Electronic Corpus of Diplomatic Parallel Manuscript Texts as a Tool for Historical Studies of English - Constructing a Basis for the Examination of the AB Language

对于历史语言学家来说，由于缺乏书面证据，古英语和中古英语之间的过渡时期仍然知之甚少。在这种情况下，被称为Ancrene Wisse的长篇散文文本非常重要，不仅仅是因为幸存的手稿数量，对于早期中世纪英语作品来说非常例外。这些手稿在年代、出处和抄写习惯上的微小差异，使我们能够以无与伦比的细节追踪这一时期英语中发生的变化和变异。我们的出版物包括：The Ancrene Wisse：A Four-Mandarin-pt Parallel Text。序言和第1-4部分（研究英语中世纪语言和文学，7）（法兰克福美因/柏林：彼得朗，2003年）和Ancrene智慧：一个四个Mannippt平行文本。Part 5-8 with Wordlists（Studies in English Medieval Language and Literature，11）（Peter Lang，2005）.我们的2卷Ancrene智慧平行文本版是第一个联合收割机阅读从四个主要手稿，即MSS。A、C、N和V，它们以平行形式逐行打印。这不仅为一般的历史研究提供了一个有用的工具，而且也为侧重于过渡时期的研究提供了一个有用的工具。特别是这种平行的外交手稿文本，为仔细考察AB语言提供了基础。

For historical linguists, the transition period between Old and Middle English remains poorly understood, because of the shortage of written evidence. In this situation, the long prose text known as Ancrene Wisse is of great importance, not least because of the number of surviving manuscripts, quite exceptional for an Early Middle English work. Small differences in dating, provenance and scribal habits between the manuscripts allow us to track with unequalled detail the changes and variations that were occurring in the English of this period. To have the texts available in parallel electronic form will provide a valuable tool for the historical study of English.Our publications include : The Ancrene Wisse : A Four-Manuscript Parallel Text. Preface and Parts 1-4(Studies in English Medieval Language and Literature, 7)(Frankfurt am Main/Berlin : Peter Lang, 2003) and The Ancrene Wisse : A Four-Manuscript Parallel Text. Parts 5-8 with Wordlists (Studies in English Medieval Language and Literature, 11) (Peter Lang, 2005). Our 2-volume Ancrene Wisse parallel text edition is the first to combine readings from the four main manuscripts, i.e. MSS. A, C, N and V, which are printed in parallel form, line by line. This provides a useful tool not only for historical studies in general but also for studies focussing on the transition period. In particular, this kind of parallel diplomatic manuscript text provides a basis for a close examination of the AB language.