This rare antiquarian book comprises a detailed guide to the history of the English language with a special emphasis on phonology, dialectology, and chronology, the latter concerning the careful discrimination between what is in actual use and what is now obsolete. Including all that is essential for the beginner and requiring no previous knowledge aside from the ordinary grammatical terms, this fascinating educational text is a must-read for anyone with an interest in the historical evolution of the English language and is well deserving of a place in any collection of antiquarian linguistic literature. The chapters of this book include: History of English: Old English, Middle English, and Modern English; Phonetics: Analysis, Synthesis, Vowels, and Consonants; Laws of Sound-Change; Old English Sounds; Middle English Sounds; Modern English Sound-Changes; and many more. This book was originally published in 1892 and is proudly republished here with an introduction to the topic.