Review Article: The State of the History of the English Language: A Map of the Past and Road to the Future?

A review of The Cambridge History of the English Language Vol. III: 1476-1776 edited by Roger Lass & The Cambridge History of the English Language Vol. IV: 1776-1997 edited by Suzanne Romaine. The two volumes suggest different visions of the internal histories to be explored at the same time as the presence of individual research programs. Each volume aims to cover the standard components of a linguistic history - phonology & morphology, lexis or vocabulary, syntax, & style - though each is presented differently in each volume. Descriptions of the contents of each volume are presented & compared. It is noted that the scholarship presented in both volumes provides a standard of study for the history of English, & the questions it raises suggest new directions for research on the same old language. 34 References. A. Covington