The Grammar of Empire in Eighteenth-Century British Writing

This study explores the complex role of language as an instrument of empire in eighteenth-century British literature. Focusing on the relationship between England and one of its Celtic colonies Scotland Janet Sorensen examines how the expansion of the British empire influenced the formation of a national standard English. The book demonstrates the ambivalence at the heart of British linguistic identity moving from a close analysis of Scottish writers Alexander MacDonald Adam Smith Hugh Blair and Tobias Smollett to a revised understanding of the language use of Samuel Johnson and Jane Austen.