Part of
The Evolution of Englishes: The Dynamic Model and beyondEdited by Sarah Buschfeld, Thomas Hoffmann, Magnus Huber and Alexander Kautzsch
[Varieties of English Around the World G49] 2014
► pp. 282–300
Edited by Sarah Buschfeld, Thomas Hoffmann, Magnus Huber and Alexander Kautzsch
[Varieties of English Around the World G49] 2014
► pp. 282–300
The evolution of English(es)
Notes on the history of an idea
Many of the central tenets of modern linguistics – and thus also of the study of World Englishes – have a history which goes back to the nineteenth century. This article focuses on the idea of the evolution of language(s). I will employ a discourse-historical approach to show that evolution was generally taken to imply not only progress but also hierarchization, and that English and its standard variety – as well as their speakers – were inevitably seen as the most progressive and placed at the top of any linguistic hierarchy. Of course, crude nationalist and racist thinking are no longer current in academic linguistics today; nevertheless, this article will claim that in order to fully comprehend contemporary ideologies of language, we need to understand the historical origins of the assumptions and beliefs upon which they rest.
References
Aarsleff, H
1967 The Study of Language in England, 1780–1860. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.
Bailey, R.W
1991 Images of English: A Cultural History of the Language. Ann Arbor MI: The University of Michigan Press.
1996 Nineteenth-Century English. Ann Arbor MI: The University of Michigan Press.
2003 The ideology of English in the long eighteenth century. In Insights into Late Modern English, M. Dossena & C. Jones (eds), 21–44. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
Blommaert, J
1999 The debate is open. In Language Ideological Debates, J. Blommaert (ed.), 1–3. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 
Bolton, W.F. & Crystal, D.
(eds) 1969 The English Language. Vol. 2: Essays by Linguists and Men of Letters 1858–1964. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bowring, J
1995 [1863]. Primitive language. In R. Harris (ed.), 386–392. First published in Cornhill Magazine 8.
Crowley, T
2003 Standard English and the Politics of Language, 2nd edn. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
Darwin, C
1859 On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. London: John Murray.
De Quincey, T
1995 [1839] The English language. In R. Harris (ed.), 78–89. First published in Blackwood’s Magazine 45.
Donovan, J
1995 [1899] A new approach to the problem of the origin of language. In R. Harris (ed.), 449–463. First published in Westminster Review 151.
Errington, J
2001 Colonial linguistics. Annual Review of Anthropology 30: 19–39.
2008 Linguistics in a Colonial World. A Story of Language, Meaning, and Power. Malden MA: Blackwell.
Garner, R.L
1995 [1891–92] The Simian tongue. In R. Harris (ed.), 375–390. First published in New Review 4–6.
Gellner, E
1995 Anthropology and Politics: Revolutions in the Sacred Grove. Oxford: Blackwell.
Hackert, S
2012 The Emergence of the English Native Speaker: A Chapter in Nineteenth-Century Linguistic Thought. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Hall, F
1969 [1880] English rational and irrational. In W.F. Bolton & D. Crystal (eds), 30–53. First published in The Nineteenth Century 43.
Harris, R.
(ed.) 1995a Language and Linguistics. Vol.1: English Language and Language-
Teaching 1800–1865.London: Routledge / Thoemmes Press.
(ed.) 1995b Language and Linguistics. Vol.2: English Language and Language-
Teaching 1865–1900. London: Routledge & Thoemmes Press.
(ed.) 1995c Language and Linguistics. Vol.3: Language and Linguistic Theory
1800–1865. London: Routledge & Thoemmes Press.
(ed.) 1995d Language and Linguistics. Vol.4: Language and Linguistic Theory
1865–1900. London: Routledge & Thoemmes Press.
Harris, R. & Talbot J.T
1989 Landmarks in Linguistic Thought: The Western Tradition from Socrates to Saussure. London: Routledge.
von Humboldt, W
1836 Über die Verschiedenheit des menschlichen Sprachbaues und ihren Einfluss auf die geistige Entwickelung des Menschengeschlechts. Berlin: F. Dümmler.
