What do you think?
Rate this book
First Steps in Anglo-Saxon
From the PREFACE
In my Anglo-Saxon Primer I tried to make things easy for the beginner by adopting a uniform normalized spelling, by giving only a few texts of the simplest character, and by basing the grammar and glossary exclusively on these texts, so that everything learnt in the grammar might be at once utilized in reading the texts, and the time and trouble of looking up words be reduced to a minimum.
But although the Primer is perfectly well suited for those students who have already had some linguistic training- especially those who know German-there are others for whom a rigorous grammar-and-glossary method is too abstract, and whose memories will not bear the strain of having to master a grammar of some length before proceeding to the texts.
Such learners require a less concise and abstract exposition, one in which the strain on the memory is reduced to a minimum, partly by careful gradation of difficulties, partly by greater fullness of exposition, and lastly by further simplification and omission of whatever is not absolutely necessary for the learner's first start. The present work shows that these changes do not entail any increase of bulk, the greater fullness of exposition being balanced by the omissions.
As the Primer is intended as an introduction to a scientific as well as a purely practical knowledge of Old English, it includes an exposition of some of the fundamental facts of historical grammar, such as the laws of mutation and gradation, which are certainly not necessary for the beginner, even if we admit that they have a practical value in helping to fix the forms in the memory. I have, accordingly, rigorously excluded all such details from the grammar in the present work, which is intended to be a purely practical introduction to the language.
But a practical mastery itself has different stages. The first requisite is to understand written texts, which involves only the power of recognizing grammatical forms, not of constructing them, as in the further stage of writing or speaking the language. Thus in beginning the second text in the present book ( 14) a learner in the first stage is expected to find out for himself that manna is in the genitive plural, and that craeftum is in the dative plural, and to infer from the ending -ne in hwelcne that craeft is masculine. He will then be able to infer with tolerable certainty from what he has learnt in the grammar that the plural of craeft is craeftas, but this inference belongs really to the second stage: a learner in the first stage is expected only to recognize the inflection of craeftas when he meets it.
The first object, therefore, of a simplified grammar is to give what is necessary to enable the beginner to recognize the grammatical forms which occur in the texts he is about to read. This excludes not only mutation &c, but also part of the syntax; thus an exposition of the laws of Old English word-order would evidently be out of place in the present grammar....
In my Anglo-Saxon Primer I tried to make things easy for the beginner by adopting a uniform normalized spelling, by giving only a few texts of the simplest character, and by basing the grammar and glossary exclusively on these texts, so that everything learnt in the grammar might be at once utilized in reading the texts, and the time and trouble of looking up words be reduced to a minimum.
But although the Primer is perfectly well suited for those students who have already had some linguistic training- especially those who know German-there are others for whom a rigorous grammar-and-glossary method is too abstract, and whose memories will not bear the strain of having to master a grammar of some length before proceeding to the texts.
Such learners require a less concise and abstract exposition, one in which the strain on the memory is reduced to a minimum, partly by careful gradation of difficulties, partly by greater fullness of exposition, and lastly by further simplification and omission of whatever is not absolutely necessary for the learner's first start. The present work shows that these changes do not entail any increase of bulk, the greater fullness of exposition being balanced by the omissions.
As the Primer is intended as an introduction to a scientific as well as a purely practical knowledge of Old English, it includes an exposition of some of the fundamental facts of historical grammar, such as the laws of mutation and gradation, which are certainly not necessary for the beginner, even if we admit that they have a practical value in helping to fix the forms in the memory. I have, accordingly, rigorously excluded all such details from the grammar in the present work, which is intended to be a purely practical introduction to the language.
But a practical mastery itself has different stages. The first requisite is to understand written texts, which involves only the power of recognizing grammatical forms, not of constructing them, as in the further stage of writing or speaking the language. Thus in beginning the second text in the present book ( 14) a learner in the first stage is expected to find out for himself that manna is in the genitive plural, and that craeftum is in the dative plural, and to infer from the ending -ne in hwelcne that craeft is masculine. He will then be able to infer with tolerable certainty from what he has learnt in the grammar that the plural of craeft is craeftas, but this inference belongs really to the second stage: a learner in the first stage is expected only to recognize the inflection of craeftas when he meets it.
The first object, therefore, of a simplified grammar is to give what is necessary to enable the beginner to recognize the grammatical forms which occur in the texts he is about to read. This excludes not only mutation &c, but also part of the syntax; thus an exposition of the laws of Old English word-order would evidently be out of place in the present grammar....
120 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2005
About the author
Henry Sweet
110 books7 followersHenry Sweet (15 September 1845 – 30 April 1912) was an English philologist, phonetician and grammarian.
As a philologist, he specialized in the Germanic languages, particularly Old English and Old Norse. In addition, Sweet published works on larger issues of phonetics and grammar in language and the teaching of languages. Many of his ideas have remained influential, and a number of his works continue to be in print, being used as course texts at colleges and universities.
Henry Sweet was born in St. Pancras in London. He was educated at Bruce Castle School and King's College School, London. In 1864, he spent a short time studying at the University of Heidelberg. Upon his return to England, he took up an office job with a trading company in London. Five years later, aged twenty-four, he won a scholarship in German and entered Balliol College in Oxford.
