Old English: A Linguistic Introduction (Cambridge Introductions to the English Language)

213 Pages·2009·1.11 MB·English

by  Jeremy J. Smith

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OldEnglish
OldEnglishprovidesaclearlinguisticintroductiontoEnglishbetweenthefifthcenturyand
theNormaninvasionin1066.Tailoredtosuittheneedsofindividualcoursemodules,it
assumesnopriorknowledgeofthesubject,andpresentsthebasicfactsinastraightforward
manner,makingittheidealbeginners’text.Studentsareguidedstep-by-stepthroughthe
maincharacteristicsanddevelopmentsofEnglishduringthatperiod,aidedbyconcise
chaptersummaries,suggestionsforfurtherreading,andacomprehensiveglossary.Each
chapterisaccompaniedbyanengagingsetofexercisesanddiscussionquestionsbased
onauthenticAnglo-Saxontexts,encouragingstudentstoconsolidatetheirlearning,and
providingessentialself-studymaterial.Thebookisaccompaniedbyacompanionwebsite
(www.cambridge.org/Smith),featuringsolutionstotheexercisesandusefuladditional
resources.Providingessentialknowledgeandskillsforthoseembarkingonthestudyof
OldEnglish,itissettobecometheleadingintroductiontothesubject.
JEREMYJ.SMITHisProfessorofEnglishPhilologyintheDepartmentofEnglishLanguage
attheUniversityofGlasgow.HisrecentpublicationsincludeSoundChangeandtheHistoryof
English(2007),EssentialsofEarlyEnglish(secondedition,2005)andAnIntroductiontoMiddle
English(withS.Horobin,2002).
Cambridge Introductions to the English Language
CambridgeIntroductionstotheEnglishLanguageisaseriesofaccessibleundergraduate
textbooksonthekeytopicsencounteredinthestudyoftheEnglishlanguage.Tailoredtosuit
theneedsofindividualtaughtcoursemodules,eachbookiswrittenbyanauthorwith
extensiveexperienceofteachingthetopictoundergraduates.Thebooksassumenoprior
subjectknowledge,andpresentthebasicfactsinaclearandstraightforwardmanner,
makingthemidealforbeginners.Theyaredesignedtobemaximallyreader-friendly,with
chaptersummaries,glossariesandsuggestionsforfurtherreading.Extensiveexercisesand
discussionquestionsareincluded,encouragingstudentstoconsolidateanddeveloptheir
learning,andprovidingessentialhomeworkmaterial.Awebsiteaccompanieseachbook,
featuringsolutionstotheexercisesandusefuladditionalresources.Settobecomethe
leadingintroductionstothefield,booksinthisseriesprovidetheessentialknowledgeand
skillsforthoseembarkingonEnglishLanguagestudies.
Booksintheseries
TheSoundStructureofEnglishChrisMcCully
OldEnglishJeremyJ.Smith
Old English
A Linguistic Introduction
Jeremy J. Smith
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521866774
© Jeremy J. Smith 2009
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part
may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2009
ISBN-13 978-0-511-51673-3 eBook (EBL)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-86677-4 hardback
ISBN-13 978-0-521-68569-6 paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
For Amy

Contents
ListofFigures pageviii
Preface ix
NotationsandConventions x
1 AboutOldEnglish 1
2 DescribingLanguage 11
3 TheStructureofOldEnglish 25
4 SpellingsandSounds 37
5 TheOldEnglishLexicon 59
6 OldEnglishGrammarI:Syntax 74
7 OldEnglishGrammarII:InflexionalMorphology 94
Appendix1 Texts 124
Appendix2 DiscussionQuestionsand
FurtherReading 143
GlossaryofOldEnglish–Present-DayEnglish 147
GlossaryofKeyTerms 183
References 191
Index 195
vii
Figures
1.1 TheIndo-Europeanfamilyoflanguages,with
specialreferencetoGermanic page5
1.2 Treesandwaves 9
5.1 Thesemiotictriangle 69
viii