Studies in the History of the English Language II

Studies in the History of the English Language II: Unfolding Conversations contains selected papers from the SHEL-2 conference held at the University of Washington in Spring 2002. In the volume, scholars from North America and Europe address a broad spectrum of research topics in historical English linguistics, including new theories/methods such as Optimality Theory and corpus linguistics, and traditional fields such as phonology and syntax.

In each of the four sections - Philology and linguistics; Corpus- and text-based studies; Constraint-based studies; Dialectology - a key article provides the focal point for a discussion between leading scholars, who respond directly to each other's arguments within the volume. In Section 1, Donka Minkova and Lesley Milroy explore the possibilities of historical sociolinguistics as part of a discussion of the distinction between philology and linguistics. In Section 2, Susan M. Fitzmaurice and Erik Smitterberg provide new research findings on the history and usage of progressive constructions. In Section 3, Geoffrey Russom and Robert D. Fulk reanalyze the development of Middle English alliterative meter. In Section 4, Michael Montgomery, Connie Eble, and Guy Bailey interpret new historical evidence of the pen/pin merger in Southern American English. The remaining articles address equally salient problems and possibilities within the field of historical English linguistics.

The volume spans topics and time periods from Proto-Germanic sound change to twenty-first century dialect variation, and methodologies from painstaking philological work with written texts to high-speed data gathering in computerized corpora. As a whole, the volume captures an ongoing conversation at the heart of historical English linguistics: the question of evidence and historical reconstruction.

Autorentext

Anne Curzan is Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.

Kimberly Emmons is Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA.

Inhalt

Section 1: Linguistics and philology

Introduction: Linguistics and philology Anne Curzan and Kimberly Emmons

Philology, linguistics, and the history of [hw]~[w] Donka Minkova

An essay in historical sociolinguistics?: On Donka Minkova's "Philology, linguistics, and the history of [hw]~[w]" i>Lesley Milroy

A brief response Donka Minkova

Why we should not believe in short diphthongs David L. White

Extended forms (Streckformen) in English Anatoly Liberman

Linguistic change in words one owns: How trademarks become "generic" Ronald R. Butters and Jennifer Westerhaus

Section 2: Corpus- and text-based studies

Introduction: Corpus- and text-based studies Anne Curzan and Kimberly Emmons

The meanings and uses of the progressive construction in an early eighteenth-century English network Susan M. Fitzmaurice

Investigating the expressive progressive: On Susan Fitzmaurice's "The meanings and uses of the progressive construction in an early eighteenth-century English network" Erik Smitterberg

A brief response Susan M. Fitzmaurice

Modal use across registers and time Douglas Biber

The need for good texts: The case of Henry Machyn's Day Book, 1550-1563 Richard W. Bailey

The perils of firsts: Dating Rawlinson MS Poet. 108 and tracing the development of monolingual English lexicons Ian Lancashire

Section 3: Constraint-based studies

Introduction: Constraint-based studies Anne Curzan and Kimberly Emmons

The evolution of Middle English alliterative meter Geoffrey Russom

Old English poetry and the alliterative revival: On Geoffrey Russom's "The evolution of Middle English alliterative meter" Robert D. Fulk

A brief response Geoffrey Russom

A central metrical prototype for English iambic tetrameter verse: Evidence from Chaucer's octosyllabic lines Xingzhong Li

Early English clause structure change in a stochastic optimality theory setting Brady Z. Clark

The role of perceptual contrast in Verner's Law Olga Petrova

Section 4: Dialectology

Introduction: Dialectology Anne Curzan and Kimberly Emmons

Historical perspectives on the pen/pin merger in Southern American English Michael Montgomery and Connie Eble

Digging up the roots of Southern American English: On Michael Montgomery and Connie Eble's "Historical perspectives on the pen/pin merger in Southern American English" Guy Bailey

A brief response Michael Montgomery and Connie Eble

Vowel merger in west central Indiana: A naughty, knotty problem Betty S. Phillips

The spread of negative contraction in early English Richard M. Hogg