History of the English Language

Summary: Comprehensive and balanced, this classic exploration of the history of the English language combines internal linguistic history and external cultural history-from the Middle Ages to the present. This market-leading text encourages readers to develop both an understanding of present-day English and an enlightened attitude toward questions affecting the language today. Features in the New Edition include:--A thoroughl...y revised and updated Chapter 1, English Present and Future, reflecting the latest trends and statistics of the last ten years-A new section in Chapter 10, Gender Issues and Linguistic Change, providing a balanced and current perspective on an important social topic-Thorough revision of Chapter 11, The English Language in America, with updated material on African American Vernacular EnglishThe traditional strengths of the text remain, including:--An emphasis on the political, social, and cultural forces that affect language-The use of traditional phonetic notation to help pronunciation-A map of American dialects and examples of twentieth-century vocabulary demonstrating differences in American English and comparisons of current English to earlier versions [read more]