Late Modern English Syntax
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Published:14th Aug '14
Currently unavailable, currently targeted to be due back around 2nd December 2024, but could change
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£36.99(9781108403870)
Using increasingly sophisticated databases, this volume explores grammatical usage from the Late Modern period in a broad context.
Looking specifically at morphological and syntactic change, this book draws on a diverse range of written language data. Examining a variety of genres such as sermons, chronicles, legal and literary texts, it shows the Late Modern period to be an important era in the development of English.The Late Modern period is the first in the history of English for which an unprecedented wealth of textual material exists. Using increasingly sophisticated databases, the contributions in this volume explore grammatical usage from the period, specifically morphological and syntactic change, in a broad context. Some chapters explore the socio-historical background of the period while others provide information on prescriptivism, newspaper language, language contact, and regional variation in British and American English. Internal processes of change are discussed against grammaticalisation theory and construction grammar and the rich body of textual evidence is used to draw inferences on the precise nature of historical change. Exposing readers to a wealth of data that informs the description of a broad range of syntactic phenomena, this book is ideal for graduate students and researchers interested in historical linguistics, corpus linguistics and language development.
'A very timely and strong collection of fine-grained qualitative analyses investigating morphological and syntactic change in Late Modern English.' Ursula Lenker, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
'For a long time the Late Modern English period seemed to be a time when little happened to the grammar of the language, but at last justice is being done to the interesting changes that were taking place. This well-edited volume shows how newly available resources of corpora and databases of the period, together with more refined techniques of analysis, are bringing such changes into the spotlight.' Geoffrey Leech, Emeritus Professor of English Linguistics, Lancaster University
'This impressive volume with contributions by leading scholars on the main areas of Late Modern English syntax is an indispensable guide to a fascinating period in the history of the English language.' Bas Aarts, University College London
'The book itself as a finished product is a remarkable achievement: all the topics under discussion are intrinsically worthy of in-depth investigation, and some of them build on earlier findings concerning similar issues, or rely on corpora already used in previous studies, in order to provide new perspectives on specific themes … It will be of interest to scholars and advanced students also specializing in methodological issues, as the quantitative investigations offered in the contributions help to shed more light on what best practices ought to be followed in studies of this kind.' Marina Dossena, English Language and Linguistics
ISBN: 9781107032798
Dimensions: 235mm x 157mm x 20mm
Weight: 710g
408 pages