Beginning Old English

by Carole Hough, John Corbett

This is a simple introduction to Old English for students with little or no linguistic knowledge. Unlike other textbooks on the subject, Beginning Old English focuses on the explanation and illustration of how the language works, using accessible illustrations from simplified Old English texts and demonstrating how many feature of present-day English have their roots in this stage of the language. It also includes long extracts from popular Old English works for use in the classroom.

Genres: Nonfiction

251 pages, Paperback

First published December 8, 2006

Reviews

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really excellent intro to the language, literature and culture of the Anglo-Saxons. Would recommend to anyone who wants a quick intro to get them reading in Old English. Would recommend, but also pick up something more textbooky to follow this up to as this really is an intro for beginners.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continually on the side of the non-linguist, Beginning Old English gets you involved in reading and then never lets up! There is footwork to do—that's always the case—but any initial enthusiasm that a reader brings to this book will be thoroughly rewarded.

Having revealed how much more Old English vocabulary can be identified by English speakers of today than perhaps imagined, the first half of the book continues on to build up a basic grammar, supplying "the essential tools to begin to read more extended Old English texts." These chapters are chopped up into usefully bite-sized morsels, always bound up in extracts from Old English texts of a manageable length, such that dipping in and out over the course of a day was for me both possible and effective, allowing a head of steam to be built up, a sense of achievement to be experienced and all the time gaining exposure to the real aim of the whole undertaking anyway: enjoying reading Old English in the original.

I have my own motivations for learning Old English, and this book has left me encouraged and with the belief that, yes, I can do this and am indeed already, enjoyably, well on the way.

Thank you :)

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for those who need a quick insight on the history of Old English. Honestly, I wouldn't read it just for fun, since I'm not into languages THAT much, but it helped me understand things better. What's good about this book is that it doesn't use sophisticated explanations and loads of unknown terminology. On the contrary, it's simple and sometimes funny.

Conclusion: if you are studying English and have to find out something about its origins, this is definitely your book.

[Paige_ Eh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abandoned - marked as read to reset for the 2017 reading challenge.