The Cambridge History of the English Language

Volume 2 covers the Middle English Period, describing and analysing developments in the language from the Norman Conquest to the introduction of printing.

Norman Blake (Edited by)

9780521264754, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 August 1992

734 pages, 2 maps
23.7 x 16.1 x 4 cm, 1.134 kg

"[T]he Cambridge History of the English Language is a notable project; anyone who teaches courses in the literature of the period will find it useful and anyone who teaches the history of the language will find it invaluable." Kathleen M. Ward, Sixteenth-Century Journal

The Cambridge History of the English Language is the first multi-volume work to provide a comprehensive and authoritative account of the history of English from its beginnings to its present-day worldwide use. Volume 2 deals with the Middle English period, approximately 1066–1476, and describes and analyses developments in the language from the Norman Conquest to the introduction of printing. This period witnessed important features like the assimilation of French and the emergence of a standard variety of English. There are chapters on phonology and morphology, syntax, dialectology, lexis and semantics, literary language, and onomastics. Each chapter concludes with a section on further reading; and the volume as a whole is supported by an extensive glossary of linguistic terms and a comprehensive bibliography. The chapters are written by specialists who are familiar with modern approaches to the study of historical linguistics.

List of maps
General Editor's preface
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
1. Introduction Norman Blake
2. Phonology and morphology Roger Lass
3. Middle english dictionary James Milroy
4. Syntax Olga Fischer
5. Lexis and semantics David Burnley
6. The literary language Norman Blake
7. Onomastics Cecily Clark
Glossary of linguistic terms
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Historical & comparative linguistics [CFF]