Analyzing Syntax Through Texts ― Old, Middle, and Early Modern English

To describe a language, it is necessary to get as close to the sources as possible -- this textbook takes manuscript images, explains the various scripts used, and provides a word-by-word account of the Old, Middle, and Early Modern English texts. It invites you to explore early English syntax by looking at the linguistic characteristics of well- known texts throughout the early history of English, and encourages you to evaluate how that piece of the language fits in to the broader picture of how English is developing. You will be introduced to the real writing of the period as you look at the original manuscript version of selected excerpts.

For each text, issues such as the word order, the presence of auxiliaries, articles, and pronouns, the types of pronouns, and the nature of complex sentences are explored. With an emphasis on the original manuscript, this book equips you with the tools to analyse linguistic characteristics of a variety of texts and periods in the early history of English. It is designed for those who have already been introduced to the history of English and who are now going on to look more closely at the syntax and morphology using actual manuscripts.

Elly van Gelderen is Regents' Professor of English at Arizona State University.