Pragmatics in the History of English

A state-of-the-art overview of English historical pragmatics, covering topics such as speech representation, politeness, and address terms.

Laurel J. Brinton (Author)

9781009322928, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 12 October 2023

272 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.1 cm, 0.54 kg

How were you and thou used in Early Modern England? What were the typical ways of ordering others in Early Medieval England? How was the speech of others represented in the nineteenth-century novel? This volume answers these questions and more by providing an overview of the field of English historical pragmatics. Following introductory chapters which set out the scope of the field and address methods and challenges, core chapters focus on a range of topics, including pragmatic markers, speech representation, politeness, speech acts, address terms, and register, genre, and style. Each chapter describes the object of study, defines essential terms and concepts, and discusses the methodologies used. Succinct and clear summaries of studies in the field are presented and are richly illustrated with corpus data. Presenting a comprehensive and accessible yet state-of-the-art introduction to the field, it is essential reading for both students and academic researchers.

List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface
List of Abbreviations
1. The Field of Historical Pragmatics
2. Historical Pragmatics: Scope, Methods, Challenges
3. Pragmatic Markers
4. Speech Representation
5. Politeness
6. Speech Acts
7. Address Terms
8. Discourse: Register, Genre, and Style
9. Concluding Remarks
List of References
Index.

Subject Areas: Language: history & general works [CBX]