Full Description
Routledge English Language Introductions cover core areas of language study and are one-stop resources for students.
Assuming no prior knowledge, books in the series offer an accessible overview of the subject, with activities, study questions, sample analyses, commentaries and key readings - all in the same volume. The innovative and flexible 'two-dimensional' structure is built around four sections - introduction, development, exploration and extension - which offer self-contained stages for study. Each topic can also be read across these sections, enabling the reader to build gradually on the knowledge gained. This revised second edition of History of English includes:
❑ a comprehensive introduction to the history of English covering the origins of English, the change from Old to Middle English, and the influence of other languages on English;
❑ increased coverage of key issues, such as the standardisation of English;
❑ a wider range of activities, plus answers to exercises;
❑ new readings of well-known authors such as Manfred Krug, Colette Moore, Merja Stenroos and David Crystal;
❑ a timeline of important external events in the history of English.
Structured to reflect the chronological development of the English language, History of English describes and explains the changes in the language over a span of 1,500 years, covering all aspects from phonology and grammar, to register and discourse. In doing so, it incorporates examples from a wide variety of texts and provides an interactive and structured textbook that will be essential reading for all students of English language and linguistics.
Contents
CONTENTS
Tables
Figures
Common abbreviations
Phonetic symbols
Acknowledgements
How to use this book
SECTION A: INTRODUCTION
An external history of English
A1 Origins of English
A2 The history of English or the history of Englishes?
A3 Language contact in the Middle Ages
A4 From Middle English to Early Modern English
A5 The process of standardisation
A6 Colonialism, Imperialism and the spread of English
A7 Moves towards Present Day English
A8 Global English and beyond
SECTION B: DEVELOPMENT
A developing language
B1 Understanding Old English
B2 Varieties of Old English
B3 The emergence of Middle English
B4 Sound shifts
B5 Writing in Early Modern English
B6 The development of American English
B7 International English
B8 The globalisation of English
SECTION C: EXPLORATION
Exploring the history of English
C1 The roots of English
C2 Regions and dialects
C3 From Old English to Middle English
C4 Codification and attitudes towards English
C5 Further elements of grammar in Early Modern English
C6 English in the New World
C7 Present Day Englishes
C8 The future of English
SECTION D: EXTENSION
Readings in the history of English
D1 Vocabulary and meaning in Old English
D2 Changes in grammatical gender
D3 Medieval multilingualism
D4 Shifting sounds
D5 The development of a written standard
D6 The beginnings of global English
D7 Studying recent change in English
D8 English in the future
Commentary on activities
Glossary of linguistic terms
Further reading
General histories of English
Old English
Middle English
Early Modern English
Eighteenth-century English to the present day
World Englishes
Timeline of external events in the history of English
References
Index
