This important book examines the role of written and spoken language in shaping our sense of reality, in exchanges of social life, and in fashioning our sense of self. It develops a distinctive, socio-historical approach to these issues, offering a range of illuminating studies in the social history of language.

The first section discusses the history of specially charged languages (Latin, Hebrew, and the speech-forms of the Quakers). The second section examines the politics of language, paying special attention to dialect and the relations between the language of conquerors and the conquered. In the third section, the relation between forms of expression and the development of personal self-definition is discussed.

This key work will make a major contribution to the interdisciplinary study of language. It will be of interest to students and researchers in social history, linguistics, and the history and sociology of language.

About the Author
Peter Burke is a Reader in Cultural History at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Roy Porter is a Professor of the History of Medicine at The Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine.

Reviews
'The broad concentration upon a generally-neglected period of language history (the 17th and 18th centuries) is wholly welcome... Nigel Smith is fascinating on 'The Uses of Hebrew in the English Revolution' and Peter Burke's little sketch of post-Medieval uses of Latin is wide ranging and excellent.' The London Review of Books



Book Information
ISBN 9780745613413
Author Roy Porter
Format Paperback
Page Count 368
Imprint Polity Press
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Weight(grams) 535g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 27mm