Understanding Language Change

✍ Scribed by Kate Burridge; Alexander Bergs

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 449
• Series: Understanding Language
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The Understanding Language series provides approachable, yet authoritative, introductions to all the major topics in linguistics. Ideal for students with little or no prior knowledge of linguistics, each book carefully explains the basics, emphasising understanding of the essential notions rather than arguing for a particular theoretical position.



Understanding Language Change offers a complete introduction to historical linguistics and language change. The book takes a step-by-step approach, first by introducing concepts through English examples and building on this with illustrations from other languages.

Key features of this introductory text include:

up to date and recent case studies at the end of each chapter chapter summaries and exercises that feature a wide range of languages coverage of application of historical linguistics in each chapter glossary of terms


This book is essential reading for any students studying Historical Linguistics for the first time.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Contents
Figures
Maps
Tables
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
1. Setting the scene
2. Changes to the lexicon
3. Changes to the semantics
4. Changes in sound structure
5. Changes in word structure
6. Changes in sentence structure
7. The spread of change
8. Languages in contact
9. Relatedness between languages
10. An end on't
References
Index