Language Change and Variation from Old English to Late Modern English

Language Change and Variation from Old English to Late Modern English PDF Author: Merja Kytö
Publisher: Peter Lang
ISBN: 9783034303729
Category : English philology
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
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.

Language Change and Variation from Old English to Late Modern English

Language Change and Variation from Old English to Late Modern English PDF Author: Merja Kytö
Publisher: Peter Lang
ISBN: 9783034303729
Category : English philology
Languages : en
Pages : 436

Get Book

Book Description
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 PDF Author: Dennis Freeborn
Publisher: University of Ottawa Press
ISBN: 0776604694
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 502

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Book Description
"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 PDF Author: Simone E. Pfenninger
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027269939
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
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 PDF Author: Brian Lowrey
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443884421
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
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.

An Introduction to Early Modern English

An Introduction to Early Modern English PDF Author: Terttu Nevalainen
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780195308471
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
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.

A History of the English Language

A History of the English Language PDF Author: Albert Croll Baugh
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780133891553
Category : English language
Languages : en
Pages : 506

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Book Description


Language History, Language Change, and Language Relationship

Language History, Language Change, and Language Relationship PDF Author: Hans Henrich Hock
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 311061328X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 575

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Book Description
Why does language change? Why can we speak to and understand our parents but have trouble reading Shakespeare? Why is Chaucer's English of the fourteenth century so different from Modern English of the late twentieth century that the two are essentially different languages? Why are Americans and English 'one people divided by a common language'? And how can the language of Chaucer and Modern English - or Modern British and American English - still be called the same language? The present book provides answers to questions like these in a straightforward way, aimed at the non-specialist, with ample illustrations from both familiar and more exotic languages. Most chapters in this new edition have been reworked, with some difficult passages removed, other passages thoroughly rewritten, and several new sections added, e.g. on the regularity of sound change and its importance for general historical-comparative linguistics. Further, the chapter notes and bibliography have all been updated. The content is engaging, focusing on topics and issues that spark student interest. Its goals are broadly pedagogical and the level and presentation are appropriate for interested beginners with little or no background in linguistics. The language coverage for examples goes well beyond what is usual for books of this kind, with a considerable amount of data from various languages of India.

From Old English to Standard English

From Old English to Standard English PDF Author: Dennis Freeborn
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
A fascinating, visual volume which traces the development of the language from the dialects of Old English, through Middle and Early Modern English to the establishment of Standard English in the eighteenth century, with a postscript on the language of today. The core of the book is a series of illustrative texts and facsimiles, which descriptive analyses and assignments for students. The texts include chronicles, letters, diaries, literary extracts and contemporary descriptions of the language at different periods. The focus of the study is on vocabulary, meaning, pronunciation, spelling and syntax, set against the historical, social and political background which some of the texts themselves illustrate. This book is firmly based upon linguistic description, and the commentaries form a series of case studies from which some understanding of the principles of language variation and change can be obtained--from back cover.

Middle and Modern English Corpus Linguistics

Middle and Modern English Corpus Linguistics PDF Author: Manfred Markus
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027203555
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
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.

The Cambridge Handbook of English Historical Linguistics

The Cambridge Handbook of English Historical Linguistics PDF Author: Merja Kytö
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316472914
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 1092

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Book Description
English historical linguistics is a subfield of linguistics which has developed theories and methods for exploring the history of the English language. This Handbook provides an account of state-of-the-art research on this history. It offers an in-depth survey of materials, methods, and language-theoretical models used to study the long diachrony of English. The frameworks covered include corpus linguistics, historical sociolinguistics, historical pragmatics and manuscript studies, among others. The chapters, by leading experts, examine the interplay of language theory and empirical data throughout, critically assessing the work in the field. Of particular importance are the diverse data sources which have become increasingly available in electronic form, allowing the discipline to develop in new directions. The Handbook offers access to the rich and many-faceted spectrum of work in English historical linguistics, past and present, and will be useful for researchers and students interested in hands-on research on the history of English.