Historical & Comparative Linguistics

Introduction to Classical Chinese

Kai Vogelsang

9780198834984
Paperback
August 2021

This book offers students all the necessary tools to read, understand, and analyse Classical Chinese texts, including descriptions of syntactic features, introductions to historical and cultural topics, and selected readings from classical literature with original commentaries. It also provides an extensive glossary and up-to-date bibliography.

Grammaticalization

Heiko Narrog, Bernd Heine

9780198748540
Paperback
March 2021

Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics

This textbook introduces and explains the fundamental issues, major research questions, and current approaches in the study of grammaticalization. Each chapter offers guidance on further reading, and concludes with study questions to encourage further discussion; there is also a glossary of key terminology in the field.

A History of German: What the Past Reveals about Today's Language

Second Edition

Joseph Salmons

9780198723028
Paperback
August 2018

This textbook provides a detailed introduction to the development of the German language from prehistory to the present. This second edition has been extensively revised to include coverage of syntactic change, sociolinguistics, language variation, and language contact, as well as more detailed definitions and background information for beginners.

The Oxford Handbook of Inflection

Matthew Baerman

9780198808619
Paperback
August 2017

Oxford Handbooks

This handbook provides a comprehensive state-of-the-art overview of work on inflection - the expression of grammatical information through changes in word forms. The volume's 24 chapters are written by experts in the field from a variety of theoretical backgrounds, with examples drawn from a wide range of languages.

A History of the Irish Language: From the Norman Invasion to Independence

Aidan Doyle

9780198724766
Paperback
June 2015

This book traces the history of the Irish language from the time of the Norman invasion to independence. Aidan Doyle addresses both the shifting position of Irish in society and the important internal linguistic changes that have taken place, and combines political, cultural, and linguistic history.

Origins of Language: A Slim Guide

James R. Hurford

9780198701880
Paperback
March 2014

This book offers an accessible overview of what is known about the evolution of the human capacity for language and what sets human language apart from the simple communication systems used by non-human animals. It draws on a wide range of disciplines, including philosophy, neuroscience, genetics, and animal behaviour.

The Oxford History of English

Revised Edition

Lynda Mugglestone

9780199660162
Paperback
November 2012

Lynda Mugglestone's hugely popular The Oxford History of English is republished in a reset and revised edition featuring David Crystal's new take on the future of English. With impeccable and approachable scholarship, it describes the changing sounds, words, and meanings of English. A book for everyone interested in the language.

The Oxford Guide to Etymology

Philip Durkin

9780199691616
Paperback
July 2011

The best introduction to word history ever published combines scholarship with readability. OED's chief etymologist shows how words originate and change. He explores the histories of place and personal names and explains how to use different kinds of evidence, historical as well as linguistic. This is a book for everyone interested in words.

A Natural History of Latin

Tore Janson

9780199214051
Paperback
January 2007

Tore Janson tells the history of Latin from origins to present. He offers persuasive arguments for its value and gives direct access to its fascinating worlds, past and present. He describes how Latin spread through the classical world, its renewed importance in the Middle Ages, and its survival into modern times. He shows how spoken and written Latin evolved in different places and its central role in European history and culture. Brilliantly conceived and written with the same light touch as the author's bestselling history of languages, this book is a masterpiece of adroit synthesis.

The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World

J. P. Mallory, D. Q. Adams

9780199296682
Paperback
August 2006

Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction

P. H. Matthews

9780192801487
Paperback
April 2003

Very Short Introductions