Comprehensive and balanced, this classic exploration of the history of the English language combines internal linguistic history and external cultural history--from the Middle Ages to the present. Students are encouraged to develop both an understanding of present-day English and an enlightened attitude toward questions affecting the language today.

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A History of the English Language explores the linguistic and cultural development of English from the Roman conquest of England to the present day to provide a comprehensive overview of the different aspects of its history. This best-selling classic textbook has been revised and updated and encourages the reader to develop both an understanding of present-day English and an enlightened attitude toward the issues affecting the language today.

New features of the sixth edition include:

• an additional chapter titled ‘English in the Twenty-first Century’, which examines the future of English and other global languages and includes an assessment of Chinese as a world language
• an in-depth treatment of phonological changes, such as the placement of the Great Vowel Shift as a bridge between Middle English and Renaissance English
• further coverage of corpus linguistics, especially for Renaissance English
• fresh sections on accent and register
• a new survey of the recent debate between "creolists" and "neo-Anglicists" on the origins of African American Vernacular English.

Balanced and wide-ranging, this textbook is a must-read for any student studying the history of the English language