Jespersen, O
1946 Mankind, Nation and Individual From a Linguistic Point of View. London: Allen & Unwin. First published in Oslo: Aschehoug 1925.
1993 [1894] Progress in Language. With Special Reference to English. New edition with an introduction by J.D. McCawley. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Johnston, C
1995 [1899] The primæval language. In R. Harris (ed.), 464–472. First published in Contemporary Review 76.
Kern, R
1996 Orientalism, Modernism, and the American Poem. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Labov, W
1972 The logic of nonstandard English. In Language in the Inner City. Studies in the Black English Vernacular, W. Labov (ed.), 201–240. Philadelphia PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Marenbon, J
1991[1987] English our English: The new orthodoxy examined. In Proper English? Readings in Language, History and Cultural Identity, T. Crowley, 245–260. London: Routledge. First published by the Centre for Policy Studies.
Marsh, G.P
1859 Address. In Inaugural Addresses of Theodore W. Dwight, Professor of Law, and of George P. Marsh, Professor of English Literature, in Columbia College, New York. New York NY: By Authority of the Trustees. [URL] (15 December 2005).
Mathews, W
1876 Words: Their Use and Abuse. Chicago IL: Griggs.
McCawley, J.D
1993 Introduction. In O. Jespersen (ed.), IX–XVIII.
Meyer, A
Milroy, J
2001 Language ideologies and the consequences of standardization. Journal of Sociolinguistics 5(4): 530–555.
Mufwene, S
2001 The Ecology of Language Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
2006 Race, racialism, and the study of language in America. In LAVIS III – Language Variety in the South: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, M. Picone & K. Davis (eds). Tuscaloosa AL: University of Alabama Press. [URL] (27 November 2013).
Müller, M
1862 Lectures on the Science of Language Delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in April, May, and June, 1861. New York NY: Scribner.
1995 [1863] Introductory lecture on the science of language. In R. Harris (ed.), 369–385. First published in Macmillan’s Magazine 7.
Nicol, H
1995 [1872] English philology. In R. Harris (ed.), 103–121. First published in Westminster Review 42.
Paul, H
1890 Principles of the History of Language. Trans. H.A. Strong. London: Sonnenschein. Originally published in German 1880: Prinzipien der Sprachgeschichte. Halle: Max Niemeyer.
Pennycook, A
1998 English and the Discourses of Colonialism. London, New York NY: Routledge.
Sayce, A.H
1874 The Principles of Comparative Philology. London: Trübner.
Schleicher, A
1873 [1863] Die Darwinsche Theorie und die Sprachwissenschaft, 3rd edn. Weimar: Böhlau.
Schneider, E.W
2003 The dynamics of New Englishes: From identity construction to dialect birth. Language 79(2): 233–281.
2007 Postcolonial English: Varieties around the World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
2011 English around the World: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Singh, J
1996 Colonial Narratives / Cultural Dialogues: “Discoveries” of India in the Language of Colonialism. London: Routledge.
Strettell, A
1995 [1851] Comparative philology. In R. Harris (ed.), 163–192. First published in North British Review 16.
Trench, R.C
1927 [1851] On the Study of Words. London: Dent & New York: Dutton.
Whitman, W
1969 [1885]. Slang in America. In W.F. Bolton & D. Crystal (eds), 54–58. First published in The North American Review 141.
Whitney, W.D
1875 The Life and Growth of Language. London: King.
Wyld, H.C
1969 [1906] The Historical Study of the Mother Tongue: An Introduction to Philological Method. New York NY: Greenwood Press.
Cited by
Cited by 1 other publications
Hackert, Stephanie
2022. The epicentre model and American influence on Bahamian Englishes. World Englishes 41:3 ► pp. 361 ff. 
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 12 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.