An Introduction to Old English

by Richard Hogg

This accessible overview covers all the basic linguistic elements of Old English, including nouns, adjectives, verbs, syntax, word order, and vocabulary. Offering a unique study of Old English in context, it combines a wide variety of short texts with an up-to-date assessment of the forms of language that remain as the foundation of English today. Comparisons are drawn between Old and present-day English and also with other related languages such as Dutch, German, and French. Old English poetry and dialect variation are also discussed.

Genres: Nonfiction, Linguistics

176 pages, Paperback

First published December 2, 2002

Reviews

[Nawel]

Vraiment pas mal du tout !

[Kev Nickells]

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]

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]

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

[Patricia]

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]

Very good book made for nom-specialists.

[Jade]

Good for getting to grips with the basics.