The English Language: A Linguistic History is designed as a core text for classes in the history of the English language, offered through the English or linguistics department. Beginning with a discussion of how language changes, the book examines historical change in English from its Indo-European past through its major periods (Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Modern English). This is an introductory text: it does not assume any background in language or linguistics. Self-testing exercises are integrated throughout the text, and students are required to learn to use the International Phonetic Alphabet. Additional pedagogical material, such as lists of related books and Web sites, are also integrated.

The English Language: A Linguistic History

Reference

Brinton, Laurel J.

Arnovick, Leslie K.

Foreign Language Study & Reference

Oxford University Press

The English Language surveys the development of the English language from its Indo-European past to the present day. It covers the entire history of the English language beginning with its prehistoric origins in Proto-Indo-European and includes thorough coverage of its four major periods: Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Modern English. The second edition features a convenient quick reference guide for reference and review as well as a comprehensive timeline of the major events in the development of English. In addition to fully updated print and web references directing students to the latest research, the new edition also offers enhanced discussion of a number of topics: the effects of media (radio, television, computers) on the language; the socio-cultural causes of change; the expansion of the vocabulary of Modern English during the Renaissance; and the sources and dialects of Canadian English, including consideration of the effects of immigration on the language (illustrated with maps).

Words, Language & Grammar

The English Language: A Linguistic History surveys the development of the English language from its Indo-European past to the present day. It covers the entire history of the English language beginning with its prehistoric origins in Proto-Indo-European and includes thorough coverage of its four major periods: Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Modern English. The third edition features enhanced discussion of the socio-historical and cultural contexts of the English language in the new "Language in Context" features in each chapter. Brief timelines of historical events also now appear at the beginning of relevant chapters, supplementing the comprehensive timeline (linguistic, literary, historical, and social) found in the appendices. Discussion of new approaches to the history of English, such as historical pragmatics and historical sociolinguistics, have been added or expanded along with new debates, such as the current work on the Proto-Indo-Europeans or the status of English as a global language or second language. A new appendix includes an anthology of specimen texts from the four major periods of English, chosen for their use of colloquial and non-literary language.

Verbal Medicines: The Curative Power of Prayer and Invocation in Early English Charms (Studies in English Language)

Religion & Spirituality

Cambridge University Press

Written Reliquaries: The resonance of orality in medieval English texts establishes the linguistic component of orality and oral tradition. The relics it examines are traces of spoken performance, artifacts of linguistic and cultural processes. Seven case studies animate verbal acts of making promises, quoting proverbs, pronouncing curses, speaking gibberish, praying Pater Nosters, invoking saints, and keeping silence. The study of their resonance is enabled by a methodological conjunction of historical pragmatics and oral theory. Insights from oral theory enlighten spoken traditions which in turn may be understood in the larger historical-pragmatic context of linguistic performance. The inquiry ranges across broad as well as narrow planes of reference to trace a complex set of cultural and linguistic interactions. In this way it reconstructs relevant discursive contexts, giving detailed accounts of underlying assumptions, traditions, and conventions. Doing so, the book demonstrates that an integrated methodology not only allows access to oral discourse in both Old English and Middle English but also provides insight into the fluid medieval interchange of literacy and orality.

Written Reliquaries: The resonance of orality in medieval English texts (Pragmatics and Beyond New Series)

Literature & Fiction

John Benjamins Publishing Company

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Arnovick, Leslie K.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Arnovick, Leslie K.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Arnovick, Leslie K.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The English Language: A Linguistic History

The English Language: A Linguistic History

The English Language: A Linguistic History

Verbal Medicines: The Curative Power of Prayer and Invocation in Early English Charms (Studies in English Language)

Written Reliquaries: The resonance of orality in medieval English texts (Pragmatics and Beyond New Series)