A New English Grammar
Logical and Historical

Published 1892–8, this two-volume work was the first scientific grammar of English to include a description of its phonology.

Henry Sweet (Author)

9781108075251, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 21 August 2014

528 pages
21.6 x 14 x 3 cm, 0.66 kg

The respected phonetician and philologist Henry Sweet (1845–1912) has had a lasting influence on the study and teaching of linguistics, particularly phonetics and Old English. Sweet is also known for being, in part, the inspiration for Henry Higgins in Shaw's Pygmalion. This two-volume work, first published in 1892–8, marks the start of a new tradition in the study of English, although it received little attention in Britain upon its publication. Building on developments in European linguistics, this was the first grammar of English to adopt a scientific approach to the description of language, in particular of phonology. Volume 1 (1892) contains one of the first studies of English phonology, which applies the same rigorous analysis to the spoken language as to the written, as well as detailed descriptions of the parts of speech, accidence, and the history of English.

Preface
Part I. Introduction: Grammar and language
Parts of speech in detail
Word-groups
History of language
Divisions and methods of grammar
History of English
Part II. Phonology: Phonetics
Laws of sound-change
Old English sounds
Middle English sounds
Modern English sound-changes
Present English
Part III. Accidence: Nouns
Adjectives
Pronouns
Numerals
Verbs
Particles
Composition
Derivation.

Subject Areas: Linguistics [CF]