The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics.

The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics.

The book offers insight into the publication history of eighteenth-century English grammars in unprecedented detail. It is based on a close analysis of various types of relevant information: Alston's bibliography of 1965, showing that this source needs to be revised urgently; the recently published online database Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) with respect to sources of information never previously explored or analysed (such as book catalogues and library catalogues); Carol Percy's database on the reception of eighteenth-century grammars in contemporary periodical reviews; and so-called precept corpora containing data on the treatment in a large variety of grammars (and other works) of individual grammatical constructions. By focussing on individual grammars and their history a number of long-standing questions are solved with respect to the authorship of particular grammars and related work (the Brightland/Gildon grammar and the Bellum Grammaticale; Ann Fisher's grammar) while new questions are identified, such as the significant change of approach between the publication of one grammar and its second edition of seven years later (Priestley), and the dependence of later practical grammars (for mothers and their children) on earlier publications. The contributions present a view of the grammarians as individuals with (or without) specific qualifications for undertaking what they did, with their own ideas on teaching methodology, and as writers ultimately engaged in the common aim presenting practical grammars of English to the general public. Interestingly - and importantly - this collection of articles demonstrates the potential of ECCO as a resource for further research in the field.

Along with Shakespeare, Jane Austen (1775-1817) can be said to be the most widely studied author in the history of English literature. But unlike Shakespeare, her language has received little scholarly attention. This is especially true for the language of her letters. Jane Austen's letters, mostly addressed to her sister Cassandra but to various other people as well, have been described as the equivalent of telephone conversations, and if you read them, you can almost hear her speak. We do not have access to actual speech from the time in which she lived, but the letters take us as close to the spoken language of the period as you might hope to get. They are therefore a veritable linguistic goldmine. This study, for the first time, offers a detailed sociolinguistic account of all aspects of the language of her letters: spelling, vocabulary and grammar. It also produces some evidence of pronunciation as well as of local dialectal usage. The analysis shows Jane Austen to be rather idiosyncratic in her language use: she was consistent in her spelling (though she had unusual spelling preferences), not very innovative in her vocabulary (though she did coin a few new words), and not quite representative of grammatical developments of the times (though her usage differed depending on who she wrote to, her sister, her publisher or her nieces and nephews). This study of Jane Austen's private language use shows the extent to which she varied in her language use, just like any of us do today, while is also provides evidence both for a date of her unfinished novel The Watsons (for the first time on linguistic grounds) and for the interplay there must have been between the editors of her novels and her own linguistic preferences, in the field of spelling and otherwise.

Describing Prescriptivism provides a topical and thought-provoking analysis of linguistic prescriptivism in British and American English, from a historical as well as present-day perspective. Focusing on usage guides and usage problems, the book takes a three-fold approach to present an in-depth analysis of the topic, featuring: a detailed study of the advice provided in usage guides over the years; an authoritative comparison of this advice with actual usage as recorded in British and American corpora, including the HUGE (Hyper Usage Guide of English) database - developed specifically to enable this line of study - as well as more mainstream corpora such as COCA, COHA and the BNC; a close analysis of the attitudes to particular usage problems among the general public, based on surveys distributed online through the "Bridging the Unbridgeable" research project's blog.* With extensive case studies to illustrate and support claims throughout, this comprehensive study is key reading for students and researchers of prescriptivism, the history of English and sociolinguistics. *Found at https://bridgingtheunbridgeable.com/

Describing Prescriptivism provides a topical and thought-provoking analysis of linguistic prescriptivism in British and American English, from a historical as well as present-day perspective. Focusing on usage guides and usage problems, the book takes a three-fold approach to present an in-depth analysis of the topic, featuring: a detailed study of the advice provided in usage guides over the years; an authoritative comparison of this advice with actual usage as recorded in British and American corpora, including the HUGE (Hyper Usage Guide of English) database - developed specifically to enable this line of study - as well as more mainstream corpora such as COCA, COHA and the BNC; a close analysis of the attitudes to particular usage problems among the general public, based on surveys distributed online through the "Bridging the Unbridgeable" research project's blog.* With extensive case studies to illustrate and support claims throughout, this comprehensive study is key reading for students and researchers of prescriptivism, the history of English and sociolinguistics. *Found at https://bridgingtheunbridgeable.com/

The studies presented in this volume concentrate on aspects of Late Modern English correspondence in the usage of individuals belonging to different social classes, writing for different purposes, and finding themselves in different social contexts, both in Britain and in its colonies. As the growing body of research published in recent years has shown, analysing the language of letters presents both a challenge and an opportunity to obtain access to as full a range of styles as would be possible for a period for which we only have access to the language in its written form. It is an area of study in which all the contributors have considerable expertise, which affords them to present data findings while discussing important methodological issues. In addition, in most cases data derive from specially-designed 'second-generation' corpora, reflecting state-of-the-art approaches to historical sociolinguistics and pragmatics. Theoretical issues concerning letters as a text type, their role in social network analysis, and their value in the identification of register or variety specific traits are high-lighted, alongside issues concerning the (often less than easy) relationship between strictly codified norms and actual usage on the part of speakers whose level of education could vary considerably.

