Colette Moore - Böcker

Before quotation marks became widespread convention, English texts were organized more fluidly, employing varying lexical and textual strategies for marking represented discourse. When we add our present-day quotation marks to editions of Middle English texts, we also overlay our modern interpretation of speech representation, with its expectations of faithful reporting and carefully delineated voices. In doing so, we mask the less-determined nature of early speech marking, and obscure the ways that its plasticity functions as a narrative and stylistic tool. This book provides the first full study of speech representation in pre-modern English. Studying the pragmatic and discourse strategies of English texts from 1350-1600 is essential to reading Middle English works and to understanding the cultural assumptions implicit in the production of early written texts.

Before quotation marks became widespread convention, English texts were organized more fluidly, employing varying lexical and textual strategies for marking represented discourse. When we add our present-day quotation marks to editions of Middle English texts, we also overlay our modern interpretation of speech representation, with its expectations of faithful reporting and carefully delineated voices. In doing so, we mask the less-determined nature of early speech marking, and obscure the ways that its plasticity functions as a narrative and stylistic tool. This book provides the first full study of speech representation in pre-modern English. Studying the pragmatic and discourse strategies of English texts from 1350-1600 is essential to reading Middle English works and to understanding the cultural assumptions implicit in the production of early written texts.

The study of the history of the English language (HEL) encompasses a broad sweep of time and space, reaching back to the fifth century and around the globe. Further, the language has always varied from place to place and continues to evolve today. Instructors face the challenge of fitting this vast subject into one semester of study and the challenge of engaging students with unfamiliar material and techniques. This volume guides instructors in choosing among many possibilities to design an HEL course to match their own interests and institutions.The essays consider what subjects of HEL to include, how to organize the course, and what textbook to assign. They offer historical approaches and those that are not structured by chronology. Sample assignments provide opportunities for students to conduct original research, work with archives and digital resources, and investigate language in their communities. The essays also help them question notions of linguistic correctness.