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This book is about how languages change. It is also a devastating critique of a widespread linguistic orthodoxy. April McMahon argues that to provide a convincing explanation of linguistic change the roles of history and contingency must be accommodated in linguistic theory. She also showsthat theoretical work in related disciplines can be used to assess the value of such theories. Optimality Theory, or OT as it is usually called, dominates co...

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How and why do language changes begin, how and why do they spread, and how can they ultimately be explained? This new textbook sets out to answer these questions in a clear and helpful way which will be accessible to all students with only an elementary knowledge of linguistics.

This textbook analyses changes from every area of grammar and addresses recent developments in socio-historical linguistics.