The English Language: Structure and Development The 'correct' use of English has been the subject of vigorous debate in recent years. But what defines 'correctness' in our use of language? And how has this altered over time? In this authoritative survey of the history of the English language, the author examines how linguistic traditions have changed and developed over the centuries to produce the language that we are familiar with today. Taking present-day usage as its starting point, the book uses a topic-based approach to explore the historical development of vocabulary, grammar, syntax, sounds and spellings, thus providing both a firm sense of the structure of the language and an outline of its history. |
Contents
The Vocabulary of English | |
Arranging Words | |
How Words Mean | |
Receiving Words | |
Correct Words? | |
Linguistic Glossary | |
Select Bibliography | |
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adjective adverbial affixes analytic language auxiliary verbs become beginning Bible borrowed into English called Cambridge CATS Chancery Standard Chaucer cohesion compounds context conversation dialect distinction earlier Early Modern English England English Grammar English Language especially etymology examples fourteenth century French Germanic Germanic language grammatical words Hamlet indicate intonation Johnson late West Saxon later Latin Lear letters linguistic literary loan words London M.E. period main clause meaning Middle English Midland modal verbs morphemes names normal Noun Phrase origin Oxford English Dictionary particular passage past participle past tense perhaps phonemes plural poem prepositions pronoun pronunciation punctuation PURR questions Renaissance Scandinavian semantic sentence Shakespeare simply singular sometimes Sonnet 18 sound speak speech spelling spoken Standard English stress subordinate clause suffix suggested syntax synthetic language thou translation University Press usually vocabulary vowel writing written Wycliffite �at