Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
  1. Home
  2. Search

Refine search

Refine search

Access:
Content type:
Publication date:
Apply   From and To filters
Subject: Show more
Journals Show more
Publishers: Show more
Societies Show more
Series: Show more
Collections: Show more

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

1 results

  • 2 - Lifespan Changes and the History of English

  • from Part I - Language Variation and Change
  • Edited by Raymond Hickey, University of Limerick
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge History of the English Language
    Published online:
    08 March 2026
    Print publication:
    26 March 2026, pp 49-80

  • Summary

    The relative malleability of adults’ first language grammar, and thus the contribution of the post-adolescent individual to historical language change, is a contested issue in linguistic research. The argument revolves around the extent to which it is possible for post-adolescent individuals to modify the grammatical system of their native language(s). This chapter summarises the contribution of several areas of linguistics to this debate, highlighting in particular some historical sociolinguistic studies of English. We then review the evidence from over forty-six longitudinal linguistic panel studies, confirming that some adults can adjust their native repertoires across the life-course, even into old age. Yet many questions remain to be answered with regard to the nature of post-adolescent linguistic lability. We discuss several questions of particular importance for the study of generational language change.