An Historical Study of English - Function, Form and Change (Paperback)

Through his analysis of selected major developments in the history of English, Jeremy Smith argues that the history of the language can only be understood from a dynamic perspective. He proposes that internal linguistic mechanisms for language change cannot be meaningfully explained in isolation or without reference to external linguistic factors.
Smith provides the reader with an accessible synthesis of recent developments in English historical linguistics. He looks at the theory and methodology of linguistic historiography while considering the major changes in writing systems, pronunciation and grammer and providing examples of these changes, such as the standardization of spellings and accent and the origins of the Great Vowel Shift. "A Historical Study of English" also focuses on the origins of two non-standard varieties--18th century Scots and 20th century British Black English. This book will be fascinating reading to those interested in English historical linguistics and will make an original, important and, above all, lively contribution to the field.