Handbook of the History of the English Language: for the Use of Teacher and Student

Handbook Of The History Of The English Language: For The Use Of Teacher And Student is a comprehensive, teacher?oriented survey of the English language from its earliest roots to the modern period. Augustus Henry Keane presents a structured account starting with preliminary philology and the classification of languages, tracing the two great language families (Finno?Tataric and Indo?European) and their major branches, with emphasis on the Teutonic and Anglo?Saxon traditions. The work then moves through the Anglo?Saxon period, the Broken Saxon, Early English, Middle English, and Modern English periods, highlighting the evolution of orthography, grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary. It explains the synthetic to analytic shift, the decline of inflection, and the rise of relational and function words. Keane also includes practical material such as specimens and appendices (including twelve versions of the Lord’s Prayer) and a digest of early English remains to illustrate linguistic change. The text serves as an introduction to English linguistic history and to the science of English grammar for teachers and students alike.