This book applies the techniques of systemic functional grammar to the description of the Old English historical dialect, 650-1150 CE. Systemic functional grammar is an approach to the description of language which distinguishes three separate functions in communication: language as representation, language as attitude, and language as the construction of text. Most applications of systemic functional theory have concentrated on modern English. This book is the first comprehensive description of the Old English dialect on systemic functional principles. The book begins with an outline of systemic functional grammatical theory. It then describes the Old English clause with a separate grammar for each of the three general functions it serves, the representational, the attitudinal, and the text-formative. Other areas covered include structures and functions within nominal, verbal and adverbial groups; relationships among clauses; embedding; and cohesion. The book is thus designed to suit the needs of systemic functional grammarians who are interested in the historical development of the English language. It is also designed for students of Old English who are looking for ways of explaining the grammatical system of Old English on terms other than those of traditional grammar.

George Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. In Politics and the English Language, the second in the Orwell’s Essays series, Orwell takes aim at the language used in politics, which, he says, ‘is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind’. In an age where the language used in politics is constantly under the microscope, Orwell’s Politics and the English Language is just as relevant today, and gives the reader a vital understanding of the tactics at play. 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' — Irish Times

A Descriptive Grammar of English is a concise pedagogical reference grammar, highlighting the fundamentals of contemporary English grammar, clearly illustrated with unambiguous and pertinent examples of modern usage.

Stan Malles and Jeff McQuain have written this brief, yet very important glossary in the spirit of E.D. Hirsch’s bestselling Cultural Literacy. Here is a dictionary of basic terms for literature, composition, and grammar that every American, no matter their age, needs to know. Perfect for home and classroom use, The Elements of English is simple to use, unintimidating to read and easy to understand. Each area of language arts is divided into its own section, and a comprehensive index is also included. Each entry is concise, yet explained very clearly. Examples are listed to illustrate meanings, as are reminders, hints, and tips that further define and elucidate the terms. The Elements of English has been used very successfully in classrooms across the country. This revised and expanded edition includes new entries plus three additional appendices. This is a little book that fills a big need, and it deserves a wide distribution and readership.

Summary: "Intonation in the Grammar of English is written for scholars who are interested in language, but not necessarily linguists or phoneticians. The introduction covers speech sound, locating it in relation to other phenomena and disciplines, discusses its representation and interpretation, and introduces the systems and strata which frame its analysis in terms of systemic functional linguistics. The three kinds of meaning - textual meaning (relating language to its ever changing context), interpersonal meaning (allowing us to enact our social exchanges with others) and ideational meaning (construing the logic through which we represent the world we live in) - are each achieved in part through intonation. We make these meanings through choices: in terms of locating the main rise or fall in an intonation contour; in terms of fitting an intonation contour to part of a clause, to a whole clause, or to more than a clause; and in terms of the shape of the intonation contour. A CD-ROM integrated with the book provides examples as the systems of intonational choices are presented, and also gives examples of these systems being drawn on in different dialects of English, and in the many different exchange situations in which speakers find themselves in the course of a day."--Publisher description.

The eighteenth century was a key period in the development of the English language, in which the modern standard emerged and many dictionaries and grammars first appeared. This book is divided into thematic sections which deal with issues central to English in the eighteenth century. These include linguistic ideology and the grammatical tradition, the contribution of women to the writing of grammars, the interactions of writers at this time and how politeness was encoded in language, including that on a regional level. The contributions also discuss how language was seen and discussed in public and how grammarians, lexicographers, journalists, pamphleteers and publishers judged on-going change. The novel insights offered in this book extend our knowledge of the English language at the onset of the modern period.

A Glossary of English Grammar presents a wide range of terms used to describe the way the English language is structured. Grammatical terms can be a problem for students, especially when there are alternative names for the same thing (for example, 'past tense' and 'preterite'). This book therefore provides a basic and accessible guide, focusing on the English language. Definitions of grammatical terms are given in simple language, with clear examples, many from authentic texts and spoken sources, showing how they are used. The terms used in the Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language are widely seen as standard, and form the basis of grammatical terminology in this book. At the same time, this glossary does not neglect other variants of English grammar, such as that of Huddleston and Pullum's influential Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, whose most important terms are also covered here. This book is indispensable for anyone wishing to understand present-day terminology of English grammar more fully.