Linguistic Change in French [Hardcover]

Rebecca Posner explores the history of the French language in all its manifestations. Within the framework of modern linguistic theory, she concentrates on how French acquired its distinctive identity and how different varieties of French relate to each other. This book richly illustrates the more technical aspects of linguistic change, and sets evidence of social history against the way the language has changed over time.

Introduction
1. Defining the Domain
2. Sociolinguistic History of French
3. Processes of Linguistic Change
4. Lexical Change
5. Semantic Change
6. Phonological Change
7. Morphological Change
8. Syntactic Change
In Place of a Conclusion
Bibliography

Professor Rebecca Posner has been Professor of Romance Languages, University of Oxford and a Fellow of St Hugh's College since 1978. She was made Professor Emeritus in 1996. Previous to this, she was Professor of Romance Languages, University of Ghana, 196365; Reader in Language, University of York, 196578; Visiting Professor of Romance Philology, Columbia University, 197172; and Visiting Senior Fellow, Princeton University, 1983.