Overview

The History of English: An Introduction provides a chronological analysis of the linguistic, social, and cultural development of the English language from before its establishment in Britain around the year 450 to the present. Each chapter represents a new stage in the evolution of the language, all illustrated with a rich and diverse selection of primary texts. The book also explores the wider global course of the language, including a historical review of English in its pidgin and creole varieties and as a native and/or second language in the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and Australasia. The third edition, carefully revised and updated throughout, includes: ● chapter introductions and conclusions to assist in orientation plus additional marginal references throughout; ● the addition of 21 timelines often running from Old English to Present-Day English and focusing on a variety of features; ● a new focus on the relevance of change for and in Present-Day English; ● discussions on the role and image of women, the (in-)visibility of social classes, and regional variation in English; ● material on bilingualism, code-switching, and borrowing, and on the effects of the social media on language use; ● over 90 textual examples demonstrating linguistic change and over 100 figures, tables, and maps, including 31 colour images, to support and illuminate the text; ● updated online support material including brief introductions to Old and to Middle English, further articles on linguistic, historical, and cultural phenomena which go beyond the scope of the book, additional sample texts, exercises, and audio clips. With study questions as well as recommendations for further reading and topics for further study, The History of English is essential reading for any student of the English language and will be of relevance to any course addressing the origins and development of the English language.

Full Product Details

Author:   Stephan Gramley (University of Bielefeld, Germany) ,  Vivian Gramley
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Edition:   3rd edition
Weight:   0.453kg
ISBN:  

9781032409696

ISBN 10:   103240969
Pages:   394
Publication Date:   31 May 2024
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

List of Illustrations List of Plates List of Figures List of Maps List of Timelines List of Tables Lists of Texts Lists of Abbreviations Preface to the first edition Preface to the second edition Preface to the third edition Acknowledgments PART I Before Britain 1 The origins of English (before 450) Chapter overview 1.1 The origins of human language 1.2 Language change 1.3 Changes in Germanic before the invasions of Britain 1.4 The world of the Germanic peoples 1.5 The Germanic migrations 1.6 Summary Study questions Topics of interest for further study Further reading PART II Early English in Britain 2 Old English: early Germanic Britain (450–700) Chapter overview 2.1 The first peoples 2.2 The Germanic incursions 2.3 Introduction to Old English 2.4 The Christianization of England 2.5 Literature in the early Old English period 2.6 Summary Study questions Topics of interest for further study Further reading 3 Old English: the Viking invasions and their consequences (700–1066/1100) Chapter overview 3.1 The Viking invasions 3.2 Linguistic influence of Old Norse (ON) 3.3 Creolization 3.4 Standardization 3.5 Social and linguistic variation 3.6 Summary Study questions Topics of interest for further study Further reading 4 Middle English: The non-standard period (1066/1100–1350) Chapter overview 4.1 Dynastic conflict and the Norman Conquest 4.2 Middle English and question of creolization 4.3 Linguistic features of Middle English in the non-standard period 4.4 English literature 4.5 Dialectal diversity in ME 4.6 Summary Study questions Topics of interest for further study Further reading 5 Middle English: the emergence of Standard English (1350–1500) Chapter overview 5.1 Political and social turmoil and demographic developments 5.2 The expansion of domains 5.3 Chancery English 5.4 Literature in the late ME period 5.5 Variation in late ME 5.6 Summary Study questions Topics of interest for further study Further reading 6 The Early Modern English Period (1500–1700) Chapter overview 6.1 The Early Modern English Period 6.2 Early Modern English 6.3 Regulation and codification 6.4 Religious and scientific prose and belles lettres 6.5 Variation 6.6 Summary Study questions Topics of interest for further study Further reading PART III Britain and beyond 7 The spread of English (since the late sixteenth century) Chapter overview 7.1 Social-historical background 7.2 European expansion and the slave trade 7.3 North America 7.4 The Southern Hemisphere 7.5 Second and foreign language countries (ESL and EFL) 7.6 Summary Study questions Topics of interest for further study Further reading 8 Standard and non-standard English Chapter overview 8.1 Standard English and General English 8.2 English in England, Wales, Scotland – and Ireland 8.3 North American English (NAmE) 8.4 Southern Hemisphere English 8.5 Ethnicity and language 8.6 Summary Study questions Topics of interest for further study Further reading 9 English pidgins, English creoles, and English (since the early seventeenth century) Chapter overview 9.0 Cultural survivals 9.1 Pidgins 9.2 Creoles 9.3 Pidgin and creole communities 9.4 Theories of origin 9.5 History and textual examples 9.6 Summary Study questions Topics of interest for further study Further reading 10 Grammatical change in ModE Chapter overview 10.0 Grammatical developments 10.1 Word order 10.2 The noun phrase 10.3 The verb phrase: development of full ModE paradigm 10.4 Other: conjunctions and prepositions 10.5 Substrate influence 10.6 Summary Study questions Topics of interest for further study Further reading 11 Pronunciation change in ModE Chapter overview 11.1 Introduction and principles of pronunciation change 11.2 The reference accents and other national accents 11.3 Consonants in ModE 11.4 Vowels in ModE 11.5 Vowel changes in ModE: chain shifts and mergers 11.6 Summary Study questions Topics of interest for further study Further reading 12 Vocabulary and Spelling Change in ModE Chapter overview 12.1 New words and old 12.2 Borrowing 12.3 Word formation 12.4 Pragmatics 12.5 Modern English spelling 12.6 Summary Study questions Topics of interest for further study Further reading PART IV 13 Worldwide English Chapter overview 13.1 The beginnings of Global English 13.2 Media dominance 13.3 Features of medialized language 13.4 English in a world-wide context 13.5 Bilingualism, code-switching, and hybrid lasnguages 13.4 Summary Study questions Topics of interest for further study Further reading Glossary The International Phonetic Alphabet General bibliography Index

