English / Edition 1

by David Graddol, Dick Leith, Joan Swann

Overview

The story of English is often presented as one of progress: from a set of Germanic dialects to a fully-fledged national and international language. The emphasis in this book is on the diversity of English throughout its history and the changing social meanings of different varieties of English.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415131186
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/28/1996
Series:	English Language: Past, Present and Future Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	408
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.75(h) x 0.80(d)

Table of Contents

CONTENTS: 1. English voices - Joan Swann; Introduction; What counts as English? Who speaks English?; When, and when not, to speak English; Responding to diversity; Conclusion; Readings; 2. English Manuscripts: The emergence of a visual identity - David Graddol; Introduction; The origins of written English; Medieval manuscripts and books; The Middle English period; Handwriting after the invention of printing; Orthographies of English: tradition and reform; Conclusion; Readings; 3. The Origins of English - Dick Leith; Introduction; Stories of English; Beginning the story: problems of external history; The internal history: an example of Old English; Why did the grammar of Old English change?; The Norman conquest and the influence of French; Examples of Middle English; Conclusion; Readings; 4. Modernity and English as a National Language - Dick Leith and David Graddol; Introduction; Modernity and the rise of a national language; Caxton and the consequences of printing; The elaboration of English; The codification of

Editorial Reviews

A chronicle of 85 lives beginning in 1956 during each one's infancy through 1988, telling the story of seriously deprived children who surmounted adversity and the coping mechanisms each has adopted in adulthood. The study, initiated as a Canadian research project, began as a simple evaluation of institutionalized children and then took on a second and third phase as researchers continued to track the children as they entered foster or adoptive homes, and then their own adulthoods. The volume analyzes the study's results commenting on such issues as regression, trust, adaptation, and the group's "healthiness" in light of its background. Canadian card order number C95-933374-6. Paper edition (unseen), $16.95 Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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