Keith Johnson is Emeritus Professor of Linguistics and Language Education in the Department of Linguistics and English Language, University of Lancaster

PART A. PRELIMINARIES AND ANCESTRIES1. HISTORY, AND HISTORICAL CHANGE
2 LANGUAGES AND THEIR DAUGHTERS

PART B. OLD ENGLISH
3 OLD ENGLISH: A FIRST LOOK
4 OE WRITING, PRONUNCIATION, AND A DEVIL OF A MOUTHFUL
5. THE OLD ENGLISH WORD-HOARD
6 OE GRAMMAR: A 'JUNGLE OF ENDINGS'
7. OE LITERATURE: 'A SYZYGY OF DIPODIC HEMISTICHS'

PART C. MIDDLE ENGLISH
8. LO, ENGLAND INTO NORMANDY'S HAND
9. 'THE ENGLISH TONGUE . . . HONOURABLY ENLARGED AND ADORNED': ME WORDS AND PRAGMATICS
10. 'LIGHTER . . . THAN THE OLD AND ANCIENT ENGLISH'
11. ME LITERATURE: INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE 'FIELD FULL OF FOLK'

PART D. INTERLUDE
12. A SHORT INTERLUDE ABOUT LONG VOWELS: THE GREAT VOWEL SHIFT

PART E. EARLY MODERN ENGLISH
13. 'MANIE MATTERS OF SINGULAR DISCOURSE': SOME ENGLISH RENAISSANCE HISTORY
14 'WRYTING TREU' AND 'SOUNDYING CLEARE': EModE GRAPHOLOGY, SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION
15 TURNING WATER INTO WINE: RENAISSANCE WORDS
16 'TRUE AND WELL-SPEAKING A LANGUAGE': RENAISSANCE GRAMMAR
17. 'I THOU THEE, THOU TRAITOR': SOME RENAISSANCE PRAGMATICS
18 'WELL TURNED, AND TRUE FILED LINES': RENAISSANCE LITERATURE
19. 'A SETTLED, CERTAIN AND CORRECTED LANGUAGE': THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY