A History of the Spanish Language by Ralph Penny

A History of the Spanish Language by Ralph Penny

This book provides a clear and elegant account of the development of Spanish over the last 2000 years. Although principally oriented towards 'internal' history, 'external' history is considered in outline in the Introduction and is referred to throughout. The four principal chapters deal in detail with phonological development, and with morpho-syntactical, lexical and semantic change. Professor Penny's treatment of the sound-system is in terms both of broad patterns of change and specific phonemic developments, and is described in two main phases: spoken Latin to medieval Spanish, and medieval to modern Spanish. In the chapter on morpho-syntax, grammatical morphology and lexical morphology are treated separately, with particular attention paid to word formation. The sources of Spanish vocabulary, inherited and borrowed, are discussed in Chapter 4, and Chapter 5 is concerned with causes, typology and effects of semantic change. Written as a textbook, the comprehensive coverage of the major varieties of Spanish given here will be welcomed by scholars and students alike.

Penny, Ralph: - Ralph Penny is Professor of Romance Philology at Queen Mary, University of London. He has published several books in Spanish and Variation and Change in Spanish (Cambridge, 2000). He has also published in a number of journals including Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, Romance Philology, and Modern Language Review.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780521397841
ISBN 10	0521397847
Title	A History of the Spanish Language
Author	Ralph Penny
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Year published	1991-03-28
Number of pages	335
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.