Introduction to the History of English

Kohnen introduces the history of the English language to students and readers who do not have a background in linguistics. He begins with a short overview of the basic facts of language change and the Indo-European background of English, then traces the major periods of the language--Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Late Modern English. For each period he discusses the socio-historical background, the core areas of linguistic structure, discourse, speech acts, and genres. Many examples and excerpts, translated for earlier periods, illustrate the principles and trends. Annotation ©2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)