Progress in Language, with Special Reference to English

Originally published in 1894 under the title Progress in Language: With Special Reference to English, this seminal work by Danish linguist Otto Jespersen represents a foundational text in the history of linguistic science. Jespersen wrote the book during his tenure as a professor at the University of Copenhagen, aiming to challenge the prevailing neogrammarian view that language evolution was primarily characterized by phonetic decay. Instead, he argued that linguistic change often represented a rational simplification, moving toward more efficient communication.

The 2006 Routledge edition is part of the Routledge Library Editions series, which seeks to reissue influential scholarly works from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to modern academic audiences. By preserving Jespersen’s original arguments regarding syntax, morphology, and the progressive development of English, this edition provides contemporary students of linguistics with direct access to his structuralist insights, which remain highly regarded for their depth and their influence on later generative grammarians.