Recommended usage of linguistic forms has often been based on ideological tenets, such as in the case of early American English, when attention was paid to its patriotic value. Ideology is found in grammars, dictionaries, and in other more popular genres, the relatively low cost of which made… read more
In Late Modern times, both usage guides and letter-writing manuals commented on language etiquette, providing guidance on how to address specific recipients according to their rank, age, and gender, how to approach certain topics, and how to convey mutual status relying exclusively on language.… read more
This chapter discusses some nineteenth-century Scottish authors, lexicographers, and periodicals that are frequently cited as sources in the Oxford English Dictionary, in order to assess their role in the expansion of English vocabulary that occurred throughout Late Modern times. As these citations… read more
In political communication group identity construal is often oversimplified: the supposed homogeneity of individual groups is emphasized, while their mutual antagonism is highlighted. This phenomenon also has considerable time depth and even influences the historical (re)construction and… read more
Emigrants’ letters have finally become the object of linguistic investigation since language historians have joined historians in their study of correspondence as a valuable research tool. In historical sociolinguistics and historical pragmatics, in particular, letters have proved useful in studies… read more
This contribution aims to outline the main ways in which solidarity is elicited in nineteenth-century narratives of ocean crossings. In addition to materials transcribed for the Corpus of Nineteenth-century Scottish Correspondence (19CSC) and those available in the Corpus of Modern Scottish Writing… read more
Language, be it remember’d, is not an abstract construction of the learn’d, or of dictionary-makers, but is something arising out of the work, needs, ties, joys, affections, tastes, of long generations of humanity, and has its bases broad and low, close to the ground. Its final decisions are made… read more
This paper analyzes the main strategies employed by encoders of nineteenth-century business letters to encourage the trust of the recipient or to show their trust in the recipient’s skills and qualities, so that successful business relationships may develop. Relying on the sample of business… read more