Susan M. Fitzmaurice Knihy

Empirical and Analytical Advances in the Study of English Language Change continues the dialogue among historians of the English language, building on the SHEL conferences initiated in 2000 at UCLA. This volume follows three previous SHEL-based collections of peer-reviewed research and commentaries. The editors invited contributors to reflect on their methodologies in historical studies, with a focus on data selection and analysis. The essays encompass a range of interests in linguistic change across various periods, genres, and aspects of the English language, showcasing diverse approaches and evidence used to address the subject. They illustrate the current state of research and the debates surrounding the nature of evidence and the robustness of heuristics in explaining language change. The editors emphasize the importance of examining the evidence that informs their research while critically assessing the heuristics employed by their peers. Contributions express these themes and include works from notable scholars such as Richard Hogg (to whom the volume is dedicated), William Labov, Elizabeth Traugott, and others. This volume is valuable for scholars, postgraduate, and research students in the fields of English history, philology, and historical linguistics.

This volume offers a timely collective review of English historical pragmatics and historical discourse analysis. It critically assesses the assumptions and practices that shape research on the history of the English language from a historical pragmatics perspective. The aim is to engage with various approaches and methods, providing insights into earlier communicative practices, registers, and linguistic functions derived from historical discourse. Contributions are organized based on their focus within the study of language and meaning in both literary and non-literary historical texts. This structure highlights the convergence of text reading traditions and discourse analysis, raising essential questions about the methods and outcomes of such studies. The volume enhances the maturity of historical pragmatic research by exemplifying and broadening the range of dominant approaches and methods in the field. Contributors include prominent international scholars in linguistics, literature, and philology, such as Dawn Archer, Birte Bös, and Laurel Brinton, among others. Their collective expertise enriches the discourse and furthers the understanding of historical pragmatics.