Irregularities in Modern English

Irregularities in Modern English PDF

Author: Hans Frede Nielsen

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2007-01-01

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 9027272743

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This book, which appeared first in a Danish version in 1980 and subsequently in an English translation in 1986, reverses the history of the English language: it takes present-day English ‘irregularities’ in grammar and spelling as its point of departure, providing historical explanations only to the extent that they illustrate modern forms. A number of comparisons with developments in other Germanic languages are given, not only with Danish phenomena as in the original Danish edition, but also with Dutch and German ones. The authors believe that such comparisons shed light on English language history as well as contribute to make the book more interesting also to students of other Germanic languages.

Irregularities in Modern English

Irregularities in Modern English PDF

Author: Hans Frede Nielsen

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2007-01-01

Total Pages: 395

ISBN-13: 8776742555

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This book is innovative, when compared to the first edition, in that it reverses the history of the English language. It takes present-day English as its point of departure, and gives historical explanations only in so far as they illustrate modern forms. The book does not presuppose a reading knowledge of Old and Middle English, but provides students with ready answers to questions they may have concerning modern "irregularities." Dutch and German examples and parallels, which might shed light on English forms and developments, have also been included. Comparisons not only heighten linguistic awareness on the part of the reader, but also to show what exactly happened in closely related languages.

The Regularity of the 'Irregular' Verbs and Nouns in English

The Regularity of the 'Irregular' Verbs and Nouns in English PDF

Author: Elena Even-Simkin

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2013-09-27

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 9027271763

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This volume presents an in-depth study of the so-called irregular Past Tense (sing/sang) and Noun Plural (foot/feet) forms with Internal Vowel Alternation (IVA) in English demonstrating that they possess both a fixed phonological and semantic regularity. The innovative sign-oriented analysis and inductive methodology employed in this study are further supported by additional first language acquisition data, experimental studies and historical evidence. The data culled from multiple linguistic anthologies, dictionaries and thesauri have shown that although the IVA process comprises a relatively small number of nominal and verbal forms in Modern English, IVA, originally, was a prevalent and productive process in Old English, Indo-European and other language families. The results of this empirical study present and introduce a novel classification based on the regular and systematic iconic-phonological and semantic nature of all these diverse IVA processes both nominal and verbal that has been maintained throughout the history of English.

Highly Irregular

Highly Irregular PDF

Author: Arika Okrent

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021-06-03

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0197539424

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Maybe you've been speaking English all your life, or maybe you learned it later on. But whether you use it just well enough to get your daily business done, or you're an expert with a red pen who never omits a comma or misplaces a modifier, you must have noticed that there are some things about this language that are just weird. Perhaps you're reading a book and stop to puzzle over absurd spelling rules (Why are there so many ways to say '-gh'?), or you hear someone talking and get stuck on an expression (Why do we say "How dare you" but not "How try you"?), or your kid quizzes you on homework (Why is it "eleven and twelve" instead of "oneteen and twoteen"?). Suddenly you ask yourself, "Wait, why do we do it this way?" You think about it, try to explain it, and keep running into walls. It doesn't conform to logic. It doesn't work the way you'd expect it to. There doesn't seem to be any rule at all. There might not be a logical explanation, but there will be an explanation, and this book is here to help. In Highly Irregular, Arika Okrent answers these questions and many more. Along the way she tells the story of the many influences--from invading French armies to stubborn Flemish printers--that made our language the way it is today. Both an entertaining send-up of linguistic oddities and a deeply researched history of English, Highly Irregular is essential reading for anyone who has paused to wonder about our marvelous mess of a language.

Genitive Variation in English

Genitive Variation in English PDF

Author: Anette Rosenbach

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 9783110173703

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The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics.

The Linguistic Structure of Modern English

The Linguistic Structure of Modern English PDF

Author: Laurel J. Brinton

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 447

ISBN-13: 902721171X

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This text is for advanced undergraduate and graduate students interested in contemporary English, especially those whose primary area of interest is English as a second language, primary or secondary-school education, English stylistics, theoretical and applied linguistics, or speech pathology. The emphasis is on empirical facts of English rather than any particular theory of linguistics; the text does not assume any background in language or linguistics. In this newly revised edition numerous example sentences are taken from the Corpus of Contemporary American English. A full glossary of key terms, an additional chapter on pedagogy and new sections on cognitive semantics and politeness have been added. Other changes include: completely updated print references; web links to sites of special interest and relevance; and a revised, reader-friendly layout. A companion website that includes a complete workbook with self-testing exercises and a comprehensive list of web links accompanies the book. The website can be found at the following address: http: //dx.doi.org/10.1075/z.156.workbook Students completing the text and workbook will acquire: a knowledge of the sound system of contemporary English; an understanding of the formation of English words; a comprehension of the structure of both simple and complex sentence in English; a recognition of complexities in the expression of meaning; an understanding of the context and function of use upon the structure of the language; and an appreciation of the importance of linguistic knowledge to the teaching of English to first and second-language learners. Laurel J. Brinton is Professor of English Language at the University of British Columbia. Donna M. Brinton is Senior Lecturer in TESOL at the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education."The Linguistic Structure of Modern English" is a revised edition of "The Structure of Modern English" by Laurel J. Brinton (2000).

The Structure of Modern English

The Structure of Modern English PDF

Author: Laurel J. Brinton

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2000-01-01

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 9027225672

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This text is designed for undergraduate and graduate students interested in contemporary English, especially those whose primary area of interest is English as a second language. Focus is placed exclusively on English data, providing an empirical explication of the structure of the language.

Categorial Grammar and Word-Formation: The De-adjectival Abstract Noun in English

Categorial Grammar and Word-Formation: The De-adjectival Abstract Noun in English PDF

Author: Karl Reichl

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2017-11-07

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 3110943204

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The Anglia Book Series (ANGB) offers a selection of high quality work on all areas and aspects of English philology. It publishes book-length studies and essay collections on English language and linguistics, on English and American literature and culture from the Middle Ages to the present, on the new English literatures, as well as on general and comparative literary studies, including aspects of cultural and literary theory.

Collecting Old Glass

Collecting Old Glass PDF

Author: J. H. Yoxall

Publisher: anboco

Published: 2017-06-22

Total Pages: 134

ISBN-13: 3736418906

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I hope the reader may find that this book, though smaller than others on the same subject, is more helpful and even more comprehensive than they are; that it deals with the glass articles which they mention and with others which they omit; that it simplifies and classifies the study and practice of glass-collecting more than has been done in print heretofore; and that it can do these things because it is written out of personal knowledge, gained from much experience, and not from hearsay or from other books. Diffuseness has been avoided, but this, I hope, has enabled me to make the book the more lucid, as well as the more succinct. At any rate, it affords hints, general rules, and warnings more numerous and more practical than any published until now; I have also tried to give to it a quality which reviewers have found present in my other books on Collecting—that is, a simplicity and clearness of explanation, done at the most difficult and necessary points, and in an interesting way. Moreover, this book has had the great advantage of revision (before printing) by Mr. G. F. Collins, of 53 the Lanes, Brighton, a pupil of Mr.[vi] Hartshorne's, and well known to all principal collectors of old glass. Most of the illustrations represent typical pieces in my own collection, but for some of the finest I have to thank the kindness of Mrs. Devitt, of Herontye, East Grinstead, a collector indeed. The illustrations do not represent relative sizes to the same scale. J. H. YOXALL