Your Very First ESP Text (Wherein Chaucer Explaineth the Astrolabe)

Author / Editor
Banks, David.

Title
Your Very First ESP Text (Wherein Chaucer Explaineth the Astrolabe)

Published
ASp [Anglais de spécialité]: La revue du GERAS 15-18 (1997): 451-60.

Description
Banks gauges the place of Astr in the development of English scientific prose, tabulating grammatical metaphors, verbal nouns (ending with -ing), passive voice, personal pronouns, and instructional syntax (an infinitive clause followed by an imperative clause). Treats Astr as a "how-it-works" manual, comparing it with modern examples.
Lightly revised version entitled "Beginning with Chaucer" in David Banks, The Development of Scientific Writing: Linguistic Features and Historical Context (Oakville, Conn.: Equinox, 2008), pp. 23-35.

Alternative Title
"Beginning with Chaucer."
Development of Scientific Writing: Linguistic Features and Historical Context.

Chaucer Subjects
Treatise on the Astrolabe
Language and Word Studies