Marina Dossena

Scotticisms in Grammar and Vocabulary investigates the historical development of the (mainly sociolinguistic) phenomena which favoured a process of increasing anglicisation in Late Modern Scots, leading many speakers and writers to strenuous attempts to avoid pronunciations, syntactic forms and lexical items that were restricted either from the geographical of the social point of view. These attempts, however, were never quite successful, and the influence of Scots on the distinctiveness of present-day Scottish English is still very clearly discernible. main features of contemporary Scottish Standard English are discussed. These chapters are followed by an analysis of the concept of 'Scotticism' from the historical point of view. Special prominence is given to the eighteenth century; the role of the most important prescriptive grammarians is described, together with an assessment of the ambiguous sociolinguistic attitudes that Scotticisms provoked at the turn of the century, when new literary figures returned status to 'the vernacular'. Finally, the nineteenth century is taken into consideration. This, in turn, leads back to contemporary language, in order to discuss the ways in which items have changed their status, from 'proscribed Scotticisms' to 'covert' or 'overt Scotticisms', worthy of stylistic consideration, and still employed as highly valuable tools of expression.

'Like Runes Upon a Standin' Stane'?

Scotticisms in Grammar and Vocabulary

The volume presents an innovative approach to studies in Late Modern English by giving attention to variation and change in varieties of English on both sides of the Atlantic. As new corpora become available, scholarly interests broaden their horizons to encompass varieties, the history of which has only just begun to be investigated, and which are likely to yield significant findings. The contributors, whose long experience in the field of English historical linguistics ensures in-depth investigations, employ state-of-the-art tools for the analysis of specific phenomena and to set these in the light of a more encompassing framework concerning different text types and sociolinguistic considerations. While usage guides and dictionaries prove remarkable in their contribution to the definition of what is (not) acceptable in specific social circles, the language of ordinary users also takes centre stage in studies of correspondence, journals and travelogues. The volume is expected to appeal to scholars and students interested in the linguistic history of English as seen in contexts on which – until now – relatively little light has been shed.

Transatlantic Perspectives on Late Modern English

John G. Newman

Sylwester Łodej

Token focuses on English linguistics in a broad sense, taking in both diachronic and synchronic work, grammatical as well as lexical studies. That being said, the journal favors empirical research. All submissions are double-blind peer reviewed. Token is the original medium of publication for all articles that the journal prints.

Token: A Journal of English Linguistics (Volume 4)

Roger Lass

Originally presented at the second in the newly-launched series of International Conferences on English Historical Dialectology, held at the University of Bergamo in August 2007, the contributions collected in this volume discuss significant aspects of socio-geo-historical variation in language. In addition to British English, the focus is on Dutch, Scots and varieties of English outside England (in Wales and in the American colonies of the seventeenth century), in a time span ranging from medieval times to the nineteenth century. The aim is to highlight the traits that allow scholars to approach the study of English in a broader European perspective, identifying the patterns that show convergence or divergence, not just in terms of shared linguistic features (morphosyntactic, lexical or pragmatic), but also in terms of methodological approaches. In this respect, great attention is given to the latest developments in corpus and computational linguistics, showing the extent to which such new tools as electronic atlases and tagged corpora may facilitate answers to important research questions. At the same time, perceptual dialectology is awarded new interest on account of its significant role in normative and argumentative language use.

Studies in English and European Historical Dialectology

Special issue on Late Modern English

Token: A Journal of English Linguistics (Volume 3)

Gabriella Del Lungo Camiciotti

In recent years there has been a renewed interest in correspondence both as a literary genre and as cultural practice, and several studies have appeared, mainly spanning the centuries between Early and Late Modern times. However, it is between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that the roots of contemporary usage begin to evolve, thanks to the circulation of new educational materials and more widespread schooling practices. In this volume, chapters representing diverse but complementary methodological approaches discuss linguistic and discursive practices of correspondence in Late Modern Europe, in order to offer material for the comparative, cross-linguistic analyses of patterns occurring in different social contexts. The volume aims to provide a general and solid methodological structure for the study of largely untapped language material from a variety of comparable sources, and is expected to appeal to scholars and students interested in the linguistic history of epistolary writing practices, as well as to all those interested in the more recent history of European languages.

Letter Writing in Late Modern Europe

Richard Dury

Maurizio Gotti

The papers collected in this volume were first presented at the 14th International Conference on English Historical Linguistics (Bergamo, 2006). Alongside studies of syntax, morphology, lexis and semantics, published in two sister volumes, many innovative contributions focused on geo-historical variation in English. A carefully peer-reviewed selection, including two plenary lectures, appears here in print for the first time, bearing witness to the increasing scholarly interest in varieties of English other than so-called 'standard' English. In all the contributions, well-established methods of historical dialectology combine with new theoretical approaches, in an attempt to shed more light on phenomena that have hitherto remained unexplored, or have only just begun to be investigated. Perceptual dialectology is also taken into consideration, and state-of-the-art tools, such as electronic corpora and atlases, are employed consistently, ensuring the methodological homogeneity of the contributions.

Marina Dossena

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