This lecture series is designed as an introduction to the history of the English language. It will begin with an overview of the external history of English and of the background to the English language in Britain. There will follow sections on the development of the English language from a linguistic point of view with particular emphasis on both changes in structure and in English society. The lectures will continue up to the present with special emphasis on the late modern period, i.e. on English in the past three centuries and the changes it has undergone. Literature Barber, Charles 1993. The English language. A historical introduction. Cambridge: University Press. Baugh, Albert C., and Thomas Cable. 2002. A history of the English language. Fifth edition. London: Routledge. Crystal, David 1995. The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language. Cambridge: University Press. Hogg, Richard M. and David Denison (ed.) 2006. A history of the English language. Cambridge: University Press. Mugglestone, Lynda (ed.) 2006. The Oxford History of English. Oxford: University Press. Pyles, Thomas and John Algeo 2004. The origins and development of the English language. Fifth edition. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. |
