Grijzenhout & Plank, SS 16: STRUCTURE AND HISTORY OF ENGLISH, Part II: History (SHE II)
READING MATTERS
Histories of English (introductions and handbooks)
Though they may differ in terminology, style, orientation, emphasis, width and depth of
coverage, and quality of analysis and explanation, the works under this rubric are bound to
be very similar in content. We are not adopting a single title as a text, but recommend that
you look at more than one and compare — especially those listed here: there are many
which we intentionally do not list and which you may only look at at your own risk. If you
are asking us which single one to add to your own library (and a good history of English is
as essential for English students to own as are a solid grammar and various dictionaries),
Lass 1987 and/or van Gelderen 2006, would be safe recommendations.
Lass, Roger (1987). The Shape of English: Structure and History. London: Dent.
eng 78/ l18a
[warmly recommended as a linguist’s history]
Gelderen, Elly van (2006). A History of the English Language. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
[though simpler than Lass’s, also recommended as a linguist’s history — notwithstanding
Fig. 1.1 on page 2 coming with the wrong legend, or the legend with the wrong map. Also
see the accompanying website: http://www.historyofenglish.net/]
Hogg, Richard & David Denison (2006). A History of the English Language. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
[derivative of The Cambridge History of the English Language, below]
Brinton, Laurel J. & Leslie K. Arnovick (2011). The English Language: A Linguistic
History. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Millward, C. M. (1989). A Biography of the English Language. New York: Holt, Rinehart
& Winston.
[plus a workbook]
Jespersen, Otto (1938). Growth and Structure of the English Language. Oxford: Blackwell.
(9th edn., 1972.)
[a classic, and concise]
Penzl, Herbert, with Margaret Austin Hall (1994). Englisch: Eine Sprachgeschichte nach
Texten von 350 bis 1992. Bern: Lang.
eng 50:n/ p26
Pyles, Thomas & J. Algeo (1982). The Origins and Development of the English Language.
San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
eng 51/ p95(4)
[plus a workbook]
Bloomfield, Morton W. & L. Newmark (1979). A Linguistic Introduction to the History of
English. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
eng 51/ b59
Fennell, Barbara (2001). A History of English. Oxford: Blackwell.
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[emphasis on sociolinguistics]
Baugh, Albert C. & Thomas Cable (2002). A History of the English Language. London:
Routledge.
eng 51/ b19
Strang, Barbara (1982). History of English. London: Methuen.
eng 51/ s97a
[everything backwards — chronologically, that is]
Blake, Norman F. (1998). A History of the English Language. Basingstoke: MacMillan.
eng 51/b19
Barber, Charles, Joan C. Beal, & Philip A. Shaw (2009). The English Language: A
Historical Introduction. New edition. Cambridge: CUP.
eng 51/ b16b
***
Hogg, Richard M. (general editor) (1992-2001). The Cambridge History of the English
Language. 6 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
[essential for reference: few people are known to have read all volumes in one go.]
Mugglestone, Lynda (ed.) (2006). The Oxford History of English. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
[single volume, to distinguish itself from the six of the Cambridge history of the same
language; also less "linguistic"]
Brunner, Karl (1951). Die englische Sprache. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
eng 78/ t60, eng 51/ b79
[also a good reference work, though from a single perspective]
***
McCrum, R., W. Cran, & R. MacNeill (1986). The Story of English. London: Faber &
Faber.
[and the BBC programme of the same name; lighter entertainment: well-done as regards
external history, next to nothing on internal history; somewhat Anglocentric even for a
history of that particular language]
Crystal, David (2010). Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices. An Illustrated
History of the English Language. London: British Library.
[came with an exhibition at The British Library: for the general public]
History of English Phonology, Morphology, Syntax
Lass, Roger (ed.) (1969). Approaches to English Historical Linguistics: An Anthology.
New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
eng 78/ l18
Ekwall, Eilert (1975). A History of Modern English Sounds and Morphology. Totowa, NJ:
Rowman and Littlefield.
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eng 87/ e59
Jones, Charles (1994). A History of English Phonology. London: Longman.
eng 116/ j66a
Smith, Jeremy (2007). Sound Change and the History of English. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Denison, David (1993). English Historical Syntax: Verbal Constructions. London:
Longman.