Sweet neglected his formal academic coursework, concentrating instead on pursuing excellence in his private studies. Early recognition came in his first year at Oxford, when the prestigious Philological Society (whose President he was destined to become later on) published a paper of his on Old English. In 1871, still an undergraduate, he edited King Alfred's translation of the Cura Pastoralis for the Early English Text Society (King Alfred's West-Saxon Version of Gregory's Pastoral Care: With an English Translation, the Latin Text, Notes, and an Introduction), his commentary establishing the foundation for Old English dialectology. He graduated, nearly thirty years old, with a fourth-class degree in literae humaniores. Subsequent works on Old English included An Anglo-Saxon Reader (1876), The Oldest English Texts (1885) and A Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon (1896).
Sweet, like his contemporary Walter Skeat, felt under particular pressure from German scholars in English studies who, often state-employed, tenured, and accompanied by their comitatus of eager graduate students "annexed" the historical study of English. Dismayed by the "swarms of young program-mongers turned out out every year by German universities," he felt that "no English dilettante can hope to compete with them—except by Germanizing himself and losing all his nationality."
In 1877, Sweet published A Handbook of Phonetics, which attracted international attention among scholars and teachers of English in Europe. He followed up with the Elementarbuch des gesprochenen Englisch (1885), which was subsequently adapted as A Primer of Spoken English (1890). This included the first scientific description of educated London speech, later known as received pronunciation, with specimens of connected speech represented in phonetic script. His emphasis on spoken language and phonetics made him a pioneer in language teaching, a subject which he covered in detail in The Practical Study of Languages (1899). In 1901, Sweet was made reader in phonetics at Oxford. The Sounds of English (1908) was his last book on English pronunciation.
Other books by Sweet include An Icelandic Primer with Grammar, Notes and Glossary (1886), The History of Language (1900, and a number of other works he edited for the Early English Text Society. Sweet was also closely involved in the early history of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Despite the recognition he received for his scholarly work, Sweet never received a university professorship, a fact that disturbed him greatly; he had done poorly as a student at Oxford, he had annoyed many people through bluntness, and he failed to make every effort to gather official support. His relationship with the Oxford University Press was often strained.
Sweet died on 30 April 1912 in Oxford, of pernicious anaemia; he left no children.
As a philologist, he specialized in the Germanic languages, particularly Old English and Old Norse. In addition, Sweet published works on larger issues of phonetics and grammar in language and the teaching of languages. Many of his ideas have remained influential, and a number of his works continue to be in print, being used as course texts at colleges and universities.
Henry Sweet was born in St. Pancras in London. He was educated at Bruce Castle School and King's College School, London. In 1864, he spent a short time studying at the University of Heidelberg. Upon his return to England, he took up an office job with a trading company in London. Five years later, aged twenty-four, he won a scholarship in German and entered Balliol College in Oxford.
Sweet neglected his formal academic coursework, concentrating instead on pursuing excellence in his private studies. Early recognition came in his first year at Oxford, when the prestigious Philological Society (whose President he was destined to become later on) published a paper of his on Old English. In 1871, still an undergraduate, he edited King Alfred's translation of the Cura Pastoralis for the Early English Text Society (King Alfred's West-Saxon Version of Gregory's Pastoral Care: With an English Translation, the Latin Text, Notes, and an Introduction), his commentary establishing the foundation for Old English dialectology. He graduated, nearly thirty years old, with a fourth-class degree in literae humaniores. Subsequent works on Old English included An Anglo-Saxon Reader (1876), The Oldest English Texts (1885) and A Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon (1896).
Sweet, like his contemporary Walter Skeat, felt under particular pressure from German scholars in English studies who, often state-employed, tenured, and accompanied by their comitatus of eager graduate students "annexed" the historical study of English. Dismayed by the "swarms of young program-mongers turned out out every year by German universities," he felt that "no English dilettante can hope to compete with them—except by Germanizing himself and losing all his nationality."
In 1877, Sweet published A Handbook of Phonetics, which attracted international attention among scholars and teachers of English in Europe. He followed up with the Elementarbuch des gesprochenen Englisch (1885), which was subsequently adapted as A Primer of Spoken English (1890). This included the first scientific description of educated London speech, later known as received pronunciation, with specimens of connected speech represented in phonetic script. His emphasis on spoken language and phonetics made him a pioneer in language teaching, a subject which he covered in detail in The Practical Study of Languages (1899). In 1901, Sweet was made reader in phonetics at Oxford. The Sounds of English (1908) was his last book on English pronunciation.
Other books by Sweet include An Icelandic Primer with Grammar, Notes and Glossary (1886), The History of Language (1900, and a number of other works he edited for the Early English Text Society. Sweet was also closely involved in the early history of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Despite the recognition he received for his scholarly work, Sweet never received a university professorship, a fact that disturbed him greatly; he had done poorly as a student at Oxford, he had annoyed many people through bluntness, and he failed to make every effort to gather official support. His relationship with the Oxford University Press was often strained.
Sweet died on 30 April 1912 in Oxford, of pernicious anaemia; he left no children.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 14, 2026
It’s nigh on impossible to get a proper copy of this so I ended up buying a crappy photocopy masquerading as a book.
Having said that it’s a great intro for intermediate readers of old english, containing prose Beowulfes Siþ, Be manna Cræftum and Be Þissum Middangearde
Having said that it’s a great intro for intermediate readers of old english, containing prose Beowulfes Siþ, Be manna Cræftum and Be Þissum Middangearde
January 14, 2024
What would constitute "first steps" in a language these days would be drastically more basic than it was in 1897 when this was published. But, if you are an experienced language learner then this little grammar is indeed the minimum of what you need to start reading Anglo-Saxon. However you learn the basics, the reading texts provided in the second half of this book are very good. The biggest component is a prose retelling of the first half of Beowulf called "Beowulfes siþ."
A pdf is available for free from Google Books.
A pdf is available for free from Google Books.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews