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This course will introduce students to the oldest form of the English language, spoken between ca. 600 and 1100 AD. The course aims to introduce the basics of the language and develop familiarity with some of the prose works written in it. This part of the course introduces basic grammar and vocabulary through prose texts, assisted by two frequency based lexical resources:
Anna Cichosz, Piotr Pęzik, Maciej Grabski, Sylwia Karasińska, Michał Adamczyk, Paulina Rybińska, Aneta Ostrowska, A frequency dictionary of Old English prose for learners of Old English and historical linguistics
ISBN-13 (15): 978-83-8220-899-3;
ISBN-13 (15): 978-83-8220-900-6;
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18778/8220-899-3
And the St Andrews Old English Core Vocabulary List
https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~cr30/vocabulary/
This course is intended to help students understand basic concepts in Old English grammar and vocabulary, to the extent that they can read straightforward prose, with the aid of a dictionary, and translate simple sentences, providing insight into the historical development of the English language over time, and potentially demystifying many seeming ‘irregularities’ in English grammar as relics, or fossils of an older grammatical system.
The course will also introduce students to the culture and history of the peoples who spoke Old English, and prepare them to take a further course which considers the more complex poetry recorded in the same language.
All necessary texts will be provided to the students via Moodle. No textbooks will be required for purchase.
Poslední úprava: YBLO015\5094958 (01.03.2026)
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Assessment Methods. The course will be assessed through short Moodle quizzes on individual grammar points, (10%), a mid-term grammar and vocabulary test (ca weeks 9-11 – 40 %) and a short translation exercise (20%) and literature essay (30%) in Weeks 13-14. All assessments will be in-class This assessment method is intended to eliminate the anxiety over AI use. Poslední úprava: YBLO015\5094958 (01.03.2026)
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Syllabus / Topics Week 1: Introduction to Old English Language: The Old English Alphabet and Pronunciation Week 2: Language: Past tense verbs, participles Week 3: Language: Preterite Present Verbs (modals) Week 4: Language: The to-infinitive Week 5: Language: Adjective declensions and syntax (introducing the Instrumental Case) Week 6: Language: Describing sound changes: i-mutation. Understanding these sound changes helps the student to see that the irregularities in grammar actually follow predictable rules. Week 7: Language: Describing sound changes: breaking Week 8: Language: Describing sound changes: palatalization (softening) Week 9: Language: Old English varieties and dialects Week 10: Language: Looking forward to Verse texts Final Weeks: Reading seminars based on The Gospels in Old English, and other texts In class Assessments. Poslední úprava: YBLO015\5094958 (01.03.2026)
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