History of English - China Library · Philosophy and Social Sciences Category

Author: Li Funing (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: This book is suitable as a textbook for advanced undergraduate or first-year graduate courses in "History of English" at universities. The book is divided into two parts: Part 1 consists of eight chapters, describing the origin and evolution of English; Part 2 mainly includes early English reading materials, featuring seventeen selected texts that illustrate the characteristics of Old English, Middle English, and Early Modern English. This course is a semester-long one, with a focus on early English. The course that follows, titled "Structure of English," is also a semester-long course, with a focus on modern and contemporary English. This division is necessary because knowledge of early English is often overlooked and requires a dedicated course to provide the necessary understanding. This knowledge is essential for all students who wish to delve deeper into English and British literature. The author has taught the "History of English" course four times at Peking University. According to student feedback, they found it highly beneficial, as after taking the course, most were able to read Old English prose and the works of Chaucer and Shakespeare with the help of dictionaries and annotations. Additionally, for students specializing in English phonetics, grammar, and vocabulary, this course also introduced them to the basic methods of analyzing linguistic phenomena from a historical and evolutionary perspective. Therefore, the author hopes this book will also be helpful to readers who are passionate about English and wish to study it in greater depth.