Language Contact and the History of English

Language Contact and the History of English Synopsis

The fact that English has always borrowed heavily from other languages is well known. However, the systemic long-term effects of the processes involved in such contacts are under-researched. This collection of articles takes a more wide-spanning approach, looking at various periods and phenomena across the centuries. The volume focusses on language contact seen as cultural contact, especially with Scandinavia and France, as well as on specific text types from times ranging from Old English to the twentieth century. The volume aims at advancing insight on the ways in which contacts with other languages and cultures influenced the English language as a whole. The book provides new reflections on borrowing and lexical innovation as cultural choices bound to different textual traditions.