Language Change and Variation from Old English to Late Modern English
Language Change and Variation from Old English to Late Modern English

Author: Merja Kytö

Publisher: Peter Lang

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 436

ISBN-13: 9783034303729

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This collection reflects Minoji Akimoto's concern with studies of change in English that are theoretically-informed, but founded on substantial bodies of data. Some of the contributors focus on individual texts and text-types, among them literature and journalism, others on specific periods, from Old English to the nineteenth century, but the majority trace a linguistic process - such as negation, passivisation, complementation or grammaticalisation - through the history of English. While several papers take a fresh look at manuscript evidence, the harnessing of wideranging electronic corpora is a recurring feature methodologically. The linguistic fields treated include word semantics, stylistics, orthography, word-order, pragmatics and lexicography. The volume also contains a bibliography of Professor Akimoto's writings and an index of linguistic terms.

From Old English to Standard English
From Old English to Standard English

Author: Dennis Freeborn

Publisher: University of Ottawa Press

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 502

ISBN-13: 0776604694

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"This practical and informative course book is a fascinating, visual volume which leads the student through the development of the language from Old English, through Middle and Early Modern English to the establishment of Standard English in the eighteenth century." "At the core of this substantially expanded second edition lies a series of nearly 200 historical texts, of which more than half are reproduced in facsimile, and which illustrate the progressive changes in the language. The book is firmly based upon linguistic description, with commentaries which form a series of case studies demonstrating the evidence for language change at every level - handwriting, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, grammar and meaning." "Such a wealth of texts, as well as the structured activities and the various case studies, allow the volume to be used not only as a stimulating course text, guiding students through the analysis of data, but also as a comprehensive resource book and invaluable reference tool for teachers and students at all levels."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Contact, Variation, and Change in the History of English
Contact, Variation, and Change in the History of English

Author: Simone E. Pfenninger

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Published: 2014-09-11

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 9027269939

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The papers in this volume aim at facilitating exchange between three fields of inquiry that are of great importance in historical linguistics: language change, (socio)linguistic research on variation, and contact linguistics. Drawing on a range of recently-developed methodological innovations, such as methods for quantifying the linguistic variation (that is a prerequisite for language change) or new corpus-based methods for investigating text-type variation, the contributors are able to trace linguistic change in different periods and contact situations, demonstrate how variation occurs, and in how far language change results out of this variation. Thus, the chapters go beyond core issues of language variation and change, focusing on the boundary between word and grammar, discourse and ideology in the history of the English language.

Studies in Linguistic Variation and Change
Studies in Linguistic Variation and Change

Author: Brian Lowrey

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2015-10-05

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 1443884421

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This book comprises a series of studies by a number of scholars working on what might broadly be termed the “medieval” period of the history of English, focusing on Old English, Middle English, and the relatively less well-documented period of transition from the former to the latter. The volume brings together contributions not only from a variety of fields, ranging from semantics and syntax to prosody and phonology, but also from different theoretical standpoints, in order to improve the reader’s understanding of the rapid changes that affect the language at this time. The collection of papers here should be of interest to all scholars and students working on Old or Middle English, as well as to students of historical linguistics in general, given that many of the processes and methodological parameters described here will prove to be directly applicable to the study of other periods and of other languages.

Studies in Language Variation and Change 2
Studies in Language Variation and Change 2

Author: Catherine Delesse

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2018-06-11

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 1527512231

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This collection of eleven essays traces the complex paths of change taken by the English language in its long history, from its Indo-European origins to the present day. Just like any other language, English is a complex system made up of several interconnected sub-systems – lexical, syntactical, phonological, morphological – and all of those sub-systems are subject to change, resulting in constant shifts and readjustments. Additionally, more than some other languages, English has a history marked by strong upheavals, particularly with the influence of Scandinavian and Romance languages in the Middle Ages. The contributions here consider all aspects of that complex history, with four of them taking a particular interest in the issues brought about by language contact with French and Latin.

Late Modern English Syntax
Late Modern English Syntax

Author: Marianne Hundt

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014-08-14

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 1139992406

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The Late Modern period is the first in the history of English for which an unprecedented wealth of textual material exists. Using increasingly sophisticated databases, the contributions in this volume explore grammatical usage from the period, specifically morphological and syntactic change, in a broad context. Some chapters explore the socio-historical background of the period while others provide information on prescriptivism, newspaper language, language contact, and regional variation in British and American English. Internal processes of change are discussed against grammaticalisation theory and construction grammar and the rich body of textual evidence is used to draw inferences on the precise nature of historical change. Exposing readers to a wealth of data that informs the description of a broad range of syntactic phenomena, this book is ideal for graduate students and researchers interested in historical linguistics, corpus linguistics and language development.

An Introduction to Early Modern English
An Introduction to Early Modern English

Author: Terttu Nevalainen

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13: 9780195308471

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Terttu Nevalainen helps students to place the language of the period 1500-1700 in its historical context, whilst showing its regional and social variations. He focuses on the structure of the 'general dialect' and its spelling, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, as well as its dialectal origins.

English Historical Linguistics
English Historical Linguistics

Author: Laurel J. Brinton

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-07-06

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 1107113644

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Uniquely organized in terms of theoretical approaches, this is an advanced textbook on the study of English historical linguistics.

Middle and Modern English Corpus Linguistics
Middle and Modern English Corpus Linguistics

Author: Manfred Markus

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 9027203555

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This book brings together a variety of approaches to English corpus linguistics and shows how corpus methodologies can contribute to the linking of diachronic and synchronic studies. The articles in this volume investigate historical changes in the English language as well as specific aspects of Middle and Modern English and, moreover, of English dialects. The contributions also discuss the development of English corpus linguistics generally and its potential in the future. Special focus is given to the continuity between Middle and Modern English – much in line with the linking in previous studies of Middle English and Old English under the generic term “medievalism”. This volume highlights the continual development of English from the medieval to modern period.

Twentieth-Century English
Twentieth-Century English

Author: Christian Mair

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2006-10-26

Total Pages: 26

ISBN-13: 1139459627

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Standard English has evolved and developed in many ways over the past hundred years. From pronunciation to vocabulary to grammar, this concise survey clearly documents the recent history of Standard English. Drawing on large amounts of authentic corpus data, it shows how we can track ongoing changes to the language, and demonstrates each of the major developments that have taken place. As well as taking insights from a vast body of literature, Christian Mair presents the results of his own cutting-edge research, revealing some important changes which have not been previously documented. He concludes by exploring how social and cultural factors, such as the American influence on British English, have affected Standard English in recent times. Authoritative, informative and engaging, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in language change in progress, particularly those working on English, and will be welcomed by students, researchers and language teachers alike.