This volume edited by N. Ritt, C. Dalton-Puffer, D. Kastovsky and H. Schendl, features new work i... more This volume edited by N. Ritt, C. Dalton-Puffer, D. Kastovsky and H. Schendl, features new work in English historical linguistics presented at the 13th ICEHL held in Vienna in 2004.
This brief introduction, part of the "Oxford Introductions to Language Study", looks at the cent... more This brief introduction, part of the "Oxford Introductions to Language Study", looks at the central issues of historical linguistics: how and why do languages change, how can we reconstruct older stages of languages, how are languages born and why do they die, and do they have relatives.
This volume, edited by Nikolaus Ritt and Herbert Schendl, presents Middle English studies as a mo... more This volume, edited by Nikolaus Ritt and Herbert Schendl, presents Middle English studies as a modern discipline which unites linguistics, literature, philology, the history of ideas, textual studies including recent developments in the study oft text types and genres, as well as the sociohistorical perspective. Authors are leading international experts in their fields.
This concordance of John Lyly's novels "Euphues" (1578) and "Euphues and his England" (1580) is b... more This concordance of John Lyly's novels "Euphues" (1578) and "Euphues and his England" (1580) is based on the edition by R.W. Bond (Oxford 1902, repr. 1967), which retains the orthography and punctuation of the first editions.
In this volume, edited by S. Coelsch-Foisner and H. Schendl, scholars of various fields of Engli... more In this volume, edited by S. Coelsch-Foisner and H. Schendl, scholars of various fields of English Studies discuss aspects of contact and conflict in Anglophone literatures, critical theory, cultural studies and English linguistics. The papers reflect current research in these areas and show that disciplinary classifications are no longer as rigid as they used to be: Topics are as widely spread as linguistic variation, Maori English, English as a lingua franca, intergenerational conflict, hip hop discourse, literature and the creative arts, science drama, childhood in crime fiction, and the crisis of 'high art'.
This collection of papers brings together case studies from literature, cultural studies, linguis... more This collection of papers brings together case studies from literature, cultural studies, linguistics and language didactics and draws the reader's attention both to interdisciplinary transfers within English studies as well as to languages, cultures, arts and media in traffic.
Multilingual Practices in Language History: English and Beyond, eds. P. Pahta, J. Skaffari and L. Wright, 2018
This paper discusses the forms and functions of code-switching in two important text-types from t... more This paper discusses the forms and functions of code-switching in two important text-types from the Old English period, namely homilies and scientific treatises. Main issues addressed are the distinction between code-switching and borrowing, and their potential interdependence, as well as the text-type related differences in the switching patterns in the two text-types.
The present paper discusses an unusual case of code-choice in a Viennese farce from the late 1850... more The present paper discusses an unusual case of code-choice in a Viennese farce from the late 1850s, Carl Juin's 'Das Vorhangeschloss'. One of the main characters of this play, the black servant Mungo, uses English as well as English-German code-switching in the otherwise German play, though English was hardly ever used on the 19 th century Viennese stage. Trying to account for this clearly marked use of language, the paper first looks at the source of Juin's play, Isaac Bickerstaff's comic opera 'The Padlock' (1768). In a second step, the historical context in which 'Das Vorhangeschloss' was written and produced is analysed. A link to the highly successful continental tour of the black British-American actor Ira Aldridge is established, whose English production of 'The Padlock' on the Viennese stage in 1853 is considered as a trigger for Juin's German adaptation of 'The Padlock'. An additional model for Juin's language use is found in Aldridge's bilingual production of T...
The complex multilingual situation of medieval England is well reflected in the different functio... more The complex multilingual situation of medieval England is well reflected in the different functions of its three languages of literacy, Latin, French and English, in which a wide range of non-literary and literary texts were produced. Though many of these are by unknown authors and scribes, we have sufficient evidence that multilingual authors often chose different languages for different texts and for specific purposes or at specific times in their lives. Apart from monolingual texts, however, there is also a large number of mixed-language texts, i.e. texts which provide evidence that written code-switching was not only wide-spread but also widely accepted and hardly ever stigmatized in medieval England, since it could even be used in letters to and from the king.
