Exploring the evolution of gender in English literature, this groundbreaking study spans from the Middle Ages to contemporary times. It examines how societal views on gender have shaped literary expression and representation, highlighting key texts and authors that reflect shifting attitudes. By analyzing historical contexts and cultural influences, the book offers a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between gender and language throughout the centuries.
Anne Curzan demonstrates the important role prescriptivism plays in the
history of the English language. Starting with a pioneering new definition of
prescriptivism as a linguistic phenomenon, she highlights the significant role
played by Microsoft's grammar checker, debates about 'real words', non-sexist
language reform, and efforts to reappropriate stigmatized terms.
This volume features selected papers from the SHEL-2 conference at the University of Washington in Spring 2002, showcasing a diverse range of research in historical English linguistics. Scholars from North America and Europe explore various topics, including modern theories like Optimality Theory and corpus linguistics, alongside traditional areas such as phonology and syntax. The book is divided into four sections: Philology and linguistics; Corpus- and text-based studies; Constraint-based studies; and Dialectology. Each section includes a key article that sparks discussions among leading scholars, who engage directly with each other's arguments. For instance, Donka Minkova and Lesley Milroy examine historical sociolinguistics, while Susan M. Fitzmaurice and Erik Smitterberg present new findings on progressive constructions. Geoffrey Russom and Robert D. Fulk reanalyze Middle English alliterative meter, and Michael Montgomery, Connie Eble, and Guy Bailey discuss the pen/pin merger in Southern American English. The volume addresses significant issues in historical English linguistics, covering topics from Proto-Germanic sound change to contemporary dialect variation, employing methodologies ranging from detailed philological analysis to rapid data collection in computerized corpora. Overall, it captures the ongoing discourse surrounding evidence and historical reconstruction in the field.
