Old English / Anglo-Saxon

[DollyH]

I have been thinking about refreshing my virtually nonexistant knowledge of Old English.  I studied the language years ago [in the 1960s] when it was still called Anglo-Saxon and the only books we had were Sweet's Primer and his Reader.  Are there any more recent students of the language who could suggest a good grammar or textbook?  I'm not afraid of grammar or grammatical terms and I don't really like patronizing approaches to study.  Any suggestions would be most welcome.

Luv

Dolly

[modem]

Hi

A good introduction to the history and development of the English language is "Mother Tongue" by Bill Bryson (Penguin 1991). It is a detailed and apparently well researched book and I found it a fascinating read. Still dip into it from time to time to refresh my memory, there's so much to take on board. There were one or two points that I did not agree with but on the whole recommend it thoroughly.

The National Archives have an on-line guidance and a tutorial package to help with reading old documents. Just go to their home page and follow the instructions.

Best wishes

Modem

[linmey]

I would agree with that modem, a fascinating read and a book that I have re read a few times.

Linda.

[Malcolm Bull]

Hi Dolly

You are obviously familiar with OE so, although Bryson is a jolly good read, I should be surprised if he tells you too much about topics such as the correlation between subordinate and principal clauses, or how, when expressing a title with a proper name but without a demonstrative, the title follows the name.

A good refresher might be First Steps in Old English by Stephen Pollington [Anglo-Saxon Books ISBN 1-898281-19-X].  The approach is a bit ooh-isn't-grammar-nasty, so I hope you don't think it too patronizing,  but you might find the modern [1997] presentation interesting and useful.  I've just looked, and my edition of Sweet's Primer first appeared in 1905, so Pollington is more recent. 

There used to be a Teach Yourself Old English, but I don't know whether they still do one [my edition is dated 1964].  Perhaps GOOGLE will reveal all.  That was academic, heavy on grammar and certainly not patronizing.

Hope this helps

Malcolm Bull

[DollyH]

Thanks for the references, Malcolm.  I knew that you had a lot of info about Halifax in West Yorkshire, but I wasn't aware that you knew Old English too.  Nice for our paths to cross again.

Dolly