Book contents
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors to Volume III
- General Preface
- Abbreviations
- General Editor’s Introduction
- Introduction to Volume III
- Part I The Transmission of English
- 1 Dictionaries in the History of English
- 2 Writing Grammars for English
- 3 Speech Representation in the History of English
- 4 Digital Interaction in the History of English
- 5 Internet Resources for the History of English
- Part II Tracking Change in the History of English
- Part III Ideology, Society and the History of English
- Index
- References
2 - Writing Grammars for English
from Part I - The Transmission of English
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 October 2025
Edited by
Book contents
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors to Volume III
- General Preface
- Abbreviations
- General Editor’s Introduction
- Introduction to Volume III
- Part I The Transmission of English
- 1 Dictionaries in the History of English
- 2 Writing Grammars for English
- 3 Speech Representation in the History of English
- 4 Digital Interaction in the History of English
- 5 Internet Resources for the History of English
- Part II Tracking Change in the History of English
- Part III Ideology, Society and the History of English
- Index
- References
Summary
When and why did English grammars first start to be written, and by whom? Who else were involved in the grammar-writing process apart from the grammarians? And what was the grammarians’ expertise based on to begin with? This chapter will address these questions by discussing the rise of the English grammar-writing tradition during the late sixteenth century down to the end of the eighteenth century. Focusing on the linguistic climate of the period, it will show how grammars were written at a time when only Latin grammar was available as a descriptive model, and that grammarians gradually developed an eye for features specific to the English language. Contextualising research on the subject by discussing traditional and state-of-the-art research tools, it will show that writing grammars for English was increasingly professionalised, and that female grammarians played an important role in the process.
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- The New Cambridge History of the English LanguageTransmission, Change and Ideology, pp. 58 - 82Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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