A great number of Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Friesians settled themselves in the section of Britain south of Hadrian’s Wall during the Migration Period (ca. 400-600 AD). With them, they brought their respective ways of speaking, writing, and reading. These mutually intelligible languages merged to form a Germanic tongue that its speakers dubbed ænglisc: ‘Angle-ish’, the language of the Angles. Today termed ‘Old English’, the variety of English spoken between ca. 600-1150 has remained a source of inspiration, fascination, and mystery for many, perhaps most famously fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien. Learning Old English is not only your key to decrypting the secrets of Medieval English literature, but it also will explain many oddities of modern English—why is ‘knight’ spelled like that? Why do we say ‘I want to eat’ but not ‘I must to eat’?
In this course, students will learn the fundamentals of Old English grammar, orthography, and pronunciation. They will master the skills and tools they need to read and translate a variety of authentic prose and poetic historical texts. They will consequently improve their metalinguistic awareness, understanding of the development of the English language, and knowledge of modern English grammar and syntax. Students will also be introduced to Germanic alliterative metre, key phonological laws, and read a variety of Old English texts outside the traditional literary canon.
Interested students are advised to obtain their own copy of Peter S. Baker’s Introduction to Old English, preferably the third edition (Wiley-Blackwell 2012). One copy is available in the Universitätsbibliothek. The prior edition of 2003 is also available in the Universitätsbibliothek and in the Bibliothek des Englishen Seminars.
This course is fully introductory and assumes no prior knowledge of any historical languages.
Assessment/requirements: active participation in class is expected for this language learning course. Students will be expected to read assigned chapters in the textbook and revise all topics each week. Students will hand in weekly assignments (short translations, parsing assignments, etc.) via Moodle dropbox before the start of each class period. There will be a single marked quiz in the middle of the semester. Übung: the above plus completion of the given weekly assignments. These assignments are to be handed in by 1 March 2025 in the form of a ‘language learning report’. Further details will be provided during the semester. Seminar: the above plus completion of a ‘language learning portfolio’ with a due date of 1 March 2025. This portfolio will be composed of the semester’s weekly assignments and a small number of additional, independent assignments.
- Kursleiter/in: Antony Ripley Henk