- relies on a wide range of primary texts
- presents new insights on medieval England and English
- of equal interest to students of linguistics, history, and English literature
- original perspective on the social causes of language change
This is an enquiry into the use and status of English in medieval England. It is concerned with English relative to French and Latin and with its regional and social varieties in relation to each other. It considers how people then viewed language and how their notion of the significance of English influenced the way they used it.
Professor Machan argues that some linguistic, literary, and historical interpretations of medieval statements on language have taken insufficient consideration of the circumstances and discursive practices which produced them. He suggests that modern linguistic attitudes and expectations can obscure specifically medieval qualities of the status of English and the uses to which it was put. In the process he brings to bear a wide range of documentary evidence, notably the royal letters issued in 1258 prior to the Baron's War and medieval diglossia. In his discussion of regional variation, he considers chronicles, poems, and commentaries including the language spoken by Chaucer's pilgrims; conversations in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; and post-medieval transformations of the status of English in law, literature, and education.
The book will interest scholars from a range of disciplines - particularly linguistics, literature, and history - and is written in clear, non-technical language.
Reviews
- ''... a fascinating book....an eloquent and extended reminder that there are other ways to look at the medieval writing we prize than the ways we have grown accustomed to.'' -Christopher Cannon, Speculum 2005
- '... interesting and engaging book.' -English Historical Review
Contents
- Preface
- 1 The Ecology of Middle English
- 2 The Baron's War and Henry's Letters
- 3 Language, Dialect, Nation
- 4 What's a Dialect Before it's a Dialect?
- 5 After Middle English
- Works Cited
- presents new insights on medieval England and English
- of equal interest to students of linguistics, history, and English literature
- original perspective on the social causes of language change
This is an enquiry into the use and status of English in medieval England. It is concerned with English relative to French and Latin and with its regional and social varieties in relation to each other. It considers how people then viewed language and how their notion of the significance of English influenced the way they used it.
Professor Machan argues that some linguistic, literary, and historical interpretations of medieval statements on language have taken insufficient consideration of the circumstances and discursive practices which produced them. He suggests that modern linguistic attitudes and expectations can obscure specifically medieval qualities of the status of English and the uses to which it was put. In the process he brings to bear a wide range of documentary evidence, notably the royal letters issued in 1258 prior to the Baron's War and medieval diglossia. In his discussion of regional variation, he considers chronicles, poems, and commentaries including the language spoken by Chaucer's pilgrims; conversations in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; and post-medieval transformations of the status of English in law, literature, and education.
The book will interest scholars from a range of disciplines - particularly linguistics, literature, and history - and is written in clear, non-technical language.
Reviews
- ''... a fascinating book....an eloquent and extended reminder that there are other ways to look at the medieval writing we prize than the ways we have grown accustomed to.'' -Christopher Cannon, Speculum 2005
- '... interesting and engaging book.' -English Historical Review
Contents
- Preface
- 1 The Ecology of Middle English
- 2 The Baron's War and Henry's Letters
- 3 Language, Dialect, Nation
- 4 What's a Dialect Before it's a Dialect?
- 5 After Middle English
- Works Cited