Written as a text, this book looks at the external history of French from its Latin origins to the present day through some of the analytical frameworks developed by contemporary sociolinguistics. French is one of the most highly standardized of the world's languages and the author invites us to see the language as heterogenous, rather than a monolithic entity, using the model proposed by E. Haugen as a useful comparative grid to plot the development of standardization. After an introductory section which examines the dialectalization of Latin in Gaul, the four central chapters of the book are constructed around the basic processes invoved in standardization as identified by Haugen: the selection of norms, the elaboration of function, codification and acceptance. The concluding chapter deals with language variability and the wide gulf that has now developed between French used for formal purposes and that used in everyday speech, with particular reference to Occitan speaking regions. Emphasizing the ordinary speakers of the language, rather than the statesmen or great authors as agents of change, the book combines a traditional history of the language' approach with a sociolinguistic framework to provide a broad and comparative overview of the problem of language standardization.

Taming the Vernacular: From Dialect to Written Standard Language examines the differences between 'standard' and 'nonstandard' varieties of several different languages. Not only are some of the best-known languages of Europe represented here, but also some that have been less well-researched in the past. The chapters address the syntax of Dutch, English, French, Finnish, Galician, German and Spanish. For these languages, and many others, it is the standard varieties on which the most extensive syntactic research has been carried out, with the result that very little is known about the syntax of their dialects or the spoken colloquial varieties. The editors of this volume seek to redress the balance by taking a cross-linguistic perspective on the historical development of the standardised varieties. This allows them to identify some common characteristics of spoken language. It also helps the reader to understand the kinds of filtering processes that are involved in standardization, which result in the syntax of spoken colloquial language being different from the syntax of the standard varieties. Taming the Vernacular: From Dialect to Written Standard Language is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Linguistics, particularly those taking courses in sociolinguistics, dialectology, and historical linguistics. The focus on a variety of languages also makes this text suitable for students studying courses which cover the linguistic aspects of European languages.

Looks at the evolution of the English language.

In Spreading the Word, linguist John McWhorter proves that nonstandard dialects are not bastardizations of Standard English, but alternate variations upon the basic plan of English, of which the Standard is but one.

Part I: Standards -- Standard English: biography of a symbol / Shirley Brice Heath -- The rise of standard English / Margaret Shaklee -- English Orthography / Wayne O'Neil -- Part II: The new generation -- How Pablo says "love" and "stove" / Timothy Shopen -- An afterword: How English speakers say "finger" and "sing" / Timothy Shopen -- Creative spelling by young children / Charles Read -- Part III: Dialects -- Sections from Bengt Loman's "conversations in a negro American dialect" (with recorded material on side 1 of the cassette) / Timothy Shopen -- The speech of the New York City upper class (with recorded materail on sides 1 and 2 of the cassette) / Geoffrey Nunberg -- Part IV: Dialect encounters standard -- On the application of sociolinguistic information: test evaluation and dialect differences in appalachia (with recorded material on side 2 of the cassette) / Walt Wolfram and Donna Christian -- An afterword: The accidents of history / Joseph M Williams.

This volume provides a space for the development of dialogue between dialectologists, language community activists, and other researchers working on the development of orthographies regarding issues that arise during the creation of writing systems in places where there is dialect variation and an absence of writing systems, or where there is a writing system for a national language but not for the particular related language. The chapters in this volume address two major themes: first, the imperative for standardization is influenced by many social and political factors, including identity, age, ease of use of the language, and familiarity, as well as the nature of the language itself. The second theme investigated by the authors is the assumption of the value of standardization, which in many cases leads to overt or covert negotiations or conflicts in the process of language planning and orthography development. These themes are addressed through the experiences of the authors of working with languages and dialects in various parts of the world, including Cyprus, Poland, Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico, among others. The languages examined in this volume include both those for which there have long been writing systems for “standard” dialects (such as Cypriot Greek and Podlachian, which is sometimes said to be a Belarusian-Ukrainian variety) and those for which writing has been only recently introduced (such as Cayuga, Oneida, and Mixean).

"This practical and informative course book is a fascinating, visual volume which leads the student through the development of the language from Old English, through Middle and Early Modern English to the establishment of Standard English in the eighteenth century." "At the core of this substantially expanded second edition lies a series of nearly 200 historical texts, of which more than half are reproduced in facsimile, and which illustrate the progressive changes in the language. The book is firmly based upon linguistic description, with commentaries which form a series of case studies demonstrating the evidence for language change at every level - handwriting, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, grammar and meaning." "Such a wealth of texts, as well as the structured activities and the various case studies, allow the volume to be used not only as a stimulating course text, guiding students through the analysis of data, but also as a comprehensive resource book and invaluable reference tool for teachers and students at all levels."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved