The twelve articles of the present volume are grouped under two headings: 'Meaning and mind' and 'Meaning and grammar'. The studies in the first part mainly deal with cognitive semantics, and those in the second part with various types of reanalysis and grammaticalisation. Special attention is paid to language in use as a means of communication, and to change through variation. The articles make ample use of English corpora from Old to Present-Day English.

The studies have many points of contact in their discussions of semantic and structural change over the long history of English. The most obvious are metaphoric and metonymic changes and the specialisation or generalisation of meaning. Subjectification is closely connected with many of the changes discussed, as well as changes in the socio-cultural environment of the speech community and contacts with speakers of other languages. The book introduces research done in VARIENG, the Research Unit for Variation, Contacts and Change in English, at the University of Helsinki.