The History of English: An Introduction
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.

1116751657
The History of English: An Introduction
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.

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The History of English: An Introduction

The History of English: An Introduction

The History of English: An Introduction
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The History of English: An Introduction

The History of English: An Introduction

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781032409696
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Publication date: 05/31/2024
Edition description: 3rd ed.
Pages: 422
Product dimensions: 8.25(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

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).

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

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

" An essential introduction for students and an invaluable resource for teachers of this subject. It is written in an accessible style, includes many detailed examples and study questions and is well supported by extensive resources on its website." - Sebastian Rasinger, Anglia Ruskin University, UK

" An extremely useful resource ... It is up-to-date, both in content and the technology it employs ... the narrative is clear and straightforward, difficult concepts are suitably elucidated and glossed, the selection of illustrative texts is excellent and the accompanying apparatus works very well." - Lister Matheson, Michigan State University, USA

"An indispensable resource for undergraduate students of the history of English." - Peter K.W. Tan, National University of Singapore, Singapore

"The history of English continues to be a fascinating area of study within Linguistics, especially Historical linguistics and Sociolinguistics. The field has undergone further renewal in the age of globalisation. Here is a textbook that does full justice to the early history of what were a group of Germanic dialects crossing over into what would become England. The language that gelled into English was to undergo enormous domestic changes over the centuries and to undertake many subsequent crossings. Stephan Gramley covers this complex history with an admirable blend of breadth and depth, striking a balance between structural aspects of language and sociolinguistic developments. This is an accessible student-friendly text which I wholeheartedly recommend." Rajend Mesthrie, University of Cape Town, South Africa

"So much more than a textbook par excellence for students enrolled in university courses on the history of English, this multi-layered history of one of the world’s richest and most widely spoken languages "does not treat English as a monolithic entity, but the product of use by diverse speakers through the ages, in differing levels of society, and over a wide geographic spread".

In other words, the focus isn’t just on the UK and US— there are also substantial sections on pidgin and creole varieties, as well as on English as a native and/or second language in the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Australasia.

As we move from 450 to the present, from Beowulf to Bollywood, the changes wrought on English by migration and social, political and cultural innovation and upheaval are explained in clear, concise language.

There are copious examples from real texts, as well as maps, diagrams, colour plates and even free access to a supporting website featuring an interactive time line and audio clips. How did we get from "A Frere ther was, a wantown and a merye, a limitour, a ful solempne man" (Canterbury Tales, 1385) to "I think ibo gurls is sexy, kedu ka odi? All my fine ibo thoroughbreds" (Nigerian blog Igbo Girls Like Money a Lot, 2006)? Work your way through this brilliant history and you’ll not only know the answer — you’ll have enriched your understanding of, and ability to use, the English language beyond measure." The West Australian.

'[The History of English will]... have enriched your understanding of, and ability to use, the English Language beyond measure.' - The West Australian

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