Originally published in 1940, this book was written in 'an attempt to drive a few main lines through the almost unexplored tract of Old English syntax'. The text also reaches important conclusions regarding the characteristic features of Old English style and its close relationship with syntactical elements, both in prose and verse. Reference is frequently made to the 'traditional text' of Beowulf. That is to say, the text as it was usually punctuated by editors at the time of publication. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Old English and linguistics.

Old English Syntax: A Handbook (Sprachstrukturen Reihe A: Historische Sprachstrukturen).

Old English prose before the late tenth century is examined in this collection of hitherto unpublished essays. Using a variety of techniques, the authors explore well-known and lesser-known texts in search of a better understanding of why, how, and by whom the manuscripts were produced. Part I of the collection contains six studies of Alfredian prose—the Soliloquies, the Pastoral Care, and Consolation of Philosophy—all of which are translations traditionally associated with King Alfred.

"Distinguished by a remarkable combination of erudition and lucidity, Aspects of Old English Poetic Syntax provides new insight into the rules that govern syntactic relationships and indicates how these rules differ for prose and verse. Blockley considers the functions of four of the most common and most syntactically important words in Old English, as well as such features of clauses as verb-initial order, negative contraction, and unexpressed but understood subjects. Picking up where Bruce Mitchell's classic Old English Syntax left off, Blockley shows how such common words and structures mark the relationships between phrases and clauses.".

A Social History of English is the first history of the English language to utilize the techniques, insights and concerns of sociolinguistics. Written in a non-technical way, it takes into account standardization, pidginization, bi- and multilingualism, the issues of language maintenance and language loyalty, and linguistic variation. This new edition has been fully revised. Additions include: * new material about 'New Englishes' across the world * a new chapter entitled 'A Critical Linguistic History of English Texts' * a discussion of problems involved in writing a history of English All terms and concepts are explained as they are introduced, and linguistic examples are chosen for their accessibility and intelligibility to the general reader. It will be of interest to students of Sociolinguistics, English Language, History and Cultural Studies.