Download or read book A History of Old English Meter written by R. D. Fulk and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2015-08-12 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In A History of Old English Meter, R. D. Fulk offers a wide-ranging reference on Anglo-Saxon meter. Fulk examines the evidence for chronological and regional variation in the meter of Old English verse, studying such linguistic variables as the treatment of West Germanic parasite vowels, contracted vowels, and short syllables under secondary and tertiary stress, as well as a variety of supposed dialect features. Fulk's study of such variables points the way to a revised understanding of the role of syllable length in the construction of early Germanic meters and furnishes criteria for distinguishing dialectal from poetic features in the language of the major Old English poetic codices. On this basis, it is possible to draw conclusions about the probable dialect origins of much verse, to delineate the characteristics of at least four discrete periods in the development of Old English meter, and with some probability to assign to them many of the longer poems, such as Genesis A, Beowulf, and the works of Cynewulf. A History of Old English Meter will be of interest to scholars of Anglo-Saxon, historians of the English language, Germanic philologists, and historical linguists.
Download or read book Women s Names in Old English written by Elisabeth Okasha and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-12-05 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph provides an in-depth study into the issue of vernacular names in Old English documents. Specifically, it challenges the generally accepted notion that the sex of an individual is definitively indicated by the grammatical gender of their name. In the case of di-thematic names, the grammatical gender in question is that of the second element of the name. Thus di-thematic names have been taken as belonging to women if their second element is grammatically feminine. However, as there are no surviving Anglo-Saxon texts which explain the principles of vernacular nomenclature, or any contemporary list of Old English personal names, it is by no means sure that this assumption is correct. While modern scholars have generally felt no difficulty in distinguishing male from female names, this book asks how far the Anglo-Saxons themselves recognised this distinction, and in so doing critically examines and tests the general principle that grammatical gender is a certain indicator of biological sex. Anyone with an interest in Old English manuscripts or early medieval history will find this book both thought provoking and a useful reference tool for better understanding the Anglo-Saxon world.
Download or read book The Grammar of Names in Anglo Saxon England written by Fran Colman and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2014-07-24 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines personal names, including given and acquired (or nick-) names, and how they were used in Anglo-Saxon England. It discusses their etymologies, semantics, and grammatical behaviour, and considers their evolving place in Anglo-Saxon history and culture. From that culture survive thousands of names on coins, in manuscripts, on stone and other inscriptions. Names are important and their absence a stigma (Grendel's parents have no names); they may have particular functions in ritual and magic; they mark individuals, generally people but also beings with close human contact such as dogs, cats, birds, and horses; and they may provide indications of rank and gender. Dr Colman explores the place of names within the structure of Old English, their derivation, formation, and other linguistic behaviour, and compares them with the products of other Germanic (e.g., Present-day German) and non-Germanic (e.g., Ancient and Present-day Greek) naming systems. Old English personal names typically followed the Germanic system of elements based on common words like leof (adjective 'beloved') and wulf (noun 'wolf'), which give Leofa and Wulf, and often combined as in Wulfraed, (ræd noun, 'advice, counsel') or as in Leofing (with the diminutive suffix -ing). The author looks at the combinatorial and sequencing possibilities of these elements in name formation, and assesses the extent to which, in origin, names may be selected to express qualities manifested by, or expected in, an individual. She examines their different modes of inflection and the variable behaviour of names classified as masculine or feminine. The results of her wide-ranging investigation are provocative and stimulating.
Download or read book A Dictionary of English Surnames written by P. H. Reaney and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-02-27 with total page 3619 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This classic dictionary answers questions such as these and explains the origins of over 16,000 names in current English use. It will be a source of fascination to everyone with an interest in names and their history.
