Synopses & Reviews
The second edition of A Biography of the English Language continues to examine the structure of language. The textbook discusses three important issues: languages and language change are systematic; the inner history of a language is profoundly affected by its outer history of political and culural events; and the English of the past has everywhere left its traces on present-day English. By uncovering the language's past, one can better communicate with it.
Review
"The book is very well written with a very appealing "voice" and is very clear in its explanations. It focuses appropriately on the most significant changes in the history of English."
Review
"The text introduces concepts basic to the study of the development of any language, and then uses the concepts as a lens to specifically view the developmental periods of English."
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 423-427) and index.
About the Author
PHD in linguistics and English from Brown University; taught at U of Edinburgh, Univerisite Paul Valery in Monpelllier, France, and at Huazhon U of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China; recipient of many awards including a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, a Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching, and a Humanities Foundation grant. She was a Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh and was a member of many professional organizations.Ph.D. from Univ of Iowa; now Director of Medieval Studies at the University of Mississippi.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction. 2. Phonology. 3. Writing. 4. Language Families and Indo-European. 5. Old English (AD 450 - 1100). 6. Middle English (1100 - 1500). 7. Early Modern English (1500 - 1800). 8. Present-Day English (1800 - ). 9. English Around the World.