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Language Between Description and Prescription is an empirical, quantitative and qualitative study of nineteenth-century English grammar writing, and of nineteenth-century language change. Based on 258 grammar books from Britain and North America, the book investigates whether grammar writers of the time noticed the language changing around them, and how they reacted. In particular, Lieselotte Anderwald demonstrates that not all features undergoing change were noticed in the first place, those that were noticed were not necessarily criticized, and some recessive features were not upheld as correct. The features investigated come from the verb phrase and include in particular variable past tense forms, which -although noticed-often went uncommented, and where variation was acknowledged; the decline of the be-perfect, where the older form (the be-perfect) was criticized emphatically, and corrected; the rise of the progressive, which was embraced enthusiastically, and which was even upheld as a symbol of national superiority, at least in Britain; the rise of the progressive passive, which was one of the most violently hated constructions of the time, and the rise of the get-passive, which was only rarely commented on, and even more rarely in negative terms. Throughout the book, nineteenth-century grammarians are given a voice, and the discussions in grammar books of the time are portrayed. The book's quantitative approach makes it possible to examine majority and minority positions in the discourse community of nineteenth-century grammar writers, and the changes in accepted opinion over time. The terms of the debate are also investigated, and linked to the wider cultural climate of the time. Although grammar writing in the nineteenth century was very openly prescriptivist, the studies in this book show that many prescriptive dicta contained interesting grains of descriptive detail, and that eventually prescriptivism had only a small-scale, short-term effect on the actual language used.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• 1. Frontispiece--
• 2. Preface--
• 3. List of Abbreviations--
• 4. Contents--
• 5. I. An annotated bibliography of the 19th-century grammars of English (ABiNGE)--
• 6. II. Alphabetical List of 19th-century English Grammars by British and American Authors--
• 7. Appendix: Titles not included in the main list--
• 8. Indices--
• 9. Index of Names--
• 10. Index of Places of Publications (publishers for London).
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

In the 19th century, education became accessible to much wider circles of society in a great number and variety of schools and the teaching of grammar came to be obligatory from 1870/72 with the advent of general education. Whereas these general trends of the 19th century are well-known to scholars working in different disciplines of social history, and the history of education in particular, it is still true that major sections of the evidence are largely uncollected. This is especially so for school books: there is virtually a gap between the 18th century and the present grammatical tradition. This bibliography lists some 1930 works on English grammar published in the 19th century, mainly in Britain and the US, half of which are accompanied by short descriptions of their physical make-up, content and affiliation.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• List of plates-- List of figures-- List of tables-- List of contributors-- Acknowledgements-- Introduction: exploring nineteenth century English - past and present perspectives Merja Kytoe, Mats Ryden and Erik Smitterberg--
• 1. Modifiers describing women and men in nineteenth-century English Ingegerd Backlund--
• 2. Words in English Record Office documents of the early 1800s Tony Fairman--
• 3. The subjunctive in adverbial clauses in nineteenth-century English Peter Grund and Terry Walker--
• 4. The passive in nineteenth-century scientific writing Larisa Oldireva Gustafsson--
• 5. Relativizers in nineteenth-century English Christine Johansson--
• 6. Anaphoric reference in the nineteenth century: 'that/those + of' constructions Mark Kaunisto--
• 7. Adjective comparison in nineteenth-century English Merja Kytoe and Suzanne Romaine--
• 8. Nonfinite complement clauses in the nineteenth century: the case of 'remember' Christian Mair--
• 9. The 'in-ing' construction in British English, 1800-2000 Juhani Rudanko--
• 10. Partitive constructions in nineteenth-century English Erik Smitterberg-- Appendix-- References-- Name index-- Subject index.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

This volume of Studies in English Language focuses on the nineteenth century, an important period of both stability and change for the English language. Through ten detailed case studies, it highlights the relationships between English, its users, and nineteenth-century society, looking particularly at gender differences and variation across genres. It also discusses major structural aspects of nineteenth-century English, such as nouns, verbs and adjectives, and Germanic vs. Romance vocabulary. Although the nineteenth century is often viewed as a relatively stable period in the development of the language, this volume shows the 1800s to be a time of significant change, some of which continued into the twentieth century. By making comparisons possible with both earlier and later periods, it makes an important contribution to our overall understanding of the history of the English language.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

• 1. Introduction--
• 2. Regional and social varieties--
• 3. Spelling and pronunciation--
• 4. Inflexion--
• 5. Syntax--
• 6. Lexis--
• 7. Text types and style--
• 8. Provisional conclusions--
• 9. Texts--
• 10. Information on texts and authors.
• (source: Nielsen Book Data)

Nineteenth-century English can in many ways be claimed to have laid the foundations for the present-day language, but until recently it has not received as much attention from scholars of linguistics as the English of earlier periods. This book provides an introduction to the distinctive features of nineteenth-century English in England, from spelling to text-types. It examines a wide range of varieties, including political speeches, newspaper articles, advertisements, obituaries, Sunday School poetry, and culinary recipes, so as to illustrate the range of dialects and levels found in the language of that period. The first part of the book provides an overview of the subject, while the second part contains an extensive selection of texts. 100 exercises spread throughout the book serve to introduce the student to the problems and methods involved in English historical linguistics.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

What are the influences that shaped the language used by one of the nineteenth century's greatest writers? How did his religious beliefs, the books he owned, the paintings and music he loved, affect almost sixty years' output of poems, plays, essays, and letters? This book attempts to define Browning's understanding of the nature and use of words and syntax by considering not only a full range of texts from the 1833 Pauline to the 1889 Asolando, but also the ideas important to Browning, the historical context in which he lived, and the other artistic passions that played a part in his life. In this companion volume to Tennyson's Language, Donald Hair establishes Browning's place at the crossroads between empirical and idealist traditions and explains his "double view" of language, arguing that both Locke and the Congregationalists found language to be at the same time empty and a God-given essential. The Victorian age's anti-theatrical bias, which Browning came to share, and his reading of predecessors, principally Quarles, Bunyan, Donne, and Smart, also shaped his understanding of the diction of poetry. Hair conceives of Browning's language as a theoretical whole, encompassing words, genres, rhyme, syntax, and phonetics. He also links Browning's interest in music with his rhyming, the most essential and characteristic feature of his prosody, and relates his interest in painting to the interpretation of the visual image in the emblem and in typology.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)

This is a study of Wordsworth's metrical theory and his practice in the art of versification. It provides a detailed treatment of what Wordsworth calls the "innumerable minutiae" that the art of the poet depends upon and of the broader vision to which these minutiae contribute.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)