Fischer, Olga, Ans van Kemenade, Willem Koopman, & Wim van der Wurff (2000). The
Syntax of Early English. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
Jespersen, Otto (1909-49). A Modern English Grammar, on Historical Principles. 7
volumes. London: Allen & Unwin.
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Historical Linguistics: Some Introductions
Again, compare and take your choice. There are many more, but those listed are specially
recommended.
Joseph, Brian D. & Richard D. Janda (eds.) (2003). The Handbook of Historical Linguistics.
Oxford: Blackwell.
spr 51/ j68
Trask, Robert L. (2001). Historical Linguistics. London: Arnold.
lbs 230:d/ t71
Campbell, Lyle (1998). Historical Linguistics: An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP.
spr 51/ c15
Hock, Hans Henrich & Brian D. Joseph (1996). Language History, Language Change, and
Language Relationship: An Introduction to Historical and Comparative Linguistics. Berlin:
Mouton de Gruyter.
spr 51/ h61a
Crowley, Terry (1997). An Introduction to Historical Linguistics. Auckland: Oxford UP.
spr 50:n/ c76
Bynon, Theodora (1977). Historical Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
spr 51/ b96
Anttila, Raimo (1989). Historical and Comparative Linguistics. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
spr 5:n/ a69(2)
Jeffers, Robert J. & Ilse Lehiste (1980). Principles and Methods for Historical Linguistics.
Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
spr 51/ j23
Lehmann, Winfred P. (ed.) (1982). Perspectives on Historical Linguistics. Amsterdam:
Benjamins.
spr 50:k/ l24
Keiler, Allan R. (ed.) (1972). A Reader in Historical and Comparative Linguistics. New
York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
spr 50:k/ k24
Lehmann, Winfred P. (ed.) (1968). Directions for Historical Linguistics: A Symposium.
Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press.
spr 5:f/ l24
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Early Germanic times (and before):
Beekes, R. S. P. (1995). Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction.
Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Mallory, J. P. (1989). In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology and Myth.
London: Thames & Hudson.
Renfrew, Colin (1987). Archaeology and Language: The Puzzle of Indo-European Origins.
London: J. Cape.
Hoops, Johannes & H. Beck (1973ff.). Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde.
Berlin: De Gruyter.
Krüger, B. et al. (1988/86). Die Germanen: Geschichte und Kultur der germanischen
Stämme in Mitteleuropa. 2 Bände. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
Hutterer, Claus Jürgen. (1955, 1990). Die germanischen Sprachen: Ihre Geschichte in
Grundzügen. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó.
Ringe, Don (2006). A History of English. Vol. 1: From Proto-Indo-European to ProtoGermanic. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Robinson, Orrin W. (1992). Old English and its Closest Relatives: A Survey of the Earliest
Germanic Languages. London: Routledge.
eng 51:d/ r61
Germanic writing systems
Daniels, Peter T. & William Bright (eds.) (1996). The World’s Writing Systems. Oxford:
OUP.
Elliott, R. W. V. (1959 etc.). Runes. Manchester: MUP.
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Old English
Quirk, Randolph, V. Adams, & D. Davy (1982). Old English Literature: A Practical
Introduction. London: Arnold.
lbs 245:n/ q94
[elementary, text-based]
Hogg, Richard (2003). An Introduction to Old English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Smith, Jeremy (2009). Old English: A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
Mitchell, Bruce (1995). An Invitation to Old English and Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford:
Blackwell.
eng 736/ m49
Lass, Roger (1994). Old English: A Historical Linguistic Companion. Cambridge:
Cambridge UP.
eng 79/ l18
Quirk, Randolph & C. L. Wrenn (1965). An Old English Grammar. London: Methuen.
eng 79/ q94(2)
Campbell, Alistair (1959). Old English Grammar. Oxford: Clarendon.
eng 79/ c15a
Mitchell, Bruce (1985). Old English Syntax. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon.
