{"product_id":"english-fiction-and-the-evolution-of-language-1850-1914-hardback-9781107101166","title":"English Fiction and the Evolution of Language, 1850–1914 (Hardback) 9781107101166","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eEnglish Fiction and the Evolution of Language, 1850–1914\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eExplores how Victorian fiction and science imagined the evolution of language, from primordial noise to modern English.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eWill Abberley (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781107101166, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 21 May 2015\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e247 pages\u003cbr\u003e23.5 x 15.8 x 1.8 cm, 0.5 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e'Abberley's book is a slim one (four chapters and 175 pages of text), but it is unusually wide-ranging and comprehensive, citing an astonishing number of novels and stories, and drawing together material from both familiar and obscure sources. Abberley packs a great deal into every paragraph: his readings are rich and condensed, and on every page he demonstrates the value of the twenty-first-century critic's awareness of the language concerns of the Victorian and Edwardian periods. This is a book to be absorbed and used.' Donald S. Hair, Victorian Studies\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eVictorian science changed language from a tool into a natural phenomenon, evolving independently of its speakers. Will Abberley explores how science and fiction interacted in imagining different stories of language evolution. Popular narratives of language progress clashed with others of decay and degeneration. Furthermore, the blurring of language evolution with biological evolution encouraged Victorians to re-imagine language as a mixture of social convention and primordial instinct. Abberley argues that fiction by authors such as Charles Kingsley, Thomas Hardy and H. G. Wells not only reflected these intellectual currents, but also helped to shape them. Genres from utopia to historical romance supplied narrative models for generating thought experiments in the possible pasts and futures of language. Equally, fiction that explored the instinctive roots of language intervened in debates about language standardisation and scientific objectivity. These textual readings offer new perspectives on twenty-first-century discussions about language evolution and the language of science.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eIntroduction: language under a microscope\u003cbr\u003e 1. The future of language in prophetic fiction\u003cbr\u003e 2. Primitive language in imperial, prehistoric and scientific romances\u003cbr\u003e 3. Organic orality and the historical romance\u003cbr\u003e 4. Instinctive signs: nature and culture in dialogue\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion: widening the lens\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Evolution [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Evolution\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Evolution%20%5BPSAJ%5D%22\"\u003ePSAJ\u003c\/a\u003e], History of science [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on History of science\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22History%20of%20science%20%5BPDX%5D%22\"\u003ePDX\u003c\/a\u003e], Literary studies: from c 1900 - [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Literary studies: from c 1900 -\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Literary%20studies:%20from%20c%201900%20-%20%5BDSBH%5D%22\"\u003eDSBH\u003c\/a\u003e], Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900 [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Literary%20studies:%20c%201800%20to%20c%201900%20%20%5BDSBF%5D%22\"\u003eDSBF\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46265605357848,"sku":"9781107101166","price":70.35,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/products\/9781107101166i.jpg?v=1696793180","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/english-fiction-and-the-evolution-of-language-1850-1914-hardback-9781107101166","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}