Gender Shifts in the History of English

by Anne Curzan

Overview

Based on extensive research, Anne Curzan's study makes a major contribution by providing historical perspective on controversial questions regarding the continuing evolution of gender definition. How and why did grammatical gender gradually disappear from English and get replaced by a system where the gender of nouns and the use of personal pronouns depend on the natural gender of the referent? How is this shift related to "irregular agreement" (she for ships) and "sexist" language use (generic he) in Modern English? Finally, how is the language continuing to evolve 0n these respects?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521117265
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/30/2009
Series:	Studies in English Language
Pages:	236
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Anne Curzan is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Michigan. She has written extensively on the history of English, lexicography, and pedagogy, and is co-author of First Day to Final Grade: A Graduate Student's Guide to Teaching (2000). Professor Curzan is also co-editor of the Journal of English Linguistics.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Defining English gender; 2. The gender shift in histories of English; 3. A history of gender, people and pronouns: the story of generic he; 4. Third-person pronouns in the gender shift: why is that ship a she?; 5. Gender and asymmetrical word histories: when boys could be girls; 6. Implications for non-sexist language reform; Appendix 1. Background on early English personal pronouns; Appendix 2. Helsinki corpus texts and methodology; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Those who pick this book up expecting a dry study of inflection ... will be delighted to find the Curzan has made linguistic research both accessible and relevant.... This volume is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of English, sociolinguistics, or language and gender. Essential." Choice

From the Publisher