Gender Shifts in the History of English

by Anne Curzan

Overview

A groundbreaking study of gender in English from the Middle Ages to modern times.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521820073
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/24/2003
Series:	Studies in English Language
Pages:	236
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.67(d)

About the Author

Anne Curzan is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Michigan. She has written extensively on the history of English, lexicography, and pedagogy, and is co-author of First Day to Final Grade: A Graduate Student's Guide to Teaching (2000). Professor Curzan is also co-editor of the Journal of English Linguistics.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Defining English gender; 2. The gender shift in histories of English; 3. A history of gender, people and pronouns: the story of generic he; 4. Third-person pronouns in the gender shift: why is that ship a she?; 5. Gender and asymmetrical word histories: when boys could be girls; 6. Implications for non-sexist language reform; Appendix 1. Background on early English personal pronouns; Appendix 2. Helsinki corpus texts and methodology; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Those who pick this book up expecting a dry study of inflection ... will be delighted to find the Curzan has made linguistic research both accessible and relevant.... This volume is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of English, sociolinguistics, or language and gender. Essential." Choice

From the Publisher