. In addition to co-authoring The English Language: A Linguistic History, she has also written several monographs profiling medieval English.

Table of Contents

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 Web Links
Further Reading
Further Viewing
2. The Sounds and Writing of English
Overview
Objectives
The Sounds 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
Historical Sociolinguistics
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 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 Web Links
Further Reading
Further Viewing
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
Recommended Web Links
Further Reading
Further Viewing
7. The Grammar of Old English
Overview
Objectives
The Nominal System
The Verbal System
Syntax
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
Orthographic Changes
Consonant Changes
Vowel Changes
Recommended Web Links
Further Reading
Further Viewing
9. The Grammar of Middle English and Rise of a Written Standard
Overview
Objectives
The Effects of Vowel Reduction
Grammatical Developments in Middle English
Change from Synthetic to Analytic
Middle English as a Creole?
The Rise of a Standard Dialect
Recommended Web Links
Further Reading
Further Viewing
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
Changes in Consonants
Renaissance Respellings
Changes in Nominal Inflected Forms
Case Usage
Changes in Verbal Inflected Forms
Recommended Web Links
Further Reading
Further Viewing
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
Further Viewing
13. Regional Varieties of English
Overview
Objectives
The Development of National Varieties
Important Regional Varieties
Recommended Web Links
Further Reading
Further Viewing