Speech Representation in the History of English

doi:10.1017/9781009205870.006

3 - Speech Representation in the History of English

from Part I - The Transmission of English

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 October 2025

Peter J. Grund

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Joan C. Beal

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Joan C. Beal: Affiliation:
University of Sheffield

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Summary

This chapter surveys stability, variation, and change in the mechanisms, functions and frequency of speech representation across the history of English. Attention is paid to speech representation expressions (e.g. they said) and ‘speech descriptors’ (they said confidently), speech representation cues (e.g. quotation marks and ‘perspective shifters’ such as discourse markers), speech representation categories (e.g. direct speech They said ‘We will come!’ versus indirect speech They said that they will come), and generic and sociopragmatic functions of speech representation (e.g. dramatisation). The chapter also explores the development of the speech representation verbs murmur, mutter and whisper in Late Modern English as an illustration of the gradual development and integration of an increasing number of speech representation resources over time.

Keywords

speech representation quotation marks speech representation expression speech descriptor direct speech indirect speech free indirect speech genre sociopragmatics

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Type: Chapter
Information: The New Cambridge History of the English Language
Transmission, Change and Ideology
, pp. 83 - 106

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009205870.006 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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