Description

This book, the first grammar of the Old Saxon language written in English, is self-contained with its inclusion of selected readings from the Heliand epic and appropriate comparative readings from two interference dialects, Old High German and Old English. It introduces the reader, regardless of degree of linguistic training, to the basic structure of a Germanic dialect. As a diachronic synchrony (variation and change within the Old Saxon time frame), The Old Saxon Language is largely dictated by cognitive strategies needed to unravel semantically a sentence or larger piece of discourse. A semantic focus pervades the entire grammar, which proceeds in the best Berkeley tradition of prompting the student to mingle intellectually with researching faculty. Thus, many of the most sophisticated research problems surrounding the study of Old Saxon are addressed.