A Social History of English

Synopsis of A Social History of English

«A Social History of English» is a sociolinguistic essay by Dick Leith, published by Routledge in 1983 in paperback (234 pages, in English).

Dick Leith surveys the history of English from a sociolinguistic perspective: he explains linguistic change without jargon and addresses standardisation, language contact, bilingualism and variation. He also considers new varieties of English and the linguistic reading of historical texts.

First edition of 1983; paperback, 234 pages and text in English. Language and Society series; includes index and bibliography.

For students of sociolinguistics, history and cultural studies, and for any reader interested in the evolution of English without prior linguistic training.