Historical & Comparative Linguistics

The Story of English is the extraordinary tale of the origins and development of the English language. Two thousand years ago English was confined...

Once spoken only in Santa Rosa Department, Guatemala, the Xinkan language family is unique within Mesoamerica, comprising four closely related lang...

At a time when many of the world's languages are at risk of extinction, the imperative to document, analyse and teach them before time runs out is ...

This book explores the long history of the Arabic language, from pre-Islamic Arabic via the Classical era of the Arabic grammarians up to the prese...

Rhetoric and Rhythm in Byzantium takes a fresh look at rhetorical rhythm and its theory and practice, highlighting the close affinity between rhyth...

This book aims to clarify some puzzles that have been topical in formal linguistics for many decades now. It concerns the status of English and, fo...

Human language is not the same as human speech. We use gestures and signs to communicate alongside, or instead of, speaking. Yet gestures and speec...

Politeness plays a vital role in maintaining class differences. In this highly original account, Sara Mills analyses the interrelationship between ...

In White Kids, Mary Bucholtz investigates how white teenagers use language to display identities based on race and youth culture. Focusing on three...

This is a history of Europe unlike any other: a theory-informed history of its language use. The 'rise' and 'fall' of languages are recounted, alon...

The Tudors are one of the best known royal families in English history. Over three generations, they constructed and maintained their status and au...

Extensively revised and updated, this second edition provides, in an A-Z format, an analysis of the most important generalizations that have been m...

Three experienced biblical language professors inspire readers to learn, retain, and use Hebrew for ministry, setting them on a lifelong journey of...

A substantial proportion of our everyday language is 'formulaic', that is, it consists of oft-repeated chunks. From pause fillers such as you know,...

English has a considerable history in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and present-day English has a significant influence on the vocabulary of mo...

Combining statistical modelling and archival study, English and Empire investigates how African diasporic, Chinese, and Indian characters have been...

Collection examining the Anglo-Norman language in a variety of texts and contexts, in military, legal, literary and other forms. The question of t...

The concept of politeness permeates all aspects of modern life and society. However, to what extent has this phenomenon changed over time? This boo...

This path-breaking study of the standardisation of English goes well beyond the traditional prescriptivism versus descriptivism debate. It argues t...

The plural form 'Englishes' conveys the diversity of English as a global language, pinpointing the growth and existence of a large number of nation...

Transforming Early English shows how historical pragmatics can offer a powerful explanatory framework for the changes medieval English and Older Sc...

Place has always been central to studies of language, variation and change. Since the eighteenth century, dialectologists have been mapping languag...

Introducing new findings from popular culture, the globalised new economy and computer-mediated communication, this is a fascinating study of conta...