Full Description
This title charts the historical development of the English phonological system. Phonological evolution is a major component of the overall history of the language; the subject matter is both significant on its own terms and relevant in curricular terms. This book describes the segmental and prosodic changes in the history of English, provides analyses of these changes both as phonological events and in relation to the evolution of interlocking aspects of earlier English and highlights the relevance of the topics and possibly generate further interest by projecting historical phonological change onto Present-Day English and its varieties. The development of the English sound system is probably the best studied part of the history of the language, however no up-to-date, student-friendly survey exists: this book fills the gap. Donka Minkova is a world renowned expert. This is longer and more in depth than some ETOTEL Advanced volumes. It includes exercises and suggestions for further reading.
Contents
1. Periods in the History of English; 2. The Phonetic and Phonological Foundations of Sound Change; 3. Some Pre-Old English Changes; 4. Consonants: the OE system; 5. Consonants: from OE to PDE; 6. The Vowels of OE; 7. Transition; 8. Vowel Quality and Quantity in EModE and Later; 9. Focus on Prosody: the Evolution of the English Stress System; 10. The Linguistic History of English Verse Forms.
