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Towards a History of English as a History of Genres

Edited by Hans-Jürgen Diller and Manfred Görlach.

With a historical scope ranging from Old English to the 18th century, eight contributions discuss textual genres as the locus of linguistic innovation and development, divided into three sections: I. Relationships between genres; II. Individual genres reflecting language use; III. Individual genres shaping language use. - Historical linguistics is increasingly recognizing the importance of textual genres as the locus of linguistic innovation. While that locus has traditionally been identified with the spoken language, the present volume emphasizes the importance of writing both in its literary and non-literary forms. The historical scope of the eight essays ranges from Old English to the eighteenth century; methodologically they cover problems of theoretical and historical text typology as well as exemplary studies of the role of single genres in the development of English. - The contributions originate from the Symposium on "The History of English as a History of Genres", University of Bochum, February 4 and 5, 1999. - From the Table of Contents: Hans-Jürgen Diller: "Genre" in linguistic and related discourses. - Manfred Görlach: A history of text types. A componential analysis. - Douglas Biber: Dimensions of variation among 18th-century registers. - Thomas Kohnen: Text types as catalysts for language change. - Rodrigo Pérez Lorido: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The annalistic style as evidence for Old English syntax. - Norman F. Blake: Fabliaux and other literary genres as witnesses of early spoken English. - Thomas Honegger: 'Luf-talkyng' and Middle English romance. - Irma Taavitsainen: Language history and the scientific register. - Terttu Nevalainen: Continental conventions in early English correspondence. VIII,230 Seiten, broschiert (Anglistische Forschungen; Vol. 298/Universitätsverlag Winter 2001) leichte Lagerspuren/minor shelfwear