A Historical Syntax of English

Research output: Book/ReportBook

Abstract / Description of output

Explores the many factors that influenced syntactic change in English

Aimed at advanced students, this book discusses a number of approaches to charting the major developments in the syntax of English. It does not assume any knowledge of Old or Middle English or of formal syntax, although students should be familiar with traditional syntactic concepts such as verbs and nouns, subjects and objects, and linguistic concepts such as morphology and case. Bettelou Los draws on explanations from both formal and functional approaches to explore how syntactic changes are the product of the interaction of many internal and external factors.
Discusses internal factors such as the loss of morphology and pressure from analogy
Covers external factors such as the sociolinguistic impact of language and dialect contact
Strikes a balance between theoretical explanation and accessibility to readers with no background in formal syntax
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationEdinburgh
PublisherEdinburgh University Press
Commissioning bodyEdinburgh Textbooks on the English Language (advanced)
Number of pages284
ISBN (Electronic)9780748694570
ISBN (Print)9780748641444, 9780748641437
Publication statusPublished - 22 Apr 2015

Publication series

NameEdinburgh Textbooks on the English Language (advanced)

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