This volume presents a sociolinguistic perspective on the history of the English language. Based on original empirical research, it discusses the social factors that promoted linguistic changes in earlier English, and the people who were the leading force behind them. The authors focus on the major grammatical developments that shaped the language in Tudor and Stuart times, the period that laid the foundations for modern Standard English.Nevalainen and Raumolin-Brunberg adopt an interdisciplinary approach, exploring the extent to which sociolinguistic models and methods can be applied to the history of English.

Author Biography

Terttu Nevalainenwas appointed Associate Professor at the Department of English, University of Helsinki, in 1993 and full Professor of English Philology at the same department in 1997. Her research interests include phonetics and English historical lexicology, but the new discipline she has actively developed and worked on, together with Helena Raumolin-Brunberg, over the last ten years is historical sociolinguistics.Helena Raumolin-Brunberg, after a period as acting Associate Professor of English at the Department of Translation Studies, University of Helsinki, (1989-1992), has devoted her time to research on historical sociolinguistics.