Nineteenth-Century English

This volume explores English in the nineteenth century, showing it to be a period of both stability and change for the language.

This volume examines English during the nineteenth century, a period of both stability and change for the language. Considering both structural aspects and sociolinguistics issues, it compares nineteenth-century English with both earlier and later periods, making an important contribution to our overall understanding of the history of the English language.This volume of Studies in English Language focuses on the nineteenth century, an important period of both stability and change for the English language. Through ten detailed case studies, it highlights the relationships between English, its users, and nineteenth-century society, looking particularly at gender differences and variation across genres. It also discusses major structural aspects of nineteenth-century English, such as nouns, verbs and adjectives, and Germanic vs. Romance vocabulary. Although the nineteenth century is often viewed as a relatively stable period in the development of the language, this volume shows the 1800s to be a time of significant change, some of which continued into the twentieth century. By making comparisons possible with both earlier and later periods, it makes an important contribution to our overall understanding of the history of the English language.