Language and Literature: International Journal of Stylistics, 2015
Code-switching has been a frequent feature of literary texts from the beginning of English litera... more Code-switching has been a frequent feature of literary texts from the beginning of English literary tradition to the present time. The medieval period, in particular, with its complex multilingual situation, has provided a fruitful background for multilingual texts, and will be the focus of the present article. After looking at the linguistic background of the period and some specifics of medieval literature and of historical code-switching, the article discusses the main functions of code-switching in medieval poetry and drama, especially in regard to the different but changing status of the three main languages of literacy: Latin, French and English. This functional-pragmatic approach is complemented by a section on syntactic aspects of medieval literary code-switching, which also contains a brief comparison with modern spoken code-switching and shows some important similarities and differences between the two sets of data.
English as a Lingua Franca: Perspectives and Prospects. Contributions in Honour of Barbara Seidlhofer. Ed. M.-L- Pitzl and R. Osimk-Teasdale , 2016
Controversies about English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) are often linked to the fact that ELF is vi... more Controversies about English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) are often linked to the fact that ELF is viewed in terms of the norms and functions of English as a native or second language. Such a view neglects the fact that the codification of English is only a relatively recent phenomenon and that linguistic variation, dialect and language mixing are natural properties in the evolution of English, especially in its uncodified stages of development. Thus, insights from historical linguistics and the linguistic history of English can provide a more objective basis for the description and discussion of ELF. On the other hand, research into ELF can also benefit the historical linguist, since it provides modern evidence for processes reconstructed for earlier stages of the language.
This volume edited by N. Ritt, C. Dalton-Puffer, D. Kastovsky and H. Schendl, features new work i... more This volume edited by N. Ritt, C. Dalton-Puffer, D. Kastovsky and H. Schendl, features new work in English historical linguistics presented at the 13th ICEHL held in Vienna in 2004.
This brief introduction, part of the "Oxford Introductions to Language Study", looks at the cent... more This brief introduction, part of the "Oxford Introductions to Language Study", looks at the central issues of historical linguistics: how and why do languages change, how can we reconstruct older stages of languages, how are languages born and why do they die, and do they have relatives.
This volume, edited by Nikolaus Ritt and Herbert Schendl, presents Middle English studies as a mo... more This volume, edited by Nikolaus Ritt and Herbert Schendl, presents Middle English studies as a modern discipline which unites linguistics, literature, philology, the history of ideas, textual studies including recent developments in the study oft text types and genres, as well as the sociohistorical perspective. Authors are leading international experts in their fields.
This concordance of John Lyly's novels "Euphues" (1578) and "Euphues and his England" (1580) is b... more This concordance of John Lyly's novels "Euphues" (1578) and "Euphues and his England" (1580) is based on the edition by R.W. Bond (Oxford 1902, repr. 1967), which retains the orthography and punctuation of the first editions.
In this volume, edited by S. Coelsch-Foisner and H. Schendl, scholars of various fields of Engli... more In this volume, edited by S. Coelsch-Foisner and H. Schendl, scholars of various fields of English Studies discuss aspects of contact and conflict in Anglophone literatures, critical theory, cultural studies and English linguistics. The papers reflect current research in these areas and show that disciplinary classifications are no longer as rigid as they used to be: Topics are as widely spread as linguistic variation, Maori English, English as a lingua franca, intergenerational conflict, hip hop discourse, literature and the creative arts, science drama, childhood in crime fiction, and the crisis of 'high art'.
This collection of papers brings together case studies from literature, cultural studies, linguis... more This collection of papers brings together case studies from literature, cultural studies, linguistics and language didactics and draws the reader's attention both to interdisciplinary transfers within English studies as well as to languages, cultures, arts and media in traffic.
