An Introduction to Early Modern English

This Book Helps students place Early Modern English (spoken from 1500 to 1700) in its historical context. It shows that Early Modern English is a language with a common core, yet also one that varies across time. Terttu Nevalainen focuses on the structure of what contemporaries called the General Dialect--spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation--and on its dialectal origins. She also discusses the language situation and linguistic anxieties in England during this period, when Latin exerted a strong influence on the rising standard of language.

Terttu Nevalainen is Professor of English Philology at the University of Helsinki, and has taught the history of English in Finland and in England. She is currently the director of the Research Unit for Variation and Change in English and takes an active interest in developing electronic text corpora for linguistic research.