• List of contributors; Acknowledgements; Introduction Laura Wright; Part I. Theory and Methodology: Approaches to Studying the Standardisation of English: 1. Historical description and the ideology of the standard language Jim Milroy; 2. Mythical strands in the ideology of prescriptivism Richard J. Watts; 3. Rats, bats, sparrows and dogs: biology, linguistics and the nature of Standard English Jonathan Hope; 4. Salience, stigma and standard Raymond Hickey; 5. The ideology of the standard and the development of Extraterritorial Englishes Gabriella Mazzon; 6. Metropolitan values: migration, mobility and cultural norms, London 1100–1700 Derek Keene; Part II. Processes of the Standardisation of English: 7. Standardisation and the language of early statutes Matti Rissanen; 8. Scientific language and spelling standardisation 1375–1550 Irma Taavitsainen; 9. Change from above or below? Mapping the loci of linguistic change in the history of Scottish English Anneli Meurman-Solin; 10. Adjective comparison and standardisation processes in American and British English from 1620 to the present Merja Kytö and Suzanne Romaine; 11. The Spectator, the politics of social networks, and language standardisation in eighteenth-century England Susan Fitzmaurice; 12. A branching path: low vowel lengthening and its friends in the emerging standard Roger Lass; Index.

'The Development of Standard English, 1300–1800 provides thought-provoking insights into the past of standard English. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in a refreshing re-examination of the teaching of the story of this language.' International Trade