First Steps in AngloSaxon Henry Sweet 9781141152346 Books
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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.
First Steps in AngloSaxon Henry Sweet 9781141152346 Books
First Steps in Anglo-Saxon by Henry Sweet is a short book of just over 100 pages that can launch you into reading basic -- and interesting -- Old English. Many books which offer to teach you Old English load you down with excess material too early. Not this one. Sweet, who died nearly a century ago, was famous for his Oxford University studies in linguistics and Germanic languages, and Old English in particular, and several of his works are still in print. As he notes in his introduction, this book is intended to be a "purely practical introduction to the language," so he skips most of the complicated history of the grammar and sound changes which a beginner doesn't need at the outset.His goal in the first section of just 25 pages is to provide the minimum of grammar and syntax necessary to get you actually reading Old English. He follows this with some simple texts describing the physical world ("Seo sunne gaeth betweonan heofon and eorthan"; "The sun goes/moves between heaven and earth"), and then on to his famous "Be Manna Craeftum," "About the Skills (or Crafts) of Men." The original 1000 year-old Old English text was a stilted translation from Latin, but Sweet, sometimes affectionately called the "last native speaker of Old English" for his skill with the language, revised it into a more idiomatic version of a dialog between a questioner and a series of figures from Anglo-Saxon society, who talk about their professions, such as a munuc (monk), sceapehierde (shepherd), fiscere (fisherman), etc. At this point you begin to get a feel for the language. Following this is Beowulfes Sith, "The Journey of Beowulf," a readable prose paraphrase of the first third of the epic poem Beowulf, which opens "Hit gelamp geo thaet an cyning waes on Denum, se waes haten Hrothgar" -- "It happened long ago that there was a king among the Danes who was called Hrothgar."
The one major weakness of the book is the absence of a glossary, but this is offset in part by a running series of Notes, keyed to sections of the text, on unusual words and usage. Work through this book and you'll be reading and understanding Old English, and ready to tackle more advanced texts. Google Books will let you preview several pages of a slightly different reprint of the text. You can also sometimes still find old hardcover editions of Sweet's books at used bookstores. Barring that, this admittedly somewhat pricey reprint of the 1897 original will serve you well.
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First Steps in AngloSaxon Henry Sweet 9781141152346 Books Reviews
Thank goodness Henry Sweet's little book is still available! Any serious student of Old English should have a copy. The brief grammar section summarizes important forms and provides very helpful paradigms. The included texts are fun to read. Add a copy of any modern Old English grammar & reader with a good glossary, and a beginner can get a good start on learning to read Old English.
First Steps in Anglo-Saxon by Henry Sweet is a short book of just over 100 pages that can launch you into reading basic -- and interesting -- Old English. Many books which offer to teach you Old English load you down with excess material too early. Not this one. Sweet, who died nearly a century ago, was famous for his Oxford University studies in linguistics and Germanic languages, and Old English in particular, and several of his works are still in print. As he notes in his introduction, this book is intended to be a "purely practical introduction to the language," so he skips most of the complicated history of the grammar and sound changes which a beginner doesn't need at the outset.
His goal in the first section of just 25 pages is to provide the minimum of grammar and syntax necessary to get you actually reading Old English. He follows this with some simple texts describing the physical world ("Seo sunne gaeth betweonan heofon and eorthan"; "The sun goes/moves between heaven and earth"), and then on to his famous "Be Manna Craeftum," "About the Skills (or Crafts) of Men." The original 1000 year-old Old English text was a stilted translation from Latin, but Sweet, sometimes affectionately called the "last native speaker of Old English" for his skill with the language, revised it into a more idiomatic version of a dialog between a questioner and a series of figures from Anglo-Saxon society, who talk about their professions, such as a munuc (monk), sceapehierde (shepherd), fiscere (fisherman), etc. At this point you begin to get a feel for the language. Following this is Beowulfes Sith, "The Journey of Beowulf," a readable prose paraphrase of the first third of the epic poem Beowulf, which opens "Hit gelamp geo thaet an cyning waes on Denum, se waes haten Hrothgar" -- "It happened long ago that there was a king among the Danes who was called Hrothgar."
The one major weakness of the book is the absence of a glossary, but this is offset in part by a running series of Notes, keyed to sections of the text, on unusual words and usage. Work through this book and you'll be reading and understanding Old English, and ready to tackle more advanced texts. Google Books will let you preview several pages of a slightly different reprint of the text. You can also sometimes still find old hardcover editions of Sweet's books at used bookstores. Barring that, this admittedly somewhat pricey reprint of the 1897 original will serve you well.
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