Field names are not only interesting in themselves, but also a rich source of information about the communities originating them. The earliest recorded names often describe only the location or nature of the land, but changes in language, technology, social organisation, land ownership and even religious and political thinking have all contributed to a surprisingly complex picture today. A pioneering history.

This volume drawn from the 20th International Conference on English Historical Linguistics (ICEHL, Edinburgh 2018) focuses on the role of language contact in the history of English. It showcases a wide variety of historical linguistic approaches, including ‘big data’ analyses of large corpora, dialectological methods, and the study of translated texts. It also breaks new ground by applying relevant insights from other fields, among them postcolonial linguistics and anthropology. This pluralistic approach brings new and under-studied issues within the scope of explanation, and challenges some long-held assumptions about the nature of historical change in English. The volume will be of interest to an audience interested in the history of English, and the impact of its contact with Viking Age Norse, Old French, and Latin.

Defines the meanings of American surnames and lists their geographical origins.

From Abbas Combe to Zennor, this dictionary gives the meaning and origin of place names in the British Isles, tracing their development from earliest times to the present day.

The most recent cutting-edge scholarship on the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries.