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Old English: A Historical Linguistic Companion
Old English is a companion to Old English studies and to historical studies of early English in general. Professor Roger Lass makes accessible in a linguistically up-to-date and readable form the Indo-European and Germanic background to Old English, as well as what can be reconstructed about the resulting state of Old English itself. He bridges the gap between elementary Old English grammars and the major philological grammars and recent interpretations of Old English data.
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First published December 19, 1993
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About the author
Roger Lass
33 books5 followersRoger Lass (born January 1, 1937) is a historical linguist.
He earned his PhD from Yale University in 1965 in Medieval English Language and Literature, and subsequently worked at Indiana University (1964–1971), the University of Edinburgh (1972–1982), and the University of Cape Town (1983–2002).
He has done extensive work in the history of English, the motivation of sound change, and the history of linguistics. He was made an honorary professorial fellow at Edinburgh in 2014.
He was the editor of the third volume of The Cambridge History of the English Language.
He earned his PhD from Yale University in 1965 in Medieval English Language and Literature, and subsequently worked at Indiana University (1964–1971), the University of Edinburgh (1972–1982), and the University of Cape Town (1983–2002).
He has done extensive work in the history of English, the motivation of sound change, and the history of linguistics. He was made an honorary professorial fellow at Edinburgh in 2014.
He was the editor of the third volume of The Cambridge History of the English Language.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 23, 2010
Roger Lass' 1994 book OLD ENGLISH: A Historical Linguistic Companion is a rigorous examination of how Old English got to be the way it is, a useful presentation of historical background from Proto-Indo-European through the various stages of Germanic prior to OE proper. It is a book meant for students of Old English who struggle to memorize irregular morphology or who don't understand how English vocabulary ended up looking so different from German or Dutch. Lass lists as examples the following difficulties as matters easily overcome by a knowledge of the historical background:
* Why do certain verbs have double consonants in some parts of the paradigm, and singles elsewhere?
* Why do verbs like sellan "sell", tellan "tell" have preterites sealde, tealde rather than *sellede, *tellede?
* Why do certain strong verbs which historically ought to have the same vocalism not do so? E.g. cl III singan "sing", pret sg sang, but in the same class helpan "help", pret sg healp, and weorpan "throw", pret sg "wearp".
And so on. Lass' look at OE history is mainly divided into Phonology and Morphology. Everything of course should be read in order, since the morphology of OE is so wacky because of all the phonological changes that led up to it. There's also a nice chapter on vocabulary and word formation, as well as a brief look at the "dissolution" of Old English, the changes evident in late OE texts that augur the arrival of Middle English.
As I said, Lass' presentation is rigorous and assumes prior training in linguistics, at least some knowledge of general linguistics and then some acquaintance with the comparative method. If you have worked with something like Hock's classic handbook PRINCIPLES OF HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS, then you will get the most out of Lass' book. The author's tone is clear and friendly, and he's not afraid to present things out of exact chronological order when he knows that the reader will grasp them faster.
I've actually never studied Old English, but being a historical linguist whose native language is English, and being passionate about the development of modern languages out of Proto-Indo-European, I was naturally attracted to Lass' work. I'm very happy that I read it, because it really cleared up a lot of aspects of the Germanic family that I long found difficult. In fact, I was able to make faster progress through an Old Norse course after reading Lass' book, so I think OLD ENGLISH: A Historical Linguistic Companion is not just for those trying to read Old English literature and ought to have a wide appeal.
* Why do certain verbs have double consonants in some parts of the paradigm, and singles elsewhere?
* Why do verbs like sellan "sell", tellan "tell" have preterites sealde, tealde rather than *sellede, *tellede?
* Why do certain strong verbs which historically ought to have the same vocalism not do so? E.g. cl III singan "sing", pret sg sang, but in the same class helpan "help", pret sg healp, and weorpan "throw", pret sg "wearp".
And so on. Lass' look at OE history is mainly divided into Phonology and Morphology. Everything of course should be read in order, since the morphology of OE is so wacky because of all the phonological changes that led up to it. There's also a nice chapter on vocabulary and word formation, as well as a brief look at the "dissolution" of Old English, the changes evident in late OE texts that augur the arrival of Middle English.
As I said, Lass' presentation is rigorous and assumes prior training in linguistics, at least some knowledge of general linguistics and then some acquaintance with the comparative method. If you have worked with something like Hock's classic handbook PRINCIPLES OF HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS, then you will get the most out of Lass' book. The author's tone is clear and friendly, and he's not afraid to present things out of exact chronological order when he knows that the reader will grasp them faster.
I've actually never studied Old English, but being a historical linguist whose native language is English, and being passionate about the development of modern languages out of Proto-Indo-European, I was naturally attracted to Lass' work. I'm very happy that I read it, because it really cleared up a lot of aspects of the Germanic family that I long found difficult. In fact, I was able to make faster progress through an Old Norse course after reading Lass' book, so I think OLD ENGLISH: A Historical Linguistic Companion is not just for those trying to read Old English literature and ought to have a wide appeal.
August 2, 2007
a favorite. this is also a great intro to both IE and Germanic historical linguistics. Lass writes clearly and almost humorously. he's one of those gifted writers who can pull lofty ideas back down to earth so that mere mortals like me can understand them.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews