English Historical Pragmatics

Andreas H. Jucker is Professor of English Linguistics at the University of Zurich in Switzerland Irma Taavitsainen is Professor of English Philology at the University of Helsinki. Her research focuses on historical pragmatics, corpus linguistics, and the development of scientific and medical writing. She has published widely on these topics.

• 1 Historical pragmatics: Communicative patterns of the past2 Data in historical pragmatics: The widening perspectives of the digital era3 Excavating usage patterns: Methods in historical pragmatics4 "Lo, which a greet thyng is affeccioun!": Discourse markers and interjections5 "For I thou thee, thou Traitor": Terms of address6 "No one can flatter so prettily as you do": Speech acts7 "For your curteisie": Forms of politeness and impoliteness8 The pragmatics of language change: Grammaticalisation and pragmaticalisation9 "Take a pounde of sugir and halfe a pounde of tendir roses lyues...": Genres and text types10 "I pray thee friend Humfrey, what is phisicke?": Scientific and medical discourse11 "By letters from Riga we have advice": Historical news discourse12 "Fire! Help! Sir Walter has studied till his Head’s on fire": Narrative patterns and historical pragmatics.

This much needed book could not have been written by two more qualified people, and they do not disappoint. Surveying a broad panorama of micro and macro phenomena, they gently guide the reader through historical pragmatics, skilfully negotiating complex theories and illuminating numerous examples. This book lends definition to the field; it will be a landmark in its development.