This Language, A River is an introduction to the history of English that recognizes multiple varieties of the language in both current and historical contexts. The book aims to enable students both to grasp traditional histories of English and to extend and complicate those histories. The second edition updates and contextualizes terminology, and provides expanded discussions of morphology, syntax, global Englishes, and the development of the discipline of historical English language study.
The accompanying workbook includes exercises keyed to each chapter of the textbook. Exercises are graded into beginning, intermediate, and advanced groupings, which will aid in making the textbook appropriate for different levels of students.
For more information about the accompanying workbook, click here.
Comments
“This second edition of This Language, A River offers smart additions and adjustments to what is already my preferred textbook. K. Aaron Smith and Susan M. Kim’s revisions to crucial terminology reflect critical, sociolinguistic attention to the complicated place of the history of English in the curriculum. New attention to the origins of historical linguistics during the Early Modern period—including a wonderful account of the work of Elizabeth Elstob in its social and gendered context—affords students the opportunity to consider the social and historical forces that shape our perception and study of English. Additionally, this edition deepens students’ access to historical linguistics as a discipline that still has more to learn.” — Daniel Remein, University of Massachusetts Boston
“This second edition of This Language, A River builds on the strengths of the first, offering a clear, concise picture of the development of English. Examples of particularly welcome additions to this second edition include a brief but pertinent reflection on the extinction of indigenous languages across the globe, a discussion of the evolution of contracted forms of verb phrases illustrated with current examples, and reminders throughout the text that reconstruction of personal pronouns is an ongoing process in English, the origins of which stretch all the way back to its earliest speakers. Smith and Kim remind students and teachers alike that far from being a field of study cemented in the discoveries of the past, the study of the English language is always offering something new to learn.” — Margaret Pyne Monteverde, Belmont University
“I have used This Language, A River ever since its first edition was published in 2018. The text flows as well as its title promises, and the book has established itself as being among the most solid yet reader-friendly choices for teaching the history of English through the lens of linguistics. The material of language change through millennia is presented in a sophisticated manner yet with enough of the historical and social context provided. A thorough overview of grammar essentials is helpful to students, and so are the plentiful hands-on exercises. An answer key allows students to monitor their acquisition of the material independently. I am pleased that the book is now available in its second edition.” — Helena Halmari, Sam Houston State University
