Old English and Its Closest Relatives: A Survey of the Earliest Germanic Languages

by Orrin W. Robinson

Book Overview

At first glance, there may seem little reason to think of English and German as variant forms of a single language. There are enormous differences between the two in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar, and a monolingual speaker of one cannot understand the other at all. Yet modern English and German have many points in common, and if we go back to the earliest texts available in the two languages, the similarities are even more notable.

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804722218
• ISBN13: 9780804722216
• Release Date: October 1993
• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Informative

Interesting reading. What I particularly liked was that each section was not just a dry listing of comparative morphosyntax between the different Germanic languages. Robinson starts each section with at least a few pages of history. This way, you can see what the people did, where they were, where they went, and with whom they interacted. He also treats each language as a dynamic construct in a dynamic environment, rather than something that just popped into existence in a vacuum. He makes a point at the end to discuss language features that occurred late due to social contact, or in some cases conquest.

A book to cherish

If you are seeking a nice, concise yet not superficial discussion on Gothic, Old Norse, Old English, Old Saxon, Old High German, Old Low Franconian and Old Frisian then you will find this book very interesting. It explains the main differences between these early Germanic languages, and per language it contains and discusses texts that have come down to us. And it reads like a novel. I particularly appreciate the discussion of Old Low Franconian (= Old Dutch, Old Netherlandic), the predecessor of modern Dutch that is the mother tongue of more than 20 million speakers in the Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium). Although there are very few extant texts in OLF this language has undergone few sound changes (compared to e.g. OE or OHG) and therefore is very well suited for the comparative linguistic discipline.

Excellent sampler

I took Orrin Robinson's class "Introduction to the Germanic Languages" at Stanford and this was the primary text. The book is a marvelous sampler, with brief sections discussing each language's relation to the others and its historical and cultural significance. Each language is presented through excerpts from major or important works, with translations and "clues" in the margins for those attempting to read the original. It definitely helps to have a basic understanding of historical linguistics and some exposure to either modern German or comparative linguistics, but even beginners will find something of interest.

Exciting and eye-opening

This fantastic little tome makes me completely reevaluate my ideas about how languages should be taught. Employing only the most minimal amount of linguistics terminology, Robinson walks the reader through seven texts in related Germanic languages. At the period they were written, these were not even distinct languages, but merely dialects of what experts in diachronic linguistics call "Proto-Germanic." The reader begins to see the connections between languages almost immediately. This is what I mean by saying that this is how languages should be taught. Bringing in a substantial etymological component to language teaching somehow provides context for each word, which somehow makes it more interesting and gripping. For example -- here is a phrase in Old Frisian, which is a Germanic language that only grad students have ever heard of. The phrase is this, ""Thu skalt erja thinne feder and thine moder, thet tu theste langor libbe." Look familiar? If your life has ever brought you into contact with the Ten Commandments, it might remind you of the phrase "Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother, that you might longer live." That's good if you make that connection, because that's what it means. That isn't even in English! Isn't that cool?!?! The whole book is full of things like that.In terms of layout, Robinson begins with two introductory chapters in which he walks us through some of the more salient ideas in historical linguistics. The second chapter is very important to understand the bulk of the book. Please dwell on it, and try to read it through at least twice before moving on. Seriously, do this, it will only help. Then there are seven chapters on seven "dialects" of Proto-Germanic, followed up by an interesting little chapter on some controversial issues over which scholars wrangle. Each chapter has several recommendations for further reading at the end of the chapter. I myself have only tried out the recommendation for two of the chapters, Old Frisian an Old Norse, but Robinson's recommendations were terrific for me.One thing I need to mention -- there is a chart of correspondences in sounds and grammar, on pages 250-251. Somehow, this chart was left out of the table of contents. It is very helpful -- you might want to dog-ear page 250, so you can always find it easily for quick reference, as you're going through each chapter.Anyway, this book is great for the undergrad linguist, or for any armchair time traveller. Two thumbs up!

An excellent, well-written book on the theme

- It was amazing. In almost no time I found myself reading a text in Gothic, a language I never thought I'd ever master. The book summarizes the main common characteristics of the ancient Germanic languages, then moves on to describe 7 different languages individually. For each language the author describes significant features of its history, phonetics, and grammar. Moreover, for each language, a few short texts are presented to the reader. They are accompanied by a glossary with examples of words from modern English and German to ease the understanding of the words in the text. After the text a thorough vocabulary follows, where all the words are translated into English. Finally, at the end of the book there is complete translation of each text. The book is clearly based on strict linguistic principles and methods, it's well-structured, and the author is able to keep the balance and avoid too many details - after all, the aim is to give a comparative survey of the language family. But most important, the author isn't just a scholar - he also knows how to teach. I won't hesitate to recommend this book to anyone interested in comparative linguistics and the history of the Indo-European languages. However, knowledge of modern German is clearly an advantage when reading the text samples.