English Words
History and Structure

A new edition of this textbook discusses the learned vocabulary of English - the words borrowed from the classical languages.

Donka Minkova (Author), Robert Stockwell (Author)

9780521709170, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 19 March 2009

231 pages
24.8 x 17.4 x 1.2 cm, 0.48 kg

'This text is very accessible to all levels of reader. Stockwell and Minkova assume no knowledge of linguistics or linguistic terminology, and they explain all technical concepts and jargon in simple terms. Anyone studying the history of the English language, or any branch of diachronic linguistics, will benefit from it. English Words: History and Structure is suitable both for undergraduates and those with a more casual interest in the subject.' Daniel Austin, Fun-with-words.com

This new edition is concerned primarily with the learned vocabulary of English - the words borrowed from the classical languages. It surveys the historical events that define the layers of vocabulary in English, introduces some of the basic principles of linguistic analysis, and is a helpful manual for vocabulary discernment and enrichment. The new edition has been updated with a discussion of the most recent trends of blending and shortening associated with texting and other forms of electronic communication and includes a new classification of the types of allomorphy. It discusses important topics such as segment sonority and the historical shifting of long vowels in English, and includes a new section on Grimm's law, explaining some of the more obscure links between Germanic and Latinate cognates. Exercises accompany each chapter and an online workbook contains readings and exercises to strengthen knowledge acquired in the classroom.

1. Lexical heritage
2. The background of English
3. The early modern English cultural scene
4. Smaller than words: morphemes and types of morphemes
5. Allomorphy, phonetics, and affixation
6. Replacement rules
7. Deletion rules and other kinds of allomorphy
8. Fossilized allomorphy. False cognates and other etymological pitfalls
9. Semantic relations and semantic change
10. The pronunciation of classical words in English.

Subject Areas: Lexicography [CFM], Grammar, syntax & morphology [CFK], Semantics, discourse analysis, etc [CFG], Historical & comparative linguistics [CFF], Linguistics [CF]