Historical Sociolinguistics

doi:10.1017/9781009205702.022

19 - Historical Sociolinguistics

from Part III - The Long View by Levels and Areas

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 October 2025

Terttu Nevalainen and

Tanja Säily

Edited by

Laura Wright and

Raymond Hickey

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Laura Wright: Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Raymond Hickey: Affiliation:
University of Limerick

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Summary

English historical sociolinguistics traces the transition of a ‘small’ language into a ‘big’ one. Old English was a small language in terms of its regional coverage and number of speakers, whereas Present-day English is a comprehensively documented world language with hundreds of millions of first-language speakers. Its 1500-year history involves gradually developing social structures of different timescales, but it was also affected by abrupt changes brought about by forces such as invasions and pandemics. Sociolinguistics highlights the agency of language users in shaping and changing their language and, consequently, the society they live in. Written records on individual language use are sparse from the earliest periods but multiply as people from different walks of life become literate and pass on data on their linguistic practices. With time, increasing efforts are, however, also expended on regulating usage with the aim of language standardisation.

Keywords

gender language attitudes linguistic focusing literacy multilingualism prescriptivism social networks social status standardization supralocalization textual evidence

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Type: Chapter
Information: The New Cambridge History of the English Language
Context, Contact and Development
, pp. 720 - 790

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009205702.022 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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