Alliteration and Sound Change in Early English (Paperback, New ed)

This study uses evidence from early English verse to reconstruct the course of some central phonological changes in the history of the language. It builds on the premise that alliteration reflects faithfully the acoustic identity and similarity of stressed syllable onsets. Individual chapters cover the history of the velars, the structure and history of vowel-initial syllable onsets, the behavior of onset clusters, and the chronology and motivation of cluster reduction (gn-, kn-, hr-, hl-, hn-, hw-, wr-, wl-). Examination of the patterns of group alliteration in Old and Middle English reveals a hierarchy of cluster-internal cohesiveness which leads to new conclusions regarding the causes for the special treatment of sp-, st-, sk- in alliteration. The analysis draws on current phonetically-based Optimality-Theoretic models. The book presents valuable new information about the medieval poetic canon and elucidates the relationship between orality and literacy in the evolution of English verse.

General

Imprint:	Cambridge UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Linguistics
Release date:	November 2006
First published:	October 2006
Authors:	Donka Minkova (Professor)
Dimensions:	228 x 152 x 26mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	424
Edition:	New ed
ISBN-13:	978-0-521-03224-7
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Language & linguistics > Sociolinguistics Books > Language & Literature > Language & linguistics > Historical & comparative linguistics > General
LSN:	0-521-03224-5
Barcode:	9780521032247

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