Languages and Communities in Early Modern Europe
Languages and Communities in Early Modern Europe
In this magisterial study, Peter Burke explores the social and cultural history of the languages spoken or written in Europe between the invention of printing and the French Revolution, arguing that, from a linguistic point of view, 1450 to 1789 should be regarded as a distinct period. One major theme of the book is the relation between languages and communities (regions, churches, occupations and genders as well as nations) and the place of language as a way of identifying others as well as a symbol of one's own identity. A second, linked theme is that of competition: between Latin and the vernaculars, between different vernaculars, dominant and subordinate, and finally between different varieties of the same vernacular, such as standard languages and dialects. Written by one of Europe's leading cultural historians, this book restores the history of the many languages of Europe in a large variety of contexts.
- Places the history of the many languages of Europe in their cultural, social and political contexts
- Examines the relationship between languages and communities
- Written by a renowned historian of international repute
Reviews & endorsements
"These essays, originally given as the Wiles Lectures at Queen's University in Belfast, share the characteristics of much of his best work, truly European-wide reading, sensitivity to cultural and sociological theory, and broad vision."
Sixteenth Century Journal
"(A)lthough others have investigated in greater detail the standardization of particular vernaculars in Europe, none deal with the issue comparatively and on a pan-European scale with anything like the range of Burke...In telling his story from the end of the Middle Ages to the French Revolution, Burke skillfully negotiates the dangers inherent in a linear narrative structure...(the book) draws attention to an emerging field of historical study and widespread patterns in relations between languages and communities in early modern Europe"
Matt Lauzon, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Journal of Modern History
Product details
October 2004Paperback
9780521535861
226 pages
229 × 152 × 12 mm
0.31kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Prologue: communities and domains
- 1. 'Speak, that I may see thee': the discovery of language in early modern Europe
- 2. Latin: a language in search of a community
- 3. Vernaculars in competition
- 4. Standardizing languages
- 5. Mixing languages
- 6. Purifying languages
- Epilogue: languages and nations
- Appendix.
