Gender Shifts in the History of English

A groundbreaking study of gender in English from the Middle Ages to modern times.

Anne Curzan (Author)

9780521820073, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 April 2003

236 pages, 7 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.52 kg

'Let me just say that I wish to give it the highest possible marks for its scholarship, convincing argumentation, admirable historical insights, and exactitude. I am sure it will be a valuable textbook in a number of academic disciplines such as English, sociolinguistics, and women's studies.' Language in Society

How and why did grammatical gender, found in Old English and in other Germanic languages, gradually disappear from English and get replaced by a system where the gender of nouns and the use of personal pronouns depend on the natural gender of the referent? How is this shift related to 'irregular agreement' (such as she for ships) and 'sexist' language use (such as generic he) in Modern English, and how is the language continuing to evolve in these respects? Anne Curzan's accessibly written and carefully researched study is based on extensive corpus data, and will make a major contribution by providing a historical perspective on these often controversial questions. It will be of interest to researchers and students in history of English, historical linguistics, corpus linguistics, language and gender, and medieval studies.

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Defining English gender
2. The gender shift in histories of English
3. A history of gender, people and pronouns: the story of generic he
4. Third-person pronouns in the gender shift: why is that ship a she?
5. Gender and asymmetrical word histories: when boys could be girls
6. Implications for non-sexist language reform
Appendix 1. Background on early English personal pronouns
Appendix 2. Helsinki corpus texts and methodology
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Gender studies: women [JFSJ1], Literary studies: general [DSB], Sociolinguistics [CFB]