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Language contact and semantic development in late medieval English / Louise Sylvester, Megan Tiddeman, Richard Ingham and Kathryn Allan
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Sylvester, Louise, author.
- Tiddeman, Megan, author.
- Ingham, Richard P., author.
- Allan, Kathryn, author.
- Series:
- Language contact and bilingualism ; 33.
- Language contact and bilingualism ; volume 33
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- English language--Standardization.
- English language.
- English language--Middle English, 1100-1500.
- Languages in contact--Great Britain--History--To 1500.
- Languages in contact.
- Multilingualism--Great Britain--History--To 1500.
- Multilingualism.
- English language--Middle English.
- Great Britain.
- Genre:
- History
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource : color illustrations
- Place of Publication:
- Berlin : De Gruyter Mouton, [2025]
- Summary:
- "The multilingual context of medieval Britain has been a focus of historical linguistic scholarship for some time, but Middle English has often been examined in isolation. This book analyzes a large dataset of English vocabulary from the late Middle Ages, a time when the language was gaining new importance, with attention paid to parallel lexical developments in French and Latin. It explores lexical and semantic innovations and losses, and its findings challenge the notion that native and borrowed words were in competition during the period. The book presents a new picture of ongoing bilingualism in the late medieval period and a growth in vocabulary that heralded the beginnings of standardization in English"-- De Gruyter Brill
- Contents:
- The sociohistorical context of multilingualism
- Overview of the data
- Loanwords in the semantic hierarchy
- The effect of loanwords on the native lexis
- Polysemy and sense-sharing
- Metaphor and metonymy
- Text types and semantic integration
- Bilingualism and polysemy
- Conclusions : Semantic change and language contact
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and indexes
- Online resource; title from PDF title page (De Gruyter Brill, viewed June 25, 2026)
- Other Format:
- Print version: Sylvester, Louise Language contact and semantic development in late medieval English
- ISBN:
- 9783111320335
- 3111320162
- 9783111320168
- 3111320332
- OCLC:
- 1531949247
- Publisher Number:
- CIPO000263299
- Access Restriction:
- Restricted for use by site license
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