Download or read book Historical Dialectology written by Jacek Fisiak and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2011-06-01 with total page 712 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this volume of 29 papers, readers interested in language variation and historical linguistics will find interesting theoretical proposals as well as suggestions concerning ways of approaching previously unsolved empirical problems in the field. The papers deal with various aspects of historical regional dialectology, and some border on the issue of dialectology and linguistic change. Although many deal with English, a number discuss Romance languages in general as well as Norwegian, German, relic languages of the eastern Alpine region, Coptic, and Fox. Some are devoted to more general issues. The language specific contributions also often cover areas of a more general nature. The results indicate new vistas for further productive research in the area of historical dialectology.
Download or read book The Old English Version of Bede s Historia Ecclesiastica written by Sharon M. Rowley and published by Boydell & Brewer Ltd. This book was released on 2011 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pioneering examination of the Old English version of Bede's Historia ecclesiastica and its reception in the middle ages, from a theoretically informed, multi-disciplinary perspective. The first full-length study of the Old English version of Bede's masterwork, dealing with one of the most important texts to survive from Anglo-Saxon England. The subjects treated range from a detailed analysis of the manuscriptsand the medieval use of them to a very satisfying conclusion that summarizes all the major issues related to the work, giving a compelling summary of the value and importance of this independent creation. Dr Rowley convincingly argues that the Old English version is not an inferior imitation of Bede's work, but represents an intelligent reworking of the text for a later generation. An exhaustive study and a major scholarly contribution. GEORGE HARDIN BROWN, Professor of English emeritus, Stanford University. The Old English version of Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis anglorum is one of the earliest and most substantial surviving works of Old English prose. Translated anonymously around the end of the ninth or beginning of the tenth century, the text, which is substantially shorter than Bede's original, was well known and actively used in medieval England, and was highly influential.However, despite its importance, it has been little studied. In this first book on the subject, the author places the work in its manuscript context, arguing that the text was an independent, ecclesiastical translation, thoughtfully revised for its new audience. Rather than looking back on the age of Bede from the perspective of a king centralizing power and building a community by recalling a glorious English past, the Old English version of Bede's Historia transforms its source to focus on local history, key Anglo-Saxon saints, and their miracles. The author argues that its reading reflects an ecclesiastical setting more than a political one, with uses more hagiographical than royal; and that rather than being used as a class-book or crib, it functioned as a resource for vernacular preaching, as a corpus of vernacular saints' lives, for oral performance, and episcopal authority. Sharon M. Rowley is Associate Professor of English at Christopher Newport University.
Download or read book The Old English Translation of Bede s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum in its Historical and Cultural Context written by Andreas Lemke and published by Göttingen University Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Did King Alfred the Great commission the Old English translation of Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, probably the masterpiece of medieval Anglo-Latin Literature, as part of his famous program of translation to educate the Anglo-Saxons? Was the Old English Historia, by any chance, a political and religious manifesto for the emerging ‘Kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons’? Do we deal with the literary cornerstone of a nascent English identity at a time when the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were threatened by a common enemy: the Vikings? Andreas Lemke seeks to answer these questions – among others – in his recent publication. He presents us with a unique compendium of interdisciplinary approaches to the subject and sheds new light on the Old English translation of the Historia in a way that will fascinate scholars of Literature, Language, Philology and History.
Download or read book English Historical Linguistics 2010 written by Irén Heged?s and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2012 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The use of linguistic forms derived from the lexicon denoting sacred entities is often subject to tabooing behaviour. In the 15th and 16th century phrases like by gogges swete body or by cockes bones allowed speakers to address God without really saying the name; cf. Hock (1991: 295). The religious interjections based on the phonetically corrupt gog and cock are evidenced to have gained currency in the 16th century. In the 17th century all interjections based on religious appellations ceased to appear on stage in accordance with the regulations of the Act to Rest.