Analysis of the relationship between the Winchester manuscript and Caxton's edition. Detailed linguistic analysis of the two versions of the Morte Darthur, charting important changes in the development of the English language. Malory's Morte Darthursurvives in two versions: the Winchester manuscript, which has been dated 1469-70, and the edition Caxton published in 1485. These versions were thought to be collaterally related through a common source to an original lost manuscript, until in 1977 new evidence suggested a linear descent. Dr Tieken-Boon van Ostade's study supports this argument, first through a detailed refutation of Vinaver's arguments for collateral descent,then through an analysis of the incidence of multiple negation in both versions of the Morte Darthurand the conclusions to be drawn from it. A reconstruction of the events leading to Caxton's publication of the text at a politically hazardous time completes the volume.Dr INGRID TIEKEN-BOON VAN OSTADEis lecturer in English at the University of Leiden. Two books already published centre on the history of the English language.

Some twenty years ago it was widely believed that nothing much happened to the English language since the beginning of the eighteenth century. Recent research has shown that this is far from true, and this book offers an introduction to a period that forms the tail end of the standardisation process (codification and prescription), during which important social changes such as the Industrial Revolution are reflected in the language. Late Modern English is currently receiving a lot of scholarly attention, mainly as a result of new developments in sociohistorical linguistics and corpus linguistics. By drawing on such research the present book offers a much fuller account of the language of the period than was previously possible. It is designed for students and beginning scholars interested in Late Modern English. The volume includes: * a basis in recent research by which sociolinguistic models are applied to earlier stages of the language (1700-1900) * a focus on people as speakers (wherever possible) and writers of English* Research questions aimed at acquiring skills at working with important electronic research tools such as Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO), the Oxford English Dictionary and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography* Reference to electronically available texts and databases such as Martha Ballard's Diary, the Proceedings of the Old Bailey and Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.

This spirited account of the life and times of one of the seminal figures in history of English grammar dispels the myth of Lowth as the icon of prescriptivism, and establishes him as the most important figure in eighteenth-century English grammar.
Ingrid Tiecken-Boon van Ostade reexamines the life and work of Robert Lowth (1710-1787), founder of the grammatical prescriptivism so deprecated by modern linguists and educational theorists. She considers Lowth and his grammar in the context of his times and from the perspective of his aims and readership. She shows that, once the grammar had been accepted for publication, it developed into a publishers' project similar to Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language to which it was intended as a complement. Professor Tiecken draws on contemporary sources, including Lowth's extensive correspondence and unpublished memoir, to explore the social networks, aspirations, beliefs, and reading habits that informed and shaped his grammar and ideas on language. (She notes that Lowth's own language often falls short of the norms and strictures advanced in his book.) By comparing the grammar - in particular the problems of usage dealt with in its sections on syntax - with guides from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, she redefines Lowth's seminal position in the history of handbooks for correct usage, as well as his role in the establishment of the canon of prescriptivism.
This book will appeal to all those interested in the history of English, the role of language in the Enlightenment, and the long-running debate on linguistic correctness and the merits or otherwise of prescriptive rules in the teaching and use of English.

This volume explores both historical and current issues in English usage guides or style manuals. Guides of this sort have a long history: while Fowler's Modern English Usage (1926) is one of the best known, the first English usage guide was published in the UK in 1770, and the first in the US in 1847. Today, new titles come out nearly every year, while older works are revised and reissued. Remarkably, however, the kind of usage problems that have been addressed over the years are very much the same, and attitudes towards them are slow to change - but they do change. The chapters in this book look at how and why these guides are compiled, and by whom; what sort of advice they contain; how they differ from grammars and dictionaries; how attitudes to usage change; and why institutions such as the BBC need their own style guide. The volume will appeal not only to researchers and students in sociolinguistics, but also to general readers with an interest in questions of usage and prescriptivism, language professionals such as teachers and editors, and language policy makers.

Some twenty years ago it was widely believed that nothing much happened to the English language since the beginning of the eighteenth century. Recent research has shown that this is far from true, and this book offers an introduction to a period that forms the tail end of the standardisation process (codification and prescription), during which important social changes such as the Industrial Revolution are reflected in the language. Late Modern English is currently receiving a lot of scholarly attention, mainly as a result of new developments in sociohistorical linguistics and corpus linguistics. By drawing on such research the present book offers a much fuller account of the language of the period than was previously possible. It is designed for students and beginning scholars interested in Late Modern English. The volume includes: * a basis in recent research by which sociolinguistic models are applied to earlier stages of the language (1700-1900) * a focus on people as speakers (wherever possible) and writers of English* Research questions aimed at acquiring skills at working with important electronic research tools such as Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO), the Oxford English Dictionary and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography* Reference to electronically available texts and databases such as Martha Ballard's Diary, the Proceedings of the Old Bailey and Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.