List of Tables, Figures, and Sample Texts Preface Abbreviations 1. Studying the History of English Overview Objectives Why Study the History of English? A Definition of Language The Components of Language Linguistic Change in English The Nature of Linguistic Change The Origin of Language Attitudes toward Linguistic Change Resources for Studying the History of English Recommended Resources 2. Sounds and Sound Change in English Overview Objectives The Sounds of English Sound Change The Writing of English Recommended Resources 3. Causes and Mechanisms of Language Change Overview Objectives Causes of Change Morphological and Syntactic Change Semantic Change Pragmatic Change Recommended Resources 4. The Indo-European Language Family and Proto-Indo-European Overview Objectives Classification of Languages Language Families The Indo-European Language Family Proto-Language Reconstruction Proto-Indo-European Recommended Resources 5. Germanic and the Development of Old English Overview Objectives Proto-Germanic Grammatical and Lexical Changes from PIE to Germanic Phonological Changes from PIE to Germanic A Brief History of Anglo-Saxon England The Records of the Anglo-Saxons Recommended Resources 6. The Words and Sounds of Old English Overview Objectives The Word Stock of the Anglo-Saxons The Orthographic System of Old English The Phonological System of Old English Stress A Closer Look at the Language of an Old English Text Recommended Resources 7. The Grammar of Old English Overview Objectives The Nominal System The Verbal System Syntax A Closer Look at the Language of an Old English Text Recommended Resources 8.

The Rise of Middle English: Words and Sounds Overview Objectives French and English in Medieval England The Word Stock of Middle English The Written Records of Middle English Orthographic Changes Consonant Changes Vowel Changes A Closer Look at the Language of a Middle English Text Recommended Resources 9. The Grammar of Middle English and Rise of a Written Standard Overview Objectives The Effects of Vowel Reduction Comparison of a Middle English and an Old English Text Change from Synthetic to Analytic Middle English as a Creole? The Rise of a Standard Dialect A Closer Look at the Language of a Middle English Text Recommended Resources 10. The Words, Sounds, and Inflections of Early Modern English Overview Objectives Early Modern English Vocabulary The Great Vowel Shift Changes in the Short Vowels and Diphthongs A Closer Look at the Language of an Early Modern English Text Changes in Consonants Renaissance Respellings Changes in Nominal Inflected Forms Case Usage Changes in Verbal Inflected Forms A Closer Look at the Language of an Early Modern English Text Recommended Resources 11. Early Modern English Verbal Constructions and Eighteenth-Century Prescriptivism Overview Objectives Early Modern English Syntax Late Modern English and the Rise of Prescriptivism Aims of the Eighteenth-Century Grammarians Methods of the Eighteenth-Century Grammarians The Question of Usage Dictionaries Recommended Resources 12. Modern English Overview Objectives Grammatical and Lexical Changes in Late Modern English Changes in Progress The Effect of New Media on English Recommended Resources 13. Varieties of English Overview Objectives The Development of National Varieties Important Regional Varieties of the British Isles English as a Global Language Recommended Resources Appendix A: Quick Reference Guide Appendix B: Timeline of Significant Historical, Social, Literary, and Linguistic Events in the History of English Appendix C: Anthology of Readings Exercise Key Glossary of Linguistic Terms Works Cited Index.