English Fiction and the Evolution of Language, 1850–1914

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British, Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science
Cover of the book English Fiction and the Evolution of Language, 1850–1914 by Will Abberley, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Will Abberley ISBN: 9781316290262
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: May 27, 2015
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: Will Abberley
ISBN: 9781316290262
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: May 27, 2015
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

Victorian science changed language from a tool into a natural phenomenon, evolving independently of its speakers. Will Abberley explores how science and fiction interacted in imagining different stories of language evolution. Popular narratives of language progress clashed with others of decay and degeneration. Furthermore, the blurring of language evolution with biological evolution encouraged Victorians to re-imagine language as a mixture of social convention and primordial instinct. Abberley argues that fiction by authors such as Charles Kingsley, Thomas Hardy and H. G. Wells not only reflected these intellectual currents, but also helped to shape them. Genres from utopia to historical romance supplied narrative models for generating thought experiments in the possible pasts and futures of language. Equally, fiction that explored the instinctive roots of language intervened in debates about language standardisation and scientific objectivity. These textual readings offer new perspectives on twenty-first-century discussions about language evolution and the language of science.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Victorian science changed language from a tool into a natural phenomenon, evolving independently of its speakers. Will Abberley explores how science and fiction interacted in imagining different stories of language evolution. Popular narratives of language progress clashed with others of decay and degeneration. Furthermore, the blurring of language evolution with biological evolution encouraged Victorians to re-imagine language as a mixture of social convention and primordial instinct. Abberley argues that fiction by authors such as Charles Kingsley, Thomas Hardy and H. G. Wells not only reflected these intellectual currents, but also helped to shape them. Genres from utopia to historical romance supplied narrative models for generating thought experiments in the possible pasts and futures of language. Equally, fiction that explored the instinctive roots of language intervened in debates about language standardisation and scientific objectivity. These textual readings offer new perspectives on twenty-first-century discussions about language evolution and the language of science.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book Conjuring Asia by Will Abberley
Cover of the book Handbook of Fetal Medicine by Will Abberley
Cover of the book Public Management by Will Abberley
Cover of the book Applied Anatomy for Anaesthesia and Intensive Care by Will Abberley
Cover of the book American Mourning by Will Abberley
Cover of the book Models of Man by Will Abberley
Cover of the book A History of Modern Palestine by Will Abberley
Cover of the book Latin American State Building in Comparative Perspective by Will Abberley
Cover of the book Politics and Skepticism in Antebellum American Literature by Will Abberley
Cover of the book Regime Interaction in International Law by Will Abberley
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Samuel Johnson by Will Abberley
Cover of the book The Sword's Other Edge by Will Abberley
Cover of the book Combustion Waves and Fronts in Flows by Will Abberley
Cover of the book Environmental Infrastructure in African History by Will Abberley
Cover of the book The Economic History of Latin America since Independence by Will Abberley
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy