An in-depth volume tracking change in the English language and the role which internal and external factors played throughout history. The New Cambridge History of the English Language, Vol 3: Transmission, Change, ed. Joan C. Beal, Out Now https://cup.org/4oFojBu #Linguistics #LangSky 🐦🐦

The first 3 volumes of the The New Cambridge History of the English Language are out now! Vol 1: Context, Contact and Development: https://cup.org/44J8ouY Vol 2: Documentation, Sources of Data and Modelling: https://cup.org/3Mv2siU Vol 3: Transmission, Change and Ideology: https://cup.org/44gKqaf

If you're interested in Frances Burney, bluestocking beef, the cult of *intense* young ladies who worshipped Mary Delany, or my continued efforts to solve archival mysteries in a deerstalker hat, here's 'A generous Rival? Mary Hamilton and Frances Burney'. pure.york.ac.uk/portal/en/pu...

If you're into historic reading practices, applying digital methods to manuscript life writing, the tricky question of defining literary genre, here's 'The Tip of the Iceberg: Reading Practices in Mary Hamilton’s archive, 1783-4' (co-auth with @crulph.bsky.social): pure.york.ac.uk/portal/en/pu...

Now Anne-Christine Gardner w/ 'Self-Corrections as Indexes of Social Relationships: Observations From Mary Hamilton's Correspondence With Frances Burney (1783–1789)'. Anne & I take complementary approaches to the same material: IMHO it's a fun conversation! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Then, er, it's me again! In 'A ‘generous Rival’? Mary Hamilton and Frances Burney', I use archival & digital approaches to solve the mystery of why Hamilton loved Burney but Burney loathed Hamilton. The answer is one to which many novelists may relate. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

But most of all, to @historyhannahb.bsky.social for leading the project and to my wonderful Co-Investigators and co-editors David Denison and @nuriyabo.bsky.social for the teamwork. Nuria in particular has been the powerhouse behind this volume, and we'd be nowhere without her.

At last our special issue, JECS 48.4, is out, all 200+ pages of it! We're very proud of it. Thanks are due to many colleagues, but especially Nuria Yáñez-Bouza for proof-correcting heroics, and the general editor, Emrys Jones, for brilliant support throughout. #18thC #langsky

ALSO OPEN ACCESS is our 1st article, 'Reconstructing Mary Hamilton's Social Networks', by David Denison & Tino Oudesluijs, who present an innovative method for reconstructing social networks from ms letters-connecting not just correspondents but mentionees too onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Also OPEN ACCESS is the Introduction, co-authored by @nuriyabo.bsky.social, David Denison, and myself. Here we situate @maryhamiltonpapers.bsky.social in context of other 18thc digital initiatives, & highlight key findings of the contributions to the vol. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

The OPEN ACCESS Foreword, by Hannah Barker & Nuria Yáñez-Bouza, is a great place to start. It introduces Hamilton, her archive, & previous relevant scholarship. It also acknowledges the crucial contributions of many other folk, esp @thejohnrylands.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

It's here! Our special issue of JECS (journal of @bsecs.bsky.social), a bumper vol of cutting-edge interdisciplinary research on 18c networks, gender, sociability & manuscript, deriving from @maryhamiltonpapers.bsky.social project. I'll be skeeting today about the contributions in turn...stay tuned!

En menos dunha semana imos desfrutar dun programa cheo de cousas interesantes. Bótalle unha ollada na web ciil25.webs.uvigo.es/programa/ . Vémonos o xoves en Redeiras!

Two imminent developments from the Mary Hamilton Papers team: a special issue in JECS, and a major refresh of the edition (transcriptions, mark-up, personography), both probably live online in November. Watch this space! #18thC #langsky

Mary Hamilton and her networks: Gender, sociability, manuscript. Important (we would think so, wouldn't we?) special issue of JECS, now in copy-editing. Intro + 4 research papers by the team (see www.maryhamiltonpapers.alc.manchester.ac.uk/further-read...) + 5 outside contributions. #18thC #langsky

Among 100+ newer/older/unknown words for the OED in the Hamilton Papers are jerry 'hen-pecked husband', jerryism, Benedict 'newly married', hub. Derogatory frump, quiz 'eccentric person'. Playful astoundation, terrificability. Specialised casaquin, clavicello, quipu. #Linguistics #18thC #c18th

More for the OED: bas bleu, indigo (in humorous reference to Bluestocking views), dissertation 'debate', haut ton. Chaperon and dirty (as verbs), moonshine (adjective), a bundle of nerves, jargonic, lucet, parliamenteering, spa toilet, strongle, tarot. #Linguistics #18thC #c18th

Raymond Hickey now introduces the New Cambridge History of the English Language - 6 volumes & 227 contributors - coming soon www.cambridge.org/core/series/... #ISLE8

_Notable_ adj. once had meanings to do with household management. Mary Hamilton often applies it to her (needle)work, slightly antedating OED, while Lady Dartrey mentions 'a good notable woman', i.e. competent in household matters. News to me, but not (I bet) to some of you. #18thC #langsky

Christine, Nuria, Sophie and David have all given Hamilton-related talks (www.maryhamiltonpapers.alc.manchester.ac.uk/conference-s...) in the last few months, and revision of the edition continues in the background. September will bring some major developments.

Conference website already up and running: wp.uni-koblenz.de/icame47/ #ICAME46 to #ICAME47

Quick reminder that the ICAME journal is available open access (for everybody): icame.info/icame-journal/ #ICAME46 📚

8th International Prescriptivism Conference 24-26 June 2026 Vrije Universiteit Brussel @vubrussel.bsky.social www.historicalsociolinguistics.be/prescriptivi...

Unlocking the Mary Hamilton Papers has won a York Open Research Award for 2025! (and uoy.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/... gives 3 good reasons why 😀)

V pleased & proud to be at the awards lunch for @uoyopenres.bsky.social York Open Research Awards, funded by Research England. I accepted an award on behalf of the dream team at Unlocking The Mary Hamilton Papers www.maryhamiltonpapers.alc.manchester.ac.uk The other awardees’ projects were amazing!

Sophie's blogpost 'This is not a love story' explored the dynamics of correspondence between Hamilton and George IV, which gained attention including wider media coverage and a BBC Radio 3 feature The resource was also embedded into open access classroom materials for teaching A-Level English 👩‍🏫

So pleased and proud that our research has been recognised in the York Open Research Awards! Thanks to brilliant team inc. @historyhannahb.bsky.social @crulph.bsky.social & others not On Here. Find out more about the research & edition here: www.maryhamiltonpapers.alc.manchester.ac.uk