Strange Twists and Turns
in the History of English

Nathan Bierma
Closing Plenary Address
Illinois TESOL-BE annual convention
Naperville, Illinois
March 4, 2006



I wrote a summary of this presentation for my 'On Language' column in the Chicago Tribune.

An audio clip of this presentation is also available (2.8 MB).

ITBE's website has more information about the convention.

Books and links I mentioned during the talk:

- The Unfolding of Language, Guy Deutscher (Metropolitan, 2005) (also see The Power of Babel, John McWhorter) [P][A]

- “The diffusion of subject YOU: A case study in historical sociolinguistics.” Helena Raumolin-Brunberg, Language Variation and Change, Volume 17, Issue 01, March 2005, pp 55-73 [Abstract]

- "The Great Vowel Shift." Website by Melinda Menzer, Furman University

- William Labov on the Northern Cities Shift

- "Proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue," Jonathan Swift. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library. [Text]

- American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style, Houghton Mifflin, 2005. [P][A]