Download or read book Old and Middle English Language Studies written by Matsuji Tajima and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 1988-01-01 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the publication of Kennedy's monumental Bibliography of Writings on the English Language, no bibliography has systematically surveyed the Old and Middle English scholarship accumulated over the past 60 years. Tajima's work aims to meet the need for an updated bibliography of Old and Middle English language studies; it lists books, monographs, dissertations, articles, notes, and reviews on Old and Middle English language. The items have been listed into fourteen fairly broad categories: (1) Bibliographies, (2) Dictionaries, glossaries and concordances, (3) Histories of the English language, (4) Grammars (historical, Old English and Middle English), (5) General and miscellaneous studies, (6) Language of individual authors or works, (7) Orthography and punctuation, (8) Phonology and phonetics, (9) Morphology, (10) Syntax, (11) Lexicology, lexicography and word-formation, (12) Onomastics, (13) Dialectology, (14) Stylistics.
Download or read book The History of the English Church and People written by Saint Bede (the Venerable) and published by Barnes & Noble Publishing. This book was released on 2005 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book An Anglo Saxon and Celtic Bibliography 450 1087 written by Wilfrid Bonser and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1957 with total page 620 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Words Structure Meaning Function written by Christiane Dalton-Puffer and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2011-06-24 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks as well as studies that provide new insights by building bridges to neighbouring fields such as neuroscience and cognitive science. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing.
Download or read book Advances in Old Frisian Philology written by Rolf H. Bremmer and published by Rodopi. This book was released on 2007 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like its two predecessors, Aspects of Old Frisian Philology (1990) and Approaches to Old Frisian Philology (1998), Advances in Old Frisian Philology combines contributions by specialists of medieval Frisian studies with papers by international specialists from adjacent fields who have been invited for the occasion to bring their expertise to the discipline of Old Frisian. Together, the diverse approaches considerably advance our knowledge of and insight into various aspects of Old Frisian philology.
Download or read book Annual Bibliography of English Language Literature Volume XX written by and published by CUP Archive. This book was released on with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Germanic and its Dialects written by and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 1977-12-31 with total page 554 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Germanists have long lamented the lack of comprehensive bibliographies of past and present literature, particularly in the areas of Frisian, Old English, Old High German, and, most notably, Old Saxon. The compilers of this bibliography deem it crucial to fill this lacuna before embarking on two further volumes project to complete this series: I. Texts, and II. Maps and Commentaries. NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER: The publication of the two further volumes (I. Texts; II. Maps and Commentaries) has been canceled.
Download or read book A Bibliography of Writings for the History of the English Language written by Jacek Fisiak and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2019-06-04 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No detailed description available for "A Bibliography of Writings for the History of the English Language".
Download or read book The Transmission of Beowulf written by Leonard Neidorf and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2017-05-16 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beowulf, like The Iliad and The Odyssey, is a foundational work of Western literature that originated in mysterious circumstances. In The Transmission of Beowulf, Leonard Neidorf addresses philological questions that are fundamental to the study of the poem. Is Beowulf the product of unitary or composite authorship? How substantially did scribes alter the text during its transmission, and how much time elapsed between composition and preservation? Neidorf answers these questions by distinguishing linguistic and metrical regularities, which originate with the Beowulf poet, from patterns of textual corruption, which descend from copyists involved in the poem’s transmission. He argues, on the basis of archaic features that pervade Beowulf and set it apart from other Old English poems, that the text preserved in the sole extant manuscript (ca. 1000) is essentially the work of one poet who composed it circa 700. Of course, during the poem’s written transmission, several hundred scribal errors crept into its text. These errors are interpreted in the central chapters of the book as valuable evidence for language history, cultural change, and scribal practice. Neidorf’s analysis reveals that the scribes earnestly attempted to standardize and modernize the text’s orthography, but their unfamiliarity with obsolete words and ancient heroes resulted in frequent errors. The Beowulf manuscript thus emerges from his study as an indispensible witness to processes of linguistic and cultural change that took place in England between the eighth and eleventh centuries. An appendix addresses J. R. R. Tolkien’s Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, which was published in 2014. Neidorf assesses Tolkien’s general views on the transmission of Beowulf and evaluates his position on various textual issues.
