Overview

Letter Writing and Language Change outlines the historical sociolinguistic value of letter analysis, both in theory and practice. The chapters in this volume make use of insights from all three 'Waves of Variation Studies', and many of them, either implicitly or explicitly, look at specific aspects of the language of the letter writers in an effort to discover how those writers position themselves and how they attempt, consciously or unconsciously, to construct social identities. The letters are largely from people in the lower strata of social structure, either to addressees of the same social status or of a higher status. In this sense the question of the use of 'standard' and/or 'nonstandard' varieties of English is in the forefront of the contributors' interest. Ultimately, the studies challenge the assumption that there is only one 'legitimate' and homogenous form of English or of any other language.

Full Product Details

Author:   Anita Auer (Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands) ,  Daniel Schreier (Universität Zürich) ,  Richard J. Watts
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 18.50cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 26.40cm
Weight:   0.820kg
ISBN:  

9781107018648

ISBN 10:   1107018641
Pages:   352
Publication Date:   16 July 2015
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

1. Setting the scene, letters, standards and historical sociolinguistics Richard J. Watts; 2. Assessing variability and change in early English letters Juan Manuel Hernández-Campoy and Juan Camilo Conde-Silvestre; 3. Private letters as a source for an alternative history of Middle New High German Stephan Elspaß; 4. Language in print and handwriting Tony Fairman; 5. Heterogeneity vs homogeneity Marianne Hundt; 6. Emerging standards in the colonies, variation and the Canadian letter writer Stefan Dollinger; 7. Linguistic fingerprints of authors and scribes Alexander Bergs; 8. Stylistic variation Anita Auer; 9. English aristocratic letters Susan Fitzmaurice; 10. Early nineteenth-century pauper letters Mikko Laitinen; 11. A non-standard standard? Exploring the evidence from nineteenth-century vernacular letters and diaries Barbara Allen; 12. Archaism and dialect in Irish emigrant letters Lukas Pietsch; 13. Assessing heterogeneity Lucia Siebers; 14. Hypercorrection and the persistence of local dialect features in writing Daniel Schreier; 15. Epilogue: where next? Anita Auer, Daniel Schreier and Richard J. Watts; References; Index.

Reviews

Advance praise: 'Letter Writing and Language Change highlights the rich variety of approaches that letters can offer for the study of language variation and change across time, space and the linguistic spectrum.' Terttu Nevalainen, University of Helsinki Advance praise: 'A highly anticipated key publication on letter writing and language standardization, bringing together an impressive selection of contributors and a stellar editorial team. Definitely a must-read for any historical sociolinguist.' Wim Vandenbussche, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Author Information

Anita Auer is Full Professor of English Linguistics at the University of Lausanne. Daniel Schreier is Full Professor of English Linguistics at Universität Zürich. Richard J. Watts is a former Full Professor of English Linguistics at Universität Bern, Switzerland, now retired.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions