English Choral Practice, 1400-1650


Book Description

These nine essays consider for the first time the day-to-day performing practice of English composers of choral music of the period 1440-1650.




Long-Vowel Shifts in English, c.1050–1700


Book Description

The English language has undergone many sound changes in its long history. Some of these changes had a profound effect on the pronunciation of the language. A number of these significant instances of language evolution are generally grouped together and termed the 'Great Vowel Shift'. These changes are generally considered to be unrelated to other, similar long-vowel changes taking place a little earlier. This book assesses an extensive range of irregular Middle English spellings for all these changes, with a view to identifying the real course of events: the dates, the chronology, and the dialects that stand out as being innovative. Using empirical evidence to offer a fresh perspective and drawing new, convincing conclusions, Stenbrenden offers an interpretation of the history of the English language which may change our view of sound change completely.




The Pronunciation of English


Book Description

This edition of The Pronunciation of English incorporates the final results of Daniel Jones' lifelong study of English pronunciation usage. It is the standard work on English phonetics and the name of its author will, in the words of Professor A. C. Gimson, 'remain in linguistic history as the great authority on the pronunciation of British English in the twentieth century'. The Pronunciation of English was written originally as a detailed description of the phonetics of English, presented from the point of vew of the native English-speaking student. However, it soon established itself as a standard textbook in universities where English is a foreign language, because it provides in a lucid and authoritative manner the basic information needed by foreign students of the language. Most of the book is devoted to a descriptive account of English pronunciation. This is followed by illustrative texts in phonetic transcription of Received Pronunciation and several regional varieties, Scottish and American pronunciation and reconstructions of Shakespearian and Chaucerian speech.




The Spenser Encyclopedia


Book Description

'This masterly work ought to be The Elizabethan Encyclopedia, and no less.' - Cahiers Elizabethains Edmund Spenser remains one of Britain's most famous poets. With nearly 700 entries this Encyclopedia provides a comprehensive one-stop reference tool for: * appreciating Spenser's poetry in the context of his age and our own * understanding the language, themes and characters of the poems * easy to find entries arranged by subject.




Shakespeare's England


Book Description




Modern Philology


Book Description

Vols. 30-54 include 1932-1956 of: Victorian bibliography, prepared by a committee of the Victorian Literature Group of the Modern Language Association of America.







The Phonology of a South Durham Dialect


Book Description

This book, first published in 1933, examines the dialect of the people of Byers Green in County Durham. Orton explores the possible reasons behind why the dialect has signs of external influences, and the ways in which it differs to the dialects of other populations in County Durham. This title will be of interest to students of language and linguistics.




The Handbook of Historical Sociolinguistics


Book Description

Written by an international team of leading scholars, this groundbreaking reference work explores the nature of language change and diffusion, and paves the way for future research in this rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field. Features 35 newly-written essays from internationally acclaimed experts that reflect the growth and vitality of the burgeoning area of historical sociolinguistics Examines how sociolinguistic theoretical models, methods, findings, and expertise can be used to reconstruct a language's past in order to explain linguistic changes and developments Bridges the gap between the past and the present in linguistic studies Structured thematically into sections exploring: origins and theoretical assumptions; methods for the sociolinguistic study of the history of languages; linguistic and extra-linguistic variables; historical dialectology, language contact and diffusion; and attitudes to language