An Introduction to Old English

by Richard Hogg

An Introduction to Old English is an accessible overview of the first centuries in the history of the English language. It combines a wide variety of short texts with a coherent and up-to-date assessment of the forms of language which remain as the foundation of English today, offering a unique study of Old English in context. It is designed for students unfamiliar with the earliest stages of the English language and provides a basis for further study of the history of the language to the present day. All the basic elements of Old English are covered, including nouns, adjectives, verbs, syntax, word order and vocabulary. Wherever possible comparisons are drawn between Old English and the present-day language, but also with other related languages such as Dutch, German and French. There are also chapters introducing readers to both Old English poetry and dialect variation as well as a chapter looking at what happened to the language after the Norman Conquest.* Up-to-date account of the linguistics of the Old English period with particular stress on syntax and vocabulary * Integrates accounts of the language with selected texts graded to improve accessibility for the beginner* Strong emphasis on the relation between Old English and present-day English together with relevant features in related languages* Contains exercises, a glossary of key terms and an Old English glossary

Genres: Nonfiction, Linguistics

176 pages, Paperback

First published December 2, 2002

Reviews

[Nawel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vraiment pas mal du tout !

[Kev Nickells · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I wanted an overview of Old English and that's what I got. It's literally an introduction to Old English [OE]. I should imagine that someone who wanted to learn Old English would use this as a starter-for-ten. In and of itself I can't imagine this being anything other than a springboard for learning the language but in that it's supremely useful.

Hogg is very careful and erudite and has the tone of someone who's very well-heeled as a teacher. It's got an excellent, well-structured overview of the morphology, orthography [per se], sources, syntax, grammar (&c) of OE. Hogg is also very clear on the limitations - some of which naturally arise from the limited nature of the corpus, some of which are a question of limiting the audience's exposure to the finite complexities of the language. Fiddly aspects (eg the case system, word-order) are dealt with clearly but respectful of the intricacies and apparent contradictions.

Not a 'difficult' book to read - I'm by no means a grammarian and I whizzed through - but certainly one that'd bear careful attention.

I'd be cautious to suggest this as a book to learn Old English from - it is an introduction and while it's certainly got a substantial glossary / OE > Modern English dictionary, its remit is clearly to give an overview of the language. Within that capacity, it's staying on my shelves only until someone else asks if I know any good books on Old English.

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly excellent little book. I didn’t realize it was possible to fit so much of the most important information about a language into a hundred fifty pages. I wish there was something like this available for every language I want to study. It can be a little technical in places, but I don’t think it’s beyond the understanding of a dedicated layman.

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe not the first book I'd recommend for a Old English learner. Wouldn't necessarily recommend.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, especially for those who start with learning old english. The most helpful part of this book for me, though, is the attached list of old English words and their modern English equivalents.

[И~N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book made for nom-specialists.

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for getting to grips with the basics.