eng 178/ m49
[has it all, though remarkably anti-theory]
Middle English
Horobin, Simon & Jeremy Smith (2003). An Introduction to Middle English. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Kökeritz, Helge (1967). A Guide to Chaucer’s Pronunciation. New York: Holt, Rinehart
and Winston.
lbs 245:o/ c41
Mossé, Fernand (1964). A Handbook of Middle English. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP.
eng 80/ m68a
Mustanoja, Tauno (1960). Middle English Syntax. Vol 1: Parts of Speech. Helsinki.
eng 179/ m98
Early Modern English (and after)
Nevalainen, Terttu (2006). Introduction to Early Modern English. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Beal, Joan C. (2004). English in Modern Times: 1700–1945. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
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Barber, Charles (2001). Early Modern English. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP.
lbs 245:d/ b17, eng 51/ b16
Brook, George L. (1976). The Language of Shakespeare. London: Deutsch.
eng 879:s527:r/ b51a
Cohen, Murray (1977). Sensible Words: Linguistic Practice in England 1640 – 1785.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP.
eng 8/ c64
Dobson, Eric J. (1957). English Pronunciation 1500 – 1700. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon.
eng 101/ d61.
Jones, Richard F. (1953). The Triumph of the English Language: A Survey of Opinions
Concerning the Vernacular from the Introduction of Printing to the Restoration. London:
Oxford UP.
eng 25/ j66
Kökeritz, Helge (1953). Shakespeare’s Pronunciation. New Haven: Yale UP.
eng 879:s527:r/ k62
Leonard, Sterling A. (1929). The Doctrine of Correctness in English Usage 1700 – 1800.
Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Press.
eng 51:r/ l26
Starnes, De Witt T. & Gertrude E. Noyes (1946). The English Dictionary from Cawdrey to
Johnson: 1604 – 1755. Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press.
eng 49:q/ s91
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Text Collections
Burnley, David (1992). The History of the English Language: A Source Book. London:
Longman.
eng 51/ b98
Chambers, Raymond W. & M. Daunt (1967). A Book of London English: 1384 – 1425.
Oxford: Clarendon.
eng 276.55/ c41
Fisher, John H. & Diane Bornstein (1974). In Forme of Speche is Chaunge: Readings in the
History of the English Language. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
eng 51/ f48
Marsden, Richard (2004). The Cambridge Old English Reader. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Kaiser, Rolf (1961). Medieval English: An Old English and Middle English Anthology;
texts. Berlin: Selbstverlag.
eng 716/ k14(3a)
Sweet, Henry (1967). Sweet’s Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse. Oxford: Clarendon.
eng 736/ s92a
Sweet, Henry (1978). A Second Anglo-Saxon Reader. Oxford: Clarendon.
eng 736/ s92b
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Early, especially Old, English on the Web
general
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English
Old English
http://ang.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C4%93afods%C4%ABde
Ænglisc Wikipǣdia
http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/early/pre1000/asindex.html
ORB: Anglo-Saxon England: A Guide to Online Resources
http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/culture/lit/oldeng.html
ORB: On-line Reference Book for Medieval Studies: Old English
http://www.rochester.edu/englisc/
Awritan on Englisc: A Forum for Composition in Old English
http://www.britannia.com/history/histmaps.html
Britannia History: Historical Maps
http://www.pase.ac.uk/
Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
(sort of Who Was Who)
teaching/learning materials
http://www.historyofenglish.net/
History of English (Elly van Gelderen)
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/resources/IOE/index.html
The Electronic Introduction to Old English (Peter S. Baker)
http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/eduweb/engl401/
Old English at the University of Calgary (Murray McGillivray)
http://faculty.virginia.edu/OldEnglish/
Old English at the University of Virginia
http://www.tha-engliscan-gesithas.org.uk/education/learn-old-english-with-leofwin
Learn Old English with Leofwin
http://home.comcast.net/~modean52/index.htm
Old English Made Easy
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/eieol/engol-0-X.html
Old English Online
http://www.tha-engliscan-gesithas.org.uk/OEsteps/index.html
The English Companions
http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/STELLA/OE/BasicHomePage.html
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Essentials of Old English
http://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/didact/idg/germ/gotverb.htm
TITUS: Old Germanic Grammar
