A history of English
Where does today’s English language come from? This book takes its readers on a journey back in time, from present-day varieties to the Old English of Beowulf and beyond. Written for students with little or no background in linguistics, and reflecting the latest scholarship, it showcases the variation and change present throughout the history of English, and includes numerous e...
Where does today’s English language come from? This book takes its readers on a journey back in time, from present-day varieties to the Old English of Beowulf and beyond. Written for students with little or no background in linguistics, and reflecting the latest scholarship, it showcases the variation and change present throughout the history of English, and includes numerous exercises and sample texts for every period.
The reverse-chronological approach taken by this book sets it apart from all existing textbooks of the last fifty years. Innovative features also include its focus on variation, multilingualism and language contact, its use of texts from outside the literary canon, and its inclusion of case studies from syntax, sociophonetics and historical pragmatics.
Míša Hejná
Míša (Michaela) Hejná is an Associate Professor in English Language at Aarhus University. Her research interests lie primarily in the areas of language variation and change, phonetics and phonology, and interdisciplinary studies.
George Walkden
George Walkden is Professor of English Linguistics and General Linguistics at the University of Konstanz. He works on langua...
Míša Hejná
Míša (Michaela) Hejná is an Associate Professor in English Language at Aarhus University. Her research interests lie primarily in the areas of language variation and change, phonetics and phonology, and interdisciplinary studies.
George Walkden
George Walkden is Professor of English Linguistics and General Linguistics at the University of Konstanz. He works on language change and syntax, particularly in the context of the Germanic languages.