The Wordhord

Name: The Wordhord
Price: 62.95 AUD
Availability: OutOfStock
ISBN: 9780691232744

Daily Life in Old English

Hana Videen

$62.95

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We will update you on expected arrival time to us. If this delay is too long, please let us know within 2 business days and we can give you options regarding cancelling or adjusting your order. More details on cancelling your order can be found in our Terms of Trade.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Princeton University Pres
10 May 2022

Language: history & general works; linguistics; Social & cultural history

An entertaining and illuminating collection of weird, wonderful, and downright baffling words from the origins of English—and what they reveal about the lives of the earliest English speakers

Old English is the language you think you know until you actually hear or see it. Unlike Shakespearean English or even Chaucer’s Middle English, Old English—the language of Beowulf—defies comprehension by untrained modern readers. Used throughout much of Britain more than a thousand years ago, it is rich with words that haven’t changed (like word), others that are unrecognizable (such as neorxnawang, or paradise), and some that are mystifying even in translation (gafol-fisc, or tax-fish). In this delightful book, Hana Videen gathers a glorious trove of these gems and uses them to illuminate the lives of the earliest English speakers. We discover a world where choking on a bit of bread might prove your guilt, where fiend-ship was as likely as friendship, and where you might grow up to be a laughter-smith.

The Wordhord takes readers on a journey through Old English words and customs related to practical daily activities (eating, drinking, learning, working); relationships and entertainment; health and the body, mind, and soul; the natural world (animals, plants, and weather); locations and travel (the source of some of the most evocative words in Old English); mortality, religion, and fate; and the imagination and storytelling. Each chapter ends with its own “wordhord”—a list of its Old English terms, with definitions and pronunciations.

Entertaining and enlightening, The Wordhord reveals the magical roots of the language you’re reading right now: you’ll never look at—or speak—English in the same way again.

By: Hana Videen
Imprint: Princeton University Pres
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm,
ISBN: 9780691232744
ISBN 10: 0691232741
Pages: 296
Publication Date: 10 May 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Hana Videen has been hoarding Old English words since 2013, when she began tweeting one a day. Now more than 20,000 people follow these gems from her wordhord. A writer and blogger, she holds a PhD in Old English from King’s College London and lives in Toronto. Website www.oldenglishwordhord.com Twitter @OEWordhord

Reviews for The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English

[An] entertaining linguistic history. . . . Well researched and cannily written, this smart survey makes the old feel new. * Publishers Weekly * Engaging, conversational, humorous, and full of surprising revelations. . . . A specialized but delightful book that is essential for undergraduate students of linguistics, literature, and history and will appeal to anyone with a yen for history or language. * Library Journal *