Gender shifts in the history of English

Anne Curzan , Gender shifts in the history of English (Studies in English language). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Pp. xii, 223. Hb $ 55. In Gender shifts in the history of English , Anne Curzan sets out to analyze how and why the English language came to change its original grammatical gender system, which it shared with all other Germanic languages, into a natural gender system. She also addresses a number of related questions, such as the relationship between this shift and sexist language. The study is based primarily on the Helsinki Corpus , which comprises texts from Old, Middle, and Early Modern English, but the author also makes use of a number of other sources. Curzan's research methodology may be termed eclectic; it includes corpus linguistics, prototype theory, historical syntax, sociolinguistics, and feminist theory, as well as references to a number of other theories and schools. This eclectic mix is, however, composed with wit, elegance, and great learning, which makes it very interesting to readers of any theoretical persuasion

Art · Corpus linguistics · Elegance · Gender schema theory · Germanic languages · Grammatical Gender · Historical linguistics · History of English · Linguistics · Literature · Sociolinguistics · Sociology · Syntax · Gender Studies · Gender Studies in Language · Philosophy

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