Is English Changing? (Routledge Guides to Linguistics) - Hardcover

Kleinedler, Steve

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1138234672 ISBN 13: 9781138234673

Publisher: Routledge, 2018

Synopsis

Is English changing? To what degree is it changing? Is this change good or bad? In answering these questions, Is English Changing? provides a lively and concise introduction to language change, refuting commonly held misconceptions about language evolution as we understand it. Showing that English, like all living languages, has historically changed and continues to change, this book:

• analyzes developments in the lexicon, the way words are spoken or written, and the way in which speakers and writers use words;
• offers a basic overview of the major subfields of linguistics, including phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics, all viewed through the prism of language change;
• discusses change over time with examples from Old English, Middle English, and Modern English;
• reinforces important concepts with examples from other languages, including Spanish, Japanese, and Czech;
• clearly defines key terms and includes advice on rules, usage, and style, as well as ample annotated further reading and activities throughout.

Aimed at undergraduate students with little or no prior knowledge of linguistics, this book is essential reading for those studying this topic for the first time.

About this title

About the Author:

Steve Kleinedler is Executive Editor for the American Heritage Dictionaries.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1138234672
• ISBN 13: 9781138234673
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 206