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~clunis/wow/grimm/
Apply Grimm’s Law (John Lawler)
http://faculty.washington.edu/stevickr/graphotactics/sounds.htmlThe Sounds of Old English
(Robert D. Stevick)
dictionaries
http://www.doe.utoronto.ca/
The Dictionary of Old English (Toronto)
http://www.bosworthtoller.com/
http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/app/
http://beowulf.engl.uky.edu/~kiernan/BT/Bosworth-Toller.htm
An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, by J. Bosworth & T. N. Toller (1898)
http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~kurisuto/germanic/oe_bright_glossary.html
Glossary from Bright’s Anglo-Saxon Reader
http://www.mun.ca/Ansaxdat/vocab/wordlist.html
Modern English to Old English Vocabulary
http://www.wordgumbo.com/ie/ger/oen/
Old English: English-Old English Lexicon, Old English-English Lexicon
http://libra.englang.arts.gla.ac.uk/oethesaurus/
Thesaurus of Old English
http://wandership.ca/projects/eow/
EOW: Englisc Onstigende Wordboc
http://home.comcast.net/~modean52/oeme_dictionaries.htm
OEME: Old English Dictionaries
http://victorcauchi.fortunecity.com/EuCmp/o/oldeng.htmAn Old English, Middle English,
Late-Modern English Glossary
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~ctb/wordhord.html
Circolwyrde Wordhord
http://www.oldenglishtranslator.co.uk/
Old English to Modern English Translator
http://www.zompist.com/euro.htm#ie
Numbers in Indo-European Languages
grammar
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http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/
http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~kurisuto/germanic/language_resources.html
Germanic Lexicon Project (older grammars and dictionaries online)
http://www.archive.org/details/OldEnglishGrammar
Old English Grammar, by Joseph Wright (1908)
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=91195119
An Old English Grammar and Exercise Book, by C. Alphonso Smith (1896)
writing
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/oldenglish.htm
Omniglot: Writing Systems & Languages of the World: Old English/Anglo-Saxon
http://faculty.washington.edu/stevickr/graphotactics/
Old English Graphotactics
http://www.bartleby.com/211/0201.html
Cambridge History of English and American Literature: Runes and Manuscripts
http://www.runenprojekt.uni-kiel.de/
Runenprojekt Kiel
http://www1.ku-eichstaett.de/SLF/EngluVglSW/AeRunen.htm
Old English Runes Project
texts
http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/
The Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval Studies
http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/subjects/mss/oe/oldeng.html
The Old English Manuscript Database
http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/library/oe/alpha.html
Old English Poetry
http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/library/oe/oe.html
Labyrinth Library: Old English Literature
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~ctb/as_mss.html
Old English Manuscripts Facsimiles
http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/Old_English.html
In Parentheses: Old English Series
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/languages/ang
Project Gutenberg: Browse by Language: Old English
http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/seenet/home.html
The Society for Early English & Norse Texts
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http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~sp20/corpus.html
The Brooklyn-Geneva-Amsterdam-Helsinki Parsed Corpus of Old English
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/Anglo/
The Online Medieval & Classical Library: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/asintro2.html
Britannia History: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
http://ebeowulf.uky.edu/
The Electronic Beowulf
http://www.heorot.dk/beowulf-on-steorarume-title-page.html
Beowulf on Steorarume
http://www.bagbybeowulf.com/index.html
http://www.bagbybeowulf.com/video/index.html
Beowulf: The Epic in Performance (Benjamin Bagby)
http://webpages.ursinus.edu/jlionarons/wulfstan/wulfstan.html
Wulfstan’s Eschatological Homilies
http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Cotton_MS_Nero_D_IV_0000
http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/virtualbooks/index.html
http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/sacredtexts/lindisfarne.html
http://www.fathom.com/course/33702501/index.html
The Lindisfarne Gospels
http://vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=2740
Voice of the Shuttle: English Literature by Period: Anglo-Saxon & Medieval
http://fontes.english.ox.ac.uk/
Fontes Anglo-Saxonici
http://fred.wheatonma.edu/wordpressmu/mdrout
Old English Aloud
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