The English Language: A Linguistic History

by Laurel J. Brinton, Leslie K. Arnovick

The English Language: A Linguistic History surveys the development of the English language from its Indo-European past to the present day. It covers the entire history of the English language beginning with its prehistoric origins in Proto-Indo-European and includes thorough coverage of its four major periods: Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Modern English.

The third edition features enhanced discussion of the socio-historical and cultural contexts of the English language in the new "Language in Context" features in each chapter. Brief timelines of historical events also now appear at the beginning of relevant chapters, supplementing the comprehensive timeline (linguistic, literary, historical, and social) found in the appendices. Discussion of new approaches to the history of English, such as historical pragmatics and historical sociolinguistics, have been added or expanded along with new debates, such as the current work on the Proto-Indo-Europeans or the status of English as a global language or second language. A new appendix includes an anthology of specimen texts from the four major periods of English, chosen for their use of colloquial and non-literary language.

Genres: Nonfiction, Linguistics, Language, School, Textbooks, History

640 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Mayte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hopelijk heb ik deze even niet meer nodig🤞🏻

[zora]

would love an updated version on the internet-speak section

[Zuzana]

A beautiful experience I'll never forget.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a helpful book to get a nice overview of the diachronic change of the English language. However, at times it can get a little confusing as some examples are given as tables while others are written in the text only. For more in-depth word examples, I'd recommend other books instead. This is really only a summary. However, a nice summary spreading from Indoeuropean to Old English to Middle English to Early Modern English to Modern English

[Eileen Neeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

For masters class. Very interesting overview of the history and evolution of the English language

[Anthony Cadena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most definitely the book that changed everything for me. Had I read this book in high school (or even been introduced to the concepts in this book) I would have chosen to become a teacher many years ago. My passion for communication and my beliefs that all societal problems can be solved through better communication stem mostly from reading this book. One of the most important concepts that this book opened my eyes to is that the English language is descriptive, not prescriptive. It is a simple concept, but no one had ever really pointed that out to me. I believe that if students were taught grammar with this concept in mind it would make learning the intricacies of our language much more enjoyable.
This book goes back into European history and maps out all of the different entities that influenced the English language from the Roman Empire to the Norman Invasion to, of course, the Anglos and Saxons. It discusses how the printing press, the black plague, and the peasant revolt shaped how we talk today in America. It also breaks down the sounds of English, going back through Middle and Old English as well. It goes as far as to discuss tongue placement and vocal stops and how we have changed words over time in order to make them easier to pronounce.
I would wager that the average person knows at least half of what is in this book, but doesn't realize it. So much of this book is common sense, but it just doesn't ever cross our minds. Because of this, I believe it is a great read for those who aren't studying the language.

[Zita · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.9

[Leah (TheKoolKandy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another textbook! Another one of the few that I kept up with throughout the term as it turned out to be a very interesting read. It has plenty of technical detail, but also is sure to explain it on many occasions.

[Ruby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turns into just one long list at times and I could not possibly have gotten through this without my classes. Fairly interesting however, and it is a rather list-y subject at times, I know.

[Solveiga · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far, this is the only book on diachronic linguistics that can be used for intro level. Nice work with data and exercises, too!

[ػᶈᶏϾӗ]

The history was ok, but the linguistic side was barely accessible. I did not care for this book.