Multilingual Practices in Language History: English and Beyond, eds. P. Pahta, J. Skaffari and L. Wright, 2018
This paper discusses the forms and functions of code-switching in two important text-types from t... more This paper discusses the forms and functions of code-switching in two important text-types from the Old English period, namely homilies and scientific treatises. Main issues addressed are the distinction between code-switching and borrowing, and their potential interdependence, as well as the text-type related differences in the switching patterns in the two text-types.
The present paper discusses an unusual case of code-choice in a Viennese farce from the late 1850... more The present paper discusses an unusual case of code-choice in a Viennese farce from the late 1850s, Carl Juin's 'Das Vorhangeschloss'. One of the main characters of this play, the black servant Mungo, uses English as well as English-German code-switching in the otherwise German play, though English was hardly ever used on the 19 th century Viennese stage. Trying to account for this clearly marked use of language, the paper first looks at the source of Juin's play, Isaac Bickerstaff's comic opera 'The Padlock' (1768). In a second step, the historical context in which 'Das Vorhangeschloss' was written and produced is analysed. A link to the highly successful continental tour of the black British-American actor Ira Aldridge is established, whose English production of 'The Padlock' on the Viennese stage in 1853 is considered as a trigger for Juin's German adaptation of 'The Padlock'. An additional model for Juin's language use is found in Aldridge's bilingual production of T...
The complex multilingual situation of medieval England is well reflected in the different functio... more The complex multilingual situation of medieval England is well reflected in the different functions of its three languages of literacy, Latin, French and English, in which a wide range of non-literary and literary texts were produced. Though many of these are by unknown authors and scribes, we have sufficient evidence that multilingual authors often chose different languages for different texts and for specific purposes or at specific times in their lives. Apart from monolingual texts, however, there is also a large number of mixed-language texts, i.e. texts which provide evidence that written code-switching was not only wide-spread but also widely accepted and hardly ever stigmatized in medieval England, since it could even be used in letters to and from the king.
Language and Literature: International Journal of Stylistics, 2015
Code-switching has been a frequent feature of literary texts from the beginning of English litera... more Code-switching has been a frequent feature of literary texts from the beginning of English literary tradition to the present time. The medieval period, in particular, with its complex multilingual situation, has provided a fruitful background for multilingual texts, and will be the focus of the present article. After looking at the linguistic background of the period and some specifics of medieval literature and of historical code-switching, the article discusses the main functions of code-switching in medieval poetry and drama, especially in regard to the different but changing status of the three main languages of literacy: Latin, French and English. This functional-pragmatic approach is complemented by a section on syntactic aspects of medieval literary code-switching, which also contains a brief comparison with modern spoken code-switching and shows some important similarities and differences between the two sets of data.
English as a Lingua Franca: Perspectives and Prospects. Contributions in Honour of Barbara Seidlhofer. Ed. M.-L- Pitzl and R. Osimk-Teasdale , 2016
Controversies about English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) are often linked to the fact that ELF is vi... more Controversies about English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) are often linked to the fact that ELF is viewed in terms of the norms and functions of English as a native or second language. Such a view neglects the fact that the codification of English is only a relatively recent phenomenon and that linguistic variation, dialect and language mixing are natural properties in the evolution of English, especially in its uncodified stages of development. Thus, insights from historical linguistics and the linguistic history of English can provide a more objective basis for the description and discussion of ELF. On the other hand, research into ELF can also benefit the historical linguist, since it provides modern evidence for processes reconstructed for earlier stages of the language.
All papers of this peer-reviewed open access journal can be accessed and downloaded at: http://dx... more All papers of this peer-reviewed open access journal can be accessed and downloaded at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1553/medievalworlds_no12_2020.
Vienna English Working Papers (VIEWS) 2(2), 110-19, 1993
This paper was the first to argue that the different variants of the Early Modern English possess... more This paper was the first to argue that the different variants of the Early Modern English possessive pronouns my/mine, thy/thine do not represent 'free variation' but correlate with linguistic and extralinguistic variables and thus constitute a case of a '(socio)linguistic variable'. The study is based on a small corpus of EModE texts representing different text types, registers and authors.
Uploads