English Historical Linguistics

Change in structure and meaning

Papers from the XXth ICEHL

Editors

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027210647 | EUR 99.00 | USD 149.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027258205 | EUR 99.00 | USD 149.00

This volume contains a set of articles based on papers selected from those delivered at the 20th International Conference on English Historical Linguistics (ICEHL, Edinburgh 2018). It focuses on cutting-edge research in the history of English, while reflecting the diversity that exists in the current landscape of English historical linguistics. Chapters showcase traditional as well as novel methodologies in historical linguistics (the latter made possible by the increasing quality and accessibility of digital tools), work on linguistic interfaces (between segmental phonology and prosody, and syntax and information structure) and work on mechanisms of language change (such as Yang’s Tolerance Principle, on the threshold for the productivity of linguistic rules in language acquisition). The volume will be of interest to those working on the historical phonology, morphology, syntax and pragmatics of English, language change, corpus linguistics, computational historical linguistics, and related sub-disciplines.

[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 358] 2022. viii, 349 pp.

Publishing status: Available
Published online on 13 January 2022

https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.358

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements | pp. vii–viii

Introduction: English Historical Linguistics at 20 ICEHLs

Bettelou Los and Patrick Honeybone | pp. 1–12

Part I. Phonology and morphology

Chapter 1. Grimm’s Law and Verner’s Law: Towards a unified phonetic account

Gjertrud F. Stenbrenden | pp. 15–40

Chapter 2. The foot in the history of English: Challenges to metrical coherence

B. Elan Dresher and Aditi Lahiri | pp. 41–60

Chapter 3. Ambiguity resolution and the evolution of homophones in English

Mieko Ogura and William S-Y. Wang | pp. 61–90

Chapter 4. The threshold of productivity and the ‘irregularization’ of verbs in Early Modern English

Don Ringe and Charles Yang | pp. 91–112

Part II. Syntax

Chapter 5. The reanalysis of VO in the history of English: Evidence for a language-internal account

Chiara De Bastiani | pp. 115–136

Chapter 6. The role of (the avoidance of) centre embedding in the change from OV to VO in English

Rodrigo Pérez Lorido | pp. 137–162

Chapter 7. Syntactic changes in verbal clauses and noun phrases from 1500 onwards

Gerold Schneider | pp. 163–200

Chapter 8. Prepositions in Early Modern English argument structure and beyond

Eva Zehentner and Marianne Hundt | pp. 201–224

Chapter 9. Should with non-past reference: A corpus-based diachronic study

Lilo Moessner | pp. 225–242

Part III. Semantics and pragmatics

Chapter 10. Shifting responsibility in passing information: Stance-taking in Sir Thomas Bodley’s diplomatic correspondence

Gabriella Mazzon | pp. 245–262

Chapter 11. Theatrical practices and grammatical standardization in eighteenth-century Britain: you was and you were

James Hyett and Carol Percy | pp. 263–286

Chapter 12. Towards a companionate marriage in Late Modern England? Two critical episodes in Mary Hamilton’s courtship letters to John Dickenson

Anne-Christine Gardner | pp. 287–308

Chapter 13. On the development of OE swā to ModE so and related changes in an atypical group of demonstratives

Ekkehard König and Letizia Vezzosi | pp. 309–344

Index | pp. 345–349

“The contributions all derive insights into the diachrony of English which are only possible through their methodologically innovative uses of large-scale historical datasets. In doing so, they show how new methods provide new perspectives on – and prospects for research in – the history of English.”

Phillip Wallage, Northumbria University, in English Language and Linguistics (2024).

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