Reviews

This book is a thorough and accessible introduction to the history of the English language. Especially the consideration of social contexts of language structure and use sets it apart from many other books on a similar topic and makes it an invaluable resource. Marion Schulte, Universität Rostock, Germany Among the innovations in this third edition of The History of English are its new timelines and the increased visibility of people outside the societal establishment, including the greater weight put on language variation. The History of English by Stephan Gramley and Vivian Gramley is certainly the text I will use when next teaching the History of English. Richard L. Harris, University of Saskatchewan, Canada

"""This book is a thorough and accessible introduction to the history of the English language. Especially the consideration of social contexts of language structure and use sets it apart from many other books on a similar topic and makes it an invaluable resource."" Marion Schulte, Universität Rostock, Germany ""Among the innovations in this third edition of The History of English are its new timelines and the increased visibility of people outside the societal establishment, including the greater weight put on language variation. The History of English by Stephan Gramley and Vivian Gramley is certainly the text I will use when next teaching the History of English."" Richard L. Harris, University of Saskatchewan, Canada"

Author Information

Stephan Gramley is Studiendirektor associated with the Department of Linguistics and Literary Studies at Bielefeld University, Germany, where he has worked in the area of language and cultural studies. He has published books on the English language: A Survey of Modern English with Kurt-Michael Pätzold (1st and 2nd editions) and Vivian Gramley (3rd edition); The Vocabulary of World English, and the Bielefeld Introduction to Applied Linguistics (with Vivian Gramley). Vivian Gramley is a senior lecturer at Bielefeld University, Germany, teaching in applied linguistics, the linguistics of the language system, and language practice. She has published in the areas of clinical linguistics and Deaf education as well as edited the Bielefeld Introduction to Applied Linguistics (with Stephan Gramley), and published the 3rd edition of A Survey of Modern English (with Stephan Gramley and Kurt-Michael Pätzold) and Writing in English Studies (with Katharina Pietsch and Tyll Zybura).

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