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 development of the language from Old English through Middle English to Modern Global English, all illustrated with a rich and diverse selection of primary texts showing changes in language resulting from contact, conquest and domination, and the expansion of English around the world. The History of English goes beyond the usual focus on English in the UK and the USA to include the wider global course of the language during and following the Early Modern English period. This perspective therefore also includes 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. This new edition of The History of English has been thoroughly revised and updated throughout, and features: chapter introductions and conclusions to assist in orientation; over 90 textual examples demonstrating linguistic change accompanied, asnecessary,by translations and/or glosses; study questions on the social, cultural, and linguistic background of the periods and topics, as well as recommendations for further reading and topics for further study; over 100 figures, tables and maps to support and illuminate the text; 18 pages of colour plates depicting exemplary texts, relevant artifacts, and examples of language usage, including Germanic runes, the opening page of Beowulf, the New England Primer, and the Treaty of Waitangi; a brand-new companion website hosting further articles on linguistic, historical, and cultural phenomena which go beyond the scope of the book, additional sample texts, exercises, and audio clips. 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 of the English language.

List of illustrations List of texts List of abbreviations Preface to the first edition Preface to the second edition Acknowledgments Part I Before Britain Chapter 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 Topic of interest for further study Further reading Part II Early English in Britain Chapter 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 Topic of interest for further study Further reading Chapter 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 Creolization3.4 Alfred’s reforms and the West Saxon standard 3.5 Monastic reform, linguistic developments, and literary genres 3.6 Summary Study questions Topic of interest for further study Further reading Chapter 4 Middle English: The non-standard period (1066/1100 - 1350) Chapter overview 4.1 Dynastic conflict and the Norman Conquest 4.2 Linguistic features of Middle English in the non-standard period 4.3 French influence on Middle English and the question of creolization 4.4 English literature 4.5 Dialectal diversity in early ME 4.6 Summary Study questions Topic of interest for further study Further reading Chapter 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 (Chancery Standard) 5.4 Literature in the late ME period 5.5 Variation in late ME 5.6 Summary Study questions Topic of interest for further study Further reading Chapter 6 Early Modern English period (1500-1700) Chapter overview 6.1 The Early Modern English Period 6.2Early Modern English 6.3 Regulation and codification 6.4 Religious and scientific prose and belles lettres 6.5 Variation: South and North 6.6 Summary Study questions Topic of interest for further study Further reading Part III Britain and beyond Chapter 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 Topic of interest for further study Further reading Chapter 8 Standard and non-standard English (Modern English) Chapter overview 8.1 Standard English and General English 8.2 English in England, Wales, Scotland – and Ireland 8.3 North American English 8.4 Southern Hemisphere English 8.5 Ethnicity and language 8.6 Summary Study questions Topic of interest for further study Further reading Chapter 9 English pidgins, English creoles, and English (since the early seventeenth century) Chapter overview 9.1 Pidgins 9.2 Creoles 9.3 Pidgin and creole communities 9.4 Theories of origins 9.5 History and textual examples 9.6 Summary Study questions Topic of interest for further study Further reading Chapter 10 Grammatical change in Modern English Chapter overview 10.1 Grammatical developmentsand 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 Topic of interest for further study Further reading Chapter 11 Pronunciation change in Modern English 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 Topic of interest for further study Further reading Chapter 12 Vocabulary and spelling change in Modern English 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 Topic of interest for further study Further reading Part IV Worldwide English Chapter 13 Global English (since 1945) 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 languages 13.6 Summary Study questions Topic of interest for further study Further reading The International Phonetic Alphabet Glossary General Bibliography Index

Stephan Gramley is Studiendirektor for the Department of Linguistic and Literary Studies at Bielefeld University, Germany.