Lectures On The English Language - Softcover

Armstrong & Company Scribner

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0461751488 ISBN 13: 9780461751482

Publisher: HardPress, 2021

Synopsis

Lectures On The English Language is a mid-19th-century collection of post-graduate lectures delivered at Columbia College (1858–59) that advocates a philological, literature-based study of English. The work argues that language underpins thought and social life, and that the mother tongue should be central to education. It traces English to a mixed Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Romance heritage, stressing that grammar alone cannot capture its history or usage. The lectures distinguish philology (history and literature) from linguistics (universal grammar), and emphasize studying early texts and native monuments over standard grammars. They advocate relying on genuine English usage as seen in great writers, and caution against speculative etymologies and overreliance on Greek, Latin, or French roots. The book discusses the role of printing in standardization, the evolution of orthography and pronunciation, the emergence of modern syntax, and the moral and cultural value of philology as liberal education. It also surveys American English in a transatlantic context.

Edition details

• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0461751488
• ISBN 13: 9780461751482
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 932